This episode features matches from Toroto’s Maple Leaf
Gardens, with a cool ramp to the ring adding a bit to the matches.
Adrian Adonis vs Danny Spivey
The early parts of this are all about Adonis’ selling. Even
at this stage of his career, he takes a 360 spin from a Spivey shoulderblock
and then comically stumbles from the ring. Spivey really brings the early parts
down with a loooong headlock sequence. Hart and Spivey conspire to blow a trip
spot. I like that neither guy is afraid to bump on the hard entrance ramp, but
there seem to be a few communication issues – Spivey’s running bearhug didn’t
look like a move he was going for. The end sees Spivey slam Adonis from the top
rope, but Adonis rolls through into a cradle for the win.
Tiger Chung Lee vs Don Kolov
Bizarrely, I’ve only heard of Kolov for the first time today
thanks to the Santino Marella “Where are they now?” WWE video, where he has the
“Don Kolov Arena” as part of his training academy. This does nothing to further
his legacy, as this is a jobber vs jobber match with neither guy doing anything
to suggest they deserved a better spot on the card. Both guys get booed due to
their foreign-sounding names, though Kolov is supposed to be the face. This is
really slow, though Kolov shows a little fire on his comeback. Chung Lee gets
the win with the move of the match, a nice jumping tombstone.
Bret Hart vs Jim Brunzell
This is the first of two “Hart Foundation vs Killer Bees”
matches on this card. Being in Canada, Bret gets a minor pop and Brunzell
actually comes off as a bit heelish as he smacks Bret’s leg into the ringpost.
Bret takes over after breaking a figure four attempt with an eye poke, before
working over Brunzell with a headlock spot. Unlike Spivey, Hart can actually
make this spot interesting, allowing Brunzell to come close to breaking it,
before a hair pull sends him back down again. Brunzell fires back with a shitty
weak clothesline before pummelling Bret with some close punches to the face.
Bret fires back and crotches him on the top rope….for a DQ? Terrible ending to
a fun match.
Jim Neidhart vs B Brian Blair
This is worked as strength vs speed, with Blair frustrating
Neidhart with his movement. Like the Bret match, Neidhart decides to work a
long chinlock section, though not as cleverly. Also like the Bret match, a
Killer Bee works a bit heelish and actually gets booed as he grinds Neidhart’s
eyes over the top rope. Neidhart goes for a shoulder charge and Blair evades it
with a sunset flip for the win. This was fine.
There’s a “classic” midget match shown, but it’s clipped and
it’s shit, so we’ll skip past it.
Scott McGee vs Johnny K-9
This starts poorly with McGee working the arm in an
uniteresting way, but it soon picks up with good effort from both guys. This is
a nice contrast from Chung Lee/Kolov, as two lower card guys try and win over
the crowd with their work. Liked K-9’s diving headbutt and I dug the strange
chokeslam/STO type move McGee hits. McGee throws a string of nice uppercuts and
hits a German suplex to win. This was short, but I liked both guys more coming
out of it than going in.
Hoss & Jimmy Jack Funk vs George Wells & Lanny Poffo
My happiness at seeing a Funks match promised is instantly dissipated
by the presence of Jimmy Jack instead of Terry. The faces frustrate the Funk
team early, until Jimmy Jack knees Wells in the back during a criss-cross. Nice
teaming by the Funks – even when Wells breaks a sleeper with a jawbreaker on
Jimmy Jack, he’s still able to reach for the tag with his arm hooked around
Wells’ neck. Poffo gets the hot tag and shows some nice energy, but he’s soon
face in peril. Dory makes the most of the entrance ramp, suplexing Poffo
outside from the apron, dropping him on the ramp in a form of brainbuster. Wells
gets the hot tag, and shows nice strength, catching a Jimmy Jack crossbody into
a backbreaker. However, he misses a corner splash, flying headfirst into the
turnbuckle, and Jimmy Jack hits a powerslam for the win. Pretty decent stuff,
though it’d still have been preferable to see Terry instead of the fake Funk.
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