One of the commentors said he had never seen any of the Bret Hart-Undertaker matches so he gets a Bret Hart-Undertaker match. These two had a weird chemistry. First there were those RAW matches in like 1994 that were decent but treated as if it was they were the next coming of Flair-Steamboat (they weren't) and then an awful borefest at Royal Rumble 1996 before having a considerably better match at Summerslam 1997.
However, by the fall of 1997 they went to England for "One Night Only" and FINALLY got a right, at least in my humble opinion. So to start your weekend here is Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker for the WWF Championship at One Night Only.
However, by the fall of 1997 they went to England for "One Night Only" and FINALLY got a right, at least in my humble opinion. So to start your weekend here is Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker for the WWF Championship at One Night Only.
I was 13 when I attended Summerslam '97 live...what a match those two had there. And that ending was just tremendous; it sucked the life out of the building when Shawn hit Taker with the chair - sounded like an explosion went off in the place. Just great stuff all the way around and one of my favorite matches of all time. This one is terrific, too.
ReplyDeleteBret/Taker had Raw matches in 94? And the big difference between the 96 match and 97 match was that Taker was still playing the zombie gimmick and no sold a lot of Bret's stuff, whereas in '97 he became more human and started working like a regular wrestler.
ReplyDeleteThat match told an amazing story, top to bottom. Even on commentary, it sounded like someone was going to go off at any moment.
ReplyDeleteBret/Taker from One Night Only is one of my favorite all time matches, but that finish is CRIMINAL. Although I understand why they did it. Taker had Hell in a Cell coming up, so they couldn't have Bret retain clean against him. But this is one HELL of a match.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I nominate said Cell match for the next A+ Match of the Day. Unless you're saving it for a certain day.
I've always felt One Night Only was a pretty great show from top to bottom. Well, it was the debut of Tiger Ali Singh, but apart from that...
ReplyDeleteI read the first paragraph and was about to run in to comment how stupid it is to pick the Summerslam match when the criminally underwatched ONO match exists...but then I saw that Princess beat me to it. Well done, BoD editorial staff, well done.
ReplyDeleteWhat was that guy's deal? Why did he almost never wrestle?
ReplyDeleteGood or not from a workrate standpoint, it's still one of the most depressing shows of all time to watch. I could never sit through it again.
ReplyDeleteYeah, in '97 he started talking way more and we even saw a couple of backstage interviews where he was wearing street clothes.
ReplyDeleteWhoa whoa whoa stop the clock--Bret and Taker wrestled on Raw in 94????
ReplyDeleteHe was even more garbage in the ring than his useless father.
ReplyDeleteI think she probably meant that '92 MSG match they had.
ReplyDeleteI was at the NEC for the live show and the heat for that match and the Michaels/Bulldog was off the charts - end of that match was full on NWO moments in terms of trash being thrown into the ring at D-X.
ReplyDeleteBret/Taker from One Night Only is seriously close to ***** I think One Night Only is the most underrated PPV. Owen/Vader rocked. I seem to be the only one who thinks Shawn/Bulldog is ****1/2 and Bret/Taker rocks the body that rocks the party.
ReplyDeleteHBK ruled, I wish a heel today had half the balls Michaels had.
ReplyDeletehaha messing around with a lady who was deathly ill is up there. Im surprised punk in his last heel run didnt do that bc he seemed to do anything to try to get booed instead of cheered.
ReplyDeleteSigned!
ReplyDeleteBret was kind of a dick about this match when he said that he completely carried Taker.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I mean, it probably made sense for Bulldog to win at that particular show (although in the big picture Shawn WAS main eventing the next pay per view), but Shawn winning and being such an over the top asshole reveling in every minute of it is just such an awesome fucking spectacle to see.
ReplyDeleteBret's just kind of a dick in general.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting it, Princess! I remember, now that I watch the match, having read Scott's review of it, particularly how he marveled at the crowd's inexplicable reactions.
ReplyDelete'Taker's punches while Bret was tied up in the ropes were embarrassing business-exposin' affairs, but otherwise this was a splendid romp.
I can't think of anyone Bret wrestled in his WWF career that he wasn't able to develop chemistry with. I think one of the greatest missed programs ever is one between Hart and Mankind (in his original monster days). I suspect that is a feud that night have rivaled the one Bret had with Austin.
ReplyDeleteI'd believe it, for sure. That country wanted Michaels' blood that night.
ReplyDeleteNo they fought two matches on RAW either during his first or second title reign. These matches did happen but I couldn't tell you when. The finishes were inconclusive.
ReplyDeleteOh I get you, they had one Raw match in '96 which was a rematch from the Rumble, but I disagree that the commentators tried to put it over as a classic as the whole match was a backdrop to Kevin Nash interfering and putting that feud over.
ReplyDeleteFinally got that RAW stuff explained. They had the 1996 Rumble match and had a rematch on RAW a couple weeks later. My time period was off but I knew they had a RAW match.
ReplyDelete