World Wrestling Federation presents Shotgun Saturday Night
Date: 7/5/1997
From: Des Moines, IA
Matches:
1.) Truth Commission (Recon, Sniper & Interrogator) defeated Adam O’Brien, Chris Steele, & Kevin Flynn
2.) Savio Vega defeated Flash Funk
3.) Scott Putski defeated Rod Bell
4.) The New Blackjacks (Bradshaw & Windham) defeated Los Boricuas (Jesus Castillo & Miguel Perez) disqualification
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Brian Pillman has been terminated from commentary due to his antics last week. Jim Cornette is on commentary with Jim Ross now.
2.) Vince McMahon is in the ring to interview the Hart Foundation. Bret Hart thinks they will get the respect they deserve tomorrow night on PPV. Hart says the USA has had the opportunity to cheer their scum heroes such as Goldust, Austin, LOD and Shamrock, but now it will be a different story at the PPV. Hart says they don’t need any excuses as they will pound them into the dirt. Hart puts over all the members of the Hart Foundation. Bret believes they are the greatest combined force in wrestling. Bret is confident that nobody can stop them from getting every trophy and title in the WWF. They are going to rule the WWF whether the fans like it or not. McMahon asks if this is Bret’s vision of being a hero. Bret tells McMahon when they get into Canada they will see that he’s still the hero he claims to be. Pillman chimes in and says Austin is the perfect example of what America has become and he’s a loser. Pillman says that Austin doesn’t have the integrity that the dynasty has. Bulldog promises the LOD will go down and they will beat Austin and whomever his partner will be to win the tag titles. Owen says they don’t need to be gender benders to win matches. Owen calls Shamrock a goofball. Neidhart says all McMahon’s questions will be answers in Canada.
3.) Adam O’Brien would go on to become RAW General Manager Adam Pearce.
4.) The Truth Commission continue their dominance on Shotgun Saturday Night by picking up an easy victory. Interrogator wins the match following a side slam to Steele. (NR. While the WWF is picking up steam with the main event scene they still have dated acts such as the Truth Commission that don’t come across very well.)
5.) Vega works over Funk with strikes over the back and beats Funk down on the mat with stomps. Vega continues by chopping Funk to the mat. Funk comes off the ropes and kicks Vega to the floor. Funk baseball slides Vega on the outside and fakes a dive. Funk misses a baseball slide and Vega delivers a superkick. Vega rolls Funk into the ring and chokes Funk on the mat. Los Boricuas come down to ringside as the show went to commercial. Vega nails Funk with a spinning heel kick in the corner. Vega misses a splash in the corner. Funk strikes Vega several times and drops Vega with a chop. Funk connects with a spinning martial arts kick for a near fall. Funk hits a top rope moonsault for a near fall. Funk tries for a hurricanrana, but Vega drops Funk over the top rope and follows up with a spinning heel kick to win the match. (*1/2. I wish they had gotten more time because I was enjoying the action here.) After the match, DOA come down on their motorcycles to assist Funk, who was beaten down and tossed to the floor. DOA park their bikes and that leads to a massive brawl between the two groups. Several officials come down to the ring to attempt and regain control. Several police officers slide into the ring, as well.
6.) Putski wins his enhancement match following the Polish Hammer.
7.) Bradshaw puts a headlock on Perez and counters a hip toss with a belly to belly suplex. Windham hip tosses Castillo out of the corner. Blackjacks hit stereo backdrops. Bradshaw and Windham drop Perez with big bots. Windham takes Perez over with a snap suplex. Windham continues with a back suplex and rams Perez into Bradshaw’s boot in the corner. Bradshaw elbows Perez coming off the ropes. Perez gets control and tags in Castillo, who strikes and bites Bradshaw. Bradshaw rams Castillo into the corner and tags in Windham. Windham keeps wrist control, but Perez blindly tags in and Windham is met with a double hip toss. Perez clotheslines Windham to the floor. Perez catapults Castillo over the top to the floor onto the Blackjacks. Perez takes Bradshaw out with a crossbody. Windham is tossed back into the ring with a slingshot from the apron. Windham is met with double boots. Castillo strikes Windham in the corner and bites his forehead. Castillo overhand strikes Windham agains the ropes. Castillo overhand strikes Windham against the ropes. Castillo elbows Windham coming off the ropes. Perez scoop slams Windham followed by a standing moonsault. Windham kicks Castillo and Bradshaw gets the hot tag. Bradshaw cleans house with big boots and scoop slams. Bradshaw hits a chicken wing suplex on Castillo for a near fall. All four men are in the ring. Bradshaw backdrops Perez to the floor. Bradshaw decks Castillo with a vicious clothesline, but Vega enters the ring and attacks Bradshaw to cause a disqualification. After the match, Blackjacks are beaten down to close the program. (*1/2. I’m digging the New Blackjacks and their brawling style. It doesn’t come across boring or stale. I just don’t see where they can achieve championship success at this point.)
Final Thoughts:
Not too bad of an episode heading into the PPV. There wasn’t a standout match, but the action wasn’t dull or boring as it had been in previous weeks. Canadian Stampede is shaping up to be an all-time great card.
Thanks for reading.