The Fan-Cam Files: WWF @ San Jose, CA – 05.15.1994

Last time we dove into the archives of WWF Fan-Cams, we took a look at the WWF’s stop at Madison Square Garden on May 20th for the WrestleMania Revenge Tour. I don’t plan on making it a habit of dipping into the same well too much too soon, but I thought that it would be a decent idea to check out another stop on the tour, but with a less-loaded lineup (and featuring matches that didn’t make it to the Northeast portion of the tour). There’s also one match featured that intrigues me, and is worth going into detail about, at least for dorks like myself who can’t get enough talking about professional wrestling from 30+ years ago.

For fun, I checked to see what other shows were taking place, but according to TheHistoryofWWE.com, they had to cancel Dothan, AL on May 12th, Mobile, AL on May 13th, and Biloxi, MS on May 14th, and Pensacola, FL on May 15th, all with “poor advance” listed as the reason for cancelation. I’m starting to think the roster isn’t deep enough to run legitimate B shows without dusting off people like Koko B. Ware and THE GENIUS to fill out 6-match shows.

Opening Match: The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Adam Bomb:
It’s been about a year since Adam Bomb made his WWF debut, and he’s yet to be part of any storylines. He did switch from Johnny Polo to Harvey Wippleman for managerial representation. If you’re wondering if that’s good or bad, Wippleman’s other clients at this time are Kwang and the team of Well Dunn… yeah. The 1-2-3 Kid debuted roughly around the same time and is still coasting on his upset of Razor Ramon. The Kid hasn’t seen much TV time in meaningful storylines, but does have a week-long reign as Tag Team Champion under his belt, so that’s one-up on Adam Bomb. No Wippleman at ringside, probably as a cost-cutting measure. Jesse Hernandez is working the show, an independent referee who always seemed to catch work on West Coast trips and in money-mark promotions.

Bomb gives the universal signal of snapping someone in half. Lockup and Bomb throws Kid to the canvas like a sack of laundry. Kid comes back with a spinning heel kick and dropkick. Bomb catches a dive attempt and plants the Kid on the arena floor with a slam. Back inside, Bomb with the slingshot clothesline. The Kid avoids a corner avalanche and rolls Bomb up for two. Bomb quickly regains control and slows it down for a moment with a chin-lock. Kid escapes but Bomb sends him face-first to the canvas with a press slam. The Kid avoids an elbow drop and unloads with his signature kicks, followed by a spinning heel kick and flying body press for a pair of near-falls. Bomb reverses a whip to the ropes and finishes the Kid with a big side slam at 5:55. Short and energetic. The Kid worked similar style matches with Diesel, getting rag dolled with the occasional hope spot. Bomb looked decent with what he could do, but the match came off as lesser quality than those Kid/Diesel matches. (Oh, and don’t worry 1-2-3 fans, he gets a TV victory over Bomb in the King of the Ring qualifiers that triggers Adam Bomb’s babyface turn). **½

WWF Women’s Championship Match: Alundra Blayze (c) vs. Leilani Kai:
As we saw at Madison Square Garden, Blayze was often paired with Luna Vachon at this time, but Leilani’s services were used for the post-WrestleMania tour of Europe, and filled in for several of Luna’s advertised appearances in the United States. Kai made one TV appearance, putting over Blayze at WrestleMania X as a late replacement for the originally advertised Debbie Combs. Despite working at WrestleMania the 1st and being treated as a relic of the previous generation, she’s only 6-years older than Blayze (though a terrible makeup job made her look far older).

Leilani opens with a slap across the face, so Blayze sweeps her off her feet (literally). Whip to the corner, with Blayze flipping to the apron. She sends Leilani into the turnbuckle, but an attempt going to the top rope is countered with a slam. Leilani punishes the body and traps Blayze in a tree of woe where she unloads with boots. Whip across the ring and Blayze surprises Kai with a sunset flip for two. Leilani blocks a boot to the chest but is rocked with an enzuigiri for two. Blayze tries to muscle Leilani’s shoulders to the canvas, unsuccessfully using her body to break a bridge, but Kai holds steady and ends up bringing the knees into Blayze’s chest after one-too-many attempts. Now it’s Leilani going high risk and Blayze cutting her off, sending her crashing to the outside with a dropkick. Blayze quickly follows with a baseball slide, followed by a tope suicida. Leilani blocks an apron suplex, hanging Blayze across the rope. Back inside, Leilani with a pair of hair mares with extra gusto. Whip and Blayze counters a hip toss with a back-slide for two. Leilani avoids a running dropkick, but gets caught with a pop-up hurricanrana for two. Blayze with a slam and missile dropkick, then finishes with the bridging german suplex at 7:14.

Wow, I did NOT expect to enjoy the match this much, as it blew away what they did at WrestleMania X, and had the crowd invested after the first few minutes. Alundra Blayze had a knack for getting the crowds behind her despite a lack of TV exposure, and Leilani did a great job keeping up with her style (recently I mentioned that enough credit isn’t given to Leilani and Judy Martin for taking the garbage Moolah style and adapting to the Jumping Bomb Angels’ style in their series of matches in 1987-88). This would be Leilani’s last match in the WWF, but she would appear for WCW (working with Madusa most of the time), with several appearances for TV, one as late as Fall of ‘99. ***¼

Tatanka vs. Irwin R. Schyster:
Nothing is more of a buzzkill than a match featuring I.R.S. Shortly after WrestleMania, an angle was taped for Superstars where I.R.S. demanded Tatanka pay owed taxes on the head-dress gifted to him by Chief Jay Strongbow. Following a match with Kwang, where Tatanka was blinded by the green mist, I.R.S. would assault Tatanka and tear apart the head-dress, then to add insult to desecration, attack Strongbow as he made an attempt to save the feathers, with Tatanka watching helplessly. I know it’s fun to knock I.R.S. and it’s often justified, but this was a well-done angle… but too bad they wasted it on a cold heel like I.R.S. Once Tatanka took a loss against Ludvig Borga the prior Fall, he lost whatever special feeling he had (the unbeaten streak), and now he’s just another guy.

Tatanka does NOT waste time, dragging I.R.S. out of the ring and sending him into the steps. Into the ring, where Tatanka unloads with chops and uses the necktie to send I.R.S. flying across the ring. He continues the dominance, and instead of attempting to go for a pin, goes the dark route and chokes his opponent. I.R.S. deserves it. Irwin gets dumped over the ropes, but Tatanka’s overzealous behavior catches up and he’s sent into the post. Irwin sets up a chair and sends Tatanka crashing into it. OK, who spiked the water in San Jose? Back inside, Irwin with his diving clothesline, and we slow it down with a chin-lock. For those wondering, yes, Irwin uses the ropes for extra leverage. Tatanka escapes and no-sells being rammed into the turnbuckle. Irwin tastes the buckle and Tatanka takes him over with a suplex. He comes off the top with a big chop for a near-fall. Irwin powders out, with Tatanka giving chase to unload with more chops. Back inside, Tatanka tears Irwin’s shirt apart and starts biting him! The referee tries to intervene with Tatanka grabbling I.R.S. by the throat, but Earl Hebner is unsuccessful and gets thrown to the canvas, resulting in Tatanka’s disqualification at 9:44.

I was pleasantly surprised by the energy and effort brought by two men who had a reputation for not being the most exciting workers in the world. I’m all for the lack of a clean finish because the storyline involved allows it to work (Tatanka is more obsessed in hurting his enemy instead of trying to beat him), and sure enough, these finishes would force rematches, usually with a strap match stipulation (and Tatanka more often than not LOSING, because I.R.S. is getting pushed in 1994). The only negative I can think of is that the chin-lock lasted a little too long, but not criminally long. ***

Doink the Clown (w/ Dink) vs. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett:
We have our first repeat of the Northeast leg of the Revenge Tour… and yes, I’m aware this show happened first, but play along, you know what I’m going for. As a quick reminder, Double J humiliated Dink on an episode of Superstars, disguised as Doink himself). Doink and Dink are accompanied to the ring by S.J. Sharkie, the mascot of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. Doink is wearing the new gear that debuted at WrestleMania X (but wore the typical Doink attire for the show in New York). Double J taunts the mascot by suggesting he’s chicken (clearly he’s a shark) and the crowd wants to see them fight.

If you read the MSG review, this match plays out a lot differently, almost entirely centered around comedy and heel shtick. Dink gets involved early and often, most of the time in clear view of the referee. We get a straight sequence, where Jarrett executes a handful of moves, then Doink repeats the combo, sending Jarrett to the floor for a powder. Suddenly Dink hops in the ring and starts breakdancing. Jarrett isn’t amused, and complains, threatening a sit-in strike until Dink is removed from ringside. The request goes unanswered and the chair is literally pulled from under him for another HA-HA moment. The humiliation continues, as Jarrett swings the chair, striking the rope and bopping himself, followed by Doink counting three with Dink on top of Double J. More Dink shenanigans that Jesse Hernandez ignores. Revoke this man’s license! Doink makes the comeback, but he eats a boot in the corner, allowing Jarrett to stack him up, using the ropes for leverage, for the three-count at 12:55. I call this type of match a “night off”, because very little of it involved taking bumps, and while there’s a place on the card for some comedy, mileage may vary, and for me, this was simply an OK outing, with a little too much buffoonery for my tastes. *½

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Headshrinkers (c) vs. The Smoking Gunns:
Well this one seems to have come out of nowhere. No Afa or Captain Lou Albano, further adding to my “budget cut on travel” theory when it comes to their less-important managers. It seemed like the Gunns and Shrinkers spent the second half of 1993 working with each other, which gave them ample time to put together a formula to guarantee having a good match every time (there’s plenty of fan cams featuring their matches, and they are mostly the same). Coming into this match, both teams are presented as babyfaces on TV, and on West Coast trips, even as heels, the Headshrinkers often got treated as babyfaces.

Fatu and Bart start with Bart doing the usual chain sequence. Fatu wipes him out with a shoulder block, then Bart fires off a dropkick and cross body press for two. Fatu blocks a monkey flip and Bart ducks a Super-Kick. Samu and Billy have a go, trading shoves and slaps until Samu decks the future Daddy A$$. Whip to the ropes, Billy ducks a body press but is caught on the rebound and sent face-first to the canvas. Samu blocks a sunset flip and lays across with a cover, but Billy bridges and counters with a back-slide for two. Billy sends Samu over the ropes with a running dropkick and the crowd audibly jeers. Back inside and we get a great sequence where Fatu turns Billy inside-out with a clothesline, then Bart does it to Fatu, and finally Samu to Bart. The crowd loves it as much as I do.

Samu with a headbutt to the family jewels and the crowd is OK with it. Interesting that Bart is playing face-in-peril with the crowd clearly in full support of the Champions working heel. Whip and Fatu pulls down the ropes, giving us a great bump from Bart. Samu adds further insult, straddling him on the post. Fatu continues to dish it out with knees to the chest and catches Bart’s throat under the ropes with a slingshot. Bart teases a comeback, but Fatu no-sells a DDT and drops him like a bad habit with a Super-Kick. Samu misses a dive to the corner, smacking his head on the post. Billy with the hot tag to a mixed response. He runs wild with BAAAAACK body-drops and clotheslines. Fatu cuts him off by countering a flying axe-handle with another Super-Kick. Bart is kept on the floor and the Champions finish with the splash off the top rope at 12:25 to a huge babyface pop. We get an awkward stare down afterwards as it seems like the Headshrinkers try to play nice but the Gunns seem weary about it. I wish the Gunns would’ve leaned into playing the heel role for the match, especially with the knowledge of how crowds in this area react to the Headshrinkers, because the heat segment wasn’t really a heat segment. Despite that complaint, this is the new best match of the night, with plenty of fun spots, clean execution, and limited resting and shtick to practically none at all. ***½

“Made in the USA” Lex Luger vs. Crush (w/ Mr. Fuji):
Here we go with another match that made the Northeast lineup of the Revenge Tour. I’m not sure if Luger vs Perfect was announced for this market, but I should ask… had Hennig not flaked (again), what is Crush doing instead? The Luger/Crush program was clearly a rush job to find them something to do, and Crush is the odd man out if everything plays out as it should, with no credible babyfaces available. With Yokozuna working this portion of the tour, I’m not surprised to see Fuji with Crush.

They go face-to-face and we end up with them just standing around for a solid minute or so. Lockup, Luger blocks a cheap shot in the ropes and fires off a series of right hands. Crush cuts him off with headbutts, but Luger comes back with clotheslines. He teases the forearm, but Crush takes a powder and tries to leave, but referee Jesse Hernandez talks him back to the ring. I see they’re running with the exact same script they brought to MSG on May 20th. I guess we are following the same script they would run at MSG. The referee prevents a chair from being used, allowing Luger to send Crush into the post. Yep, same match. Crush with his usual slow-motion stuff before slowing it down even more with a bearhug. I just noticed a guy with Fuji who is trying to look like a poor man’s Jim Cornette, but I’m 100% confident that isn’t him. No way he’s making a West Coast trip while running SMW. Crush with a super-kick and leg drop for two. Luger blocks a suplex and counters with an inside cradle for three at 11:24. Holy crap, how anticlimactic can you get?! I stand corrected, this wasn’t the same as the MSG match, it was actually worse with a completely nothing finish to go along with a boring, lethargic effort.. *¼

OK, at this point I was disappointed to discover this recording is missing the match I wanted to see more than any other, Earthquake vs. Yokozuna. Since I won’t get to watch the match (which I’m betting wasn’t very good), I’ll just cover the subject like it was here for me to recap before getting to the juicy material. Earthquake returned to the WWF in late January, roughly a year since his last appearance. While not put over strong on TV against credible opponents, Earthquake went over in all his matches, setting him up for a feud with Yokozuna. The two would participate in a bizarre “sumo rules” match on Raw that I’m sure wasn’t something John Tenta really had his heart into, and immediately after, Quake quit the company after doing two jobs to Yokozuna, at this card and the Anaheim show the day before. One of the losses (I think the one from Anaheim) was used on TV as the excuse for Earthquake missing a scheduled King of the Ring qualifier against Owen Hart, never to be spoken of again until his one-night return at WrestleMania X-Seven for the gimmick battle royal (Yes, I know he was Golga in the Oddities, but his past as Earthquake was never addressed).

WWF Championship Match: Bret “Hitman” Hart (c ) vs. “The Rocket” Owen Hart:
Main Event and final match of the card. I’m still a little deflated from not getting to watch Earthquake’s final match, but I will push on the best I can. I’m expecting this to be like Crush vs Luger, similar to another match they worked on this tour, with some minimal adjustments and maybe a little less effort to put on an A+ performance.

Before the bell, Owen snatches and poses with the WWF Championship, then tears up the sign of a ringside fan. Once the bell rings… It’s the exact same match as what they brought later in the week at Madison Square Garden. After taking my notes, I read my recap of the MSG match, and with the exception of one arm bar, it’s move for move identical, opening with Owen popping Bret with a slap and a few minutes of trading some chain wrestling until Bret gives a retaliation slap. Owen starts using the hair to his advantage, with Earl Hebner wonderfully playing along but then reprimanding Bret for just teasing doing the same. Owen with the extended heat sequence after sending Bret into the buckle and sitting across the back with a camel clutch (rather than a standard seated chin-lock).

Bret with the clean escape, only to get caught off the ropes with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Bret with another short-lived comeback, cut off by being sent chest-first into the turnbuckle. Owen with a missile dropkick for two. He starts working the leg, eventually locking Bret in an Indian Death Lock and later the Figure-Four, but neither can make the Champion submit. Owen meets a boot in the corner and Bret follows with a clothesline from the second turnbuckle. FIVE MOVES OF DOOM TIME! Inverted atomic drop and clothesline, Russian leg sweep, inside cradle, and finally the back breaker and elbow combo for a series of near-falls. Owen dumps Bret but seems to have no real game plan as he grabs a chair. Bret straddles Owen across the top turnbuckle and brings him down with a super-plex. Sharpshooter is countered with a thumb to the eye. Owen goes for the O’Connor Roll, but Bret counters to retain at 23:51 (and gives him a slap on the rear as a cherry on top). Bret’s celebration is short-lived, as Owen jumps him from behind and bops him several times with the WWF title belt. I don’t remember that happening at MSG, but maybe that recording cuts it off. I’m not going to rate this match any lower than I did for the May 20th show. There’s nothing wrong in taking a formula across the country for this specific tour, and of course no one is ever expecting someone from New York to watch the same match in San Jose inside the same week. I’m honestly impressed how pro wrestlers can map out a 20+ minute match and run through it like nothing. ***½

Strength of Card: I think we can safely call this the standard “A” Tour, and still, while not as impressive as what the WWF brought to the Northeast, it’s loaded up in it’s own way. We’ve got 3 of the 4 recognized Championships defended, with the Intercontinental Title the odd one out, as well as the top babyface who isn’t involved in a championship storyline (Lex Luger). The under-card even features some of the more noteworthy under-card storylines from TV (IRS/Tatanka, Doink/Double J, and the missing Yokozuna/Quake). The only thing holding it back is that two of the title matches are against “lesser” competition (and this is strictly star power, not the quality of the matches themselves). Grade: B+

Highs: I could go on about how good Bret vs Owen or the Headshrinkers vs Gunns matches were, but how about putting a spotlight on two matches that I didn’t expect much from: Tatanka and I.R.S. brought a different kind of fire to their match unlike what we typically saw from either man, and Alundra Blayze vs Leilani Kai is the definition of a hidden gem, two people going out their cold and getting the crowd invested while still clocking in under 10-minutes of bell time.

Lows: We’ve got to start this section with Lex Luger vs. Crush. I know we weren’t expecting that to be a high, but they somehow took a sub-par script and made it worse, not even giving the audience a big babyface comeback and rushing right through the surprise finish. Doink and Double J unfortunately fell in this section this time because it relied too much on comedy. Like I said in the match recap, comedy is fine, and I like variety on every show, but it overstayed its welcome with me and had me hoping for them to wrap it up sooner.

The Rest: 1-2-3 Kid vs Adam Bomb is a fine opener, but it’s nothing much more than that, and falls in this category because the Kid got much more out of Kevin Nash doing the exact same formula. Also, Yokozuna vs Earthquake is here simply for not being included. I know some of these fan-cams omit matches, usually the opener or most bottom barrel stuff, but that seems like a weird match to put away the camera for unless you REALLY didn’t want to sit through the match.

Final Thoughts: Four matches in the 3-star range and clean finishes up and down the card makes this one an easy recommendation, with a strong Main Event to send the fans home happy. There’s not too much filler here, and the bottom matches are of reasonable length, so it doesn’t hurt the rest of the show too much. I probably killed my enjoyment a little bit by watching two shows inside of one week with the same matches on top, but looking at it without that hanging over my head, but taking that out of the equation, this is actually a better show overall than what came to MSG. Grade: B+

OK, we’re never doing this again where we watch two shows from the same tour back-to-back, so we’re going to avoid the Spring and Early Summer of 1994 like the plague. Fan-Cams in my to do pile include…

September 7th, 1991 @ Providence, RI (King of the Ring)

January 29th, 1993 @ Madison Square Garden (Headlock on Hunger fundraiser)

May 13th, 1995 @ Boston Garden (The final show at the Garden)

If there’s known fan-cams floating around you would like me to cover, recommendations are welcome. Thank you for reading and enjoy your week!