The SmarK Rant for Rare Matches from the WWE Vault – 08.08.25

The SmarK Rant for Rare Matches from the WWE Vault – 08.08.25

Originally written 08.08.25

I suspect that these are going to come from the WWE Unreleased DVD set as well, but let’s give them a look. This is “Rare Live Event Matches from the WWF New Generation”

https://youtu.be/FUiO7UbijUU?si=D7oG6KpK7Vnl2pPk

Shawn Michaels & Diesel v. Bret Hart & Undertaker

From MSG in March 1996, with Dok Hendrix doing ring announcing for some reason. This was a surprisingly big show for them, drawing 17000 at a time when they weren’t doing great for attendance. And Shawn in particular seems really jacked to be there. Shawn trades armbars with Bret while Diesel and Undertaker immediately brawl to the back, and Shawn controls with an armbar on the mat. Well that cooled off the crowd quick. Bret slugs away in the corner and drops an elbow on him before going to a chinlock. Bret goes to a chinlock and we get a bizarre overdub of crowd noise, I guess to cover up them calling spots or something? There’s no commentary on the match so I don’t really know the purpose. Bret with a legsweep and he beats on Shawn with forearms in the corner until Shawn fires back, but then he misses a blind charge and hits the post. Bret sends him into the corner for a Flair Flip and works the back, and now Undertaker and Diesel finally return from playing poker or whatever they were doing in the dressing room and Undertaker tags in. Taker chokes Shawn out and Bret puts the boots to him, but then Diesel grabs Taker and they fight up the aisle again and it’s back to the magical ether of the dressing room! Good work if you can get it. Maybe they were piloting remote work for the wrestlers back in 1996. We’re clipped a bit to Shawn going to the top rope and Bret slamming him off for two. Piledriver gets two. Bret with another chinlock and we get ANOTHER bizarre overdub of white noise to cover something up before Shawn fights out of it. Shawn with the sleeper, but Bret drops him with a back suplex and they collide for a double down. Bret comes back while Undertaker returns again and goes to work on Shawn with the old school ropewalk before choking him out in the corner. Shawn makes the comeback with a pair of flying forearms and a dropkick for two. And this brings Diesel back from the dressing room, as he takes out Bret on the floor and then brings a chair into the ring and beats on the babyfaces for the DQ at 14:40. Shawn is pretty dismayed with his big buddy, but then he turns his back and Diesel turns on him before running away. Undertaker was literally in the match for a minute, if that, and the rest was just a lethargic house show match between Bret and Shawn. *1/2. I don’t know what was up with Diesel and Undertaker just staying in the back for the whole match. NOT THAT I’M COMPLAINING about less Kevin Nash.

Pierre of the Quebecers v. Mabel

We are in MSG again, November 1994 this time. Mabel immediately throws him out and then hits him with a back suplex in the ring and beats on him for a bit before clotheslining him to the floor again. Pierre milks the count outside for a while and then counters a suplex by reversing his momentum and necking Mabel on the top rope, and that’s a pretty nice move. Back in the ring, Pierre chokes him out on the ropes, but he charges and Mabel puts him on the floor again as poor Pierre is just out there taking bumps for four people. He comes back in with a missile dropkick for two, however. More choking and he goes up with a middle rope elbow for two. Mabel misses a charge and knocks himself out, allowing Pierre to go up with the flying legdrop and then put Mabel on the floor for a somersault plancha as he was really trying to make a case for himself out there. Back in the ring, Mabel makes the comeback and slugs away on him before hitting a backdrop and the leg lariat for two. Mabel with the corner splash and he finishes with a flying bodypress off the middle rope at 10:00. I mean, I wouldn’t call it GOOD, but it way overdelivered thanks to Pierre working for 16 guys. **1/2

Mankind v. Undertaker

Back to a Meadowlands house show in July 1996. Mankind beats on him in the corner and they brawl to the floor, where Taker gets some revenge by running him into the stairs and hitting him with a big boot to take over. Back in the ring, Taker misses a blind charge and Mankind puts him down with a clothesline and slugs away in the corner. Taker bumps to the floor off an elbow, but Mankind charges and hits the post by mistake, so he goes with the less elegant solution of choking Taker with a cable. Back in the ring, Taker tries for a tombstone and Mankind escapes that and chokes him out on the ropes before putting the boots to him in the corner. Taker bails to the floor, so Mankind drops an elbow off the apron. Back in the ring, Mankind drops another elbow and goes to a nerve pinch, but Taker fights out of that and Mankind bumps to the floor and into the railing for a low key sick bump. So Taker tosses him into the crowd and poor Mick goes flying over the railing on the way in, and then Taker tosses him back over the railing again before following with a flying clothesline over the railing himself! OK that was cool. “I thought you came here to get away from that stuff?” quips a guy at ringside. Back in the ring, Mankind catches him with another clothesline for two and drops a leg on him for two. So Mankind has a tantrum in the corner and gives his claw fingers a pep talk, but Taker does the zombie situp and makes the comeback with the flying clothesline. So Mankind necks him on the top rope to cut him off and goes up to the top, but Taker brings him down with a chokeslam. Tombstone follows at 17:00. This was a hell of a match for a 1996 house show. ***3/4

WWF Intercontinental title: Razor Ramon v. Jeff Jarrett

From the Montreal Forum in November 1994. We get the stalling to start and Jarrett takes him down to slap him around a bit, so Razor slugs him into the corner and Jarrett goes to the floor off that. Back in, Razor catches him with the sack of shit slam for two and goes to the armbar, returning the slaps from earlier. Jarrett hits him with dropkicks NOT ONCE, NOT TWICE, BUT THRICE and follows with a back suplex for two. Sunset flip gets two. JJ with the chinlock, but Razor escapes with a backslide for two and then Jeff slugs him down again and puts the boots to him. Enzuigiri gets two. Jarrett goes back to the chinlock and then turns it into a sleeper and follows with a neckbreaker for two. To the top, but Razor rolls through a bodypress and gets two. Jarrett goes back to the chinlock. Razor fights out of it and makes the comeback, and they fight to the floor off that, but Jarrett runs him into the apron and beats the count at 13:44. Decent match with a lame finish. **1/2

WWF title: The Undertaker v. Steve Austin

We are in the SKYDOME in June 1997 during the weird period when the WWF was doing house shows there. Also Steve has a tag team title with him because this was the brief period when he and Shawn Michaels were tag team champions before immediately imploding. I kinda love that Undertaker’s music has now added synth guitar riffs that sound like the music from WCW Revenge on the N64. Can’t get more late 90s than that. And of course, Paul Bearer is managing Undertaker during the period when Taker was reluctantly teaming up with his old manager to prevent the release of the Kane Files. Taker works the arm and hits the ropewalk for two, so Austin bails to the floor and walks it off as the crowd is dead silent. Or it could just be really bad mixing. Taker runs him into the stairs and gets two off that in the ring, and he follows with a sleeper that Austin counters with a jawbreaker. Austin with a back elbow for two and he goes to the chinlock, but Taker slugs out of that before missing a charge. Austin puts him down with an elbow for two. Austin drops elbows on him and goes to another chinlock. “Go back to Texas, you bum!” notes someone in the front row. To be fair that would apply to either guy. They slug it out and Austin loses that battle in a hurry as Taker comes back with the flying clothesline. Taker with the chokeslam and he counters the stunner into a tombstone for the pin at 11:10 to retain. Surprisingly cold match between the two hottest stars of the time. **

A fascinating little slice of history here as the WWE Vault continues to do the lord’s work.