The Fan-Cam Files: WWF @ Anaheim, CA – 06.17.1995

Welcome, all! It feels like it’s been a while, but I’m feeling motivated again, and what better to cover than a random old fan-shot wrestling show from the mid 90’s?! If you’re new to the Fan-Cam Files, we cover fan-recorded live events, usually in that sweet period of 1992-96 when such recordings were more prevalent, and in varying quality of camera work and battery preservation (we covered one show from January ‘96 that was constant “oh crap, the battery…” and missing finishes.

We’re just 8 days away from the 3rd annual (PPV version) King of the Ring, and to my surprise, the WWF was running two tours, with one overseas, with the following results from Zeltweg, Austria; Jean-Pierre Lafitte def. Duke Droese, Men on a Mission def. The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Sionne version, STILL THERE), Alundra Blayze def. Bertha Faye to retain the Women’s Title, Adam Bomb def. King Kong Bundy, The Smoking Gunns def. Jacob & Eli Blu, Bret Hart def. Haku, Shawn Michaels def. I.R.S., and The Undertaker def. Kama.

Tekno Team 2000 vs. The Heavenly Bodies:
It’s not often we get to talk about Tekno Team 2000 (Erik Watts a.k.a. Troy and Chad Fortune a.k.a. Travis), and for good reason (other than being terrible); they only made a handful of appearances on TV before disappearing for 8-10 months, showing up again to do a few jobs, before being released, and most of their live event appearances were working the Heavenly Bodies (or Dr. Tom with subs for Jimmy Del Ray, with Prichard likely being the one doing the heavy-lifting). Speaking of the Bodies, we’re nearing the end of the line for the team, as Del Ray was terminated later in the Summer for questionable conduct/legal issues, and Dr. Tom hung around a bit before being repackaged as Chris Candido’s doppelganger, ZIP (originally named Flip, because… Flip).

We have a great view of the ring, and it’s clean video quality as well. I’ve watched so few Tekno Team 2000 matches, I didn’t realize they had theme music and it’s… just kinda generic Sci-Fi space-travel music. No time wasted getting to the action, as we run through the International sequence twice, first with Troy and Del Ray, then Travis and Dr. Tom, with TT2000 coming out strong each time. They work in a few double-team spots, but nothing too complicated, like when they tried doing double leap-frogs over running opponents. Del Ray snatches Travis by the hair, drawing his attention and allowing Prichard to send him to the floor following a high knee. We follow with a mostly underwhelming heat segment, with lots of chin-locks with a couple of double-team moves peppered in, such as a combo atomic drop leg drop and assisted back-flip into a cover. Prichard misses a moonsault, allowing Troy to get the hot tag and run wild with a dropkick (a decent one, at that!) and spinning heel kick. Troy with a springboard twisting body press, but Del Rays rolls through for two. Del Ray sets up for a piledriver, but Troy blocks and takes him over with a back-slide for three at 11:13. Standard paint-by-numbers opener. TT2000 didn’t overplay their hand with what they were capable of executing, and in return, Prichard and Del Ray mostly kept things in neutral. **

Savio Vega comes out to address the crowd. His best friend Razor Ramon is out with busted ribs, but he’s going to take the Intercontinental Championship from Double J!

Aldo Montoya vs. Skip (w/ Sunny):
The joys of covering the New Generation, you never know which of the oddball or doomed to fail gimmicks are going to make an appearance! Aldo was introduced to the WWF audience in the final quarter of 1994, with former enhancement talent P.J. Walker slapping on a yellow jockstrap and identified as the Portuguese “Man-O-War”, which… I dunno, might not be the WORST thing in the world, if you ignore the jock on his head. He’s just a prelim warm body, that tier beneath guys like the 1-2-3 Kid (who as popular as he might have been, was mostly treated as a JTTS+). Skip (Chris Candido) and Sunny (Tammy Sytch) are fresh off a successful run in Jim Cornette’s SMW, and originally brought in for our, ahem, MIGHTY MOUSE character that Vince was always chasing (undersized overachiever?), but then someone settled on the idea of making them obnoxious fitness enthusiasts. Did I mention the name “Skip” is really terrible? Not as bad as ZIP OR FLIP, but seriously, SKIP. The duo debuted shortly after WrestleMania, and it didn’t take long for Skip to find himself on the heel side of the prelim group.

Skip with the early advantage and taunt the crowd with jumping jacks and push-ups. WHAT A JERK. Aldo quickly turns things in his favor, pulling off a three-piece combo coming out of an International and getting back at Skip with jumping jacks of his own. Aldo continues frustrating Skip with his speed and athleticism, but goes to the well too often and is caught mid-leapfrog with a powerslam. Aldo slips out of a second powerslam, but splashes into an empty pool on a blind body press and Skip follows up with a diving headbutt for two. Aldo finds himself on the floor and counters a suplex, taking Skip to the floor, and following with a plancha. Back inside, Skip begs off to no little mercy and Aldo runs wild with a series of chops and a missile dropkick. The two trade near-falls off a German suplex and Northern Lights bridge. Skip meets a boot in the corner and Aldo connects with a springboard bulldog. Aldo goes high risk again, this time met at the top, and Skip finishes with a super-plex at 8:52. Sunny and Skip can’t help but gloat afterwards, taunting the crowd for being out of shape losers. A fun, energetic match that delivered crisp action and execution, popped the crowd with a few big moves, and didn’t overstay its welcome. ***

Doink (the Clown) vs. Henry O. Godwinn:
This has potential to be a decent outing, depending on how much schtick we get from Doink, who is nearing the end of the road as a regular on the WWF circuit, with his last regular work coming at the end of July, and making a handful of TV appearances and a handful of live shows at year’s end. Henry O. Godwinn (HOG!) debuted towards the end of 1994, and while not a major player (shocker, I know), he was used regularly as a mid-tier gatekeeper to give their stars impressive wins on TV (guys like Bret Hart and Undertaker, for example, having competitive matches with him on several occasions). No Dink at ringside either, having made his last (documented) ringside appearance at the tapings in Danbury, CT on May 16th.

This match gets the “audience member serves as the guest ring announcer” treatment, a gimmick they used during their down period of the mid 90’s. Doink is a poor sport before the bell, kicking Godwinns’ bucket off the ring apron. HOG attempts and fails at a bum rush. Doink with the hip toss and slam combo and quickly starts working the leg. HOG kicks out of a spinning toe hold, sending Doink into the turnbuckle. Godwinn keeps things at a methodical pace before settling down with a chin-lock. Doink with an escape, but a knee to the midsection derails his momentum. We go back to the chin-lock, and this time it’s a back suplex that breaks the hold. Doink runs wild with a diving elbow and dropkick, but the back body-drop is countered and HOG finishes with the Slop Drop at 7:54. Your standard TV taping quality match, lacking excitement and felt like two guys going through the motions. *½

Man Mountain Rock vs. Mr. Bob Backlund:
OH GOD, NO. OK, first, we DO have a TV storyline here, though it’s a blink-and-you-miss it example, as Bob Backlund was not fond of Man Mountain’s rock music and in the one stand-out moment for TV, smashed up one of Rock’s guitars. Now, for the “OH GOD, NO”… if you are as familiar with fan-cam shows as I am, you know that Backlund has a regular habit of milking matches for 15-20 minutes where he does absolutely nothing until we get a flash pin. Man Mountain Rock debuted early in 1995, and he… plays the guitar. He also played the guitar in WCW, but it feels like he had a little more to him as Maxx Payne. Bob Backlund’s shine is completely gone, and he’s rarely appearing on TV (as an in-ring competitor) following WrestleMania XI.

Backlund comes out first and, as expected, yells over the house mic for a few minutes. Rock rushes the ring and the two trade blows, with Rock getting the best of the exchange. Mr. Bob gets fed up with Rock’s dominance and powders, using Rock’s impatience to grab the arm and snap it across the top rope. Mr. Bob keeps working the arm and teases the Chicken Wing, but then he’s distracted by the crowd yelling at him and Rock rolls him up for three at 1:42. THE FUCK WAS THAT? Well, it’s better than sitting through the same match for 15-minutes, but what a terrible, helps-no-one finish. ZERO STARS (I normally don’t rate matches that are this short, but that finish earned the zero)

Steel Cage Match: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sycho Sid (w/ Ted Dibiase):
(looks over the lineups from Europe) I guess I should have expected something like this, considering how many stars weren’t available. After losing the Finals of the Tag Team Tournament at the Royal Rumble, losing to Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI, and losing a WWF Championship Match against Diesel on Monday Night Raw, Ted Dibiase was finished with Bigelow’a lack of success and fired him, only for Bam Bam to do the old “you can’t fire me, I quit!” routine that just cements him as a huge loser we shouldn’t bother getting behind (and to cap it off, Sid laid him out to complete the segment). You could argue two of those losses were the result of Tatanka buffoonery, but he DID lose clean to a retired (and totally gassed) football player.

Bigelow climbs the cage to enter the ring, a cool visual to get the crowd pumped… then he gets on the microphone to say he would be stupid to come alone, and introduces everyone to WWF Champion Diesel, who has missed in-ring action following an elbow injury, with his last matches taking place during a loop of Canada in the days following In Your House. The action finally gets underway, with Bigelow unloading with rights and sending Sid into the turnbuckle. Bam Bam keeps up the assault until missing a dive, smacking the cage as a result. Sid attempts an escape but Diesel stands in his travel path, and since Sid can’t just shuffle over to a different side, he gives up and hits Bigelow with some crummy-looking kicks and body blows.

Bigelow takes advantage of another assist from Diesel (GEEK!) but gets slammed off the top rope. Diesel gets involved AGAIN, slamming the door on Sid, allowing Bigelow to roll him up for a near-fall. Yep, the “oh, we’re throwing in a pin attempt at random” spot. LOVE IT. Bigelow climbs again and this time Sid brings him off the turnbuckle with a one-handed Chokeslam. Sid takes FOREVER teasing a Powerbomb and ends up eating the steel. Bigelow climbs and we’re building to the “the boot pops off, allowing the escape” spot, but Sid cannot get that damn boot off, so Bigelow kicks him away and escapes for the victory at 8:30.

The crowd popped for the finish, so that’s a plus. Sid struggling and failing to remove Bigelow’s boot just lingered forever, and the match was mostly the typical poor execution from Sid, though we did get the big slam and chokeslam spots, which is always worth noting. Bigelow being the biggest geek possible is hard to overlook, needing Diesel to help him in what was otherwise a clean match from Sid (with only one example of Dibiase interference, and it coincided with a Diesel road block spot). *

WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. The Bushwhackers:
YES. THIS IS A MATCH THAT REALLY HAPPENED. The WWF tag team division is running four babyface teams deep across the two touring lineups, though only the Smoking Gunns have a legitimate future as a team as we get through the Summer. The Bushwhackers were making irregular appearances at this point, with only a handful of TV appearances (they were more prominently used in 1996, surprisingly). Owen and Yokozuna won the belts at WrestleMania XI and the tag belts just feel like a token prize that exists with no meat to their reign.

The crowd taunts the Champions with chants of U-S-A, and Owen responds by aggressively waving the Japanese flag. NOW THAT’S A HEEL. Owen starts with Butch, hitting him before a lockup with a boot to the midsection and a series of heel-ish attacks. Butch creates an opening, treating Owen like a ping-pong ball with Luke before a school-yard trip spot gets a two-count. Luke works the arm and grabs a handful of hair! DO SOMETHING, REF! Owen tries to return the favor, but doesn’t have much to work with. Good thing a thumb to the eye helps out. The heels have a miscommunication and the Bushwhackers clear out the ring. Yoko in for the first time, hitting Luke with an elbow and a series of chops. Luke continues taking the punishment until Yoko misses the corner avalanche, even with only starting his approach from center-ring. Butch in, and the challengers run wild, hitting both men with Battering Rams. The referee tries to get Luke out of the ring, which allows Yoko to leg drop Butch and Owen rolls on top to retain at 10:02. It wasn’t spectacular and there weren’t a whole lot of big moves, but they did a fine enough job to entertain and we didn’t get one “Bushwhacker bites someone” spots, which is always a positive. **

Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley:
We have covered Mr. Holly plenty, but for a quick synopsis, he debuted in early 1994 as Thurman “Sparky” Plugg, changed his name one day in the Fall, and is a part-time stock-car racer that serves as yet another prelim babyface who can have good matches, but more often than not looks up at the lights. Helmsley is another fresh face, having debuted after WrestleMania XI. Plucked away from WCW, Paul Levesque is portraying a Greenwich snob, which according to stories, was Vince’s knock at the “old money” that looked down on him and his family, and there’s not much else to the character. He’s a snob. He sticks his nose in the air. He’s also struggling to get much heat, because he doesn’t really do anything worth booing, even with those character traits.

Helmsley avoids the initial lockup, then pulls off the casual chain wrestling with a smugness and snobbery that feels like he was doing his best Lord Steven Regal impression. Holly quickens the pace, pulling off that world famous trio of an arm drag, hip toss and slam coming out of an International. A blow to the face has Helmsley hot and bothered, resulting in another mistake due to blind rage. Now I’m suddenly in the mood to play some Super Punch-Out for the SNES. Helmsley pops Holly with a closed fist and starts working the back. Holly fights out of a seated chin-lock and comes off the ropes with a spinning head-scissors. Whip to the corner, Holly with a back body-drop and dropkick for two. Helmsley’s Pedigree attempt is countered and Holly catches him off the ropes with a powerslam for two. Holly attempts another back body-drop, but Hunter counters and quickly hits the Pedigree for the victory at 6:56. Holly was always a good hand despite his reputation among the hardcores and Helmsley is fine, but this didn’t have much time to go anywhere, and Holly’s comeback felt a bit rushed. **½

WWF Intercontinental Championship Match:
“Double J” Jeff Jarrett (c) (w/ The Roadie) vs. Savio Vega:
As we found out earlier in the show, Savio is subbing for the injured Razor Ramon. Savio made his surprise debut at the inaugural In Your House PPV, coming to Razor’s aid following his handicap match with Jarrett and the Roadie. Prior to that, Savio worked as the masked ninja, Kwang, throughout all of 1994 and even appeared on WWF TV just days before the PPV (though obviously taped several weeks ahead of time). Jarrett had an interesting 1994, struggling to get much momentum, but once he introduced the audience to his roadie (Brian Armstrong, son of Bullet Bob), we finally found the winning formula and Jarrett started to become an interesting character and snatched the Championship from Razor at the Royal Rumble.

Jarrett camps out on the floor with his chicken-sh*t heel routine. Roadie doesn’t waste time being a nuisance, distracting Savio for Jarrett to get the jump on him. Savio fires back, only for Roadie to pick his ankle, but this time Savio avoids the attack from behind and maintains control. Roadie with Plan B, hopping on the apron for something more blatant, but that backfires as well, with Jarrett popping him with an elbow, then Savio knocking Jarrett over the top rope with a clothesline. From there, Jarrett teases taking the count-out, only to break the count with a quick in-and-out. Savio is fed up with the antics and chases Jarrett in the ring, but that only lasts so long. Another powder, and this time Roadie nails him as the referee turns towards Jeff in the ring.

Jeff and Roadie take turns getting shots in with the referee having a hard time keeping the duo in his line of vision at the same time. Double J with a swinging neck breaker and flying body press, but Savio rolls through for a near-fall. Jarrett slows it down with the abdominal stretch, using the rope and the Roadie for added leverage. Savio escapes but is cut off again by Roadie interference. Whip to the ropes and Savio counters a knee lift with a rolling school-boy for two. Savio finally mounted the big comeback, planting Jarrett with a uranage. Savio with a side slam, but Roadie saves by getting Jarrett’s foot to the ropes. Whip and Savio with a straight boot to the face. Roadie hops on the apron and is sent back to the apron, and a spinning heel kick knocks Jarrett out of the ring, and NOW we get the lame count-out finish at 10:55, giving Savio the victory but not the Championship. Some classic heel work from Double J and Roadie, Savio is an underrated plucky babyface, and the crowd was heavily invested by the time they were taking it home. Obviously, we weren’t getting a title change, and the big substitution for a match of importance means “put the babyface over”, but it’s still a weak finish to a strong effort. ***¼

The British Bulldog vs. Tatanka (w/ Ted Dibiase):
We’re finishing with this one, huh? Fine. I don’t have much positive to say about this, because we’re at the end of the trail for Tatanka’s time in the WWF (he would disappear shortly after King of the Ring, and resurface briefly between the 96 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania XII). He’s scheduled to team with Sid to take on Diesel and Bam Bam at the PPV, and is quite clearly positioned as the fall guy. The Bulldog is stuck in a tag team with Lex Luger, “The Allied Powers”, and they’re not doing much of anything, even with them set up a few weeks later to be the challengers of the month for Yokozuna and Owen.

Tatanka cuts off the initial lockup with a boot to the midsection, but Bulldog quickly takes control and sends him out of the ring following a clothesline. Back inside, Tatanka gets his shots in before getting caught in a wrist-lock. Whip to the ropes and Bulldog counters a back body-drop with the delayed vertical suplex for a two-count. A handful of tights sends Bulldog to the floor, allowing Dibiase to get a few shots in. Tatanka wants in on the fun too and sends Bulldog crashing into the steps. Back inside, the match slows considerably with a pair of chin-locks. Bulldog avoids Tatanka’s signature jumping elbow and runs wild with clotheslines. Dibiase with the distraction, but Bulldog maintains control. He sets up for the Powerslam, but Tatanka holds the ropes and falls on top for two. Whip to the ropes and Bulldog counters a knee-lift with a rolling school-boy for three at 8:53. I’m not breaking new ground describing why this match didn’t work for me; Tatanka is one of the least-interesting heel workers you could find, with zero instincts and an inability to work the crowd. Bulldog, on the other hand, CAN have entertaining matches, but usually falls under the “works at the level of his opponent” file, and you get this, a match with a few brief moments of fun, otherwise a cure for insomnia. *

Strength of Card: Sub-par. We’re working with a split squad here, and not only did we not get top babyfaces Bret Hart, The Undertaker or the recently turned Shawn Michaels, but Diesel and Razor Ramon are out with injuries, resulting in the substitutions we got with Bam Bam Bigelow and Savio Vega. With all that said, the only matches on the card with a TV presence were Bigelow/Sid (reasonable) and… Man Mountain Rock vs. Bob Backlund. Everything else is just matches thrown out there to fill the lineup, and it’s one match after another with prelim/lower-mid level gimmicks that aren’t lighting the world on fire.

Highs: Though it doesn’t jump out on paper, Double J and Savio are two incredibly underrated workers and delivered a strong match, hitting the correct notes with their heel and babyface work respectively, drawing the audience in and being emotionally invested. We also get a fun contest between Aldo Montoya and Skip (what an awful name), and hey, the Bushwhackers had a decent match in 1995!

Lows: The two worst matches (not including the 102-seconds of Mr. Bob and Mr. Rock) were two of the highest profile matches (including the legit Main Event of the card), with Sid and Bigelow having a blah Steel Cage Match (with a couple of decent bumps from Bam Bam) and Tatanka and Bulldog mostly sleep-walking through their match.

Final Thoughts: When checking out a show from this era, you go in with reasonably low expectations, and while there’s a couple of stinkers here, everything moves quick enough that the bad doesn’t weigh down the enjoyment that the rest of the card delivers. We don’t have a strong card, and the lineup is filled with a parade of lame gimmicks and one-note characters with little direction, but most-everyone is putting effort into their performance, and the guys who don’t are very obvious (I’m looking at you, Doink Liccachelli). Couple that with clean video quality and every match presented in full, and you have a fun 2-hours. Did I mention a reasonably decent BUSHWHACKERS match?