Shawn Michaels vs. Venom
from TWA TV 4/4/2000
by me--Well....I tried to find this in my tape collection last week but I couldn't, so I thought I lost it. But after an extensive search, I did find it. Since Shawn came back to WWF TV and joined the NWO, I had an itching to see this match. I got this tape about six months ago, but as often happens when you trade alot of tapes, you don't get around to watching everything that you have right away. So here it is....I haven't really heard alot about this match, which is good, since I can go into this with an open mind and no preconcieved notions of how good or bad it might be.
--Well, I would try to recap and do this along the lines of my Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask single match review, but I don't know that much about the Texas Wrestling Alliance or alot of the things that led up to this match. What I do know is that the week prior to this match, Venom and a guy named Tiger Steele had a match for the title. Something happened and Venom ended up getting 50% control of TWA (in storyline only of course), with Shawn controlling the other 50%. So they set up this match for control of TWA and for the belt. Basically, it's for everything.
--Venom enters first and brings in some plundah....he basically looks like a Nasty Boy, with a little Bikertaker mixed in. Sexy Boy hits and Shawn comes out in just jeans and KISS 98.5 T-shirt. The announcer already starts in on how bad Shawn's back is and begging for him to stop and consider this more carefully, and pretty much repeats that sentiment the whole match. Shawn is wrestling without doctor's clearance, he might not be able to even play catch with son after this over, etc, etc.
--BTW, this is a Bunkhouse Brawl match, although that doesn't really mean jack shit. I would be VERY surprised if Shawn took more than maybe two bumps the whole match. Venom attacks as soon as Shawn climbs through the ropes, but Shawn fires back with some rights. Shawn tries a whip, but Venom counters and lays in the punches and kicks. Venom tosses Shawn outside and sends him back first into the railing, drawing the requisite ooohs from the crowd for Shawn's well known back injury. Back in, Venom breaks a crutch over Shawn's back. Frankly I'm shocked Shawn let Venom even do that, although I noticed that Shawn took both shots into the UPPER BACK, not the lower back where all the damage is, and trust me I'm not complaining. That's just very smart. Shawn floats over on a corner whip and takes the other crutch to Venom. In a weird moment, Shawn takes off his boot and to hit Venom, gets one shot in with it, then puts it back on. That's something I would have never expected from Shawn. Clothesline and (farily bad) piledriver by Shawn puts Venom down long enough for Shawn to retrieve a ladder. He gets a few shots in with it, then sets it up in the corner and slingshots Venom into it. I should point out that Shawn is moving pretty carefully and a few decidely un-Shawn Michaelsish spots prove it. Pretty bad snapmare by Shawn, then he goes up the ladder a few steps and hits a fistdrop. This is all Shawn right now, which is undoubtedly the smartest course to take.
--Shawn tosses Venom outside now, and then borrows a few road signs from a couple of helpful fans and goes to work. Chairshot by Shawn, and Venom blades. Not bad either, I'd give it about .3 or maybe .4 Muta, although I didn't get a good enough close-up to decide for sure. 10 punch in the corner by Shawn back inside leaves Venom slumped in the corner, so Shawn sets up the ladder in Venom's crotch and dropkicks it. I've obviously seen that spot before with other objects, but never with a ladder. Shawn feels good about it and dances. We head outside again, and Shawn works Venom over again with a trash can and some more chair shots. Venom tries to get away through the crowd, but Shawn follows and they fight on a stage behind the crowd. Venom gets his first offense in a long while with a few punches. Venom sets up a table and heads up to the 2nd level (about 8 feet or so higher than the first stage) and Shawn follows. Even an idiot knows what's gonna happen at this point, and I would let someone cut my dick off if Shawn goes through this table, cause there is no way in fucking hell that he is taking this bump. Venom meets Shawn as he climbs and tries to throw him off, but Shawn reverses and hiptosses Venom off the 2nd level through the table to prove me correct. It WAS a nice bump though.
--Shawn climbs back down slowly (although it looks to me like he's moving a little easier....maybe he's loosened up a bit at this point?) and heads toward the ring and starts setting up a table. Venom recovers after a minute or so and heads back toward the ring himself, then uses powder to blind Shawn when he gets there. Venom goes to town with some cane shots in the head, and Shawn blades, I'd say .4 Muta easy. Venom pulls out handcuffs from somewhere, and cuffs Shawn to the top rope. Venom grabs a mic as Shawn flails away and proclaims that Shawn's life and career are over. Venom gets 5 pretty good cane shots in (again, head and upper back.....Shawn hasn't even come CLOSE to taking anything on the lower back). Venom sets up the table. A guy named Shooter Schultz runs out to help Shawn. He jumps Venom from behind and tries to T-Bone Venom through the table, but the table no-sells. He tries again, no dice. A T-Bone is just a horrible table move, BTW. There's just not enough downward snapping motion to break the table. Shooter is obviously lost now, so he tries a powerbomb....which doesn't work. THE TABLE IS THE TOUGHEST THING IN THIS MATCH!!!! Well, the leg on the right side folded up at least. That was a pretty bad sequence there. Shooter finally uncuffs Shawn so we can get on with the show. Venom stumbles up after Shooter nearly killed him, and Shawn says "Fuck you table, I AM THE MUTHAFUCKIN SHOWSTOPPAH, NOT YOU!!!!!" and then gives Venom a running powerslam through the rest of the table. Shawn dances, he feels it, and......Sweet Chin Music finishes it for 3 at right around 20 minutes. Shawn regains full ownership and gets control over the table....I mean the belt. **1/2, although I might have gone a little higher if not for a couple of bad spots near the beginning and the dumb Shooter run-in.
Conclusions-- Well....Shawn's back was a very obvious concern in this match and it really did hamper his ability to perform. At certain points where he would have done alot more had he been healthy (he tosses Venom outside at one point, and in 1996 he would have certainly followed that with a tope or a plancha), he had to pull back. Notice in reading the review that he took ZERO mat bumps, and anything that Venom hit him with in the back was up by the shoulders. Venom didn't impress me all that much really, other than being Shawn's punching bag....yeah, he took the big table bump and got hit with signs and chairs, but kids in back yards can do that. It was really a garbage match, which is really the only kind of match Shawn was capable of working at this point.
--Still, I was surprised the match was as good as it was. It really shows how talented Shawn is that he could turn out a pretty decent match with all the limitations he had. They booked the match so that Shawn could do as much as he could. It was a good crowd. The match could have been alot better, but obviously Shawn wasn't capable of doing lots of bumps to set up a series of near-falls that could have improved the match.
--As for the recommendation.....well, if you're a big Shawn mark or a completist, then this is pretty good to pick up. If you dislike Shawn, or you just want to see the flying and bumping Shawn you knew and loved in WWF, then this isn't what you want. But it's only 20 minutes, so if someone has it and there's room at the end of a tape, then you could probably convince them to slap it on the end. It's certainly not a must see classic by any means, but it's a fairly entertaining waste of 20 minutes nonetheless. And in wrestling, that's all you can really ask for.
--Thumbs in the middle, leaning up.