(12.17.95)
Live from Hershey, PA
Attendance: 7,289
Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler
Razor Ramon & Marty Janetty Vs The 123 Kid & Sycho Sid (W/Ted Dibiase)
Goldust is shown watching in the crowd. There is also a "Marty must die" sign! Wow. Stay classy, Hershey. Razor and Janetty win after Razor pins Sid with a bulldog. This was an OK way to start the show. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it does just enough to keep the viewer invested. I was surprised that Sid got pinned with a measly bulldog, though. The highlight of this match is Goldust's bizarre lengthy monologue
**1/4
Jerry Lawler has a surprise for us all. His surprise is the return of Jeff Jarrett. Jerry Lawler presents Jeff Jarrett with a gold CD to commemorate over 5,000 sales of his album "Ain't I Great" He's working on a new album "Greater Than Great" and declares himself the first entrant of the 1996 Royal Rumble.
Thoughts: Jarrett left the WWF earlier in 95 after his loss to Shawn Michaels at an In Your House PPV. He'd stay a couple of months before bolting to WCW.
Ahmed Johnson Vs "Nature Boy" Buddy Landell
Jarrett joins Vince and Lawler for commentary. Dean Douglas was the original opponent, but he cites a back injury will prevent him from competing. In reality, Douglas was leaving the WWF for ECW. Landell comes out with Ric Flair gear, as well as Flair's old WWF theme song. Johnson wins in 42 seconds with a Pearl River Plunge.
DUD
After the match, Jerry Lawler conducts an interview with Ahmed. Ahmed calls Jeff Jarrett a "Achy Breaky Heart wannabe" (Well, okay, then) Jarrett nails Ahmed from behind with the gold CD Lawler gave him, then he gives him a couple chair shots to the head as well. Ahmed, virtually no-sells it and chases Jarrett to the back.
Thoughts: This was done to set up a feud between Ahmed and Jarrett.
Hogpen Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs Henry Godwin
In order to win, you have to toss your opponent into a hog pen filled with pigs. Hillbilly Jim is the guest referee. Godwin goes to clothesline Hunter into the hog pen but Hunter ends up backdropping him straight into the hog pen to win the match. Hunter gets thrown in the hog pen anyway to a big pop. This was a relatively painless brawl that went better than I expected. Hunter was undefeated so the win made sense. At one point, Hunter gets a small gash on his back from being whipped into the gate for the hog pen.
*3/4
Diesel Vs Owen Hart (W/Jim Cornette)
Diesel has the match won with a jackknife, but Diesel picks him up during the count and delivers another jackknife. Ostensibly, that's enough to get Diesel disqualified. This was unmitigated dominance from Diesel. Owen got in a few moves here and there, but this was mostly about Diesel getting revenge for Shawn Michaels. Owen is protected somewhat by the finish since he didn't get pinned, but that's not saying much.
*1/2
In a really silly segment, Ted Dibiase tries to buy Savio Vega, but he refuses. The Santa that comes out with Savio Vega ends up attacking Savio Vega. The point being illustrated is that even Santa has a price for The Million Dollar Man. Santa is played by Balls Mahoney.
Casket Match
King Mabel (W/Sir Mo) Vs The Undertaker (W/Paul Bearer)
The Undertaker wins and gets the remnants of the urn back. This was as bad as I expected. Thankfully, it was short and that made it less painful. Mabel would leave the WWF shortly after this and wouldn't return until 1999.
½*
WWF Championship
Bret Hart (C) Vs The British Bulldog (W/Jim Cornette & Diana Smith)
Bret Hart retains the title with a Magistral Cradle. What a match! These two busted their asses to give us a very memorable match. Bret being busted open on the forehead really added some great emotion to this match. The Bulldog's penchant for the reverse chinlock in the start of the match brings the match down a notch, but once they got going they never stopped. I also liked the finish to the match as well. It was a nice tribute to the finish of their match at Summerslam 92. My only huge complaint are the constant closeups of Diana Smith. That wasn't necessary
****1/4 (out of 5)
Diesel and The Undertaker go face to face backstage after Diesel complains about not getting a rematch. Diesel was slowly turning heel at this point. As most know, Diesel would face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 12.
Great main event aside, this is a pretty run of the mill event. The WWF was in for some drastic changes. Diesel, Razor Ramon, and a couple of other key players would be on their way out of the WWF not too long after Wrestlemania 12. The main event is a must see, everything else is passable.
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