From the Bowery: WrestleMania XI

Posted by Robert Leighty Jr. on 04.06.2009

Vince banks on celebrities and the results aren't great.

From the Bowery: WrestleMania XI
-April 2, 1995
-Hartford, CT

-We ended WrestleMania X with Bret Hart winning the WWF Title and being put over as the man in the company. Shawn and Razor stole the show with their innovative ladder match, but it was Shawn’s bodyguard in that match that got the monster title reign in the fall. Bret’s second reign as champion ended almost the same as his first. He lost the gold to Bob Backlund at Survivor Series, and just a few days later Bob was squashed by Diesel in 8 seconds. Once again Bret looked weak as the guy who beat him for the title was squashed in their first title defense. The WWF was now running on Diesel fuel as McMahon had visions of the big man as his new generation version of Hogan. He rolled to WrestleMania to face Shawn Michaels (who just won the super accelerated version of the Rumble). Bret was scheduled to finish things with Backlund, and while both were blow-offs to long running feuds, neither was given the Main Event spot. That honor went to Bam Bam Bigelow and NFL player Lawrence Taylor. Yes, Vince was that desperate.

-The opening video package alone tells who Vince was banging on to carry this show. We get an opening package where they recap each WrestleMania and the celebrities that appeared. No mention of Bigelow, Diesel, Michaels, Hart, Taker, etc. All about the celebrities baby!

-Announce Team: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

-A Special Olympian sings America the Beautiful

The Allied Powers (Luger and Bulldog) vs. Jacob and Eli Blu (w/ Uncle Zeb)

-Jacob and Eli would be Ron and Don Harris. All 4 men brawl to start the faces hit stereo powerslams. One Blu bails and the other eats a double back elbow. Things settle down to Bulldog and Jacob (for the sake of argument). Bulldog hits the delayed suplex to a nice pop. Crowds always liked that move. A blind tag is made to the other Blu, but Bulldog ducks a double clothesline attempt and takes both men out with his own clothesline. The twins take over after a cheap shot from the ring apron. Bulldog is your Englishman in peril. An ugly side suplex gets a two count for Eli (I think). The tag is made back to Jacob, and Bulldog eats a double boot. Bulldogs fires back and drops one to the floor with a clothesline. They pull the switch on the floor and the fresh twin drops Bulldog with a big boot. A blind charge eats nothing but a boot from the bulldog, and he crawls for the tag, but it gets cut off. Eli heads to the second ropes and misses an elbow drop. The hot tag is finally made to Luger. He fires off a knee-lift, and goes through his power offense (ie: powerslam, clothesline). He hits the flying forearm, but the pin is broken up by Jacob. All 4 men back in the ring, and in the chaos Jacob switches off with Eli. Things end rather quickly when the Bulldog comes off the top rope and gets a sunset flip for the pin @ 6:37.

Winners: The Allied Powers via pin @ 6:37
-Not the most exciting opener ever, but the crowd seemed ok with it. This was just your standard tag match, but it was way too short to really mean anything. *1/2

Intercontinental Title: Jeff Jarrett © (w/ Roadie) vs. Razor Ramon (w/ 1-2-3 Kid)

-A recap shows Ramon losing the title at the Rumble earlier in the year to Jarrett. Roadie is of course Jesse James. You actually have 2 future members of DX and 3 future members of the n.W.o in this match (The Kid being in both groups). Ramon charges the ring and slugs away on Jarrett. He bails to the floor and that gives Ramon time to do his pose with the pyro. Jarrett grabs a side headlock, but it doesn’t last long as Ramon breaks with some right hands. He sends Jarrett back to the floor with a nice clothesline. He regroups with the Roadie on the floor. Razor gets distracted, and Jarrett is able to get the advantage back in the ring. Again, it doesn’t last long as Ramon delivers more right hands. The Roadie gets knocked off the apron, and that sets-up the Razor’s Edge. The Roadie gets back to his feet and is able to pull Jarrett to the floor to break the hold. Jarrett has seen enough and starts to walk, but the Kid forces him back in the ring. A reversal to the buckles finally gets the advantage for Jarrett, but once again it’s only short lived. The Roadie takes more abuse as he is sent into the post, and Jarrett gets tossed back to the floor over the top rope. They head back inside and Jarrett hits a neckbreaker. He follows that with 2 dropkicks (nicely done) and we get the Fargo strut. Ramon gets whipped from one corner to the other. Jarrett tries an enziguiri, but Ramon ducks. Jarrett is a step ahead though and rolls away from an elbow. Jarrett tries a hiptoss, but Ramon reverses to a backslide for a two count. Jarrett beats Ramon to the punch again, and is able to lock in a sleeper. It doesn’t last long as Ramon pushes off, but Jarrett slams Ramon’s head to the mat. The crowd starts a tepid Razor chant while Jarrett goes to the chinlock. Again, doesn’t last long as Ramon hits a belly-to-back suplex to break. Both men are out, and once they get to their feet they collide center ring, and are out once again. They get back to the feet and each man throws a punch that connects, and once again both men are out. Ramon is able to crawl for a cover, but only gets a two count. More punching from Ramon, and he drops Jarrett with the fall-away slam for another two count. Razor distracts the ref as the Kid tries to take out the knee of Jarrett (what happened to Ramon at the Rumble), but he gets kicked into the railing. Razor tries a top rope bulldog, but misses and that injures the knee. This builds off their Rumble match where the Roadie took out Razor’s knee. Jarrett immediately takes advantage and locks in the figure four. The Roadie pulls on Jarrett’s arms to apply more pressure in a great heel spot. We need more of that in this day and age. The fans finally get going as Ramon is able to turn the hold. The hold is broken, and both men are limping. Jarrett gets set up top and a belly to back suplex follows from up there. Razor hurt his knee on the way down, but still tries for the Razor’s Edge. He is able to get Jarrett up, but the Roadie comes in to clip the knee and draw the DQ @ 13:33. The Kid takes the Roadie out, Jarrett makes the save. Kid gets bumped all over the place and gets locked in the figure four. Officials make their way to the ring to separate the four men.

Winner: Razor Ramon by DQ @ 13:33
-There was some decent work in this match, but it sure seemed a lot longer that 13:33. It just seemed to drag for whatever reason, and the crappy ending did nothing to help things. **3/4

-Nick Tuturro, of NYPD Blue, hangs out with Jenny McCarthy and the Million Dollar Corporation. Shawn interrupts and flirts with Jenny while Sid threatens Diesel.

King Kong Bundy (w/ Ted Dibiase) vs. The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer)

-Taker was working his way through the corporation as they had stolen his urn. Taker gets the biggest reaction of the night so far. Vince mentions that Taker has never lost at WrestleMania. I would assume this was the first time that was ever mentioned on WWF television. His record was only 3-0 at this point as he missed WrestleMania X. The ref is AL umpire Larry Young (who was out of work due to the baseball strike). Bundy charges, but Taker side-steps and starts throwing haymakers. We get Old School very early in the match, but it doesn’t take Bundy off his feet. Finally on a third clothesline Bundy hits the canvas. He rebounds quickly and sends Taker to the floor with a clothesline. Taker lands on his feet and grabs the urn from Dibiase. Kama makes his way to the ring and steals the urn back from Bearer (he would later melt it into a new gold chain). Bundy starts to dominate as Taker was focused on Kama. Bundy sends Taker back to the floor with another clothesline. Back inside the ring Bundy uses his foot to choke, and well, that’s about it. He goes to the chinlock, and that last way too long. As we wait for the chinlock to end, I just want to mention that the creators of Married with Children were wrestling fans. They have mentioned that each family was named after their favorite wrestlers. Thus we had the Bundy family, and their neighbor’s the Rhoades’. Finally, Taker makes his comeback after no selling the avalanche splash in the corner. He quickly finishes things with a slam and the jumping clothesline for the pin at 6:39.

Winner: The Undertaker via pin @ 6:39
-Another match that seemed to last a longer than the actual time. This was just a set-up to continue the stolen urn angle. Once Kama took off with the urn, nothing of note happened in the ring. The most interesting thing would have been to see if Taker could have got Bundy up for the Tombstone. The match itself sucked balls. For a rich man, Dibiase could have paid for someone a little better than Bundy. 1/2*

-Tuturro interviews the Taylor’s all Pro Team. Of note there are 2 guys that would go on to wrestle for WCW (Mongo and Reggie White). Tutorro finds Backlund playing chess with Home Improvement’s Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Backlund gets pissed when he loses.

WWF Tag Title: The Smoking Gunns vs. Owen Hart and Yokozuna (w/ Mr Fuji and Jim Cornette)

-Owen had hyped that he had a mystery partner. In a great bit of character development Owen picks the man that beat his brother for the WWF Title: Yokozuna. The crowd basically knows the Gunns are dead soon as Yoko is announced. Vince interviews the Gunns and they look like they are going to piss themselves. Owen and Billy start things for each team. Owen bitches slaps Billy in the face to a decent pop from the crowd. I must admit I cheered for that one too. Bart tags in and he has the unfortunate task of taking on Yoko. Bart gets slammed to the mat, but is able roll out of the way of an elbow. The tag is made back to Owen and he drops Bart with a shoulder. Owen comes off the ropes, but runs into a hiptoss. The Gunns hit a double leg sweep, and catch Yoko with a double dropkick. The Gunns make frequent tags and do the best they can to keep Owen in the ring. They are successful in keeping Owen cut off from the big man and Owen actual plays the heel in peril due to the dynamic of the match. Owen makes a blind tag, and Yoko drops the big ass leg. Billy is basically dead and gone as he is kicked to the floor. Owen rams the lifeless Billy into the ring post and sends him back in the ring to Yoko. Billy tries to fire back, but it’s of no use as Yoko hits one shot to regain control. Yoko locks in a nerve hold to kill the crowd. I know they want to build some heat, but nobody in their right mind was getting behind Billy Gunn at this point. Three years later sure, but not in his cowboy phase. Owen dropkicks Yoko by mistake, and Billy is able to make the tag to Bart. He press slams Owen, and drops Yoko on the back of his head with a hair pull. Owen pulls down the top rope and Bart hits the floor. That leaves Billy in the ring with Yoko and that doesn’t go well. He eats a sick belly-to-belly suplex and the Banzai drop kills Billy to the delight of the crowd. Owen wants the tag and looks for the Sharpshooter, but Billy is finished, so Owen just covers him for the pin and titles at 9:42.

Winners and New WWF Tag Champions: Yokozuna and Owen Hart
-This was a memorable moment for Owen Hart as he won his first title in the WWF. The match had a decent dynamic as the Gunns were dead anytime Yoko was in the match and had a chance whenever Owen was in there. **

Submission Match: Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund
-Special Ref: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

-For the second year in a row Piper is the ref for a match involving Bret Hart. These two had quite an epic match at Survivor Series for the title. The impact of Backlund winning was killed by Diesel just a few days later. This is the blow-off to the feud as the winner is determined when the loser says “I Quit.” Why they called in a submission match instead of an I Quit match is a mystery. Hart gets the loudest pop of the night as the crowd still sees him as the man in the company. Bret starts quickly and looks for the sharpshooter early, but Backlund is able to break. Piper asks Backlund of he quits, and he doesn’t. Again Bret goes for the sharpshooter, and Backlund is able to escape once again. He does get the figure four, and Backlund screams “no.” Backlund is able to reverse the hold, and Bret’s the one screaming no. The hold is broken and Bret starts to work on the knee. Piper constantly checks with Backlund and he keeps saying no. Piper is becoming pretty fucking annoying in this match. Backlund breaks and he goes to work on the shoulder. I like the fact that both men are working for their finishing move. Backlund goes for the chicken wing, but Bret avoids. Backlund is able to get a hammerlock to soften up the arm and shoulder. The crowd starts to get behind Bret, but they ends quickly because Backlund stays in control of the arm. The fact this was billed as a submission match and that Piper is asking each man if they quit no matter of they are in a submission hold or not is confusing as all hell. Bret goes back to the sharpshooter, but Backlund is able to get to the ropes. Bret gets sent shoulder first into the post, and the crowd knows what is coming next. Backlund locks in the chicken wing, but Bret holds onto the rope. Backlund tries to drop Bret to the mat, but can’t and Bret reverses to his own chicken wing. Piper calls for the bell at 9:31 even though Backlund never really said “yes” or “I Quit.” All I could hear was “GARGHAH.”

Winner: Bret Hart via submission @ 9:31
-This was not very good at all. The stipulation kind of hindered things, the ending was horrible, and Bret looked pretty damned bored out there. To go from what happened at WrestleMania X to what happened here had to be pretty depressing for Bret. *3/4

-Pettengill interviews Diesel. Yes, the WWF Title match was not the Main Event for the second time in 3 years. I believe I read that Shawn and Diesel were both pretty pissed about not being the Main Event (yes, I’m shocked too) and decided to go out and do all they could to steal the show.

WWF Title: Diesel © (w/ Pamela Anderson) vs. Shawn Michaels (w/ Sid and Jenny McCarthy)
-Special Time Keeper: Jonathan Taylor Thomas
-Special Ring Announce: Nicholas Turturro

-Pamela Anderson was supposed to walk Shawn to the ring due to winning the Rumble, but she opted to go with Diesel instead. Tough call as to who got the better end of the deal because both women look pretty damn hot (at this point in their careers). Shawn takes a man sized bump to the floor off a backdrop. That clears the ring and Diesel’s pyro goes off while he stands next to Pam. After the fireworks we get a proper start with Shawn trying to trade punches with Diesel. That goes as you would expect for Michaels. He gets a little smarter the next go round and works on the arm. He gets to close however, and Diesel makes him pay. Shawn takes a massive bump off a backdrop and takes a second one over the top rope to the floor. Shawn’s going to make the most of his first big time shot it seems. Sid and Shawn stall outside while we get more shots of the ladies. Shawn charges and Diesel drops him with a forearm. Nash was always smart about using forearms because they look a lot more impressive than any pulled punch would from him. Shawn gets elevated for a military press, but is able to rake the eyes (kind of) to break. He gets stupid and tries a suplex, but Diesel reverses to one of his own. Shawn takes another crazy bump to the floor. I should mention all the press around ringside as they are seemingly always in the way when Shawn takes a bump to the floor. Sid tries to distract Diesel, and it does buy time for Shawn. He tries a sunset flip, but Diesel is too strong and picks Shawn up by the throat. He drops him balls first on the top rope. Shawn is able to regain the advantage and clotheslines Diesel to the floor. He skins the cat back in, and comes off the top rope with a crossbody to the floor. Diesel eats a baseball slide, but a second one from Shawn misses. They brawl on the floor and Diesel tries a back elbow, but it only hits ring post. The crowd starts a massive Sid chant, and that’s why promoters constantly threw money at the man. He may not be reliable all the time, and may be merely adequate in the ring, but the man had the look of a star. He just looks like a badass, and carried that aura about him. Diesel is selling a rib injury from the earlier post shot and Shawn takes advantage. He heads to the middle rope and delivers a pretty impressive bulldog for a two count. I know they are friends, but having your 7 foot monster champ get his asked kicked this much is…different. The Shawn show continues with a back elbow from the second rope, and now he does pound away on Diesel. The crowd starts a “Let’s Go Shawn” chant as he heads to the top rope. The Randy Savage elbow right to the ribs gets a close near fall. Shawn grabs a headlock on two occasions, but Diesel powers out each time. A sleeper gets looked in by Shawn as Diesel starts to fade. The crowd is trying to get behind Diesel, but overall I would say it’s 60% Diesel, 30% Shawn, and 10% Sid at this point in terms of crowd support. The arm doesn’t drop on the third try (as they continue to book Diesel as Hogan), and he even breaks the hold the same way Hogan broke the camel clutch. It gets even more surreal as Diesel uses the running corner clothesline that Hogan always used. Snake Eyes follow, and Shawn eats a forearm that sends him to the floor. Diesel gives chase, and Shawn tries to run, but he gets caught by the pants and Shawn shows some ass. Shawn gets him to chase again, and they exchange blows in the floor. Somewhere in the chaos Hebnar jumps to the floor and injures his ankle. Shawn gets sweet chin music in the ring, but there’s no ref. Shawn gets the visual pin, but by the time the ref gets in the ring Diesel is able to kick out at two. Sid tears the cover off the top turnbuckle with a screwdriver. It would have been tremendous if he tried to use a squeegee. Diesel gets a desperation belly to back suplex to put both men down. Shawn heads back to the middle rope and tries the bulldog again, but Diesel catches him with a sidewalk slam. Again both men are out, but Shawn gets to his feet first. Diesel scoops the legs and slingshots Shawn into the exposed buckle. Well kind of, as they were too far away and Shawn heads the middle buckle instead. It looked pretty damn impressive though. Diesel hulks-up, I mean, revs the engines, and gets 2 punches and a big boot (where have I seen that?). A fucked up Jackknife (Shawn took the bump on his ass) finishes things at 20:36. Diesel poses with all the celebrities after the match.

Winner and Still WWF Champion: Diesel via pin @ 20:36
-Great effort from Shawn here as he did all he could to bust his ass in his first true Mania Main Event (LT vs. Bigelow aside). The booking of the match was kind of questionable as Diesel looked a little weak, and that’s something they never did with Hogan. Still, was more than acceptable for the spot it was given, and it showed Shawn was going to be the man in the WWF in years to come. ***1/2

-JR interviews Shawn and Sid in the aisle as they exit. Sid promises Diesel would pay. The next night on RAW, Sid turned…well stayed heel, by dropping Shawn (turning him face), and setting up Diesel vs. Sid.

-Todd interviews Shawn in dressing room, and they show the visual pin on Diesel. Seriously, are they trying to make Diesel look bad on purpose? Damn! Shawn even makes the challenge and questions Diesel’s manhood. Vince even mentions that Lawler is probably right when he refers to Shawn as the uncrowned champion. Just bizarre!

-Vince introduces the members of the Million Dollar Corporation that will be at ringside: King Kong Bundy, Tatanka, Nikolai Volkof, Kama, IRS, and Ted Dibiase.

-Next we get the NFL players that make up Taylor’s All Pro Team: Ken Norton Jr. (49ers 4 Life. WOO), Chris Spielman, Ricky Jackson (more 49ers goodness), Carl Banks, Steve “Mongo, McMichael, and Reggie White.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor
-Pat Patterson is the special ref, and I wonder how much he begged Vince to let him ref a match where he was surrounded by over a dozen pro-wrestlers and NF players? Taylor slips the piss out of Bigelow to start and sends him to the floor with the clothesline. That actually got the biggest pop of the night. Bigelow charges, but misses a splash, and Taylor gets an ugly bulldog. Bigelow takes a bump to the floor off a hiptoss as he is overselling everything from Taylor. LT heads to the floor and goes to take on the entire Million Dollar corporation, and they actually back down. What the hell? Finally, Bigelow takes over in the ring with punches and headbutts. He rakes the eyes and starts choking LT with a boot across the throat. LT gets slammed, but he is able to roll away from a Bigelow headbutt. LT gets trapped in the corner, but fights out with a few kicks. Bigelow shakes those off, and drapes LT over the middle rope to choke him some more. Bigelow locks in a Boston crab, but LT doesn’t have any clue how to sell the hold, and Bigelow opts to go with a leg lock. Taylor is able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold, but Bigelow calmly pulls him back to the middle of the ring to reapply the hold. Things have just grinded to a halt here as LT sells the hold. The crowd could care less when he finally makes it to the ropes. Bigelow is kind enough to jump off the mat so that it looks like LT hit a belly to back suplex. I get that LT is trying and that he’s taken this seriously, but good lord did Bigelow go above and beyond here. The moonsault connects, but in a nice touch, Bigelow can’t capitalize because he hurt his knee on the way down. LT is able to kick out after the delayed pin attempt. LT actually busts out a powerbomb (he fell over in the process), but Bigelow is able to kick out at two. Lawler is really getting on my fucking nerves with all the football references. Bigelow hits his finisher (the top rope headbutt), but Taylor actually kicks out. I hope the payout was damn good for Bam Bam. Taylor starts firing off forearms, and hits a flying forearm from the middle rope for the pin at 11:40.

-The DVD quickly ends as they don’t show LT’s celebration with Salt-N-Pepa. Probably due to the fact that they don’t want to pay for the “What a Man Song” that they sung to end the show.

Winner: Lawrence Taylor via pin @ 11:40
-This wasn’t nearly as good as I remember as a kid. LT looked blown out only a few minutes into the match, and Bigelow had to carry everything. I actually prefer what Mayweather and Show gave us last year to this. Bam Bam was supposed to get a nice push following this, but that never panned out. He did revive himself in ECW and got another run with WCW before his untimely passing. Still, this is what he will be most remembered for and he went out as a true pro and did the best he could, so kudos to Bigelow. **1/2

Top 5 WrestleMania Matches (at this point)

1) IC Title: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat *****
2) Career vs Career: Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior *****
3) IC Title: Ladder Match: Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels *****
4) WWF Title: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage ****3/4
5) Owen Hart vs Bret Hart ****1/2

The 411: This is easily in the running with WrestleMania IX as the worst of the bunch. This has a tremendous effort from Shawn in the Title Match, and Bigelow doing all he could in the Main Event, but as a whole this was just there. Nothing was special and nothing really stood out as the celebrities were made as the stars of the show instead of the men in the ring.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]