'WWE Vintage Collection’ TV Report #239 – December 30th, 2012
Shown on Sky Sports in the U.K.
By Stephen Lyon.
This week's theme: An all-Mick Foley tribute special. Matches featured this week included: Cactus Jack vs Kevin Sullivan in a 'Loser Leaves WCW' match (WCW Fall Brawl ppv, September 1994); Mankind vs Bob Holly (Mankind's WWF tv debut, from WWF Monday Night Raw, April 1996); Mankind vs Triple H in a cage match (WWF Summerslam ppv, August 1997); Mick Foley vs Terry Funk in a 'No Holds Barred' match (WWF Raw Is War, May 1998); and Mankind vs Carlito in a 'Fans Choice' match (WWF Taboo Tuesday ppv, November 2005).
Very good show this week.
Show was hosted by Gene Okerlund and Renee Young.
The Show:
1) Kevin Sullivan (w/Dave Sullivan in his corner) defeated Cactus Jack in a 'Loser Leaves WCW' match. This match took place at the 'WCW Fall Brawl 1994' pay-per-view event, held in Roanoke, Virgina on September 18th, 1994. Announcers for this match were Tony Schiavone & Bobby Heenan. Foley had already given his notice that he was leaving WCW at this point, and this was his last match in the company. Schiavone & Heenan kind of buried Foley at various points during this match (no doubt on orders from Eric Bischoff), with Heenan talking about how WCW was the number one promotion in the world, and asking why anyone would possibly want to leave the company, and then when Foley lost, both Schiavone and Heenan yelled 'See ya!' in somewhat sarcastic fashion that seemed out of place given the hard-hitting match that had preceded it. In hindsight, given how hard Foley worked during this match and the crazy bumps he took, it all came across as rather classless. Jack and Sullivan, former tag team partners and now enemies, brawled on the outside, with Jack lifting up the ringside mats and exposing the concrete. Jack stood on the ring apron, ready to jump off, but Dave helped his brother by holding on to Jack's leg, allowing Kevin to slam Jack off the ring apron and on to the concrete floor in a sick bump. Kevin slammed him again on to the concrete. Jack recovered and tried for a piledriver, but Kevin backdropped him on to the concrete again, and also clotheslined him. Jack continued to fight, with both Jack and Kevin giving each other hard unprotected chair shots to the head multiple times. Finish of the match saw both guys in the ring, with Kevin about to nail Jack with another chairshot. Dave grabbed the chair off Kevin to prevent him, Jack charged at Kevin, with Kevin moving, and Jack collided with Dave. Kevin then rolled Jack up for the win.
2) Mankind defeated Bob Holly. This match aired on the April 1st, 1996 live edition of 'WWF Monday Night Raw' taped in San Bernardino, California, the day after Wrestlemania 12, and was Mankind's in-ring debut in the WWF. Announcers for this match were Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler. This was largely a squash, as it should have been. Mankind was put over as being a deranged individual, pulling out chunks of his own hair at will and brutalising Holly with running knees to a crouching Holly's face in the corner. Finish saw Mankind apply the mandible claw for the very first time, causing Holly to submit. Holly 'foamed from the mouth' after the match, selling the move great, as Mankind's gentle piano exit theme played. The fact that Mankind was the only guy with two separate music themes for his entrance and exit may have been a small thing, but it was also part of helping to set him apart as a character as well.
3) Mankind defeated Triple H (w/Chyna in his corner) in a cage match. This match took place at the 'WWF Summerslam 1997' pay-per-view event, held in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 3rd, 1997. Announcers for this match were Vince McMahon & Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler. Mankind was a babyface at this point, following his classic series of sitdown interviews with Jim Ross that had aired a few months earlier. This was a really good cage match, with back and forth action. Mankind hung Triple H upside down from the top of the 'blue-barred' cage and attacked him, and later, Triple H backdropped Mankind into the side of the cage too. Chyna was outside the cage, but frequently got involved, punching Mankind through the cage bars. She also slammed the cage door on Mankind's head as he was about to escape through the door, and also laid out one of the referees at ringside too. Chyna climbed the side of the cage and tossed a chair into the ring. Whilst she was stood on the side of the cage, Mankind monkey-flipped Triple H into the side of the cage where she was positioned, bumping her off the side of the cage. Mankind then DDT'd Triple H on the chair and climbed out of the cage. Just as his feet were about to touch the floor, Mankind had second thoughts. He took his mask off and climbed back to the top of the cage, where he ripped open his shirt. The idea was he was finally realising his childhood dream of being Dude Love, leaping off the cage on to his opponent, Superfly Jimmy Snuka style. When he ripped open his shirt, he was supposed to reveal a temporary Dude Love heart tattoo on his chest, but through sweat, the tattoo was barely visible. Nevertheless, Mankind dropped an elbow on to Triple H off the top of the cage, to a big pop. Mankind then climbed out of the cage, whilst Chyna tried to drag Triple H out through the door. Mankind made it out first to win the match, collapsing to the floor. At first his Mankind music played, then his Dude Love music started playing. Mankind's foot started tapping to the music, which was really funny, and Mankind/Dude Love then strutted around the ring and down the aisle, as the crowd reacted big. This was a very good match.
4) Mick Foley defeated Terry Funk in a 'No Holds Barred' match. This match aired on the May 4th, 1998 edition of 'WWF Raw Is War', taped in Richmond, Virginia on April 28th, 1998. Announcers for this match were Jim Ross & Stone Cold Steve Austin. Jerry Lawler was also part of the announce team at the start of this match, but they did a gimmick where there was 'interference' on Austin's headset, with the idea being that Austin was so outspoken, that Vince was trying to stop him announcing. Austin went nuts, accusing Lawler of being behind it, grabbing Lawler's headset to use instead, then laying out Lawler with a punch, that sent Lawler packing to the back. As for the match, this was Foley's first ever match as plain 'Mick Foley', his real name, with the idea being that he'd given up the Dude Love gimmick earlier in the show, and was trying to show Vince that he deserved to be the number one contender to Austin's title. This was a crazy brawl between Foley and Terry Funk, with Pat Patterson as the referee. Foley rammed Funk into the crowd barricades, and like the Cactus Jack/Kevin Sullivan match earlier in the show, Foley and Funk exchanged hard unprotected chairshots to each others' head. The chairshot to the top of Foley's head actually busted him open. Funk also backdropped Foley on to the exposed concrete floor at ringside. After a commercial break (which cut out all of Foley and Funk's wild brawling in the crowd during the match), Foley nailed Funk with the top of the WWE announcers desk. Austin was drinking beer throughout this match whilst announcing at the same time, cussing frequently. In the ring, Foley gave Funk a DDT and a piledriver, before piledriving Funk a second time on a chair for the pinfall win. After the match, Austin (beer in hand) entered the ring to confront Foley. Austin tossed the beer into Foley's face, which led to Foley accidentally applying the mandible claw to referee Patterson, thinking it was Austin. As Austin and Foley went toe to toe, Austin gave Patterson a stunner, preventing Patterson from hitting him with a chair. Foley left the ring. The Dude Love music started playing, and Vince came out holding the Dude Love attire, accompanied by two very scantily clad strippers (the Dudettes), all dancing to Dude Love's music. Vince then gave Foley a huge embrace, signifying that Foley had regained Vince's trust and was his handpicked guy to go against Austin. All of this was really great, from the match, to Austin's announcing, to the whole storyline. Classic stuff.
5) Mankind defeated Carlito. This match took place at the 'WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005' pay-per-view event, held in San Diego, California on November 1st, 2005. Announcers for this match were Joey Styles & Jerry Lawler. Carlito had spit into Foley's face a couple of weeks' earlier on Raw, which led to this match. The fans voted on which of Foley's personas should face Carlito, with the results being: Cactus Jack 35%, Dude Love 13%, and Mankind 52%. This was a relatively short match, and pretty much a Mankind showcase. Rapid punches in the corner, followed by a running knee to Carlito's face. Mankind did his patented running clothesline spot with Carlito, where both Mankind and Carlito went over the ropes to the outside. Mankind dropped an elbow off the ring apron on to Carlito outside the ring too. Finish of the match in the ring saw Mankind give Carlito a double underhook DDT, followed by a Mr Socko mandible claw on Carlito for the win. For comedy purposes, Mr Socko had a little furry afro stuck on top, like Carlito's hairstyle. This was a fun match.
Closing thoughts: A very enjoyable show. Several of the matches were very good or better, such as the matches vs Kevin Sullivan, Triple H and Terry Funk. I really hope Mick Foley gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, as I'm sure he'd consider it a great honour, and it would be a well-deserved accolade after the many great moments he has given us all during his career.
Happy New Year everyone!
Quick plug: If you enjoy my weekly 'WWE Vintage Collection' tv columns such as this, then you may like to check out the latest issue of 'Fighting Spirit Magazine' (Issue 88, with CM Punk on the cover. The magazine has been completely revamped, with a critically-acclaimed totally new format and layout, and features all new columns from FSM columnists, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Magnus and Jim Cornette. Plus my 'Wrestling Round Up' TV Lounge column, recapping this past months' WWE & TNA tv shows, as well as WWE & TNA ppv reviews, plus much more. Available now, in all good newsagents in the U.K. & Ireland, and for fans worldwide, subscriptions are available here at: http://www.fightingspiritmagazine.co.uk/subscribe.asp!
Also, for fans in the U.S. and worldwide, why not try the brand new Fighting Spirit Magazine app for iPhone and iPad? Price is $3.99, but a free issue is included in that price! It's awesome to read FSM on the iPad, so why not give it a try?!
Fighting Spirit Magazine App is downloadable here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fighting-spirit-magazine/id406350122?mt=8
Match Results:
1) Kevin Sullivan (w/Dave Sullivan in his corner) defeated Cactus Jack in a 'Loser Leaves WCW' match ('WCW Fall Brawl 1994' pay-per-view event: Roanoke, Virgina - 18/09/94).
2) Mankind defeated Bob Holly ('WWF Monday Night Raw' live: San Bernardino, California - 01/04/96).
3) Mankind defeated Triple H (w/Chyna in his corner) in a Cage Match ('WWF Summerslam 1997' pay-per-view event: East Rutherford, New Jersey - 03/08/97).
4) Mick Foley defeated Terry Funk in a No Holds Barred match ('WWF Raw Is War': Richmond, Virginia - taped on 28/04/98, aired on 04/05/98).
5) Mankind defeated Carlito ('WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005' pay-per-view event: San Diego, California: 01/11/05).
Shown on Sky Sports in the U.K.
By Stephen Lyon.
This week's theme: An all-Mick Foley tribute special. Matches featured this week included: Cactus Jack vs Kevin Sullivan in a 'Loser Leaves WCW' match (WCW Fall Brawl ppv, September 1994); Mankind vs Bob Holly (Mankind's WWF tv debut, from WWF Monday Night Raw, April 1996); Mankind vs Triple H in a cage match (WWF Summerslam ppv, August 1997); Mick Foley vs Terry Funk in a 'No Holds Barred' match (WWF Raw Is War, May 1998); and Mankind vs Carlito in a 'Fans Choice' match (WWF Taboo Tuesday ppv, November 2005).
Very good show this week.
Show was hosted by Gene Okerlund and Renee Young.
The Show:
1) Kevin Sullivan (w/Dave Sullivan in his corner) defeated Cactus Jack in a 'Loser Leaves WCW' match. This match took place at the 'WCW Fall Brawl 1994' pay-per-view event, held in Roanoke, Virgina on September 18th, 1994. Announcers for this match were Tony Schiavone & Bobby Heenan. Foley had already given his notice that he was leaving WCW at this point, and this was his last match in the company. Schiavone & Heenan kind of buried Foley at various points during this match (no doubt on orders from Eric Bischoff), with Heenan talking about how WCW was the number one promotion in the world, and asking why anyone would possibly want to leave the company, and then when Foley lost, both Schiavone and Heenan yelled 'See ya!' in somewhat sarcastic fashion that seemed out of place given the hard-hitting match that had preceded it. In hindsight, given how hard Foley worked during this match and the crazy bumps he took, it all came across as rather classless. Jack and Sullivan, former tag team partners and now enemies, brawled on the outside, with Jack lifting up the ringside mats and exposing the concrete. Jack stood on the ring apron, ready to jump off, but Dave helped his brother by holding on to Jack's leg, allowing Kevin to slam Jack off the ring apron and on to the concrete floor in a sick bump. Kevin slammed him again on to the concrete. Jack recovered and tried for a piledriver, but Kevin backdropped him on to the concrete again, and also clotheslined him. Jack continued to fight, with both Jack and Kevin giving each other hard unprotected chair shots to the head multiple times. Finish of the match saw both guys in the ring, with Kevin about to nail Jack with another chairshot. Dave grabbed the chair off Kevin to prevent him, Jack charged at Kevin, with Kevin moving, and Jack collided with Dave. Kevin then rolled Jack up for the win.
2) Mankind defeated Bob Holly. This match aired on the April 1st, 1996 live edition of 'WWF Monday Night Raw' taped in San Bernardino, California, the day after Wrestlemania 12, and was Mankind's in-ring debut in the WWF. Announcers for this match were Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler. This was largely a squash, as it should have been. Mankind was put over as being a deranged individual, pulling out chunks of his own hair at will and brutalising Holly with running knees to a crouching Holly's face in the corner. Finish saw Mankind apply the mandible claw for the very first time, causing Holly to submit. Holly 'foamed from the mouth' after the match, selling the move great, as Mankind's gentle piano exit theme played. The fact that Mankind was the only guy with two separate music themes for his entrance and exit may have been a small thing, but it was also part of helping to set him apart as a character as well.
3) Mankind defeated Triple H (w/Chyna in his corner) in a cage match. This match took place at the 'WWF Summerslam 1997' pay-per-view event, held in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 3rd, 1997. Announcers for this match were Vince McMahon & Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler. Mankind was a babyface at this point, following his classic series of sitdown interviews with Jim Ross that had aired a few months earlier. This was a really good cage match, with back and forth action. Mankind hung Triple H upside down from the top of the 'blue-barred' cage and attacked him, and later, Triple H backdropped Mankind into the side of the cage too. Chyna was outside the cage, but frequently got involved, punching Mankind through the cage bars. She also slammed the cage door on Mankind's head as he was about to escape through the door, and also laid out one of the referees at ringside too. Chyna climbed the side of the cage and tossed a chair into the ring. Whilst she was stood on the side of the cage, Mankind monkey-flipped Triple H into the side of the cage where she was positioned, bumping her off the side of the cage. Mankind then DDT'd Triple H on the chair and climbed out of the cage. Just as his feet were about to touch the floor, Mankind had second thoughts. He took his mask off and climbed back to the top of the cage, where he ripped open his shirt. The idea was he was finally realising his childhood dream of being Dude Love, leaping off the cage on to his opponent, Superfly Jimmy Snuka style. When he ripped open his shirt, he was supposed to reveal a temporary Dude Love heart tattoo on his chest, but through sweat, the tattoo was barely visible. Nevertheless, Mankind dropped an elbow on to Triple H off the top of the cage, to a big pop. Mankind then climbed out of the cage, whilst Chyna tried to drag Triple H out through the door. Mankind made it out first to win the match, collapsing to the floor. At first his Mankind music played, then his Dude Love music started playing. Mankind's foot started tapping to the music, which was really funny, and Mankind/Dude Love then strutted around the ring and down the aisle, as the crowd reacted big. This was a very good match.
4) Mick Foley defeated Terry Funk in a 'No Holds Barred' match. This match aired on the May 4th, 1998 edition of 'WWF Raw Is War', taped in Richmond, Virginia on April 28th, 1998. Announcers for this match were Jim Ross & Stone Cold Steve Austin. Jerry Lawler was also part of the announce team at the start of this match, but they did a gimmick where there was 'interference' on Austin's headset, with the idea being that Austin was so outspoken, that Vince was trying to stop him announcing. Austin went nuts, accusing Lawler of being behind it, grabbing Lawler's headset to use instead, then laying out Lawler with a punch, that sent Lawler packing to the back. As for the match, this was Foley's first ever match as plain 'Mick Foley', his real name, with the idea being that he'd given up the Dude Love gimmick earlier in the show, and was trying to show Vince that he deserved to be the number one contender to Austin's title. This was a crazy brawl between Foley and Terry Funk, with Pat Patterson as the referee. Foley rammed Funk into the crowd barricades, and like the Cactus Jack/Kevin Sullivan match earlier in the show, Foley and Funk exchanged hard unprotected chairshots to each others' head. The chairshot to the top of Foley's head actually busted him open. Funk also backdropped Foley on to the exposed concrete floor at ringside. After a commercial break (which cut out all of Foley and Funk's wild brawling in the crowd during the match), Foley nailed Funk with the top of the WWE announcers desk. Austin was drinking beer throughout this match whilst announcing at the same time, cussing frequently. In the ring, Foley gave Funk a DDT and a piledriver, before piledriving Funk a second time on a chair for the pinfall win. After the match, Austin (beer in hand) entered the ring to confront Foley. Austin tossed the beer into Foley's face, which led to Foley accidentally applying the mandible claw to referee Patterson, thinking it was Austin. As Austin and Foley went toe to toe, Austin gave Patterson a stunner, preventing Patterson from hitting him with a chair. Foley left the ring. The Dude Love music started playing, and Vince came out holding the Dude Love attire, accompanied by two very scantily clad strippers (the Dudettes), all dancing to Dude Love's music. Vince then gave Foley a huge embrace, signifying that Foley had regained Vince's trust and was his handpicked guy to go against Austin. All of this was really great, from the match, to Austin's announcing, to the whole storyline. Classic stuff.
5) Mankind defeated Carlito. This match took place at the 'WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005' pay-per-view event, held in San Diego, California on November 1st, 2005. Announcers for this match were Joey Styles & Jerry Lawler. Carlito had spit into Foley's face a couple of weeks' earlier on Raw, which led to this match. The fans voted on which of Foley's personas should face Carlito, with the results being: Cactus Jack 35%, Dude Love 13%, and Mankind 52%. This was a relatively short match, and pretty much a Mankind showcase. Rapid punches in the corner, followed by a running knee to Carlito's face. Mankind did his patented running clothesline spot with Carlito, where both Mankind and Carlito went over the ropes to the outside. Mankind dropped an elbow off the ring apron on to Carlito outside the ring too. Finish of the match in the ring saw Mankind give Carlito a double underhook DDT, followed by a Mr Socko mandible claw on Carlito for the win. For comedy purposes, Mr Socko had a little furry afro stuck on top, like Carlito's hairstyle. This was a fun match.
Closing thoughts: A very enjoyable show. Several of the matches were very good or better, such as the matches vs Kevin Sullivan, Triple H and Terry Funk. I really hope Mick Foley gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, as I'm sure he'd consider it a great honour, and it would be a well-deserved accolade after the many great moments he has given us all during his career.
Happy New Year everyone!
Quick plug: If you enjoy my weekly 'WWE Vintage Collection' tv columns such as this, then you may like to check out the latest issue of 'Fighting Spirit Magazine' (Issue 88, with CM Punk on the cover. The magazine has been completely revamped, with a critically-acclaimed totally new format and layout, and features all new columns from FSM columnists, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Magnus and Jim Cornette. Plus my 'Wrestling Round Up' TV Lounge column, recapping this past months' WWE & TNA tv shows, as well as WWE & TNA ppv reviews, plus much more. Available now, in all good newsagents in the U.K. & Ireland, and for fans worldwide, subscriptions are available here at: http://www.fightingspiritmagazine.co.uk/subscribe.asp!
Also, for fans in the U.S. and worldwide, why not try the brand new Fighting Spirit Magazine app for iPhone and iPad? Price is $3.99, but a free issue is included in that price! It's awesome to read FSM on the iPad, so why not give it a try?!
Fighting Spirit Magazine App is downloadable here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fighting-spirit-magazine/id406350122?mt=8
Match Results:
1) Kevin Sullivan (w/Dave Sullivan in his corner) defeated Cactus Jack in a 'Loser Leaves WCW' match ('WCW Fall Brawl 1994' pay-per-view event: Roanoke, Virgina - 18/09/94).
2) Mankind defeated Bob Holly ('WWF Monday Night Raw' live: San Bernardino, California - 01/04/96).
3) Mankind defeated Triple H (w/Chyna in his corner) in a Cage Match ('WWF Summerslam 1997' pay-per-view event: East Rutherford, New Jersey - 03/08/97).
4) Mick Foley defeated Terry Funk in a No Holds Barred match ('WWF Raw Is War': Richmond, Virginia - taped on 28/04/98, aired on 04/05/98).
5) Mankind defeated Carlito ('WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005' pay-per-view event: San Diego, California: 01/11/05).
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