The review hackers didn’t want you to see….
–Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette are in the booth and they are taped from Stockton, California.
–Call 1-900-737-4WWF to hear Jim Ross’s commentary on Lawrence Taylor’s “secret” training session in preparation from WrestleMania!
–Opening Contest: Razor Ramon (5-2) pins Henry Godwinn (7-1) after the Razor’s Edge at 5:57 shown:
This is Godwinn’s second big test of 1995 as he lost his previous feature match against the Undertaker earlier in the year on Superstars. Godwinn slows down a fast beginning with a few rest holds and the Roadie comes to ringside after Razor seizes the advantage with a flying bulldog. However, Godwinn is eventually distracted by the 1-2-3 Kid coming out and attacking the Roadie and that allows Ramon to hit his finisher and win. Rating: *
–McMahon interviews Ramon, who is angry that WWF President Jack Tunney has allowed Bob Backlund to face Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett for the title on Sunday Night Slam. This means that Backlund can be champion and Bret Hart could win the title at WrestleMania. He says the title belongs to him and he wants the opportunity to get it back.
–Backlund’s attack on Barry Horowitz at the end of last week’s show, which allowed him to sign for a title match with Jarrett, is replayed.
–Tune in on Sunday for the Sunday Night Slam where Lex Luger faces Tatanka in a steel cage, Bob Backlund challenges Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental title, and Bam Bam Bigelow faces Sione! Also, there will be a special interview with WWF Champion Diesel!
–Cornette leaves the commentary table so that he can fulfill his managerial duties with the Heavenly Bodies, who have a WWF tag team title shot against the Smoking Gunns later tonight.
–Attend the WWF Fan Festival at WrestleMania! As McMahon tells us, no one cares about their fans like the World Wrestling Federation!
–Footage of Bam Bam Bigelow giving Doink a three-point stance tackle after winning their match on The Action Zone is played, with McMahon giving his own frantic commentary of the situation.
–Steve McMichael comes out and proceeds to do commentary for the next match with McMahon.
–Handicap Match: King Kong Bundy (w/Ted DiBiase) (Overall Record of 12-1) defeats Raven Clark & Adam Croomes after pinning Croomes following the Avalanche at 2:42:
Since this is not a singles match, I opted to post Bundy’s overall record going into this match. McMichael and McMahon opt to discuss Bigelow-LT on commentary, with McMichael running down the abilities of Kama, who has called him out on WWF television. Bundy finishes the two jobbers in uninspired fashion.
–After the match, Kama comes to the commentary table and berates McMichael. After taking some of Kama’s words, McMichael pushes him and the two end up brawling as McMahon screams for them to stop as WWF officials pour out to do so. This gets a loud pop from the crowd and all of the parties involved did a good job selling it as a “shoot.”
–Todd Pettengill provides the WrestleMania XI Report. The company is billing this as the “kick off show of the New Generation.” Shawn Michaels warns WWF Champion Diesel that his title reign is coming to an end and the Undertaker promises to get the urn back and fill it with the soul of King Kong Bundy.
–Oscar’s apology to the Smoking Gunns from Men on a Mission on The Action Zone is shown. Why those two teams are not squaring off at WrestleMania instead of Owen Hart and his mystery partner is a mystery to me based on the company’s booking up to this point.
–WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Smoking Gunns (Champions) (4-0-1) beat The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) (4-2) when Billy pins Jimmy Del Ray with a backslide at 11:25 shown:
The Gunns have really embraced the “fighting champions” gimmick as they have given nearly every team in the division a title shot. McMahon commentates this match alone since Cornette is managing and McMichael was escorted backstage after his confrontation with Kama. The Bodies were one of the teams that had the skills to hold the tag team titles during this era but they were not a WWF creation, and their affiliation with Smoky Mountain Wrestling probably hurt their case because putting the Bodies over would signal that SMW talent was better than the WWF’s. The heels do a good job at cheating, breaking up a pinfall after a Sidewinder and doing an illegal switch, but they fail to win the titles when Billy bridges out of a cover and finishes with a backslide. It seems like the finish may have called for Del Ray’s feet to end up in the ropes but he was not positioned close enough so the ending made him look weak. Overall, this was somewhat disappointing considering both team’s abilities, but was still an above average match. Rating: **½
–WWF superstars appearance to raise funds for the Magic Johnson Foundation is highlighted.
–Cornette returns to the commentary table to help McMahon hype the Sunday Night Slam show.
–Tune in next week to see Bret Hart face Owen Hart in a no holds barred match! This is hyped as the first no holds barred match on television.
The Last Word: This show mostly laid the foundation for the Sunday Night Slam event, which was a big part of the commentary throughout the show. The Gunns have now successfully defended the titles against every team in the division except the Blu Brothers and the New Headshrinkers (who they wrestled to a draw several weeks ago on Superstars) so it is unclear what the long-term plans for them happen to be. Owen Hart getting a title shot is really weird since he only spoke up once on WWF television about even wanting to go after the belts, but Owen was on the verge of ending his feud with his brother Bret and needed to go somewhere on the card.
Up Next (on Friday): WWF Superstars from March 25, 1995!