The Hart Foundation has been heralded as one of the best tag teams in the history of the WWF and wrestling in general. This claim has been explored in the followed, which I do not feel hold under scrutiny.
Here is an article from the Bleacher Report:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/441549-creature-vs-creature-the-greatest-tag-team-ever
or the WWE trying to promote greatness of Hart Foundation:
http://www.wwe.com/inside/listthis/greatesttagteams/greatesttagteams3
or this author claiming the Hart Foundation is the greatest tag team of the 80s:
http://www.wrestleenigma.com/eve-why-the-hart-foundation-is-best-tag-team-team-of-the-1980s.
All these articles stick to mostly platitudes and generalizations. There is often a lot to be made out of the Hart Foundation and British Bulldogs feud, but there is never any specifics about what made them great. A lot it is taken for granted based on Bret Hart's name, which carries more weight than the actual matches. Instead of dismissing this out of hand due to natural skepticism, I wanted to evaluate the Hart Foundation on their work and against their peers. I arrived two conclusions: Bret Hart is an incredible ring general, but his matches often lack a sense of struggle and urgency.
What you can see from 80s Bret matches are not these spectacular matches per se, but a spectacular ring general. All of his matches feature his moves, his spots and his bumps. This is not diminish the contributions of others in his matches, but rather to observe that many Bret matches feature him as the driving force. This is a rare talent in wrestling. Usually two wrestlers combine their different spots with the ultimate goal of trying to craft a cohesive match. Bret takes the onus off his opponent and stress off the promoter by being able to have a complete match unto himself. This is the type of talent that the NWA World Heavyweight Champions such as Harley Race and Ric Flair possessed. The Alliance recognized this talent and awarded them with the belt. I believe that Vince McMahon recognized this talent in Bret at an early stage and often gave him chances to prove himself both in singles and as a tag team champion. I found that Vince's hesitation to commit to pushing Bret in the late 80s until 1991 hurt Bret in the short term (lack of great match output), but it was a boon for him in the long-run. By displaying great patience, Vince timed Bret's push perfectly so that he did not crash into the ceiling of Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior. It would have been foolish to waste Bret's gifts on the mid-card because a wrestler with his ability is able to make vast assortment of wrestler look like a million bucks. You can actually observe Bret's future superstardom in his poise in the ring and his ability construct solid, logical matches in 1985. However, Bret's commitment to structure does lead to a very mechanical cold feel in matches when he is not wrestling great wrestlers.
In some ways, Bret was a victim of circumstance in these hyper-compressed, spot-oriented matches. However, other wrestlers had to deal with the same environment and performed better matches. Those wrestlers would often suffer peaks and troughs whereas Bret was always very steady, only having one incredible peak against Randy Savage at SNME. I feel that more environment it is Bret's own commitment to structure that sometimes leads to the viewer feeling cold in his matches. His matches are super-segmented. He sticks very closely to babyface shine->heel heat ->finish. All wrestling matches loosely follow this structure, but Bret matches feature usually very little struggle within a segment. Often the matches feel like exhibitions where the people taking the moves just allow the moves to be hit. There is no struggle and in a pseudo-competitive environment you still want to see a sense of one team overcoming the other team. Another team that sticks to a very super-segmented structure is Demolition, but unlike the Hart Foundation, Demolition makes their opponents work for their offense and adapt their layout to their opponents. Unlike Hart Foundation, their execution is usually lacking and they feel like they are putting in the bare minimum of effort to perform their match.
I am looking at the nascent period of Bret's WWF career it is only expected to see Bret's raw talent for match construction to be apparent, but still unrefined. As he would go long, he would transform into an incredible big match wrestler. His execution was always second to none as he always hit his moves with such crispness. There is no challenge there for Bret. What separate the elite from the good wrestlers is their ability to arrange their moves, spots and bumps into masterpieces. You could tell from the outset Bret was looking for that challenge and was determined to succeed.
The Choice Cuts of Hart Foundation Heel Run (1985-87):
Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 3/86
Bret Hart vs Randy Savage SNME 11/87
Hart Foundation vs Strike Force 11/87
Survivor Series '87
Just miss the cut:
Hart Foundation vs Islanders 11/86
Hart Foundation vs Rougeaus 3/87
Hart Foundation vs British Bulldogs 7/87
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| Bret lay off the twinkies. :) |
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British Bulldogs vs Hart Foundation – Philly 4/27/85
The very first Bulldogs/Hart Foundation featured a similar
structure to the rest of the Bulldogs/Harts match, but it lacks of a lot of the
usual spots (blind knee, Demolition Decapitation, Bret getting tangled in the
ropes). It is structure that is not seen very often in WWF. It is a short shine
with a double face in peril and I would hypothesize it is the influence of the
AWA on Stampede Wrestling. I would also assert this is not a style that suits
the offensive dynamos that are the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs excel where they can
just kick ass and hit a ton of their crazy spots. When you have someone like a
Hammer in there, to hit them in the mouth, you can get a really fun give and
take. I really did not care much for 5/85 MSG match between these two and I would
say this is a bit better than that, but
was just an average match. As I said above, it was a short shine with the stock
Bret Hart bump off the hammerlock and the Dynamite enziguiri. I really liked
the organic feel of the knee lift collision between Bret and Dynamite that
leads to a pretty boring Dynamite Kid heat segment. They do the Bret/Dynamite I
can’t hit a backbreaker and Dynamite hits one. I forgot how fucking awesome
Davey Boy dropkick is. Neidhart cuts him off from behind with a groin shot. Fuck
man and an even more boring heat segment ensues. This is mechanical, cold Bret
Hart at his worst as we a lot of shoulder rubs. Dick Graham mentions “SUPLEX
CITY!” Davey Boy just stops selling and cuts Bret off on top and hits a monster
missile dropkick! Dynamite whips Bret into Neidhart and now the Bret Bump! He
is a house afire and we get an ab stretch??? Tombstone Piledriver! That’s
better. Now Davey Boy powerslam! Dynamite starts wasting time going into the draw. Awfully cold finish. Better
structure than the 5/85 tag, but Bret Hart is just working how you are supposed
to rather than with your gut. Bret is a great ring general and brings a lot to
the match, but when he was not feeling it then it would just leave you feeling
cold. ***
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The British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation - 7/85 MSG
One of my favorite Bret spots is his leverage spot which results in someone taking a dive out to the floor. What I like about it most is that either Bret or his opponent could take it, which makes it one of the versatile spots in wrestling. Bret is definitely a big fan of the kneelift to set up his heat segments during this time period. Everything does even back in 1985 just looks so crisp. I know Bret prides himself on this, but I still cant help but compliment him on his ability to execute moves without being stiff. I like stiff wrestling as much as the next wrestling fan, but I think it is pretty nifty that Bret can make everything he do look so good without being stiff. Bret gives Davey a backbreaker so Anvil can deliver Demolition Decapitation. Wait, I thought this was the Bulldogs thread. Just on cue, here come Dynamite to bring the offense to this match with his nasty hooking clothesline and Davey Boy comes back in with a running powerslam. Now he takes the leverage move to the outside. After trading a couple Boston Crabs, they are just killing time to the curfew finish.
This was an ok first match from these two "vaunted" teams of the golden era of the tag division. It was definitely action-packed, but it felt oddly directionless and unheated for a match involving Bret Hart. I always feel like Bret is more likely to have a boring match than a directionless match. At the same time, the Bulldogs seemed to keep things moving, but didn't bust out their big guns for the match. Recommended only if you are a completist, but arent all we. :)
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Dynamite Kid vs Bret "The Hitman" Hart - 9/85 Landover
Good opening sequence sees a quick criss cross sequence end with Bret Hart taking a catapult into the turnbuckle and bumping to the floor. Hart takes an atomic drop hard and then a snap suplex. Dynamite, oddly, goes for a chinlock, but Bret reverses into a hammerlock and Bret takes his own leverage bump to the floor. I see the chinlock was needed to get Bret to do his bump, I hate those sequences. They do the Stampede reverse of the wristlock, but Bret goes to do it: he just kips up and punches Dynamite. I liked that a lot. Bret hits the knee lift to start his heat segment.
Everything Bret hits just looks so crisp. He was a big fan of the bodyslam on the concrete during his heat segments. Bret is actually pretty decent at working the crowd at this point, it just seems like no one cares because they just see him as a newbie. Dynamite and Davey Boy are perfectly capable of selling they just seem unwilling to do it like it is nuisance. Whereas, Bret actually takes the time to sell one of his own headbutts. The sunset flip by Dynamite gets a decent pop so maybe I spoke too soon. No one bites on the backslide. Bret does the attempted backbreaker/opponent flips/opponent hits backbreaker or bodyslam spot, which looks good. One of the reasons, Bret and Flair set themselves apart is because they already have whole matches developed unto themselves. They have multiple spots for their opponents to do to them, which takes the onus off less talented wrestlers.
Bret is up first and ties Dynamite up only to take his throw himself in the ropes bump. Dynamite up with his hooking clothesline, hair pull/throwdown (Bret did it earlier) and Bret takes his patented bump chest first into buckle bump. Wicked sweet back suplex by Dynamite only get two follows that up with a second-rope kneedrop and only gets two. On a criss cross sequence, Dynamite trips over Bret and takes a header into the ropes. I have seen plenty of Bret matches and I dont recognize that as one of his spots. Is it a Dynamite spot? If so, it is a really good one. Dynamite takes the Bret leverage bump and while we are on replay we almost miss Dynamite winning with a reverse cradle.
This was a pretty good sprint for 11 minutes. You could already tell Bret was main event material in the way that this was the total Bret show. Almost every spot was a Bret concoction that he would learn to craft into fantastic 30 minute affairs. Dynamite is a great offensive dynamo and holds up his end on selling. It isn't anywhere near the best Bret match, but it is an important match to show how many tools Bret already had in his arsenal in 1985.
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The British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation - 9/85 MSG
Better match than their last outing. This one had the better shine than the July affair. The Hart Foundation really milks it and the Bulldogs are bringing their A game offense with Dynamite's catapult, Davey Boy's powerslam and victory roll. Bret does his knee lift to seemingly set up Davey Boy for a heat segment, but it is a pysche out as Dynamite comes in. Only this time, for Dynamite to run the ropes and take a blind knee to the back (a Hart Foundation staple). Dynamite really throws himself into the bumps thats the good thing, but apparently thinks selling just consists of laying motionless. Bret hits his bodyslam on the outside. Bret and Davey Boy do a good chase sequence, which breaks up the heat segment nicely. The transition is the same as the previous match with Bret tying up Dynamite in the ropes and Bret eating ropes. I would be remiss to mention that they botch the Bret backbreaker->DK flip out->DK backbreaker spot, but thankfully they don't redo the spot. Davey Boy comes in and cant stop Irish Whipping people. The Hart Foundation love having their opponents Irish Whip Bret into Anvil or vice versa. That's the first time I have brought up the Anvil that just seems wrong because he has been entertaining, but I guess nothing noteworthy so far. Davey Boy hits his gorilla press slam, but the Hart Foundation counters into Demolition Decapitation and then a top rope version of the Hart Attack. However, while the ref was distracted Dynamite comes flying off with a diving headbutt and rolls Davey Boy on top.
I wouldn't say as good as the Dream Team/Bulldogs 2 out of 3 Falls, but still very entertaining. I feel like the Hart Foundation are eating up the Bulldogs a bit too much and this match definitely felt more like the Bret show. I think Valentine was able to play to the Bulldogs strengths better.
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British Bulldogs vs Hart Foundation – Cap Center 1/18/86
The best part of this match was the fantastic build to the
hot tag. Everything about this match was geared towards the hot tag and it
really made you feel like this was the most important thing in the world to
these four men. That level of investment creates great drama. The Hart
Foundation matches for the Bulldogs are unlike anything else that the Bulldogs
do. The Bulldogs are offense-oriented team and they do not excel at selling. The
Hart Foundation guzzled them in each of their early matches in ’85-’86. Yes, we
still get the babyface shine with Davey Boy making Anvil look foolish and
overwhelming Bret with speed. Relatively quickly compared to other WWF tag team
matches, Bret Hart cheapshots Davey Boy on a tag exchange. Bret hits his staples
like the backbreaker and middle rope elbow and the heat segments contains
plenty of cheating behind the ref’s back. Davey is able to crawl underneath
Anvil and tag out to Dynamite. Dynamite’s hot tag was very short-lived and only
featured Bret’s trademark bump off the railing to the apron. Of course, what
cut off the Dynamite momentum was of course the blind knee in the back. Then we
get the rest of the Hart Foundation staples: bodyslam on floor, Demolition
Decapitation and Bret suplex. Dynamite gets a little chippy and Neidhary clamps
on a facelock and they really milk the hot tag with Bret goading a chase, false
tag, and hope spots. This leads to high drama in the match, but Bret falls prey
to the temptation to finally crossbody Dynamite in the ropes. Davey Boy was
such a great hot tag with a superb dropkick. Press slamming Bret to Neidhart
and a running powerslam to Neidhart, but he is not the legal man. Now, Dynamite
is in and a huge missile dropkick from Dynamite Kid, but a fracas breaks out leading
to superplex that knocks out both men. Neidhart comes in and puts Bret on top
for a shocking 3. They were billing this early on as a number one contender’s
match and since the Bulldogs were the ace faces set to face the Tag Team
Champions Dream Team I thought they were a lock to win. I have not watched the
9/85 MSG in a while, but I would say this was on par with that match and
featured a lot of similar spots.
The Hart Foundation vs Killer Bees - 2/86 MSG
The one thing I never got about the Killer Bees is how they were supposed to be faces with the Masked Confusion gimmick. Anyways, this starts off with the Bees doing some token leg work on Anvil (think Rockers, but not as exciting), which culminates in a figure-4 that Bret breaks up. Jimmy Hart, clearly 20 years ahead of his time, gets mocked for shopping at a Thrift Shop. Bret slips on the second rope while going for a second rope elbow (a rare sighting of this Bret bump). Brunzell is a house with a small stovetop fire, dangerous, but easily quenched by a blind knee in the back (the ultimate Hart Foundation transition spot). Usual Hart Foundation heat segment: bodyslam on concrete, Demolition Decapitation, and the irish whip sling shot move. I remember this being a little too front facelock-y. Brunzell hits his sweeeeeeet dropkick (Bulldog's is still more impactful), but cant capitalize. The Hart Foundation Irish whip sling shot misses this time around.
Blair is a house afire: punches, small package, bodyslams and atomic drops (Bret bumps into Anvil). After the Hart Foundation collision, Brunzell hits his dropkick, but alas we hit the time limit draw. I thought this was on par with 9/85 Bulldogs match with good solid work. The Hart Foundation/Bulldogs would eventually exceed this match in 1987, but for now it is on par with that.
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Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 3/86
This seemed like a solid match and one of the better WWF Steamboat matches that doesn't have Savage involved. Steamboat just never seemed to fit in the WWF something about just seemed so wrong. Bret Hart blindsides him early. The standard Bret turnbuckle bump leads to Steamboat's arm work, which is solid, but uninspiring. Bret transitions with a swinging neckbreaker, a little bit too much of a babyface transition. Bret does one of his favorite 80s sequences: goes for a backbreaker, opponent reverses into a bodyslam, but the wrinkle here is Bret gets the knees up on the splash. Excellent, excellent sequence as you get the hope spot, Steamboat desperately trying to capitalize, but in his overzealousness he over reaches and the Hitman is able to one-up him. Bret follows up with his bodyslam on the parquet floor and successfully gets the backbreaker. Bret misses second-rope elbow and here comes the Steamer. Bret gets a visual pin off a ref bump if I do recall correctly, but the finish ultimately is Steamboat rolling through a Bret cross-body for the win.
I have been down on Steamboat lately and this is a perfectly good match, but I think Bret is once again the better wrestler in this match and his fingerprints are all over it. Bret can have some borefests, but he did get better at structuring his matches, though that maybe a consequence of McMahon giving him more than 10 minutes at a time.
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Hart Foundation vs Rougeau Brothers - WWF, MSG 9/22/86
This one is on me for not making sure we watched it for Tag Teams Back Again as it is significant for the Rougeaus debut in MSG and just being a plain fun match. These two teams had better chemistry in this face/heel alignment than they did upon their double turn in 1988 if memory serves me correctly. I did like the Hart Foundation title defense in Boston in 87 better, but this was featured some really fun sequences. I really liked the opening shine. Bret Hart had no defense for the Rougeaus dropkick and he took some massive bumps out of the ring for it. The Anvil/Jacques shouldertackle sequence was the best and right up there with the Rockers stuff. Definitely recommend people checking that out. Jacques gets the Boston Crab, but Bret clubs him. I thought this a bit better than your standard Hart Foundation heat segment (cheating, front facelock, Demolition Decapitation, bodyslam on the floor) because Jacques was able to build some drama through failed hope spots like his monkey flip and crash and burn on the reverse cross body. I thought Anvil and Bret showed great urgency in cutting the ring. off. Bret sets him up in the ropes for his big miss into the ropes to do the transition WAIT! HE HIT THE MOVE SUCCESSFULYY! WTF! I dont think I have ever seen that. Bret misses his second rope elbow and Raymond comes in about as piping hot as he can. I like his spinkick, but he does not have much less. There is a fun Bret and Jacques chase sequence. Bret thinks he has felled Jacques, but he leaps over the ropes to the get the sunset flip and in the fracas the ref loses track of the legal man and counts the pin. Very fun shine, an above average heat segment makes this an easy recommendation. ***1/2
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Bret "Hitman" Hart vs Raymond Rougeau 10/86 MSG
Bret missed his true calling as a cowardly heel as he is quite entertaining in this role. He freaks out over his sunglasses getting destroyed is a nice touch. Raymond does a monkey flip. Bret tries one, but telegraphs and Raymond just stomps on his face, great sequence. Bret grinds the match to a halt with a chinlock. Raymond makes him comeback, but is missing Jacques' spark. They sure did toss piledrivers like candy in the 80s as Raymond cant get the three. Bret bumps well off an atomic drop before he double legs Raymond (ref distraction) and puts his feet on the ropes for the win.
Seems like the only major feud the Rougeaus had as babyfaces was with the New Dream Team. In short, only the title match with the Hart Foundation in Boston is worth seeing.
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WWF World Tag Champs British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation 11/1/86
Last time, we saw these teams face off was about a year ago. The Bulldogs have wrested the titles off the Dream Team in a fantastic match and defended the title against the teams the likes of Sheik & Volkoff. While the Hart Foundation matured as a team against the Killer Bees. The Hart Foundation trap Dynamite in the corner, but the fights out, which is one of my favorite early shine spots. Now we do Davey Boy vs Anvil, but Bulldog can't budge the Anvil and ends up taking a powerslam. This begins the heat segment a little bit earlier than I was prepared for.
The heat segment is a Best Of Hart Foundation spots collection. They are all there for your enjoyment: Anvil slingshotting Bret over the ropes, Demolition Decapitation, the blind knee to the back, Bret's bodyslam on the concrete, Bret irish whipping Anvil into his opponent. I like the Hart Foundation offense just fine, but have three major qualms. First, it made the match totally about the Hart Foundation. It felt like the Bulldogs were just any opponents taking the Hart Foundation's offense. It could have been the Killer Bees, Islanders or Rockers. I like when matches utilize the differences to make a unique match that only these two teams could have. Bret just seemed like he wanted to do "plug and play" in this match. Second, Davey Boy is no Ricky Morton. This could have been Bret eating him up, but some of the onus has to be on him to perform hope spots and make people notice him and not just be a rag doll out there. The first two points culminate in my last point, I hate how this match had no sense of struggle. When wrestling matches become exhibitions, they lose their gravitas. Exhibitions are useful in wrestling for getting over offense or gimmicks, but in title matches against established opponents I expect a sense of struggle towards victory, not neatly defined "my segment, your segment". That is what the Dream Team matches so much better is that there was a sense of struggle in the Wrestlemania and 2 Out of 3 Falls match with both teams working hard to overcome the other.
Bulldog is able to pick up Bret and crotch him on the ropes. Dynamite comes in and supplies the Bulldog offense for the match: hooking clothesline, snap suplex and diving headbutt. I loved the Bulldogs' arsenal against the Dream Team and think it was criminal that they didn't get to show it off here. Anvil wipes out the ref and tries to cheat to get Bret to win with lots of dramatic two counts. Before Davey Boy rolls up Anvil for the pinfall after an exaggerated count.
I actually dug the finish and I thought it added a lot of drama to a match that lacked heat because it was the Hart Foundation show in the middle. Bret had all the MOVEZ~! in 1986, but he had not quite figured out how to put them altogether yet.
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Hart Foundation vs Islanders 11/86 Maple Leaf Gardens
Best match from the Hart Foundation I have seen so far and it was really good for a WWF Tag. The Islanders, hot damn, I had never seen them before and they were perfect babyfaces for the WWF in the way Rougeaus never could be. They kinda got fucked with the elevation of Strike Force as number one babyface. It doesn't strike me that they would be very good as heels, but we shall see. I have dug Martel and Tito a lot, but the they have a lot of ground to cover to match the sheer energy The Islanders brought to this match (I would be so wrong on both accounts!).
As for this match, Bret does a little bit more stalling than we are used to seeing, but when it comes to bump him and Anvil are ready to make Islanders shine. The Islanders could have been the ethnic response to your RnR Express clones with more WWF-oriented offense (read: Big Ass Spots). My favorite spot of the shine sequence: Haku's causal thrust kick to Bret while he is on the apron that had me going crazy. Bret chooses to do the blind knee as his transition spot per usual. Demolition Decapitation transitions into an Anvil chinlock.
Then in a spot of the whole friggin match, Bret runs Tama down the ramp and fuckin throws him down the steps. Holy shit! You didn't see that from the WWF at that time. Bret picks up him to take him back, but for good measure first rams his head into the ramp. Bret can bring the violence when he wants. Some good, quality low-down heel offense follows usually involving ramming Tama's head into stuff. Bret even takes a swing at Haku, payback, muthafucka. Bret sure loves the false babyface tag immediately followed by heel miscommunication I think he could milk it more. Haku comes in double noggin knocker, paint brushes Bret, and it is a double diving headbutt from the Islanders. Tama hits the high cross-body, but in the fracas Nedihart crotches Tama on the ropes and Bret steals one.
Are there things these could have done a bit better with more times, I am sure of it. But as it stands, I think this is my favorite Hart Foundation because it felt like the Islanders added something to the Bret show. Plus, there were more cheapshots and violence. I would definitely recommend someone checking this out.
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Hart Foundation vs Killer Bees - SNME 11/86
This is not as good as their MSG match due to time constraints and the focus on getting over gimmicks, but it was a decent match. Bret ate a high knee early from Brunzell, which surprised me. Hart Foundation take over with the blind knee (somebody fucked up and ran the ropes towards the middle and Bret had to leap and slide to bury the knee in his back). Demolition Decapitation and then Anvil hits a freakin dropkick. Brunzell hits his dropkick, but cant capitalize that is a pretty good hope spot having seen it twice now. Both Bees end up on the outside: MASKED CONFUSION~!
Blair with an atomic drop on Hart sending him into Brunzell and now Anvil irish whipped into Bret. It is pandemonium in there, baby. Blair with the sleeper on Anvil, but Brunzell lets Bret hit a double axe-handle from the top that way he can switch with Blair while the ref is admonishing Bret. Bret gets the tag and eats the small package.
It was a decent match structured to get over the Masked Confusion gimmick, which went nowhere because the Bulldogs were firmly positioned as the lead face team until Strike Force took over.
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| It is a long article you deserve a break to ogle. Ogle ogle ogle ogle. |
WWF World Tag Team Champions British Bulldogs vs Hart Foundation - Superstars 1/26/87
I watched the title change, which was a short match because of Dynamite's injury. In the run-up, Davey Boy was teaming with every face known to man from JYD to Tito to even Piper. Referee Danny Davis was busy with checking on Dynamite's well-being after being knocked out with Hart's megaphone while Davey Boy was kicking ass and taking names, Davis missed a Bulldog pinfall. Hart Foundation double DDT -> Hart Attack -> Fast count -> New World Tag Champs and a newly minted molten heel in the form of Danny Davis.
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WWF World Tag Team Champions Hart Foundation vs Killer Bees –
MSG 2/23/87
Bees are sporting an
odd look in tennis shoes. First major Hart Foundation title defense.
Harts have both Jimmy Hart and Danny Davis. Awesome shine.
Hart blocks the hiptoss so Brunzell goes up and takes him over with a
headscissors and then a very nice spinning armbar. Blair spears Bret while he
is tied up into ropes and then catapults Bret into Anvil. Hart Foundation need
to regroup, good stuff. Bret loses test of strength and the Bees begin the
normal shine armwork. Blair distracted by Hart and Bret blindsides. Harts cheat,
quite good at that. Blair O’Connor rolls for two and Bret front facelock. Harts
choking. Slingshot splash in and Brunzell needs to make the save. Bret Bump. Blair
bodyslam, but Anvil pushes Hart on top, roll through fun spot. Bret wins front
facelock to get Anvil in. Bret buries knee in back, the most Hart Foundation of
all Hart Foundation spots. Anvil bearhug into front facelock. Ref didn’t see it
tag. Bret camelclutch Electric chair. Hot tag to Brunzell! Brunzel atomic drop
into dropkick Anvil saves. Davis clobbers Brunzel from behind and Bret roll
through to win the match. Very fun
match.
WWF World Tag Champions Hart Foundation w/Jimmy Hart & Danny Davis vs The "Not-Yet Fabulous" Rougeaus 3/87 Boston
The Hart Foundation are fresh off the screwjob of the Bulldogs so this match will at least have heat. I would say this maybe the best Hart Foundation match ever. We start off with a little Rougeau bullshit to get everyone revved up and Bret is at his slimy best. I really this is a great performance from him. He heels it up to 11 with the combination of "Look at me, Mom!" and cowardice. He milks a Rougeau slap for all its worth. Even the Anvil takes a nice bump for Raymond. They work over Bret's leg in an entertaining fashion, before they trap Raymond in the heel corner. The Harts worked this segment well varying Anvil's power with Bret's smarm and general douchebaggery. Raymond times his hope spots (backslide, sunset flip) well and Jacques was an excellent cheerleader. Once Jacques gets the hot tag, this place goes nuts! Some general fun like whipping the Harts into each other and such. Jacques, I believe, had Bret small packaged, but that Dastardly Danny Davis reversed it behind the ref's back.
I know there are a lot of people down on Bret's tag work, but I think this is a pretty good display of the Hart Foundation as an effective heel team in garnering heat until the place exploded for the freaking Rougeaus, who have sucked out loud as babyfaces. This is the same crowd that was chanting "Boring" at the Rougeaus nary three months early. Rougeaus were never ever presented as an elite team, but they wrestled huge in this match and the Hart Foundation made them look great. Finally, the WWF missed striking alliteration gold and truing Danny Davis into the next elite heel for the Hulk Machine if they just called him "Dastardly" Danny Davis.
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WWF World Tag Champs Hart Foundation vs The Islanders - 3/87 Philly
I'll be honest a bit of a let down. I thought with 10 extra minutes they could really piece together something for the ages, but they spend the first five minutes stalling. I thought the shine was definitely the bets part of this with Haku knocking Bret's block off with a thrust kick off a criss cross. Tama making both Bret and Anvil look foolish on separate occasions. Islanders do some armwork on Anvil before, the blind knee WAIT Tama sees the blind knee and is pointing how smart he is only to have Anvil sledge him in the back. I dug the twist. (Holy fuck, just I re-read this and that sounds awesome! Tama is so fuckin good!)
It was very good face in peril, but I was a bit spoiled by the throw off the ramp bump. They replaced it with Tama flinging himself into the railing once and onto the floor. They did a better job conveying a sense of struggle here, and the violence on the part of Hart Foundation was as ratcheted up with biting, choking and clawing. At this point of the match, I was still saying it could very much exceed expectations.
But the finish was really lackluster, they get the hot tag finally after a well done, heat segment and they do a short Haku house a fire and Tama comes flying halfway across the ring to nail Bret with a cross-body only for Danny Davis to put Bret on top in the fracas. I just hated how short it was. I really wanted to see Haku clean house and get some nearfalls before all was said and done. Alas, a fine match for what it was.
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WWF World Tag Champs Hart Foundation vs Tito Santana & Danny Spivey - SNME 1987
After finishing up his feud with the Macho Man in mid-86, it seems like Vince had his heart set on retooling Tito as a tag team guy, which I think was a smart move. I am looking forward to watching Strike Force. I don't know much about Spivey. I know he had one-off match with Luger that is considered pretty good. He looks like a bigger version of Stunning Steve Austin and seems like the type of guy Vince would have loved to keep. I have no idea why he is wearing the French flag as his trunks. ;)
This is your run of the mill, sleepwalk Hart Foundation match. The big spot is Anvil doing the Martel slingshot splash being assisted by Bret. Spivey had to do the FIP b/c they needed Tito for the hot tag and he sucked pretty hard at selling. Tito was sweet off the hot tag with Flying Burritos for everyone. He slaps on the figure-4 on Bret, but Davis comes in and hits him with the megaphone in the chaos. Voila! You have your Wrestlemania III six-man tag match.
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WWF World Tag Champs Hart Foundation/Danny Davis vs The British Bulldogs/Tito Santana - Wrestlemania III
I watched the title change, which was a short match because of Dynamite's injury. Davis was busy with checking on Dynamite's well-being after being knocked out with Hart's megaphone while Davey Boy was kicking ass and taking names, Davis missed a Bulldog pinfall. Hart Foundation double DDT -> Hart Attack -> Fast count -> New World Tag Champs and a newly minted molten heel in the form of Danny Davis.
This match is wicked fun until the finish. Tito has been such a joy to watch even if he was dragged down by Adrian Adonis and Don Muraco on occasions. The babyface shine segment gets you amped. The heat segment is pretty decent on Dynamite, nothing particularly inspiring until Danny Davis comes in. He is a fuckin awful wrestler. Worst ever? He couldn't even post properly for Bulldog's delayed vertical suplex, unless this was him taking gimmick so far that he couldn't wrestle. ;) Like I understand playing it up you suck at offense, but there is no reason to suck at bumping. What is impressive is the amount of heat he got. If they gave this gimmick to anyone worth a damn, it could have easily been a big upper midcard heel act for a couple years and probably would have gotten a Hogan program. People were going nuts for Tito and Davey Boy's offense (TOMBSTONE~!). I am a sucker for weasel heel takes a bunch of big moves. The finish pretty much sucks because Davis goes over due to nefarious tactics. It makes sense because they were probably planning to push Davis based on the heat he was getting until they realized he was fuckin atrocious. Still a fun Wrestlemania type match that I had actually never seen before.
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WWF World Tag Champs Hart Foundation vs The British Bulldogs
SNME 2 Out of 3 Falls 5/87
I got to put over Jimmy Hart huge early as Matlida fuckin shoots on him and actually bites him in the leg. Then there is an awesome shot of Matilda with the megaphone in her mouth. Matilda is my fuckin bitch, now. (Get it? I totally slay me) Seriously, Matilda seems ridiculously lame (to me at least), but her entire tenure was validated in that one minute.
It is an SNME match, so you know what that means: SPRINT! Davey Boy starts off per usual. Wows us with the Stampede reversal out of the wristlock, then does his standard show of strength by picking up Bret while in a knucklelock, some quick armwork before a Bret knee lift as usual sends right into FIP. No meandering here as Anvil and Bret are following up everything quickly and crisply. But in their haste, Smith gets his knees up in the corner. Hot tag, Dynamite is ready to go to town: Bret takes his turnbuckle bump, hair pick up, hooking clothesline, snap suplex, diving headbutt. Anvil looks to make a save and throws Davey Boy out to the floor, where Davis takes advantage of him. Tito chases Davis while the Hart Foundation double teams Dynamite and they do not heed the ref's admonishments leading to the DQ.
Second fall, they continue to work on Dynamite and do Demolition Decapitation. While some choking goes on, we do a chase sequence and when we comeback, we get Bret's favorite transition: hang Dynamite in ropes only to cross body block the ropes. Hot tag! HOLY SHIT! Davey Boy hits two MASSIVE dropkicks on the Hart Foundation. Brunzell's are prettier, but these dropkicks actually look like they got some mustard on them. A delayed vertical suplex gets two, but Anvil gets in some forearms before clobbering Bret on the apron. Tito hits the Flying Burrito on Davis to a huge pop. Bulldog gorilla press slams Dynamite onto Anvil and the place erupts. Alas, the title can't change hands on a DQ. That is some grade-A bullshit right there.
After a drought of fun Bulldogs' matches, this one comes on like a monsoon of non-stop action. Everyone is hitting their stuff crisply and the transitions are really well-done. Transitions are important to me and I think Bret setup each one nicely and the match felt like a contest between a couple offensive juggernauts. Nowhere near the best with stuff with the Dream Team, but the best Hart Foundation/Bulldogs, which really feels overrated watching the work now.
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WWF World Tag Champions Hart Foundation vs British Bulldogs - MSG 7/87
If I am not mistaken, this is the last major match these two teams would have together. They went out with a bang. Definitely my choice for the best match these two teams have ever had with each other. Three Hart Foundation/Bulldogs matches have made WWE DVDs I cant believe this one has not. To me this is finally the match that rivals the stuff with the Bulldogs were having with the Dream Team.
The Hart Foundation finally learns and attacks the Bulldogs during the Matilda routine. They isolate Davey Boy, while Dynamite gets Matilda out of harm's way. It is all for naught as Bret runs into Anvil on a criss-cross. It actually comes off as a really well done spot. Someone pissed in Dynamite's corn flakes that day because he is ripshit the whole match. Just tearing into people and snapping at the ref to get into position better and this makes for a way better match. After a hooking clotheslines, Bret rolls away and Dynamite follows him and just starts rifling elbows at him. Bret in desperation eyerakes, but Dynamite still controls to get Davey Boy in there and do a double headbutt. This has been what is missing in this series. That feeling of a real contest and urgency. The Bulldogs are hungry and the Hart Foundation are cheating like muthafuckas. None of this, let me you ragdoll for 5 minutes, now you be my ragdoll. Everyone is trying to cut each other off and there is a real sense of struggle.
When I started online, I always heard Dynamite get these rave reviews, but Davey Boy Smith is way more fun to watch in my opinion. He is both the better FIP and hot tag. Davey Boy's hot tag dropkick can't fuckin be beat. That thing is disgusting. But I digress, fisherman's suplex by Davey Boy gets two. Here is a bit of weak transition as Bret punches Dynamite and is able to tag Anvil. I say it is weak because I do not think a heel should gain the upper hand in that fashion especially in the WWF where closed fists are commonplace. In Japan, a closed fist is one of the ultimate dick moves. In WWF, it just feels like another move. I would have rather seen something more heelish end the shine.
Anvil is feeling into tonight with manical laugh and sledges before sending Dynamite out to be slammed into the rial by Bret. Back in now Anvil is biting him, this is the point when I was like "Ok, finally these two teams are really bringing it". Demolition Decapitation, which always looks nasty, gets two. Dynamite dazes Bret with a headbutt and falls on top on a slam attempt. Now Anvil tries to headbutt Dynamite. Bad idea and Anvil knocks himself out. I love it. Smith gets in prematurely, but Anvil ends up forcing Bret to take his trunbuckle bump and Anvil is back body dropped to the outside. HOT TAG! No dropkick, booooo. Makes up for it by busting out the monkey flip, which he has not done yet. Then falls that up with 2nd rope kneedrop, another move Smith has not done. Davey Boy rules. Now his more conventional offense: delayed vertical and running powerslam both get two. Bret grabs a sleeper only for Dynamite to headbutt him. In one of my favorite spots, Davey Boy goes to gorilla press slam Bret, but "loses control" and drops Bret crotch first on the ring ropes. That one is a always a Sleeze Pleezer.
They do a common finish, where Anvil from the outside trips Smith on a suplex attempt and Bret falls on top for the win. Excellent, excellent match. Zero down-time, felt like a struggle with a real sense of urgency from both teams. If someone had to pick the representative match for this series, I would pick this one because it is just that much better than the rest. The title change, unfortunately due to the mitigating circumstances of Dynamite's injury, is just a 3 minute match. Then all the other matches feel of equal historical importance, so I would just pick the best one and that is this one in my opinion.
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| Whenever I see Rick Martel I always think of "Let Hear it for the boy!" I dont know why. |
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WWF World Tag Champions Hart Foundation vs Strike Force - 11/87 Superstars
This is the quintessential Hart Foundation match as it is very neatly segmented over 10 minutes with emphasis on the heat segment. Strike Force looks like they are off to the lawns of Wimbledon with their all white outfits, but instead took a detour to trade hands. Looks can be deceiving as we all know Martel and Santana are two of the best. I have really enjoyed Martel's work in the AWA against the likes of Bock, Jumbo and Saito. I was looking forward to his performance, unfortunately, in such a short match he was limited to the hot tag. He did get in a nice dropkick at the beginning that popped the crowd. Tito came in and slugged it out with Anvil before eating the classic blind knee to the back while he was running the ropes.
We enter the heat segment, which takes up the majority of the match, which is well executed. The Hart Foundation cheat effectively with chokes and throws to the outside by the ref's back. They hit their secondary finisher (Demolition Decapitation), but that is not enough. Bret ends up taking the Bret Bump to quite the pop and the crowd is whipped into frenzy for Martel. This is what I have been waiting and Martel comes in hits his reverse cross body block off the second rope, which Bret breaks up. Strike Force retaliates with a double slam and Martel puts him in the Boston Crab for the win.
I just watched a ton of 1996 WCW with the likes of Benoit, Eddie, Malenko and Jericho. I was dizzy with the all the offense being thrown out and the lack of structure. Then I watched this and while it was comforting to me to see someone really heel it up. The structure was just too neat. There were no Tito hope spots. There was no sense of struggle. It was just we are going to execute shine->heat->comeback and that's it. It is four pros and the match was fine and entertaining. Yet it left me wanting more. The green is always greener on the other side. I cant get no satisfaction. smile.gif
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WWF World Tag Champs Strike Force vs The Hart Foundation - 11/87 MSG
From what I have seen, this is the best match from heel run of the Hart Foundation. It should come as no surprise as Tito Santana & Rick Martel are not two of the best babyfaces of the 80s, but of all time. Plus this had Bock on commentary!!! I did not know Bock was ever in the WWF. He had no singular gems that stood out just added a lot of intelligence to usually bereft of intelligence WWF commentary team. The early story of the match told very well by commentary was that Bret is a technical wizard, but can be a mental marshmallow in there. Once things start going against him he is too easily rattled. After some early successes against Martel, he takes two armdrags and bails to the outside tagging Anvil. It was a nice little story early.
Strike Force work the headlock against the Foundation. Martel executes a headlock on Bret that would make Backlund jealous. Before it gets too entrenched in "heel in peril", Tito executes a small package and that brings him too close to Hart corner. Bock thought that was awfully dumb. Tito takes some offense before Bret takes his signature bump into Tito's knee this time, which was a cool variation. Martel is a house of fire. He definitely one of the best at throwing strikes with both hands. Too often wrestlers try to use their off-hand and those are the strikes that look wicked awful. However, his zeal betrays him as Anvil holds down the top rope and he tumbles over onto the exposed concrete. Anvil whips him back first into the railing and Bret follows up with a backbreaker. Everything is against Martel's ribs & lower back with an Anvil bearhug. There are more hope spots than usual in a Hart Foundation match. Martel got a Oklahoma roll and he was really working to get out from underneath the Hart Foundation onslaught. Bret was going to what would become his stock moves: 2nd rope elbow and vertical suplex with of course liberal choking and switching.
They do a great false tag with Martel firing up out of the corner only for Bret to pick his ankle right before he can get to Tito. Martel is able to whip Anvil into the ropes which sends Bret on the apron flying to take the Pillman bump on the railing. Now Tito is in and he clocks the Anvil with the flying forearm and Bret comes in only to elbow his partner. Strike Force hits a double clothesline and Martel goes for the Boston Crab on the big man, but nothing doing as Bret breaks it up. Tito with the Flying Burrito on Bret. Then they whip the Hart Foundation into each other Boston crab this time locked in on the Anvil, but Bret blindsides him with the megaphone drawing the DQ. Harts lay a beating on them post-match.
This match was all-action for about 15 minutes with both teams playing their roles excellently. Strike Force looking to overcome the cheating of the Hart Foundation with their speed and heart. The Hart Foundation look to take back their titles by any means necessary. The best tag match of Hart Foundation's heel run.
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Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs Bret "Hitman" Hart - SNME 11/87
Unless I am forgetting some Rockers match, this is definitely my pick for best match in SNME history (Rockers/Busters match is close). Make no mistake about it, this is the Randy Savage show and one of the few times in his whole WWF career where Bret takes a backseat to someone in a match. As much as we can debate whether this is Bret's coming out party, this is definitively Savage's coming out party as the number two babyface in the company. Thus it is only logical that Savage is the star of the match, but that being said, there are very few heels at this point in time in the promotion that could have delivered the same performance as Bret did in this match. I think that is really when a match transcends into something special is when both wrestlers are crucial to the success of the match in such a way no other wrestler could take their place. To state in the converse fashion, neither wrestler feels like a generic, warm body to partake in the routine of someone else's match.
Even though, Savage is my favorite wrestler of all-time, I have not viewed many of his matches through my new revisionist lens. I have been a bit afraid because I thought he may not hold-up. Have no fear, I enjoyed this match more than I remember upon first viewing. Savage is not a fan of extended segmenting in his matches especially he likes short babyface shines when he is a babyface. What I like about this is that adds a sense of struggle in a way that most WWF matches lack. Bret is almost getting in "heel hope spots" during the shine just to spice things up. They establish Macho Man will have plenty of extracurriculars to concern himself early. This is also the first instance of the rather proliferate Bret bump off the apron onto the guardrail.
Also, one thing I love in my wrestling is urgency. Has there ever been a more urgent North American wrestler than Savage? Savage crashes and burns on his double axe-handle to the guardrail. Bret delivers a piledriver that would make Bob Backlund proud before ramming his shoulder back into his post. Savage does a mini-control segment before being back dropped over the top rope and onto the floor. Thus begins Savage's Emmy campaign. If you have force me, I would say I prefer Savage' knee selling over Toshiaki Kawada's by a hair. Savage is just so excellent on fighting on one leg. Elizabeth helping Savage take off his boot is such a nice touch. Bret is in his element working over the leg. They work this to such a fever pitch that crowd pops huge for Savage's desperation inside cradle off a bodyslam attempt to win.
An excellent match that illustrates how the WWF style had the potential to deliver powerful stories even if they didn't always. I loved this match and I think it is a harbinger of Bret's future and a testament to what Savage could be as a babyface.
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Team Hart Foundation (Hart Foundation, Islanders, Demolition, New Dream Team & Bolsheviks) vs Team Strike Force (Strike Force, British Bulldogs, Rougeaus, Killer Bees & Young Stallions) - Survivor Series 1987
I knew this match was well-regarded, but I had no idea what outcome was. I can not believe the two bottom feeding babyface tag teams were the winners. More so, I cant believe the match was booked around the Young Stallions being booked as the stars. There was no reason before or after to understand this book decision as Strike Force and British Bulldogs continued to be the preeminent babyface tag teams for the near future with the Rockers, Hart Foundation and Demolition ending the next year as the top three babyface tag teams. Odd booking aside, this was a really fun match. They did not really try to weave a story, but it was action-packed and they busted out some pretty cool moves. The only story, I really noticed was the resiliency of the Young Stallions. Just because the Young Stallions were booked as the stars, does not mean they wrestled well, mind you. They were the worst wrestlers out there. Notably, Jim Powers was being a huge pussy for not taking the hotshot on 2 occasions.
The match started off with Martel/Volkoff tearing it up shades of how good their SNME match would turn out. Volkoff looked like a monster Tito hit the Flying Burrito to get the pin on Boris. Ax came in and did his usual Demoition bit. They establish the nature of the gimmick with tons of quick tags that keep the action fresh. One notable exchange was the chop exchange between Haku/Dynamite, where the hell was that in their matches. Everyone is hitting all their stuff with a lot of intensity. The Stallions get worked over a little bit. Jacques gets the tag, but crashes and burns on a reverse cross body and Ax gets the pin. The Stallions get crushed by a Neidhart backbreaker/Haku flying chop. The Valentine adds a sweet shoulderbreaker and a vertical suplex (he throws him more than slams him back). Dino Bravo hits like the best gutwrench suplex ever and they still cant pin the Stallions. Demolition becomes fustrated and gets themselves DQ'd by pushing the ref. Bret crushes Dynamite with a piledriver and cant get the pin. The heels just cant buy a win. Tama/Martel have a great exchange as usual, but Martel applies his Boston Crab too close to the heel corner and Neidhart clobbers him. Santana makes a similar mistake on a pinfall attempt and gets whacked in the big of the head by a Bret elbow and gets pinned!?!?!??!?!? That was the first sign something fishy was up.
Now there is a long Stallions heat segment with Valentine that is pretty decent because Valentine stiffing shitty wrestlers is always fun. Powers refuses to get dropped across the ropes properly because he is a mega-pussy. The match gets clipped here and we miss the Bulldogs getting eliminated. According to one review, I missed a Bret backbreaker into a Tama knee and other general awesomeness. Disappointing. When we come back, the Stallions are still getting beat on, so it appears as if you missed nothing even though you missed the number 2 face tag team being eliminated. Valentien goes for the figure-4, but Roma gets a sunset flip (blind tag) for the win. For shame, as the New Dream Team were the best workers. Though Hart Foundation and Islanders have been working pretty friggin well also. The Killer Bees have been non-existent and Young Stallions have sucked but been the crux of this match.
The Bees begin and Brunzell hits a pretty sweet high knee. Roma is back in to be the face in peril. Islanders start busting out their offense and look great. Brunzell is working offense for the faces, Stallions on FIP duty and Blair on the apron, just where he should be. smile.gif This is the best Brunzell has looked in the WWF. Roma gets the first bit of offense for the Stallions with a fist drop on Bret Hart, but that is short-lived with Bret hitting a suplex on him. Islanders again rocking it in the ring. Brunzell is in with the Hitman. He has the Hitman to be slammed. Tama dropkicks Hitman to get him on top of Brunzell, but Brunzell rolls through for the pin. At this point, I was in shock because I expected the top 2 heel teams to easily vanquish the two babyface jobber tag teams.
Islanders jump right on Brunzell to press while they still can. Islanders do a little too much vulcan nerve pinch, but Haku works in a shoulderbreaker and they are doing their best to keep Brunzell in their corner. Stallions get a quick powerslam, but Islanders are able to overwhelm them again. Blair gets tagged and swarmed (pun intended). Islanders always press their advantage. Wicked reverse elbow by Tama. Tama misses a big elbow, the key weakness of all 80s WWF heels. Brunzell, hot tag, double noggin knocker, DROPKICK~! Haku saves. Brunzell attempts sunset flip on Tama and Blair with mask jumps over and gets his own sunset flip to complete the upset. Brunzell puts on his mask too outside as they celebrate. MASKED CONFUSION~!
On one hand, the Stallions looked awesome by surviving and resilient because they got beat on mercilessly. But they only got in like two offensive moves and they sucked in the ring. Bees showed up half through the match and it was the best Brunzell looked in the WWF, but none babyfaces aside from Martel looked all that great. This was a great showcase for the heel teams as they had a ton of offense and really worked crisp and efficient. It is crazy to think in one years time there would be an utter dearth of heel tag teams and an overabundance of babyface tag teams. I went in with high expectations and it was a bit of a let down. It was action packed and 30+ minutes flew by which is a credit to the teams, but it lacked a great story to really make it classic. It was a great fun, action blockbuster.
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Randy Savage & Tag Champs Strike Force vs IC Champ HonkyTonk Man & Hart Foundation - Steel Cage 3/88 Boston Garden
This match was too intriguing for me to pass up. Plus I am a sucker for Savage matches that I have never watched before. Besides the famous HonkyTonk/Savage SNME match, I do think I have ever seen the HTM in action. It is so weird seeing Santana & Savage on the same team. The match starts off hot and everybody is using Strike Force's t-shirts to choke each other out. Anvil looks to escape through the door, but Tito punches him in the face a couple times and leaps over him, which would be a decent finish to a cage match. Anvil takes this opportunity to also waltz out. Martel throws The Hitman hard into the cage in one of the best spots of the match. The babyfaces whip the heels into each other and they take this opportunity to try to escape together. However, Savage is too slow and is caught while Martel escapes. This leaves Savage alone with two people in the ring. I liked the psychology of that as it was the best time for both babyfaces to try to escape as opposed to Martel just randomly leaving Savage high and dry. Hart exclaims "Piece of Cake!" and Lord Alfred thinks he said "Watch the Gate!". Gorilla not missing a beat jumps on him for that one as I have a chuckle. Hart leaves and Honky Tonk looks to have a little bit more fun with his arch-nemesis only for Savage to get his second wind and start taking it to Honky. Honky tries to go over the cage, but Savage pulls his back in by his greased up Johnny Bravo quaff. They do the spot where the guy lays on the top rope and someone kicks him in the guy only Honky is laying across the cage. That is one of those spots that looks cooler in your mind than it did in execution. A spot that never fails is Honky crotching himself on the top rope and Savage climbing over the cage for a victory.
It was a fun match with good psychology one inventive spot: HTM lay across the cage while Savage kicks him. It was much better once it became more focused on Savage's struggle to overcome the odds. As such, this is more of a Savage showcase than a Bret match. It does display how amazing Savage is as a babyface in peril and how his comebacks really whip up the crowd. You could feel Savage is being positioned as the lead babyface for the year.
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So to answer the questions posed above, I am going to have say it is inconclusive as of right now. I have only compiled the heel run and there are plenty of other candidates. It is a pro wrestling article, I hope you were not expecting a clean finish. :)
Next up the Killer Bees! The compendium that no one thought they needed and still never needed!
