Opening things up, The 1-2-3 Kid takes on The Roadie. The Kid is not just the better worker, he's the only competent one in the ring for this as the future Road Dogg botches the first two spots. This is almost a 100% carry job by Waltman as he not only delivers the best offense, but somehow makes the Roadie look like a legitimate competitor when, up till this point, he was mostly just a manager if I'm not mistaken. Throughout the match there are cutaways to Jeff Jarrett backstage, cementing the irrelevancy of this match even as the Kid gets his fair share of cheers. Waltman's spinning heel kick and frogsplash are things of beauty and either could've finished the bout convincingly. Unfortunately, the match continues and The Roadie nearly paralyzes the Kid with a dangerous and poorly performed piledriver off the 2nd rope. It is an ugly, ugly ending. Points awarded for The Kid's miraculous work. (1.5/5)
After the match, The Roadie checks the mic for Jarrett's performance later on. We then cut to the heel lockerroom where Ted Dibiase, Tatanka, Kama, and Sid get on the mic to hype Sid's match against Diesel.
King Mabel and Sir Mo take on Razor Ramon and Savio Vega next. This was the next phase in King Mabel's big push towards SummerSlam (where he'd face Diesel for the title) so he eventually gets the win after an unremarkable match. Ramon is charismatic enough to keep the crowd engaged and Mabel, while not the funnest worker to watch, does hit his big power moves with impact. Unfortunately, Vega and Sir Mo are basically dead weight, carried by Scott Hall's connection with the crowd and Mabel's undeniable presence. (1.5/5)
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry O. Godwinn follows. Godwinn was a heel at this point, which I forgot about. Godwinn is a wrestler that I've had to re-evaluate as I've seen more of his output as I used to think he was absolute dog shit but now recognize as a fairly decent hand who got stuck with terrible gimmicks. That's not to say he has some stellar resume of overlooked classics, but a match like this isn't nearly as bad as it might seem at first glance. Obviously it helps that he's in the ring with Bigelow, another big man who knew how to work and was over with the crowd, but its not like this is a carry job. Both guys brought the physicality and a surprising number of actual wrestling moves, including a nice DDT out of the Bammer at one point. This was the best match on the show up to this point, which isn't saying much. (2/5)
Shawn Michaels challenged Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship in the next contest. Like his match at WrestleMania XI, this match is basically Shawn doing everything humanly possible to keep the spotlight on himself and pop the live crowd with incredible bumps and comebacks. I'm not sure why it doesn't click with me as the match is intense and both guys have a ton of energy and get plenty of time, but there's just something I can't quite put my finger on that makes the whole match seem disingenuous. Maybe its that I just don't buy Shawn as a babyface? Or that the match seems to go just a touch too long (its nearly 20 minutes but there's an extra minute or two at least of pre- and post-match fluff)? Whatever it is, I'm just not as high on this match as others, especially those who consider this to be a Top 10 Michaels match. A very, very good match but not one I would consider "must see." (3.5/5)
The WWE Tag Team Champions, Yokozuna and Owen Hart, take on The Allied Powers next. Bulldog and Owen start things off and, unsurprisingly, the action is very good as they had terrific chemistry. Yoko comes in and dominates Bulldog, though he is moving much slower than he was a year earlier. The former WWE Champ applies a nerve hold, slowing the match down to a halt only a few minutes in. Bulldog fights out but the heels cut the ring in half. Owen shines brightly in this match, executing so well with both his offense and his bumping. Luger gets the hot tag and wails on Yoko, eventually knocking him to the mat by press slamming Owen onto him. The Allied Powers hit a double clothesline on Yoko but only get 2 and a half as the match turns into bedlam. Yoko goes for a splash in the corner but Bulldog dodges it and the faces hit a double back suplex for a huge pop. Owen comes off the top, though, to break up the pin and Yoko hits a legdrop to retain. This was a good match for what it was and it protected Yoko tremendously to be paired with Owen. (3/5)
Main event time - Diesel vs Sid in a Lumberjack match. In the build to this match, Shawn Michaels had been turned babyface and had been powerbombed by Sid, with Diesel making the save Then, in May, Diesel nearly defeated Sid with a Jacknife but that match devolved into chaos as the Million Dollar Corporation and Bam Bam Bigelow got involved. Basically, the Diesel/Sid feud had run for months and months by this point and involved so many other wrestlers that they opted to end it with a full-on lumberjack match. The lumberjacks are mostly jobbers and forgettable gimmicks like Well Dunn and Mantaur, but Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, and Bam Bam Bigelow are also on hand to make this feel like a bigger deal. Sid and Diesel trade shots early with Sid getting sent to the outside and then tossed back into the ring by the babyfaces. Diesel hits an impressive bodyslam on Sid, forcing Sid to retreat into the arms of his fellow heels. As Sid gets back in the ring, he pulls Nash out and Diesel gets stomped on by the heels and, admittedly, it is quite a visual to see this many combatants all brawling on the outside of the ring for a minute, something very akin to the better pull-aparts we've seen over the years. Sid takes over on offense, mostly just pummeling the champ and hitting him with kicks to the gut. We get a quick glimpse of Erik Watts, who I totally forgot was in the WWE. Diesel regains control, dropping a couple of elbows before taking out a whole bunch of heels on the outside with a splash. Diesel comes back into the ring and hits his big leg drop on the 2nd rope before dropping Sid into the corner with a Snake Eyes. Diesel attempts to clothesline Sid over the top but gets pulled to the outside by the Men on a Mission. All hell breaks loose as the heels team up on Diesel and Mabel bodyslams Diesel onto the arena floor and then follows it up with a leg drop. Smart booking there as Mabel would challenge Diesel for the title at SummerSlam. They dump Diesel back into the ring and Sid retakes control but barely does any offense aside from a big boot off the ropes for 2. The crowd starts rallying as Sid goes for and hits the powerbomb but unwisely doesn't go for he immediate cover. What an idiot. He makes a lazy cover and only gets 2 having wasted so much time. Ugh. Sid goes for another powerbomb by Diesel predictably back body drops him and both men are down. Sid goes to the outside and inexplicably goes after the babyfaces even though he is hugely outnumbered. Shawn clocks him from behind with an axehandle off the top and Sid is sent back into the ring for the jackknife only for various lumberjacks to prevent it from occurring. Instead, Diesel ends up getting the W with a big boot. Jeez. What a sloppy way to end this match that makes pretty much everyone involved looked weaker. (1.5/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.17-out-of-5, this isn't the worst show I've reviewed and it actually does have at least two good-to-great matches in the Intercontinental and Tag Team Championship bouts, but the opener is sloppy, Bigelow/Godwinn is not as good as it could've been, and the main event is about as bad as one would expect.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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