WWF Superstars – September 2nd, 1995

September 2, 1995

From the Erie Civic Center in Erie, PA

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix

Show starts off with a video package on the end of the Bret Hart/Isaac Yankem match from SummerSlam where Bret was attacked as Bret will now face Waylon Mercy this week on Superstars. Also in action is Henry Godwinn plus we will hear from the British Bulldog & Jim Cornette.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. John Faulkner

The announcers talk about Bulldog’s interview later on in the show as Bigelow runs over Faulkner. Bigelow runs over Faulkner a few more times then uses a neck vise. Vince plugs the Superstar Line as Faulkner escapes from the chin lock and runs Bigelow’s face across of the top rope. Bigelow clotheslines Faulkner as Faulkner’s head was down for a back drop but he immediately lifted his head back up. Bigelow stays in control then puts Faulkner away with the a moonsault as Vince talks about Bigelow wanting to go through each member of The Corporation (2:29).

Thoughts: A win for Bigelow as they are pushing he will be going through the Corporation again, the same Corporation he quit over four months ago. I guess since they have nothing for Bigelow he is going back to feud with a Corporation that has been severely downplayed the past several weeks.

WWF Live Event News with Jim Ross. More hype for the 10/6 October MSG card as we hear from Bret Hart hyping his match against Isaac Yankem with George Steele in his corner as George himself is screaming in the background.

We are shown a clip from last week where Jean Pierre Lafitte stole Bret Hart’s jacket.

Bret is then shown in a taped promo talking about

Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. Lloyd Lanui

Pierre once again has the pirate flag. Lanui is Llyod Anoa’i, also known as LA Smooth but they keep referring to him as “Lanui” in the WWF. Bret is shown talking about what he is going to do to Yankem & Lawler then what he will do to Mercy tonight that segues into an insert promo. Bret doesn’t care about Mercy’s mind games and mocks his accent and catchphrase then calls Lafitte a “petty thief” and vows to get his jacket back. Lanui slams Lafitte but after that gets run over. Lafitte stomps away then yells at the crowd, who starts up a mild “we want Bret” chant. Lanui starts a comeback but whiffs on a crossbody then he gets tied in the ropes where Lafitte hits a pair of crossbody blocks. Lafitte then hits a side slam before the Cannonball gets the win (2:41). After the match, Lafitte lays his flag on top of Lanui then heads out and steals the Bret sunglasses from a kid at ringside. Lafitte continues to yell at the fans then Bret runs out and sneaks behind Lafitte for the attack. The two brawl as a few more officials run out and attempt to stop the melee.

Thoughts: This was about advancing the Bret/Lafitte storyline. We did hear Bret cut a long insert promo about all of the people he was feuding with and about to wrestle and that dominated the attention. Lafitte is still being pushed as a threat with his undefeated record.

The Report Card with Dean Douglas. He starts off by saying he is going to do what he was going to do at SummerSlam until he was rudely interrupted by Razor Ramon. He defines the word “abrogate” as a failure to succeed and how Shawn won at SummerSlam while Razor was on the outside and lost. Razor gets the grade “MF” as a “miserable failure” then Douglas says he will step out of the classroom and into the ring next week at that “punk” the 1-2-3 Kid. Much like on the PPV, Douglas sounds more like his Franchise character in ECW now but the material still sucks. At least the delivery is better but he makes his in-ring TV debut as Douglas next week.

We see the kid that had his glasses stolen have them returned and he is all smiles.

Henry Godwinn is backstage with his slop bucket as his match is up next.

The graphic on the screen appears to tell us that WrestleMania XII will take place on March 31st at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, CA.

Henry Godwinn vs. A.C. Conner

We once again see the clip of Godwinn slopping DiBiase from RAW three weeks ago. Dok says he heard about Corporation seeking retaliation for the slopping as Conner knees Godwinn in the gut. Godwinn catches Conner with a big boot then follows with a slam and an elbow drop. Vince talks about the next MSG show and how Dok’s whole family will be there as Godwinn stays in control. We now see DiBiase come down the aisle as Godwinn stares him down. Conner cheap shots Godwinn then connects with a dropkick but Godwinn fights back and hits the Slop Drop for the win (2:20). After the match, DiBiase takes the slop bucket and Godwinn heads out after it but that allows King Kong Bundy to attack from behind. Bundy holds up Godwinn for DiBiase and DiBiase dumps the slop but Godwinn escaped and it goes all over Bundy. Godwinn laughs over what we just saw and now we see a pissed off Bundy yelling at DiBiase.

Thoughts: Besides Bigelow, Godwinn is also feuding with The Corporation because DiBiase didn’t want him to join and said he was only good for cheap labor. Godwinn also debuted his smiling babyface stuff here as his character is getting pushed with the slop gimmick.

Vince welcomes Jim Cornette & British Bulldog in the ring. Bulldog now has a buzz cut and new tights. We see clips of Bulldog turning on Diesel two weeks ago on RAW as Vince brings that up and how he lied about Lex Luger being at home due to a medically emergency. Cornette tells Vince he is “passing the buck” and that Bulldog did all of the work and none of the credit and had all of the talent and none of the glory. So, instead of snapping and grabbing an “AK 47,” Bulldog decided to get rid of Luger and go out on his own. Cornette said the fans chanting USA was essentially mocking Bulldog and puts over Bulldog’s accolades. Cornette then said that despite his accomplishments never got even a single shot at the World Title despite going above and beyond. Cornette now says that “Davey Boy Smith” his dead and this is the new British Bulldog. Vince now asks Bulldog how it felt to turn his back on the fans. Bulldog is sorry…….sorry he didn’t do it sooner. Bulldog says that nice guys finish last and he is not a loser and is sick of not getting the glory and the fans chanting for everyone but himself. Bulldog says he wants more and will get more then kicks it back to Cornette, who says this is a new Bulldog worse bite is much worse than his bark. I liked this promo. It was rooted in reality as the crowd always chanted “USA” in his matches teaming with Luger plus they cheered for Bret over him as Bulldog mentioned. And with mention of Bulldog never getting a title shot it seems they are grooming him for a World Title shot down the line.

An ad hyping the new WWF Fall season airs.

Waylon Mercy heads out to the ring as Vince talks about the new look and attitude that will be shown next week as part of the new WWF Fall season. Barry Didinsky shills the new Bret Hart t-shirt and comes with a Lawrence Taylor poster.

Waylon Mercy vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart

Mercy offers a handshake but Bret declines. He offers it again as Bret still refuses and keeps offering then Bret does shake and it goes off without a hitch. They lockup now with Mercy breaking cleanly against the ropes. Bret then backs Mercy against the ropes but Mercy throws a cheap shot then beats on Bret in the corner. Mercy chops Bret hard in the corner before running his face across the top rope. Bret avoids a charge in the corner then starts aggressively going after the left arm of Mercy. Mercy fights back and slams Bret but whiffs on an elbow drop as Bret takes him back down with an arm drag. Bret locks on an armbar but Mercy ends up catching Bret with a sidewalk slam. Mercy tosses Bret through the ropes then heads out and hammers away as we head to break. Match returns with both men in the ring as Mercy hammers away in the corner. Mercy chokes out Bret then slams his face off of the mat a few times. Mercy tries for a piledriver but Bret counters with a back drop. Mercy then uses an axe handle on Bret’s back and starts to gouge the face. Bret fights back but Mercy cuts him off then Bret is able to block a suplex and hit one of his own. Mercy whips Bret into the corner but eats boot on a charge then Bret hits a flying clothesline for a nearfall. Bret decks Mercy and hits a Russian leg sweep then a flying elbow drop and as he turns over Mercy for the Sharpshooter, Lafitte runs down and attacks Bret for the DQ (9:32) **. Lafitte continues his attack but Bret fights back and backs him up and they slug it out. Mercy gets up and they go two on one for a bit and Mercy heads up top so Bret runs over after almost taking his jacket off of Lafitte and knocks Mercy off. Bret then goes out after Lafitte and they have a pull apart on the floor and up the aisle with several officials trying to break it up. Lafitte manages to run past the officials and sneak attack Bret but Bret gets the upper hand and stands in the ring.

Thoughts: The match was decent enough but Mercy’s physical limitations were on full display. The real point though was to heaten up the Bret/Lafitte feud and I thought the post-match brawl they had was quite good. Both men were aggressive. Speaking of aggressive, according to Mercy in his shoot interview with RF Video, Bret complained to the office after this match (They also had a match that aired the following week on Action Zone in International markets because the US version was shortened due to the US open so it could have been that match as well) that Mercy worked too stiff. I guess the chops in the corner were a bit too hard for Bret’s liking. Anyway, after the big push the past couple of months on TV, Mercy certainly did not come off like a top heel and future title contender to Diesel. This was the beginning of the end of his push.

WWF Live Event News with Jim Ross. We hear from Isaac Yankem & Jerry Lawlerto hype Yankem/Bret at MSG.

Back to the hosts as they plug the “triple header” at In Your House with all three titles defended in the same match as they go over the rules. We then learn that Bret vs. Lafitte will take place at In Your House.

After a quick commercial we are back to the hosts as they run down next week’s show with besides 1-2-3 Kid vs. Dean Douglas we will also get Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka. Plus, an interview with Lex Luger.

Final Thoughts: They really spent a lot of time focusing on the Bret/Lafitte feud as that will now be a match at In Your House. And we heard Bulldog’s explanation of his turn as part of a good segment with Cornette. The rest of the card showed some other direction such as a possible Douglas/Razor feud, Godwinn and Bigelow separately feuding with The Corporation, which does not inspire. Anyway, expect more hype for In Your House in the coming weeks plus the brand new look of Superstars the following week.

Later on today will be a recap of the 9/3 edition of “Action Zone.”