Colling It In The Ring Reviews: WWF House Show 5/7/1994

World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 5/7/1994
From: Yokohama, Japan

Opening Contest: Rick Martel vs. 1-2-3 Kid: Kid is able to get out of some mat wrestling to star the match and controls Martel with a side headlock and hammerlock briefly before letting go. Martel has a side headlock on Kid for a few moments but Kid tries to counter a top wristlock before flipping out of it and arm drags Martel, followed by a stand off. Knee lift by Martel and a back elbow as Kid comes off the ropes. After a few moments of the camera guy messing up with the camera, Martel has the Boston Crab on Kid but isn’t able to put Kid away as Kid reaches the bottom rope. Kid arm drags Martel followed by a series of kicks in the corner. Running dropkick by Kid in the corner and heads to the top rope. Kid connects with a twisting cross body for a two count. Northern lights suplex by Kid for another near fall on Martel. Kid heads to the top rope but misses a somersault dive. Martel is able to capitalize and locks in the Boston Crab for the win. *¼: A quick opener with only a few decent spots in the mix. The Boston Crab on this show looked pretty good. It’s a random comment, I know, but Martel looked to put on the hold very well. I can’t properly judge crowd reactions since the Japanese fans are very respectful and quiet for most matches.

Second Contest: Tatanka vs. Jinsei Shinzaki: Wristlock by Tatanka before switching to a side headlock to control Shinzaki. Tatanka comes off the ropes and shoulder blocks Shinzaki. Shinzaki nails Tatanka with a standing dropkick for a two count. Shinzaki is taken over by Tatanka with a hip toss. Scoop slam and a standing elbow drop by Tatanka which causes Shinzaki to roll to the floor. Tatanka chops Shinzaki on the apron but misses a right hand. Shinzaki walks the top rope before simply punching Tatanka. Shinzaki scoop slams Tatanka and heads to the top rope connecting with a flying head butt for only a one count. They begin to trade right hands but Tatanka gets the upper hand with a kick and several more overhand strikes. Clothesline by Tatanka for a two count. Inside cradle by Tatanka for another near fall. Shinzaki kicks Tatanka to regain control and plants Tatanka with a back suplex for a two count. Tatanka battles back connecting with a back suplex of his own but isn’t able to get a three count. Tatanka dropkicks Shinzaki and drops Shinzaki with a vertical suplex for a two count. Shinzaki strikes Tatanka several times in the corner to regain the advantage before scoop slamming Tatanka and leaping off the middle rope splashing Tatanka. Tatanka delivers a few chops but is sent into the corner by Shinzaki but Tatanka begins to go on a War Path. Tatanka chops Shinzaki several times and plants Shinzaki with a Samoan Drop to win the contest. *¾: For both introductions for the next match, the fans gave some pretty good ovations. Tatanka is quite popular in Japan, apparently. Shinzaki would later become Hakushi who competed in the WWF for roughly two years from 1995-1996. The match was alright, but Tatanka didn’t seem to be on his A game. Some of Shinzaki spots were weird, like walking the ropes just to punch his opponent. Fans were into it, though.

Third Contest: WWF World Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers vs the Smoking Gunns for the titles Billy and Samu start off the contest with Samu shoving Billy away as they lock up. Samu taunts the fans after displaying his strength. Samu chops Billy several times but is drop toe hold down by Billy who connects with a dropkick to get the upper hand. Samu lands on top of Billy on a sunset flip attempt and they power up on a cover attempt. Billy gets a two count on a backslide attempt but Samu battles back with a few right hands and chops. Fatu tags in and head butts Billy. Scoop slam by Fatu but misses a elbow drop coming off the ropes. Billy arm drags Fatu and tags in Bart who comes off the top rope with a double axe handle. Fatu shoulder blocks Bart and goes for a scoop slam but is rolled up by Bart a two count. Bart dropkicks Fatu and works on Fatu’s arm briefly with a arm lock. Fatu backs Bart into a corner but doesn’t do anything with the advantage. Bart attempts a monkey flip but Fatu shoves Bart down to the canvas. Bart regains the advantage with a arm bar, though. Billy tags into the bout and continues to work on Fatu with a wristlock. Fatu with a big clothesline on Billy, but Bart clotheslines Fatu and Samu decides to enter and clothesline Bart! Samu tags in to work on Bart with a side slam for a two count. Samu and Bart trade a few shots with Samu getting the upper hand and tagging out to Fatu. Bart is dumped to the floor and Billy attacks Fatu briefly. Samu rams Bart groin first into the ring post! Fatu catapults Bart throat first into the bottom rope and Samu nails Bart with a forearm shot on the floor behind the referees back. Fatu knee lifts Bart off the apron and Bart crashes down to the floor. Samu gets another shot in on Bart by crotching Bart on the guard railing! Bart blocks a back drop from Fatu with a whiplash and connects with a DDT but Fatu isn’t affected. Fatu super kicks Bart and tags out to Samu. Samu plants Bart with a pile driver but doesn’t go for the cover. Instead, Samu leaps off the middle rope and misses a flying head butt. Billy and Fatu get tags with Billy back dropping Fatu and connecting with a few dropkicks. Billy works on Fatu in the corner with a few punches and clothesline Samu off the middle rope. Billy rams the champs into each other but fails and is met with a double head butt and clothesline. Double face plant by the champs on Billy and Fatu heads to the top rope but is crotched by Bart on the floor. Billy rolls Samu up and nearly wins the match! Billy is kicked from behind as he ran the ropes by Fatu. Samu connects with a super kick and pins Billy to retain the titles. ***: Good tag title match between the Headshrinkers and Smoking Gunns. Those two tag teams have been putting on some good matches on the house market in 1994. Crowd ate up the match, again. Shockingly, they are showing some enthusiasm which must mean the opener just wasn’t good for them.
After the match, the Gunns get some measure of revenge by hitting the champs with the belts and pose for the crowd.

Before the match, Dink sprays Hirai with water.

Fourth Contest: Doink the Clown vs. Nobukazu Hirai: Hirai attempts a wristlock but a fake arm Doink is wearing pops off. Arm drag by Hirai to open the match but doesn’t follow up. Hirai hip tosses Doink and is punched by Dink from behind. Hirai yanks on Doink’s arm for a few moments but is shoulder blocked by Doink. Doink sends Hirai to the floor and taunts Hirai with Dink. Doink has a arm bar on Hirai and allows Dink to get some offense in. Doink keeps control of the contest by working on Hirai’s arm. Hirai blocks a backdrop with a right hand and connects with a clothesline. Hirai has a sleeper hold on Doink but that doesn’t last long. Doink rolls through and gets out of the hold. About thirty seconds later, Doink hits the Whoopee Cushion and wins the bout. *

Fifth Contest: Bull Nakano vs. WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze in a non-title match: Blayze with a quick hurricanrana early on but they have a stand off afterwards. Test of strength is won by Nakano, as expected. Nakano kicks Blayze and delivers a clothesline followed by scoop slam. Blayze knocks Nakano off the middle rope and connects with a cross body off the top to the floor! Blayze and Nakano trade covers but each women get near falls. Nakano has a modified leg lock on Blayze and pulls the champion up for a few moments for extra leverage. Nakano simply lets go and switches to a chin lock for a brief amount of time. Blayze battles back with punches and leaping kick before managing to lock in a Boston Crab. Nakano is able to reach the bottom rope pretty quick. Blayze with a few more kicks but is stopped by a clothesline. Vertical suplex by Nakano for a two count. Nakano slows down the match with a sleeper but Blayze counters with one of her own. Blayze has a body scissors on Nakano for a few moments. Nakano gets out of it but runs into a spinning heel kick and Blayze gets a two count. Blayze botches a snap suplex but still gets a near fall. Nakano clotheslines Blayze and plants Blayze with a power bomb for a two count. Nakano has a weapon and starts to hit Blayze, which is legal apparently. Another power bomb by Nakano for a near fall. Blayze stops Nakano on the top rope and connects with a superplex for a two count. Several standing sidekicks by Blayze and a northern lights suplex for a two count. Nakano comes off the ropes connecting with a clothesline and scoop slams the champ. Nakano leaps off the top connecting with a leg drop but isn’t able to get a three count. Nakano misses a top rope moonsault and Blayze connects with a German suplex for a near fall. Blayze misses a dropkick off the middle rope and is scoop slammed by Nakano. Nakano nails Blayze with a nice somersault leg drop to win the bout! **: Nakano/Blayze had a couple of botches but their was still some good action in there. The fans didn’t like Blayze all that much, which is to be expected considering her opponent was Nakano. I thought the finish was pretty cool as I didn’t expect Nakano to deliver a somersault leg drop.

Sixth Contest: Owen Hart vs. Masashi Aoyagi: Aoyagi starts off with a leaping kick to Hart’s midsection. Hart comes off the ropes and nails Aoyagi with a spinning heel kick. Aoyagi recovers and has a wristlock on art for a few moments. Hart gets out of the hold and takes Aoyagi down getting a arm bar on his opponent. Aoyagi reaches the bottom rope to break the hold. Hart with a drop toe hold and controls Aoyagi with some mat wrestling. Hart manages to get a arm bar on Aoyagi again but lets go. Aoyagi with a few kicks and drops Hart with a right hand. Aoyagi has a head scissors on Hart but Hart is able to rollover and pops out of the hold to get a side headlock on Aoyagi. Aoyagi battles out of the hold with right hands and nails Hart with a standing spin kick. Aoyagi with a series of kicks to knock Hart down and gets a near fall. Aoyagi has a nerve hold on Hart very briefly and goes back to right hands and kicks until Hart blocks a kick and connects with a dragon screw leg whip. Aoyagi misses a kick but uses his free leg to knock Hart back down to the mat. Aoyagi with more kicks and signals for the end. Hart ducks a kick and clotheslines Aoyagi. Hart locks in the Sharpshooter and wins the bout. *¼

Seventh Contest: Adam Bomb vs. Bob Backlund: Long story short, Bomb counters a vertical suplex attempt with a inside cradle. The match was mainly stalling and mat wrestling on Backlund’s part. Who wants to watch or in this case read about that? I sure don’t. 1/2*

Eighth Contest: the Undertaker/Genichiro Tenryu vs.Yokozuna/Bam-Bam Bigelow: All four men have a stare down with the heels backing off, eventually. Tenryu jabs Bigelow behind the referees back but nothing happens. Bigelow and Tenryu end up starting the match. Bigelow with a quick standing dropkick and scoop slam for a two count. Another scoop slam by Bigelow for another two count. Bigelow shoulder blocks Tenryu and stomps away on Tenryu briefly. Tenryu clotheslines Bigelow and kicks Bigelow through the middle rope to the floor. Bigelow quickly enters the ring and tags in Yoko who gets a few right hands in. Yoko misses a clothesline and is met with a few clotheslines from Tenryu. Tenryu elbow smashes Yoko and Yoko falls to the floor. Yoko head butts Tenryu and bites his forehead. Yoko scoop slams Tenryu and Bigelow leaps off the top rope, missing a head butt. Tenryu with a boot to the side of the head and chops Bigelow several times. Tenryu scoop slams Bigelow and heads to the top rope connecting with a backward elbow drop for a near fall as Yoko broke up the pin attempt. Bigelow comes off the ropes and both men collide and fall down to the canvas. Yoko and Taker get tags with Taker hammering away on Yoko until Yoko falls to the floor. Taker follows to the floor and rams Yoko into the guard railing. Taker continues with several throat thrusts back in the ring to knock Yoko down. Bigelow tags in and is greeted with right hands and boots in the corner. Bigelow is sent hard back first into the corner but gets a boot up and clotheslines Taker. Bigelow follows up with several falling head butts but Taker gets up and continues to punch Bigelow. Taker connects with a choke slam but only gets a two count as Yoko breaks up the count. Taker tags in Tenryu who is slammed by Bigelow as he came off the ropes. Bigelow covers but only manages a two count. Bigelow tags in Yoko who stomps away on Tenryu and delivers a few clubbing blows. Yoko slows down the match with a nerve hold for a few moments. Bigelow tags back in and slams Tenryu followed by a falling head butt to Tenryu’s arm. Bigelow stomps away on Tenryu in the corner before connecting with a scoop slam and tagging in Yoko. Yoko connects with a quick leg drop! Yoko keeps the match to a slow pace with a nerve hold before connecting with a leg drop for a near fall as Taker breaks up the pin. Bigelow tags back in and along with Yoko work on Tenryu’s left arm. Bigelow snap mares Tenryu and has a arm bar locked in. Bigelow keeps control of the contest with several strike and barely hits Tenryu with a leaping kick. Yoko tags in and clubs away on Tenryu several times. Bigelow enters and splashes Tenryu. Yoko attempts a splash but accidentally splashes Bigelow! Taker gets the hot tag and hammers away on Bigelow and Yoko. All four men are in the ring with the baby faces having the advantage. Bigelow and Yoko are tossed into each other. Tenryu misses a spear attempt and falls to the floor, eventually. Bigelow and Yoko double team Taker but miss a clothesline. Taker nails Yoko with a leaping clothesline as Bigelow brawls with Tenryu on the floor. Taker plants Yoko with a jumping DDT! Bigelow has Mr. Fuji’s cane but is cut off by Taker before he can get in the ring. Yoko connects with a side belly to belly suplex on Taker. Yoko taunts the fans but Taker gets up and goes a choke slam but Yoko regains control with right hands. Bigelow accidentally nails Yoko with the cane and Taker manages to pick up the win. **¾: The co-main event tag team match was a pretty decent contest. May have gone on for a little too long but their was some good action throughout. Perhaps a weak finish, but I wouldn’t expect Taker to choke slam or even tombstone Yoko for that matter.

Vice President JJ Dillon comes out and has a special statement from Vince McMahon. Dillon basically thanks everyone for helping out with the event.

Main Event: WWF World Champion Bret Hart vs. Randy Savage for the title: They lock up and Hart backs Savage into a corner where Hart cleanly breaks away. Savage arm drags Hart and plays to the crowd. Savage arm drags Hart again and keeps control with a arm bar until Hart counters with a wristlock and arm drags Savage over. Hart with a few knee drops to Savage’s left arm. Savage attempts a arm drag but Hart keeps the hold on Savage. Hart has a hammerlock on Savage for a few moments and gets a near fall on a rollup. Savage gets to his feet but is met with a shoulder block. Hart continues to control the contest with a hammerlock until Savage reaches the bottom rope. Savage and Hart trade wristlocks until Hart takes Savage over with a arm drag. Hart goes back to a hammerlock and trips Savage. Savage reaches the bottom rope and bails to the floor. Hart holds the middle rope to allow Savage back in. Savage wants to shake hands but ends up kicking Hart in the midsection! Savage yanks Hart down by the hair for a two count. Hart attempts a top wristlock but Savage yanks Hart back down to the mat. Hart tries to elbow out of a sleeper hold but Savage brings Hart back down to the mat with a sleeper. Hart attempts to elbow out and does. Hart shoulder blocks Savage but runs into a knee lift and Savage gets a two count. Savage goes back to a sleeper hold for a few moments. Hart elbows out and sunset flips Savage for a two count. Savage recovers and clotheslines Hart for a two count. Hart goes behind Savage but is dumped to the floor. Savage punches Hart and leaps off the top rope nailing Hart with a double axe handle to the back! Savage pulls Hart up to the apron only to knock Hart back down to the floor with a right hand. Savage sends Hart shoulder first into the post and taunts the fans back in the ring. Savage goes up top and leaps off connecting with another double axe handle, this time in the ring for a two count. Savage sends Hart hard back first into the corner and eye rakes Hart to keep control of the contest. Savage inside cradles Hart but only gets a two count. Savage works on Hart in the corner with several right hands. Savage chokes Hart over the top rope and drops down to the floor for added impact. Savage with a snap suplex and gets a near fall on a cocky cover. Hart kicks and punches Savage in the corner but is sent into a corner. Savage charges but runs into a big boot. Hart sends Savage over the top to the floor and connects with a slingshot cross body. Hart drops Savage across the guard railing before sending the challenger back into the ring. Hart atomic drops Savage and follows up with a clothesline for at two count. Savage has been busted open. Hart takes Savage over with a snap suplex for another near fall. Backbreaker by Hart and leaps off the middle rope only to miss a elbow drop. Savage drops Hart with a swinging neck breaker. Savage slams Hart and heads to the top rope. Savage leaps off and connects with the flying elbow drop! Savage covers but Hart manages to kick out! Savage leaps off the top again but is punched in midair. Hart with a quick side Russian leg sweep and locks in the Sharpshooter to retain the title! ***½: A very good main event between Hart and Savage to close out the show. Surprised to see Savage turn heel for a portion of the match, but honestly, it made the match that much better. If that didn’t happen, the fans would have been rooting for Savage because he appeared to be more popular that Hart. But, once the heel turn happened, the fans got behind Hart instead. This was the last good match that Savage would have in the WWF. Mainly because Vince McMahon refused to use Savage properly.
After the match, Savage and Hart shake hands. They embrace and Savage returns to being a good guy.

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The 411: Overall, two good tag team matches and a very good main event. So, that is three good matches out of nine. Hart and Savage may be a borderline must see, but that is just the inner Savage mark of me wanting to praise him. The World Title match is the only real recommend match from this show.
Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]