A Month after the unforgettable debut of the Big Red Machine at Bad Blood, the deranged in his own right - Mankind becomes Kane's first opponent at Survivor Series '97. While this may have been Kane's first official match, for those first few weeks since arriving in WWF Kane was leaving carnage in the ring every time he showed up.
Fun fact: Kane was given a special "eerie" red light during his first few appearances much like Sin Cara's, well, Sin Cara botch lights.
While I would normally honor the new WWE World Heavyweight champ (for more than 24 hours this time), Daniel Bryan for his glorious victory over not one but three former champions last night, I have decided to give the debut of the day to Brock Lesnar... the beast who conquered the Undertaker's Wrestlemania undefeated streak.
I'm not going to say if I enjoyed last night's match or not, but the streak ending was the last thing I thought would happen at Wrestlemania. But it is what it is, "The Next Big Thing" Brock Lesnar is now the 1 in 21-1 among all those other accomplishments he has over the years from Amateur Wrestling to Pro Wrestling to Foot-- to MMA.
Anyways, here's Brock Lesnar's first official WWF/E televised match at Backlash 2002 against Jeff Hardy - winner gets Lita's thongs. Excuse me, I mean the "2014 Hall of Famer" Amy Dumas's thongs.
Razor Ramon vs. Paul Van Dow - WWF Superstars (1992)
In honor of Scott Hall getting clean thanks to DDP and his yoga system and can now be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Looks like they'll be renaming it the Scott Hall of Fame... or, more accurately, the Thank You DDP for Saving Jake Roberts and Scott Hall of Fame.
Anyways, here he is as "the Bad Guy" Razor Ramon, oozing machismo for the first time ever on WWF TV.
The Rockabilly & Jesse James vs. Los Boricuas (Jesus Castillo & Jose Estrada, Jr.) - Shotgun Saturday Night (1997)
YOU better call somebody; because it happened. Before the New Age Outlaws where crotch-chopping their way to 5 tag team championships, plus the one they got almost 14 years later this weekend, they were just two guys with actual outlaw-like gimmicks. It might sound cool at first, but when I say "outlaw", I really just mean "cowboy" and there was also some Honky Tonk Man, country bumpkin nonsense to it, too. While The Rockabilly (that was pre-Ass Man/Mr. Ass/Bad Ass Billy Gunn), and Jesse James (previously The Roadie/Double J and Pre-Road Dogg) made an appearance here together under the guidance of the Honky Tonk Man himself, this team was not yet assembled on the main show, Monday Night Raw. No, it wasn't until a few weeks after this match (featuring two halves of the Puerto Rican gang, Los Boricuas) that The Rockabilly and Jesse James would be seen again, this time cracking HTM's skull with his own guitar.
The 30-man Royal Rumble Match for the WWF Championship - Royal Rumble (1992)
Considered by some as the greatest Royal Rumble match, the 1992 30-man battle royal was unique in that it was not just for a chance to take on the WWF Champion down the line, but a chance to immediately win the championship upon survival. It might sound easy enough, but with 29 other men, some of which never getting this opportunity again, it made for quite an all or nothing situation.
Watch this colorful spectacle before tuning in to the Royal Rumble tonight or watch this instead, either way watch this for one of the greatest Royal Rumble moments of all time. Enjoy!
The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz - Tag Team Tables match - Royal Rumble (2000)
From my favorite Royal Rumble comes the double tables match between the red-hot team of The Hardy Boyz and Big Daddy Dudley's baby boys, The Dudley Boyz. These two teams along with Edge and Christian were redefining the tag division like no one else during this time and the desire to put each others' bodies on the line seemed to be the theme that went along with every match. This match was also an early precursor to the teams unforgettable TLC series as all three types of hardware was used during this non stop car crash.
I would also like to point out that the Swanton Bomb spot Jeff Hardy performs at the end of the match was later used again in another tag team tables match that was this time a six-man elimination with Jeff Hardy on the same team as Bubba Ray. The match also happened to take place at Madison Square Garden just as this match did three years prior.
Mae Young vs. Fabulous Moolah - WWF Smackdown! (1999)
Today Mae Young passed away after being misreported that she had passed away almost a week ago.
While there is very little footage of Mae Young in her prime, I think it's very appropriate to honor Mae by showing her work that she did with Fabulous Moolah back in 1999 anyway. Mae Young will forever be remembered as that fearless and tough old lady that took bumps off the stage onto tables, called the PG Divas of today sluts, and gave birth to a hand.
I actually had the chance to see Mae Young wrestle at an indy show when I was younger and I was certain that she was going to wrestle well into her 100's. Still, 90 years old is pretty damn good.
Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels - No Holds Barred match for the WWF Championship - In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies (1996)
Today, Canadian wrestling legend, Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon passed away at age 84. Maurice, along with being part of the Vachon family, was also a multiple time heavyweight champion in AWA and WWE Hall of Famer. No disrespect to the man what-so-ever, but - despite all these accolades and accomplishments and rivalries with guys like The Crusher or Dick the Bruiser - I will always remember him most for his participation in the Diesel/Michaels match at In Your House 7 in 1996.
The match between Diesel and his former tag team partner, Shawn Michaels is a notable match in of itself as it serves as the last match that Kevin Nash ever played the character of Diesel in WWF before jumping ship to WCW (not counting a couple of years ago where Nash was dressed in the Diesel gear during his Royal Rumble return). The match was also a "No Holds Barred" match for Michaels' WWF championship and the first PPV or televised match Mad Dog Vachon ever got involved in. Well, a part of him got involved at least. See, Mad Dog Vachon was just a spectator in the audience that night until Diesel got out of the ring mid-match and threw the 67 year old man over the guardrail. Diesel then grabbed at Vachon's leg and ripped it off revealing an artificial leg that Vachon had from losing his real leg in a hit-and-run accident. That's when Diesel took Vachon's prosthetic leg and brought it into the ring to use against Michaels.
Unfortunately for Diesel, the leg was snagged away from him by the Heart Break Kid - who ended up using it to tune up the band and harness super "Mad Dog" powers for a devastating Sweet Chin Music. So devastating in fact that Kevin Nash was never seen in the WWE again until 2002. In a way, one could argue that it was the power of Mad Dog Vachon (and his fake leg) that drove Kevin Nash away all along.
Bret and Owen Hart vs. Well Dunn - WWF Wrestling Challenge (1993)
This week I was looking to see if there were any matches that took place on my birthday. This match between the Hart Brothers and Well Dunn (Timothy Well & Steven Dunn) was the closest match I could find that was at least aired around by birthday (dated November 14th). This match was probably one of the first times that Bret and Owen Hart teamed together on WWF television in a build up for the Hart Family vs. Jerry Lawler match at Survivor Series. You know, the Hart/Lawler match at Survivor Series that never happened. You know, that match that turned into the Hart Family vs. Shawn Michaels and a bunch of jobbers dressed as knights.
Anyways, he's a nice little piece of history from the first day of my life.
David Jericho vs. Taka Michinoku - WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (1998)
WWF Light Heavyweight champion, Taka Michinoku takes on a newcomer by the name of David Jericho in a non-title match for the Heat of Saturday Nights, Shotgun Saturday Night. David performed on and off with WWF at house shows and in dark matches until breaking both of his ankles during a match with Too Cool in 1999. After recovering, David, real name David Cash, returned to ECW where he started out and brought with him a new gimmick as a Kid Rock look-a-like. Thus, Kid Kash was born.
Kid Kash would eventually get a full contract deal with the WWE in 2005, but the David Jericho character did not make a comeback. Apparently WWE already had a "Jericho" on the roster this time and didn't need another one running around.
Battle Kat vs. Bob Bradley - WWF Wrestling Challenge (1990)
I guess you could say that Battle Kat's TV debut against jobber, Bob Bradley was less than purrfect, as Mr. Kat (played by Dean peters) never made if much further than this match and one more on Wrestling Challenge defeating Paul Diamond.
Still, I always wonder what could have been of the almighty Battle Kat.
Fun(ish) fact: Dean Peters previously played Brady Boone, a character that was originally the cousin of Billy Jack Haynes in kayfabe.
Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels - Intercontinental title ladder match - Summerslam (1995)
Since today is Night of Champions (an "all WWE titles on the line" themed PPV) and the IC title will not be on the line, I've decided to post a match where it is. I'm not gonna complain about how the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship is lost today and the man holding the title right now - who happens to be the son of one of the greatest IC champion of all time - is on the card and not even defending it. I'm just gonna watch this match instead.
Along with this match being for the IC title, it was also a ladder match. And while ladder matches were still relatively new in the WWF, this was already Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels' second ladder match together. These two had climbed for the title earlier that year at Wrestlemania X. Compared to a lot of ladder matches we've seen over the years, this one may seem pretty tame - especially since the high spot was an addition of another ladder - but this match is really what set the bar for those ladder matches to come. It also set the trend for ladder matches at Summerslam. Look it up: there's a lot.
Say what you want about the two men in the ring, they worked amazingly together and were looking to steal the show. Granted, stealing the show from Diesel and Mabel doesn't sound too hard, they still stole it nevertheless.
Editor's note: There was an IC title match after all. It was added last minute to kill time and gave Kofi Kingston something to do since he was on the poster.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Rikishi - No Holds Bared match - WWF No Mercy (2000)
Almost a year went by where the WWF fans (now known as the WWE Universe, of course) did not see Stone Cold Steve Austin from late 1999 to 2000. The reason for this, in reality, was that Stone Cold's neck injury he had sustained from a botched piledriver in 1997 (which ultimately shortened his career) had worsened, forcing Austin to take some time off to recover. So how did the WWF write off the Texas Rattlesnake from television? Simple. They ran him over with a car.
But who done it? Well, that was a little more complex. As a full time watcher of all things WWF around this time, I was glued to the TV every week waiting to find out just who ran Stone Cold over. And while I had my suspensions (Triple H), I had no idea that the driver of the black car that hit Stone Cold in the parking lot at Survivor Series would be... Rikishi?
Rikishi admitted to taking out Austin almost a year later on Raw after his match that night. But why Rikishi why? Thus, the Rikishi meme was born... 'Kishi admits that "he did it for the Rock" and for all the Samoans who had been held down since the Rock's grandfather was in the business. Rikishi then admitted that, if he had the chance, he would easily run Austin over again!
In Stone Cold's first match to the ring in almost a year, he got his chance at revenge on the man who ran him down.. in a no holds barred, anything goes match at No Mercy in 2000. The match gets so heated that Stone Cold shoves Rikishi in the back on his beat-up pick up and drives him outside where he leaves the 400 pound man in a bloody mess laying on the side of the building. In the final eye for an eye confrontation, it looks like Stone Cold will run his truck into the lifeless Rikishi. But as he revs up the Stone Cold mobile, he instead runs into a police car! The match ends there with Stone Cold getting arrested and put in a police car.
Vintage Austin.
Theme Results
Returner: Stone Cold Steve Austin to get his revenge after being put on the shelf for almost a year via attempted vehicular manslaughter.
Waylon Mercy vs. Bill Weaver - WWF Superstars (1995)
Waylon Mercy, played by a former NWA/WCW and WWF wrestler, Dan Spivey, was a character inspired by Robert De Niro's Max Cady character from Scorsese remake of Cape Fear. The character would be Spivey's last run in WWF as well as wrestling all together due to the built-up injuries that he had sustained through the course of his 20 plus year career. Spivey as Mercy only lasted a few months with one PPV appearance and a few semi high profile matches with Bret Hart, Diesel, and his former American Starship partner, Scott Hall.
The character of Waylon Mercy may be long since gone and went, but the wrestling portrayal of De Niro's Max Cady persona now lives on in Bray Wyatt, who is soon to make his debut in the big leagues with his "family" any day now.
"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig vs. Mike Richards - WWF Wrestling Challenge (1988)
Curt Hennig might have had a small run back in the early 80's with WWF, but after jumping ship to AWA and making a name for himself as a top star and title holder, it was only a matter of time before he returned to the federation with a new attitude and the title of "Mr. Perfect".
Of course, Hennig would back up his perfect role not only in the ring but outside of it by doing sporty things perfectly with sporty famous people.
Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. Chyna - Good Housekeeping match for the Intercontinental title - No Mercy (1999)
In order to prove that Chyna was really a woman, Jeff Jarrett issued a special challenge to the "Ninth Wonder in the World" to put her female skills to the test. The challenge: a Good Housekeeping match. What exactly is a Good Housekeeping match, you ask? Clearly it is a match filled with any sort of object that could be found in the house that women might use. So yep, Jeff Jarrett tried to beat Chyna with everything... including the kitchen sink.
This match is pretty significant not only because it was the first ever match featuring a man and a woman fighting each other with household objects and no one got arrested for domestic abuse on PPV, it was also significant because it was the last WWF/E match for Jeff Jarrett (who was wrestling without a contract and technically wasn't a WWF superstar) and was also the first time that a female wrestle, yep Chyna, won the Intercontinental title or any other title that wasn't in a female division in the WWF/E!
Now, this Good Housekeeping match might sound a little ridiculous and the last hurrah of Vince Russo (who was also leaving for WCW at the time) on paper, but from the looks of the promo shown before the match, this was seemingly one of the better and more well put together rivalries of late-1999. Even if this match revolved around Jarrett trying to hit Chyna with "every household appliance known to woman".
While Jeff Jarrett has yet to step in a WWF/E ring since this match, he did have a run in with Chyna again a couple years back when Kurt Angle brought her out as his "mistress" tag team partner against Jarrett and Angle's former wife, Karen. However, this was after Chyna stopped wrestling and started doing porn instead. So...
Thanks TNA.
Theme results:
Final match: Jeff Jarrett in WWF/E
PS: There were so many jokes for this match and I just couldn't write them all down. My apologies.
Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw vs. Bob "Spark Plug" Holly - WWF Superstars (1996)
Before becoming a wealthy Fox News bigwig with a white cowboy hat, John Layfield was a rough and tough cowboy with Yosemite Sam as a manager. The JBL that I'm referring to is Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, and that Yosemite Sam character I'm referencing would be good ol' Uncle Zeb Cotler.
In Bradshaw's first match in the Fed, the relatively green Texan takes on Bob Holly, who at this point was not called "Sparky" but was no where near "Hardcore". Holly does a good job of getting Bradshaw over while Bradshaw showed that someday, say eight years from this match, he could have a run with the World title.
Bradshaw's time as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, while short, had a few high points including his eight second match with Fatu, his gimmick of branding his initials into his opponents bodies after matches, and his strap match against Savio Vega. I guess it's also worth noting that both Bradshaw and Jack Swagger have had Zeb (Dutch Mantel) Colter as managers and both had some sort of anti-immigrant gimmick. See: JBLKicksOutIllegalImmigrants.avi.
Here's another great gimmick match from 90's era WrestleMania:
Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie vs. The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Road Dogg) - first ever Dumpster match for the WWF tag team championship - WrestleMania XIV (1998)
Oh yes, the dumpster match!
After Chainsaw Charlie AKA 53 year old Terry Funk and his tag team partner, Cactus Jack were sent for a ride in a dumpster courtesy of the New Age Outlaws on Raw, the hardcore legends were certainly looking for revenge. So, what better way to get their revenge than by taking on the two young punks, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg, in a special match featuring the very same type of trash container that Foley and Funk almost had their careers come to a crashing end in when they were pushed off the ramp on Raw 2 months prier. Despite the titles being on the line in this match, this wasn't about winning the gold for the hardcore legends. No, it was all about punishing Gunn and Road Dogg and then taking out the trash...
The result: Chainsaw Charlie and Cactus Jack do end up taking out the trash big time with the help of the trusty forklift! But because they used a dumpster in the backstage area rather than the designated one for the match, the New Age Outlaws lobbied for the titles to be dropped. So, the next night on Raw the titles were contested in a cage match with the two teams from the dumpster match facing off one last time. The match ended with the New Age Outlaws getting their titles back thanks to the help of their new brotherhood: D-Generation X!
And yes, Mick Foley does take a huge bump, this time in the form of a ladder spot into the dumpster. There was no need for the ladder in this match other than for Foley to take a nasty bump from a high place once again.
Jerry Lynn vs. Crash Holly - Light Heavyweight title match - WWF Sunday Night Heat (Backlash pre-show) (2001)
In honor of Jerry Lynn, one of the most underrated workers in wrestling, calling it quits for real this time last Saturday night, here's a little gem of him during his short stint in WWF after making a name for himself in ECW...
In Jerry Lynn's first match on WWF television, the New F'N Show challenged Crash Holly for his Light Heavyweight belt. And won.
Crash Holly, an already 11 time Hardcore champion by this time showed that he could also wrestle without weapons (or his cousin Bob) as he held his own pretty well in this precursor to the Cruiserweight Division in WWE type match. Unfortunately for Crash however, Lynn got the better of him and ended his one time reign as Light Heavyweight champ via a quick roll-up and a little help from tights.
Lynn would go on to hold the title from April until June of that year before dropping the belt to Jeff Hardy on Smackdown! Lynn didn't get much air-time on WWF other than that and some dark matches and matches on Heat with Rob Van Dam (who he has had countless solid matches with) and even a young debuting Chris Daniels.
Props to WWF for letting Paul Heyman talk up Jerry Lynn during this match - including amention of Lynn's early feud in GWF with "X-Pac" (who was The Lightning Kid at the time) in the early 90's.
Bonus: In Jerry Lynn's retirement match facing off against Horace the Psychopath, JB Task, and Sean "X-Pac" Waltman, Waltman supposedly tore open his anus performing his signature Bronco Buster. I shit you not! It's even on Wikipedia... check it out.
Spectators had no idea that Waltman was hurt; they thought that he was crying after the match because Jerry Lynn is now retired.
