Match of the Day - Ken Shamrock looks to massacre Val Venis on Valentine's Day '99

Val Venis vs. Ken Shamrock - Intercontinental title match - St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House (1999)



Nothing says St. Valentine's Day like beating up an adult film star who's infatuated with your sister.

Since no WWF Official would referee this match, as it was too much for even Senior Official Earl Hebner to handle, a special someone had to step up to the task of reffing this very attitudinal era match. That special someone was Mr. Ass Billy Gunn who wasn't doing anything to begin with, so hey, might as well throw him in the mix to add to this already sexually charged match.

From WWF's one and only PPV themed after the 1929 Al Capone conspired 7-man massacre.

Match of the Day - Owen Hart fights Ken Shamrock in his own house!

Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock - Stu Hart's Dungeon match - WWF Fully Loaded: In Your House (1998)

The Black Hart takes on The World's Most Dangerous Man in the closest thing to home field advantage in this 1998 gem from Fully Loaded. Not only was this match held in Stu Hart's "Dungeon" where many great superstars learned the way of wrestling, it was also a submission match featuring the referee duties of Dan Severn just to add to the uniqueness of this forgotten match.

Wrestling fans always heard about this Dungeon, but few had ever seen it. Turns out this training facility once operated by the Hart family was just a basement with a tarp over the ground. Guess all those stories about how tough and enduring the Dungeon was - adding in the Stu Hart screaming in your face factor -  were pretty accurate.

Theme Results

Non-ring: Stu Hart's Dungeon

Match of the Day - The one where Mankind wrestles in a tux

Hardcore Wednesday:

Mankind (c) vs. Ken Shamrock - First ever Hardcore Title match Raw (1998)

In Mankind's first defense as the Hardcore Champion, a title awarded to him by Mr. McMahon, against Ken Shamrock the Intercontinental champ at the time, Mankind, believing he was now corporate material dons a new tuxedo for this fine occasion.

Of course, like Ken Shamrock who uses his own body as a weapon, Mankind uses much of his attire to attack Ken Shamrock in this anything goes, falls count anywhere match.

All in all, this is a good introduction to the hardcore title. While there wasn't a lot of weapons and gimmick-y hardcore stunts pulled (other than Mankind beating Shamrock with his own shoes), this match and it's hardcore-ness relies heavily on the fact that these two characters are hardcore themselves. Both were also deranged which helped a great deal as well.

Later down the line, Hardcore title defenses in WWF became a lot more of a quick and easy treat for the audience. Especially with the introduction of  weapons and the 24/7 rule that was later adapted to the title, things got a little more easier for wrestlers who weren't naturally brutal or straight-up "hardcore" like Mankind and Ken Shamrock were. It is still always fun to watch all the interesting twists and spots wrestlers pulled when the 24/7 - or just the fact that they could go anywhere to win it - rule was around.

Good stuff.