World Wrestling Federation presents Shotgun Saturday Night
Date: 6/28/1997
From: Detroit, MI
Matches:
1.) WWF Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart defeated Goldust in a non-title match
2.) The Disciples Of Apocalypse (Chainz & Crush) defeated The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher)
3.) Jesse James defeated The Brooklyn Brawler
4.) The Truth Commission (Recon, Tank & The Interrogator) defeated Al Brown, Gene Miller & Terry Richards
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) In memory of Stan “The Man” Stasiak.
2.) Owen teases hitting Goldust with the championship from behind, but the referee stops the attack. Owen gets out of a headlock, but Goldust hits a shoulder block a couple of times for a near fall and backs Owen into a corner where they have a standoff. Goldust taunts Owen by rubbing his body. Owen controls Goldust on the mat with a top wrist lock. Brian Pillman leaves commentary as the fans taunt him. Owen switches to a hammerlock, but Goldust counters. Owen backs Goldust into a corner as Bret Hart makes his way down to ringside. Owen works over Goldust with right hands. Goldust backdrops Owen out of the corner followed by an arm drag. Goldust lifts Owen up by the arm and down to the mat followed by a leg drop. Owen works over Goldust with right hands in the corner and keeps control with a wrist lock as the show goes to commercial.
Goldust avoids a leapfrog and decks Owen with a right hand. Owen recovers to clothesline Goldust followed by a leg drop for a two count. Goldust avoids a backdrop with a right hand and continues with more strikes. Goldust sends Owen into the corner and hits a bulldog, but Bret gets on the apron to distract Goldust. Owen nails Goldust with a spinning heel kick for the win. (*1/4. I was hoping for something more competitive and more action base, but this came across slow and mostly uninteresting.)
3.) Bret Hart grabs a microphone and says that Goldust is the last one to take care of as they took out LOD, Ken “Sissy” Shamrock and Steve Austin. Owen stomps Goldust on the mat and drags Goldust to the corner where Bret puts a figure four leg lock on Goldust around the ring post. Owen drops the Canadian flag over Goldust, but Marlena throws the flag off of Goldust. Several officials come out to pull Bret off of Goldust.
4.) It’s mentioned that Ahmed Johnson hurt his knee during a brawl with the DOA and it requires surgery.
5.) The Headbangers were asked why they wore dresses by a local news station and they said because they can and slammed the reporter on the mat.
6.) Crush slams Thrasher while Chainz sends Mosh through the ropes to the floor. Crush elbows Thrasher coming off the ropes and rams Thrasher into the corner before tagging in Chainz to keep control with strikes. Chainz nails Thrasher with a big boot as Pillman yells at a fan in the front row. Mosh leaps of the top to clotheslines Chainz. Thrasher tags into the match and they knock Chainz to the mat with a whiplash. Mosh tags into the match and strikes Chainz followed by a dropkick. Chainz stomps Mosh on the mat and rams Mosh into Crush’s boot in the corner. Crush continues with a scoop slam and leg drops Mosh several times. Crush tosses Mosh through the ropes to the floor. Mosh is sent hard into the ring steps by 8-Ball. Crush spikes Mosh with a piledriver, but Thrasher prevents the cover attempt. Chainz elbow drops Mosh several times. Crush continues to work over Mosh with a strike to the back. Mosh kicks Crush, but Crush press slams Mosh to the mat as the show goes to commercial.
Mosh fights back with right hands and kicks in the corner before running into a boot by Chainz in the corner. Chainz rams Mosh into the corner and tags in Crush. Crush axe handles Mosh over the back as Pillman continues to taunt fans in the crowd. Crush drives Mosh down with a backbreaker. Crush leaps off the middle rope, but misses a fist drop. Mosh nails Crush with a kick to the head. Thrasher tags into the match and is cutoff by Chainz and sent to the floor. Thrasher is sent into the railing. Crush puts Thrasher over his knee and Chainz hits a top rope knee drop leading to the win. (*1/2. Well, this came across as a fight and a bit sloppy, but it actually kind of fits the style and presentation that DOA put off. It could have been a lot worse.)
7.) Vince McMahon is in the ring and introduces Mankind for an interview. Mankind is wearing a Steve Austin t-shirt trying to be his tag partner. McMahon notes Mankind desire to be Austin’s partner. Mankind says comparing him to Shawn Michaels is like comparing apples to applesauce. Mankind thinks they could pass as twins. Mankind notes that Michaels has a belly ring while he has lint. Michaels has a tattoo and Mankind has scars on his arms. Mankind thinks they are the same. McMahon asks Mankind to compare himself to Austin. Mankind sees Austin as a sociopathic loser and sometimes people need people. Mankind says people are like that are the luckiest people. Mankind wants to be Austin’s tree branch. McMahon mentions Mankind’s match with Hunter Hearst Helmsley on July 6th. Mankind could say that Helmsley cheated and Chyna helped him win the match, and that’s what he’s going to say. Mankind admits he took Helmsley too lightly. Mankind says that Helmsley wounded his pride. Mankind didn’t like getting a taste of his own medicine. Mankind has something for Helmsley taste and shows the Mandible Claw. Mankind tells Helmsley to think about that and have a nice day.
8.) James picks up the win over Brawler following a pump handle slam. There wasn’t a whole lot to the match. The character is still dead.
9.) Brian Pillman attacks the fan that had been bothering him the whole episode. Pillman sends the fan into the railing and delivers a chair shot over the back. Several officials attempt to pull Pillman off.
10.) We hear from the leader of the Truth Commission where he says they are here to show how great the United States once was. They are here to remind everyone that there are people who must be dominated. They will smash all the athletes right in front of their eyes.
11.) Terry Richards would later be known as Rhino/Rhyno of ECW/WWE/TNA fame.
12.) Truth Commission obviously dominate their squash match and win the match when The Interrogator pinned Miller following a side slam.
Final Thoughts:
The Mankind promo was solid, but aside from that there wasn’t much on the episode that would be deemed entertaining or interesting. It’s honestly incredible how much they are lacking on the under card that Shotgun struggles to garner any kind of crowd reaction.
Thanks for reading.