World Wrestling Federation presents Shotgun Saturday Night
Date: 8/23/1997
From: Atlantic City, NJ
Footage of Goldust, Marlena and Dakota having fun at the beach at Atlantic City is shown. Goldust and Brian Pillman are competing in an indecent proposal match at Ground Zero.
MATCH #1: OWEN HART & WWF EUROPEAN CHAMPION BRITISH BULLDOG VS. WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPION DUDE LOVE & GOLDUST
FINISH: Owen pins Goldust with a rollup after Pillman caused a distraction.
Bob’s Take: Love and Owen kicked off the match with Owen getting control with strikes after Love danced for a bit. Love battled back with a backdrop to gain the momentum. Goldust works over Owen with a back suplex, but Bulldog gets tagged in and quickly got leg control. Goldust battles back with strikes in the corner to pummel Bulldog. Goldust ends up kissing Bulldog in the corner! Love is worked over by Bulldog for a few moments. Owen continued the offense with a slam, but Love refuses to stay down. Owen delivers a neckbreaker and a forearm drop from the middle rope. Bulldog misses a leg drop allowing Love to get Goldust into the bout. Goldust atomic drops Owen and cleans house with strikes. Bulldog saves Owen from the Curtain Call. Pillman comes out and stalks Marlena as Goldust bulldogs Owen. Owen is able to sneak a rollup and pins Goldust. There’s not much to this one as the offense was pretty basic. It felt like they were mailing it in before the distraction finish to continue the advancement between Goldust and Pillman.
Match Rating: *1/2
Footage of Owen Hart breaking Steve Austin’s neck at SummerSlam 1997 is shown several times and is also shown in slow motion.
MATCH #2: ROCKY MAIVIA VS. FLASH FUNK
FINISH: Rocky pins Funk following the Rock Bottom.
Bob’s Take: Funk controls Rocky early on with a wrist lock, but Rocky counters quickly. Funk gains control on the mat with leg control, but Rocky easily breaks free. Rocky decks Funk with a clothesline to gain the advantage. Funk nails Rocky with a spinning kick and a twisting crossbody for a near fall. Rock counters a clothesline to deliver the Rock Bottom (doesn’t have the name yet) for the win. Not too bad of a short match to showcase Rocky as a new heel, but Funk had some fun offense to put over his skill despite the loss.
Match Rating: **
Jim Ross is in the ring to interview WWF World Champion Bret Hart. Ross talks about Hart’s upcoming title defense against the Patriot at Ground Zero. Hart says the fans in the UK don’t spit at you and call you names for speaking the truth. Hart can’t wait to see his fans in England because they respect him there. Hart talks about the Patriot preaching America values and how fans will find out that the Patriot isn’t going to cut it at Ground Zero. Hart doesn’t know what Vader’s problem is with him and calls him big goo. Hart challenges Vader to a match on Friday’s Main Event. Hart considers Vader another name he’s flushing down the toilet. Hart finishes off with his catchphrase.
MATCH #3: SALVATORE SINCERE & ROCKABILLY VS. THE HEADBANGERS
FINISH: Thrasher pins Sincere after the Stage Dive.
Bob’s Take: Thrasher and Sincere kickoff the tag match with Thrasher gaining control before tagging in Mosh and keeping control with a clothesline. Mosh back splashes Sincere in the corner. Rockabilly gains control with strikes in the corner after taking an arm drag, but Thrasher cuts off Rockabilly quickly. Thrasher slams Mosh onto Rockabilly for a near fall. Thrasher regroups with a dropkick and arm control. Sincere and Rockabilly gain control on Thrasher for a bit. Rockabilly missed a splash in the corner. Mosh cleans house with backdrop and slam. Headbangers hit the Stage Dive on Sincere to win the match. A basic match, but I thought the Headbangers came across well here.
Match Rating: *
MAIN EVENT: TIGER ALI SINGH VS. DAN ACKERMAN
FINISH: Singh wins following a top rope bulldog.
Bob’s Take: I’ll never quite understand the interest the WWF had in Tiger Ali Singh. Ackerman doesn’t come across as if he’s an actual wrestler after trying some awful looking dropkicks. Singh has a decent finisher, but that’s about all.
Match Rating: SQUASH
Final Thoughts:
A skippable episode this week for Shotgun. The highlights of Taker vs. HBK makes it clear they have something of interesting going on, but the action on Shotgun as a bit of a dud for the most part.
Thanks for reading.