IYH 16: Canadian Stampede
by me
THIS.......is Canadian Stampede, my personal favorite PPV of all time. WrestleMania X-7 was the greatest PPV ever, but Canadian Stampede is still my favorite. Why, you might ask? Because I'm the ultimate Bret mark, that's why. I can remember 1997 like it was yesterday, and while everyone was caught up in Stone Cold mania, I was hoping that Bret would beat his ass every single time they met. I mean, I did like Austin and his character, but that's just how much of a Bret mark I truly am. Leading up to this show, everything he said in all of his promos about America was true (except for Pittsburgh being the place where you would stick the hose if you wanted to give the U.S. an enema.......there's more appropriate places for actions such as that....namely Cleveland). I wouldn't trade America for anything, I think it's the greatest country in the world, but we have a tendency to be extremely short-sighted. I think one line from Bret during this whole time really summed it up......he said that only in America did he get booed. His fans in Canada, the U.K. Germany, etc., they all still loved him and respected him. He wasn't a heel, he just said things that Americans didnt really want to hear. And Lord knows, that when someone says something we don't want to hear we'll shut our ears against it and scream bloody murder until it goes away. But I'm just a little off the point......
Back to why this is my favorite PPV ever.......I'm a huge Bret mark, this is true. But starting from the first match, you have HHH/Mankind, a very good brawl that led up to their cage match at Summerslam. You have TAKA/Great Sasuke, an excellent LHW match that put a Japanese flavor in the WWF where people have rarely seen it. You have UT/Vader, one of the best big man matches you will ever see. And then finally the 10 man tag team match, where the roof nearly blows off the arena. The crowd is just super-stoked the whole night. There are only 4 matches on the card.....but what a selection of 4 matches. But even if the other four matches sucked, the main event just stands out as a surreal look at the events in the year 1997. The supposed faces are roundly booed, and the heels come home the conquering heroes.
As for some perspective, 1997 was right in the middle of WCW's stongest time, as the NWO/Sting angle were going full speed ahead. WCW's TV was the must see event of each week and was captivating and exciting. WWF, on the other hand, was running some solid but unspectacular TV in the undercard.....while the main event fueds surrounding the Hart Foundation, Steve Austin, and the Undertaker were white hot and can't miss. While WCW had the better overall TV lineup, the PPV's were often disappointing, while the WWF PPV's promised intriguing and exciting main events. This was the difference in the whole ratings war I think.....while WCW could have a certain amount of success, they could never cash in the big pot. Canadian Stampede is a perfect example of that.....the WWF turned what could have been a routine and ultimately meaningless In Your House and made it into a memorable show. The surrealness of the face/heel situation gave the show an added dimension, a feat that WCW could never dream of accomplishing......
But really all of that doesn't matter when I think about the show. All that matters is that when I sit down and watch this show I love each and every moment, every single time I watch it. When a show can do that for you, you know you've found a great one. And is there really a more appropriate time to do a review for this show than in July, when the Calgary Stampede is actually going on right now?
I already ran through YOUR matches, but let's do the matchlist anyway.....
Mankind vs. HHH
The Great Sasuke vs. TAKA Michinoku
Undertaker vs. Vader World Title Match
The Hart Foundation vs. Steve Austin/Goldust/Ken Shamrock/LOD
Coming to you from Calgary.....Alberta.....Canada, and your hosts are Vince, JR, and the King.
Note--this tape is called Maximum Impact in the States, and who would know that inside the cheesy Coliseum cassette packaging there would one of the greatest PPVs of all time.......there was also a Free-For-All BlackJacks vs. Godwins match on the tape, but it wasn't part of the PPV proper and I don't want to waste time reviewing it.....so I don't. A minor note is that this was also the very last 2 hour PPV for the WWF, as everything after this was 3 hours.
Mankind vs. HHH
We start off with a recap of what happened at King of the Ring and the RAW beatdowns that HHH gave Mankind that started their first fued. This crowd is JACKED. We start off with a brawl right away, which of course Mankind wins. Corner whip-bulldog, slam, legdrop, this is all Mankind. Double arm DDT, and he mocks HHH with the formal bow. Whip, but HHH reverses and hits the facebuster. HHH takes a man-sized bump to the outside off a back body drop, and Mankind hits a Cactus Elbow and a "bang-bang". A little foreshadowing there to his upcoming Cactus Jack re-debut as JR helpfully reminds us about the Cactus Jack character. You see, WWF is great at the little things like that. WCW wouldn't think to foreshadow something like that. Back inside, Mick gets 2. Corner whip and Flair Flip by HHH, and he has had enough and tries to take a walk, but Mick is having none of it and runs him down. Suplex on the ramp, then Mankind runs to the ring to rock to himself a little. Mick meets HHH on the apron with punches, and blocks a sunset flip attempt by HHH to the inside with the Mandible Claw. Chyna breaks it up with a forearm and Mick gives chase, but turns around in time to avoid HHH's sneak attack from behind. Going for a whip into the stairs, but HHH reverses and whips Mick towards Chyna, who uses the momentum to throw Mick into the stairs in a SICK, SICK spot. Chairshot by HHH. We head back inside, where Mick Hennig-sells against the ropes (everyone knows the spot I'm referring to, right?). HHH goes to town on the left leg with some kicks and a cool spot in the corner that you have to see to understand. HHH dropkicks the knee and goes to the Figure 4 that's eventually broken by the ref. Mick fights back, reverses a Pedigree attempt into a slingshot attempt, but HHH reverses THAT and pushes him away......only to have Mick bounce off the ropes and nail him in the nads.....ouch. Corner beating by Mick, but he hurts his own leg on the running knee in the corner. Flair Flip by HHH ends in the Tree of Woe, and Mick drops an elbow in the face. That's a cool spot you don't see too often. Piledriver by Mick practically gives the King an orgasm.....but this isn't Memphis so it only gets 2. Clothesline by Mick to the outside, but Chyna grabs an attempted chairshot. HHH recovers and chairs Mick in the knee, then he turns around right into a big clothesline from Chyna. Back inside, HHH goes upstairs, but Mick cuts him off and crotches him and slaps on the Mandible Claw. Chyna again interferes and slams Mick's leg off the post. Mick tastes some railing, and we brawl into the crowd for a double countout. **** Lame ending as a stand alone match, but a perfect ending considering they were building for Summerslam. We brawl into the crowd for awhile as the referees attempt to break everything up.......
Review of the Calgary Stampede weekend, naturally featuring the Harts. During the little review they said the lines to see Bret were over a mile long, and unlike most WWF claims (i.e. claiming sell-outs when there a clearly blacked out seats), I don't think that this was WWF bluster right there. Oh yeah, Diana Smith was Mrs. Calgary 1997, in case you cared or did not know.
Interview with the Hart Foundation that Austin tries to break up.
Great Sasuke vs. TAKA
Fair pop for both guys, but before we can start we have to see Mick and HHH brawling even more, and our Japanese friends patiently wait for the camera to come back to them to start. A little feeling out to start with some quick kicks, and a lockup goes nowhere. Wristlock reversal, into a headscissors by Sasuke. JR--"We all remember how the great Tiger Mask revolutionized the light heavyweight and much of the heavyweight divisions, even to this very day." Vince's astute comment--"Oh...yeah." NOW here we go as Sasuke catches TAKA with a spin kick to the gut, snapmare, chinlock, then a headscissors. TAKA slips out to an American surfboard, and works the left. SLEEEPAAHHHHH by Sasuke is reversed, but Sasuke catches TAKA off the ropes with spinning heel kick that sends oohs throughout the building. NASTY half crab by Sasuke, but TAKA makes the ropes. Kicks by Sasuke, but TAKA bitchslaps the taste right out of his mouth. Woah. Snapmare, dropkick to the back of the head, then a dropkick right in the face by TAKA. Sasuke back body drops TAKA outside, then follows with a missile dropkick. Back inside, Sasuke goes to town with kicks in the corner, ending with the HOLY FUCKIN SHIT!!!!! kick in the corner, a spin wheel kick that is the absolutely stiffest shot you will ever see in wrestling and legitimately almost takes TAKA's head off. When someone tells you wrestling is fake, THIS is what you show them. My tape is usually set right to this point, so when we have guests that don't respect wrestling, I can pop this in and shut them the hell up. It has never failed yet......
But I digress.....TAKA staggers out of the corner (and I don't really think he's selling), but Sasuke has ZERO compassion and crushes TAKA with a kick right in the face. I like to imagine that an old memory tugs at Sasuke's mind here, and he thinks back to Super J 94 when Liger knocked him out cold and backs off to let TAKA recover....but not for long, as he moves right in for the kill, and somehow TAKA hits a dragon screw leg whip and dropkick that sends Sasuke outside. TAKA follows up with perfect springboard plancha that pops the crowd huge and makes him the sympathetic face in the matchup. Sasuke floats over a suplex attempt to the inside, but TAKA flips right out of a German suplex and ranas him for 2. Majistril cradle for 2. Whip, but Sasuke counters with the handspring elbow that knocks TAKA outside, and he follows up with an Asai moonsault. Back inside, TAKA somehows fights back with a belly to belly for 2. Jumping knee in the corner, and an awesome springboard dropkick by TAKA. Michinoku Driver only gets a superhot 2 count. TAKA heads up top, but Sasuke catches him with a dropkick on the way down. Moonsault right into a pin gets 2 for Sasuke. Thunderfire Powerbomb by Sasuke, but he picks TAKA up and gives him a bridging Tiger for the 3. ****1/4 I love this match, and a couple years ago it would have been even higher in my book, but much of the high quality stuff I've seen out of Japan surpasses this match for these guys. Also, I thought the Tiger was a little overkill and the Thunderfire powerbomb should have finished the match, but that's nitpicking I guess. This match has some weird historical significance as well, as TAKA was just supposed to be Sasuke's jobber while Sasuke rebuilt the light HW division in the WWF, but the roles were reversed and the WWF decided to keep TAKA, who works for the WWF to this day.
Mankind and a now bloody HHH are STILL brawling outside the building, and HHH takes a nice bump on the dumpster.
Recap of RAW and Ahmed fucking up his knee (and fucking up his chance), which is why Vader gets the title shot tonite. I do feel sorry for Ahmed, I don't like to see anybody seriously fuck up their knee, but for my amusement and enjoyment of this tape, I'm damn glad Vader is in the match instead of Ahmed.
Vader interview where nothing of note gets said.
Undertaker vs. Vader (w/Paul Bearer)
HUGE pop for UT. UT just beats ass to start and a clothesline and legdrop get 2. Splash in the corner by UT gets 2, and the ropewalk gets 2. Corner whip, but Vader crushes him with a clothesline out of the corner. We trade some punches before UT hits a phantom big boot which Vader sells anyway, and a real one puts Vader outside. UT follows, but Vader puts him into the stairs. Back inside, a nice flying clothesline by UT gets 2. Right hands send Vader outside again, and UT takes the opportunity to chase Paul Bearer, who has been screaming MURDERER the whole match, foreshadowing Kane's debut. Vader saves, and Bearer takes off his shoe to hit UT. Back inside, a shortarm clothesline and flying clothesline from the middle gets 2 for Vader. Suplex and big man splash get another 2. Zombie sit-up, but Vader goes right to the YOKOZUNA CROWD KILLER NERVE HOLD, and UT gets a slightly upset look on his face at that. UT quickly fights out to HUGE pops, but Vader knocks him right back down with a clothesline, then unloads with punches in the corner. UT fights back but Vader stops him with a Greco-Roman ballshot. Tombstone reversal spot ends up with both guys falling down (although I wouldn't necessarily say they blew the spot). Back elbow by Vader, and he climbs for the Vader splash, but UT sits up and chokeslams him from the top....for 2!!!! Wow that was a hot 2 count. Another chokeslam for 2, and finally UT says "Fuck you, I will beat you and YOU WILL LIKE IT!!!!" and tombstones Vader for the 3. **** Totally rockin match, one of the best you'll ever see between two big men.
Clips of some more Stampede stuff.
Review of Hart/Austin storyline.
Dok Hendrix interviews the face team, and they all say a bunch of crap, except for Austin, who just walks away without saying a single word. The interview was only about a minute or two, but small moments like these are what made Austin the coolest guy on the fuckin planet back then, basically saying "I don't give a damn about any of these stupid bastards, and I don't care if they get the shit kicked out of them or not, I can't wait to get out there and beat the Hart Foundation's collective asses!!!!" Weird moment alert......Austin is nursing a Coke instead of a beer..
Farmer's Daughter sings "Oh Canada", and in honour of northern neighbors, I want all of you fucks out there to stand up RIGHT NOW join me in the singing of the Canadian national anthem.....right now damn it!!!!!
Oh Canada, our home and native land
True patriot love, in all thy sons command
With glowing hearts, we see thee rise, the true north strong and free
From far and wide, Oh Canada
We stand on guard for thee
God keep our land
Glorious and free
Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee
Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee
If I could have trusted any of you to actually know any of the words to it, I wouldn't have put it up.....but I know none of you bastards did.
Howard Finkel introduces some Canadian politician I don't give a rat's ass about, (hey I sung the national anthem for them didnt I, take what you can get) and of course, he introduces Stu and Helen at ringside.
OH BABY, HERE WE GO!!!!!
Steve Austin/Goldust/Ken Shamrock/Legion of Doom vs. The Hart Foundation
The U.S. team gets introduced first and is nearly booed out of the building. The Hart Foundation gets introduced one at a time here, and the crowd explodes as Pillman comes out first. Jim Neidhart gets the biggest pop of his career. Davey Boy gets the biggest pop of his career outside of the U.K. Owen comes out to a monstrous pop, and Bret comes out last to a pop that rivals any that Austin ever got in his whole run on top, blowing the roof off the place. JR mentions a group of cameras at ringside that are filming a documentary of Bret's life.....Wrestling with Shadows anyone?
Big staredown to start between all 10 guys until finally everyone clears out to leave Bret and Austin to start. WWF was building to Austin/Owen at Summerslam the next month, but make no mistake, they knew the eventual money match was Austin/Bret. Austin talks shit non-stop right in Bret's face while Bret glares icicles right back at him. He is seriously focused, and holy shit is this crowd HOT!!!! Opening bell sounds and they waste no time trading right hands until Bret wins and beats the shit out of Austin in the corner drawing a super face pop.....but Austin turns the tide and the boos are DEAFENING as he takes control. I'm pretty sure this was the last time Austin was so completely booed before his heel turn after Wrestlemania X-7. Corner whip, but Bret crushes Austin with clothesline out of the corner. Bret hits an atomic drop and clothesline, then rubs Austin's eyes out in the ropes, but Austin gets a double leg cramp and stomps a mudhole in the corner. Austin has an ear to ear smile, he's really enjoying being the heel tonite. The Million Dollar Dream reversal spot that cost Austin the victory at Survivor Series 96 only gets 2 for Bret this time. Austin puts Bret in the ropes, but the RMRAS misses.
Bret tags Anvil, but Austin quickly hits the Thesz press and tags in Shamrock. Shamrock gets the ankle lock, but Pillman breaks and the crowd loves it. The Harts can do no wrong here. Hiptoss by Anvil is countered to another leg submission by Shamrock. Pillman gets the tag and cheapshots Shamrock and the crowd roars even more. Chops and backbreaker by Pillman, and he moves Shamrocks arm and says "He's tapping out!!!" That finish would actually be used by Owen in the Dungeon Match at Fully Loaded 98. Shamrock gets a belly to belly, and Owen and Goldust come in. Goldust gets a back body drop, but Owen comes back with an Owenziguiri for 2. HUGE Austin sucks chant, and Goldust tags Hawk in. Gutwrench and legdrop gets 2 for Hawk, and a slam and top rope splash hit, but Owen gets the Sharpshooter before Animal breaks it up. Tag to Bulldog and he hits a delayed vertical suplex and running powerslam, but Goldust breaks up the pin. Bret comes back in, corner whip by Animal, but he eats foot on the charge and tags Goldust. Bret kicks Goldust's ass and puts him in the Tree of Woe in the Hart corner and a 5 on 1 beatdown ensues. Crowd is just going so crazy here that I can't even describe it. Just wild, I still get excited every time I watch this......
We settle down again, and Owen hits his shoulder on a corner charge, but still hits his spin heel kick on Animal, then a missile dropkick. Owen tries a rana, but Animal powerbombs him, then powerslams him. LOD hit the Doomsday Device but the pin is broken by Anvil. Big brawl again, and Austin drags the weakened Owen to the corner to destroys his knee on the post, then goes to town with the chair right in front of the Hart Family at ringside before Bret comes around and chases Austin away. Bret calls for medical help, but Owen smartly tags out again before he lets them drag him away. The crowd wants Austin to know how much he sucks and his smile is as wide as the Grand Canyon. Austin kicks Anvil's ass, then gets the Stunner on Pillman.....and Bret has had enough and drags him to the post, then slaps on the ringpost figure 4 to take out Austin's knee, and he's taken to the back. It's 4 on 4 now. Hawk gets a slam on Bulldog, but Bulldog crotches him on top and gets 2. Bulldog and Anvil combine for a double clothesline and Hawk tags to Animal. Test of strength between Anvil and Animal goes nowhere, but Anvil backs Animal up to the Hart corner, and he and Bret combine for a Demolition Decapitation. Animal tags Shamrock as Vince complains about how the Harts are getting cheered no matter what they do and it's a case of patriotism gone wrong......now come on, sure I know all the words and even sang Oh Canada, but I truly and deeply love America. So it pains me to say this, but only an American would say something THAT stupid......
Bret outsmarts Shamrock (not like that's much of an accomplishment) and tosses him outside, and Pillman gleefully takes Shamrock into the Spanish table. It's great to see Pillman truly happy for once. Hawk also gets put into the stairs by the Harts, and Bret hits the leg sweep for 2 back inside on Shamrock. Bulldog kicks Shamrock's ass, but Ken nutshots him to stop him. Goldust comes in with a bulldog and Curtain Call, but Pillman runs interference again to break it up. Goldust heads upstairs, but Bulldog cuts him off with a superplex, and Animal breaks at 2 to HUGE boos.....but wait, the crowd isn't booing Animal, because Austin is coming back down the ramp. Austin jumps on the apron and immediately wants the tag and gets it, but Bret is also in again, and we're right back where we started the match with Bret and Austin in a slugfest. Austin takes control this time, Bret goes Bret-first, and a suplex gets 2. Bret hits a swinging neckbreaker for 2, then the backbreaker and 2nd rope elbow also gets 2. SLEEEPPAHHHHHH, but Austin counters with a jawbreaker for 2. Bret gets the Sharpshooter but Animal breaks it up...then Austin gets the Sharpshooter, but Owen runs out to break that up to a huge pop. Just brilliant booking in this matchup. Owen gets the tag and clotheslines Austin outside, then puts him into the rail. Owen climbs back in, but Bruce Hart tosses water at Austin, so Austin grabs ahold of Stu and a huge brawl breaks out. Bret comes over to help and tosses Austin back in, and Owen gets the surprise rollup for the 3 and the SUPERMEGACOLLOSSAL pop. ***** Postmatch, the Harts beat the holy living hell out of the U.S. team and the whole family comes in the ring.....then Austin runs in and attacks everyone!!!!! The Harts again kick the shit out of him before the police manage to handcuff Austin and carry him away, but even then they can't stop him from flipping off anybody and everybody. Stu and Helen and all the kids and grandkids come in the ring to celebrate, and when you watch this you should realize that this is probably the last time the whole family was happy and united. Everyone, especially Bret, is just grinning ear to ear, and I really think this is how he should have gone out....but alas that was not meant to be. It's a great thing to see how together they once were, and it's also extremely sad because of everything that's happened. Watching Owen and Martha carry around Oje and Athena particularly made me sad, because videos like this are probably the only way they'll really remember him since they are so young.
Official Grade-- A. Was there any doubt? I told you at the beginning this is my all time personal favorite PPV ever. Even if it's not everyone's favorite, you'd have to be brain-dead to somehow dislike this show. This is just a fucking awesome show, with an insanely super-hot crowd. If it wouldnt have been redundant, I could have put "Crowd pops huge, crowd goes nuts, etc." after every single move the Harts did in that matchup, and "crowd boos ___ out of the building" for everything the U.S. team did. All four matches hit ****+ territory....an amazing accomplishment. The 10 man is just a fucking classic. The crowd, the situation, and the wrestling were just about as perfect as you can get on this night. This show gets the highest recommendation I can give, and then some.