WWF Madison Square Garden – November 26th, 1994

November 26, 1994

This is a fan-cam show with no commentary and features the Diesel (replacing Bret Hart) vs. Bob Backlund match for the WWF World Title.

Howard Finkel introduces Bob Backlund to the ring. Bob, in his suit and holding the World Title belt, is getting heavily booed by the crowd. Backlund soaks in the boos for a couple of minutes as he refuses to speak. He then teases leaving but the boos continue. He heads back into the ring and yells at the fans for being loud. Backlund says he wants to educate the people but they are too loud and obtuse. He then yells at the fans to listen to him so they can improve their lives and continues to get booed. It gets harder to hear him but he keeps yelling at the fans and about their society while refusing to lower himself to their standards. Backlund then teases the crowd over Bret Hart no longer being WWF Champion then finally leaves. Long segment here but the crowd did hate Backlund.

Kwang w/ Harvey Whippleman vs. “Portuguese Man-o-War” Aldo Montoya

Finkel tells the crowd its Montoya’s MSG debut. He doesn’t get much of a positive reaction though. Kwang attacks Montoya before the bell. He hammers away then gets taken over with a hip toss after an Irish whip sequence. Montoya follows with a dropkick then sends Kwang outside and takes him out with a pescado. Back inside, Kwang takes Montoya to his knees with a test-of-strength. Montoya escapes and tries to fight back but gets turned inside-out with a clothesline. Kwang sends Montoya down with a throat thrust then uses a nerve hold as the guy holding the camera talks about ECW and how he is gonna give the tape to his friend. Kwang continues to work the nerve hold as you can hear some scattered “boring” chants. Montoya gets out and fights back. Clothesline gets two. Crossbody gets two. Kwang then reverses an Irish whip but Montoya comes back with a hurricarana for the win (7:02) *3/4.

Thoughts: Nerve hold spots aside, the match was fine. However, the lack of reaction to Montoya was not too promising. And in losing to Montoya its clear they have nothing planned for Kwang.

Finkel is in the ring. He tells the crowd that did not hear on “Superstars” how Bret Hart will not be here tonight due to injury. However, he will be returning to action when WWF returns to MSG on 1/16/95. Finkel also says despite Backlund’s protest, Diesel will be wrestling for the title tonight. That got good cheers until he said its a non-title match. Finkel then says he has been corrected and it will be for the title. Backlund runs out and goes nuts. Another segment on the show building to the title match.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Razor Ramon (c)

Jarrett takes the belt from the referee and holds it up on all four turnbuckles. Jarrett gets in Razor’s face and as a result has a toothpick thrown at him. Both men play to the crowd for a minute. Jarrett struts after an arm drag then lays down across the top rope in the corner. We now see both men trade arm holds until Jarrett trips up Razor and slaps around the back of his head. Jarrett continues to toy with Razor then gets the mic and asks Razor if he wants to quit in order to save face. Jarrett gets dropped after getting caught with a punch and heads outside. Razor now grabs the mic and makes fun of Jarrett’s hair before telling Jarrett “don’t sing it, bring it.” Jarrett heads back inside and gets caught in a fallaway slam. Razor now works the arm but Jarrett gets out and hits three straight dropkicks for a two count. We get a mini pinfall reversal sequence that leads to Jarrett running Razor into the corner. Jarrett now applies a chin lock then Razor takes him over with a backslide after a struggle that gets two. Jarrett drops Razor and goes back to the chin lock as the fans holding the camera talk about the Packers and Cowboys. Jarrett then jumps on Razor’s back for a sleeper and after that we get a reversal sequence ending with Jarrett getting a nearfall after a corkscrew neckbreaker. Jarrett yells at the crowd then connects with a flying punch. Jarrett goes back to the middle rope for another flying punch then taunts the crowd. He goes up once again and takes his sweet time but that allows Razor to punch him in midair. Razor then hits an atomic drop and sets up for the Razor’s Edge but Jarrett counters with a back drop that sends Razor to the floor. Jarrett heads out to roll Razor back into the ring then heads up top for a crossbody but Razor rolls through and gets a two count. Jarrett takes Razor down and puts on a chin lock but Razor eventually breaks that up with a back suplex as both men are down. Razor crawls over and drapes his arm across Jarrett’s chest but only gets two. Razor wins a slugfest then we see Jarrett beg for mercy. Razor is able to yank Razor outside and heads out as they brawl in the aisle until Jarrett whips Razor in the post. Jarrett then rolls into the ring and just beats the ten count to win the match (16:21) Finkel then reminds Jarrett the only way he can win the title is by pinfall or submission and Jarrett is angry. Jarrett grabs the mic and talks trash about Razor and wants the match to restart because he came here to win the title. Razor runs out and they brawl, with Jarrett getting the upper hand as the match has restarted. Jarrett continues to fire away but Razor catches him in the Razor’s Edge and gets the win (18:19) ***1/2. Razor gets a good reaction for the win.

Thoughts: Good match with one of Jarrett’s best performances in the WWF to date. His old-school Southern heel antics worked and these two had the best match of the night. The loss did not hurt Jarrett since he had the win via countout but risked that to restart the match.

Pierre vs. Mabel w/ Oscar

Pierre is still using The Quebecers theme music and gear. However, he has been growing out his hair. Pierre complains of a hair pull after a lock up then starts booting Mabel in the chest after a test-of-strength. Mabel fights back and uses a scoop slam before clotheslining Pierre over the top rope. Mabel tries to suplex Pierre back into the ring but gets his eyes raked as Pierre now has control of the match. Pierre chokes out Mabel with the middle rope but charges and gets backdropped outside. Pierre comes back in with a missile dropkick then starts hammering away. Pierre gets two with a flying elbow drop then goes back to choking out Mabel with the ropes. Pierre slides outside to avoid a charge as Mabel rams into the corner then taunts the crowd before going back in to hit a flying leg drop. Mabel rolls outside and Pierre hits a somersault senton then goes back in and taunts the crowd but does end up getting some cheers in the process. Mabel ends up fighting back and gets two with a spinning heel kick and follows that up with an avalanche before hitting a middle rope crossbody for the win (10:00) *.

Thoughts: Pierre did a fine job here but Mabel was a slog. Pierre also got in a fair amount of offense for a guy whose been off TV since the Summer. And speaking of Pierre,

WWF World Title Match: Bob Backlund (c) vs. Diesel

Backlund taunted the fans for a while before Diesel even came to the ring. Both men stare each other down. Diesel then boots Backlund in the gut and hits the jackknife for the win to become the new champion (0:10). He gets fireworks and a pyro as the fans cheer. Diesel then poses for the fans and tries to get him to chant louder as he celebrates with the belt around his waist. He leaves with the fans chanting his name.

Thoughts: And with all the hype this match got on “Superstars” and the heat they got on Backlund before this match on the show it was clear Diesel was going to win. You don’t push something this much and set it up with weeks of hype for discounted tickets and how there would be a Bret vs. Backlund rematch no matter what, which they got out of with the angle at Survivor Series. The Diesel win got a strong reaction and the fact it only went ten seconds was for the best. I remember Diesel saying in his shoot interview with RF Video how tough it was to wrestle Backlund because of the fact Backlund preferred chain wrestling no matter the opponent. Also a nice moment for Diesel as his mom was suffering from breast cancer at the time and passed away about a month later. With regards to Diesel becoming the champion just a few days after turning babyface, even after this and the heat Backlund was getting you can see how they should have let Diesel’s turn breath for a bit longer then have him win in this fashion instead of the immediate Hulk Hogan moment. We will see how Diesel fares as champion going forward.

Finkel then plugs the merchandise for sale in the lobby before announcing the intermission.

We are back with the guest ring announcer for the next match.

The Executioners vs. New Headshrinkers w/ Capt. Lou Albano & Afa

The Executioners come out to what sounds like 80’s hair metal. They are Pain (Duane Gill) and Agony (Barry Hardy). Luckily, they have their name on their tights. We get a few minutes of stalling to start this off and might as well since this is the ultimate cool down match. Sionne works the arm for a bit then takes down both guys and roughs them up before taking both men outside. Fatu is in now and beats on both guys with some comedy spots until they bail. The Executioners take their time getting back then we see Fatu whup Pain hard into the corner then sit down and try to take off his boots as that moronic storyline continues. Albano yells at Fatu as Agony tags in and tries a sneak attack but that fails. The Executioners regroup as the crowd is getting restless as barely anything has happened and we are ten minutes into the match. A “boring” chant is started by the camera guy and catches on a bit then Agony pokes Fatu in the eye. The Executioners rough up Fatu in the corner as the ref holds Sionne back. The Headshrinkers come back with a double thrust kick then Sionne hits Pain with a backbreaker and Fatu puts this match out if its misery after Afa takes out his boots and he hits a top rope splash (12:41) -*.

Thoughts: They stretched out a squash match to nearly thirteen minutes. The crowd did not revolt, likely due to the fact it followed a title change and intermission, but it was still the absolute shits. And the angle with Fatu not liking boots is really dumb. There was no backstory to this whatsoever. One day on “Action Zone” he came out in boots and struggled to properly use them. Maybe someone showed Vince the film “Encino Man” or something and thought it would be funny?

Diesel now comes back out to the ring. He raises his arm and grabs the mic to pump up the crowd by saying today’s date and place. He then thanks the crowd as the pyro from the posts go off again.

King Kong Bundy vs. British Bulldog

The crowd is excited to see Bulldog. Then again, after the last match they’d probably be excited to see an infomercial. Bundy shoves Bulldog against the ropes a few times. Bulldogh takes Bundy down after a few shoulder blocks as we see Bundy now complain to the ref about something. Bundy now yells at the crowd then Bulldog grabs a side headlock. Bundy drops Bulldog with an elbow smash but misses an elbow drop as Bulldog now works the arm. Bundy punches Bulldog down then kicks him out to the floor. Bulldog returns and fires away but tries a slam and Bundy falls on top for a two count. Bundy now works a chin lock on the mat for a bit. Bundy gets two with a knee drop then breaks up a sunset flip attempt. Bundy yells at the crowd but Bulldog fights back and sends him outside with a dropkick. Bulldog heads out and the two brawl. Bulldog then slams Bundy and tries to climb inside but the bell rings as both men have been counted out (6:52) 1/2*.

Thoughts: Uninspired match and performances by both men. Bundy continues to stink out the joint whenever he wrestles and this was a finish done to protect both men, who were getting pushed on TV.

IRS vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer

Before the match, IRS tells the New York City tax cheats will not rest in peace until they pay their taxes. IRS bails after the bell rings then returns only to go back outside. Undertakes chases IRS around then back into the ring and gets stomped. Undertaker comes back with a big boot then hits his ropewalk attack. Undertaker sends IRS outside with a forearm smash to the back. However, IRS is able to drag him outside and sends him into the steps. IRS roughs up Undertaker and even knocks him off of the apron. Undertaker fires away when they get back into the ring but IRS cuts him off. IRS hits the Write Off clothesline then taunts the crowd as the Undertaker sits up. IRS now stomps away and connects with a few elbow drops before yelling at the crowd. Undertaker fails to sit up then IRS heads up top after dropping another elbow but took far too much time and that allowed Undertaker to slam him off. Undertaker comes back with a jumping clothesline and that leads to a sequence where Undetaker catches him and hits a tombstone for the win (8:06) **.

Thoughts: The token stalling at the beginning was a bore but after they moved past that it settled into a decent little match. I liked the finish of Undertaker catching IRS then hitting the tombstone. A good way to close a show that saw most of the faces go over.

Final Thoughts: Well, even though the “Family Appreciation” lower ticket prices were hyped it only drew a little over 7,300 fans. And again, its clear this was done with the plan to have as many fans possible to see Diesel win the title in an attempt to give him the mega push. Even still, the crowd that showed up was lively and we also had a very good match between Razor and Jarrett. Its a show to watch for historical purposes and easily available on YouTube.