Good evening, readers. On Thursday night, I presented a brief glimpse into what possibilities could have existed had Eric Bischoff's brainchild, the Elimination Chamber match, had been made available to the Golden Era (March 1987-September 1992) of the World Wrestling Federation. There, we witnessed Hulk Hogan defend the title (presumably, as most of this time frame was spent with him as champion) against five equally prominent names of the era; The Ultimate Warrior, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Mr. Perfect, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
Simulating the order of entry, I determined under ideal conditions that Piper and Perfect would start the contest, followed by Roberts, then Savage, Hogan and the Warrior entering last. After much deliberation, I determined that Hogan and Warrior's respective arsenals would offset each other, opening the door for the likes of Perfect and Roberts to seize on the opportunity and perhaps score an upset fall. This conglomeration of factors led me to the conclusion that this bout belonged to Randy Savage. Tonight, I will attempt to go a little more in depth with my summary of the same bout featuring arguably the six most prominent figures of the next generation..."The New Generation".
The New Generation
The Participants: Bret "Hitman" Hart (c) vs. Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon vs. Owen Hart vs. The British Bulldog
Order of Entry: Razor Ramon (3), British Bulldog (4), Diesel (5), Bret Hart (6); Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart start the match
The Breakdown: As in-ring chemistry goes, it only gets better from here--their matches are the stuff of legends--Bret/Bulldog at Summerslam 1992, Bret/Razor at Royal Rumble 1993, Bret/Owen at Wrestlemania X and Summerslam 1994, Shawn/Razor and Diesel/Razor at the same respective events, Bret/Diesel at Royal Rumble and Survivor Series 1995, Diesel/Shawn at Wrestlemania XI, Shawn and Razor had another classic that same summer--HBK would have a few great run-ins with Owen and the Bulldog (most notably In Your House: Beware of Dog) and of course, no list of this nature would be complete without the historic Iron Man Match at Wrestlemania XII, which cemented Bret and Shawn as the two defining figures of the generation.
Rivalries aside, the partnerships make this match phenomenal as well, as Diesel and HBK as well as Owen and the Bulldog are certainly no strangers to each other. So begins a Chamber Match featuring the two most dominant entities of the five-year period between Hulkamania and Austin 3:16--The Kliq and The Hart Foundation.
Analysis: Between the Iron Man Match and becoming the first Royal Rumble winner to enter from the #1 spot, HBK has earned his reputation for longevity. He therefore begins the contest with Hart the Younger, who spent a majority of his career with the largest of chips on his shoulder, feeling he always had something to prove. After five minutes of furious back-and-forth action and outstanding chain wrestling (Shawn and Owen had a penchant for that in their meetings), the buzzer sounds and Razor enters the fray.
Time wears on, alliances are formed (naturally) and eventually disintegrate (again, naturally) until finally the time comes for The Excellence of Execution to escape his pod. All participants still intact, the battle lines are re-drawn and members of the Kliq and the Hart Foundation duel in respective corners. The match begins to unravel as the Bulldog primes HBK for a Running Powerslam and Bret is set up for the Razor's Edge. Michaels slides out and swings for the fences with Sweet Chin Music, but the Bulldog telegraphs the blow and Razor absorbs the full impact of the superkick instead. Bret capitalizes and scores the first elimination of the evening.
Diesel goes on a blind rampage, throwing clotheslines, big boots and back elbows before hurling Owen through the plate glass of one of the pods and casting Bret to the chain walls of the chamber with the ease of a lawn dart. He even keeps HBK at bay with a thunderous sidewalk slam on the chamber floor. Big Daddy Cool begins brawling with the Bulldog, eventually gaining the upper hand and dropping Davey Boy with a Jackknife Powerbomb on the steel grate. A nonchalant foot cover later and the field has been narrowed to four.
One might suggest that perhaps The Undertaker should have been in this field; and yes, while The Deadman DID win his first WWF Championship during the Golden Era and was IMMENSELY popular during this time period, it is my firm belief that The Undertaker was far better represented in an era a little further down the line. That being said, his presence would still be felt here. Any longtime fan of the WWF/E could tell you that Kevin Nash (i.e. Diesel) had one last high-profile feud before the MSG Incident and his initial departure from the company--that would be with the Deadman. Whether up through the canvas or through myriad varying supernatural methods, Taker finds his way into the Chamber and stuns Diesel with a devastating Tombstone Piledriver. Michaels crawls to the cover and eliminates his on-again/off-again BFF while Taker vanishes as quickly as he arrived.
As most would have anticipated, two of the final three in this contest indeed end up being The Hitman and the Heartbreak Kid. What some might NOT expect is how the conclusion unfolds. After a ten minute exchange of brawling, various submission holds and several high-risk maneuvers (including a death-defying moonsault from the top of the chamber), no decision is reached. Michaels looks to score with a plancha to the outside, but Bret rolls through and cinches in the Sharpshooter and HBK has nowhere to go. Five minutes pass and Michaels refuses to succumb. Exasperated with Michaels' determination, Bret instead turns his attention to his supine brother, still lying in the wreckage of the chamber pod. Bret drags Owen to the center of the canvas and attempts to apply the Sharpshooter once again. However, out of desperation, Owen employs a beautifully executed spladle as Bret moves to turn him over and logs a stunning three count to eliminate The Hitman. Bret rises from the mat and can only look on in sheer disbelief as we are guaranteed a new champion.
The match returns to its original two participants as Owen and Michaels slowly rise to their feet. An invigorated crowd in attendance has done the same out of respect for the effort put forth. Chants of "This Is Awesome" ring through the arena. The duo trade blows and HBK eventually gains control, dodging an enziguri and answering back with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels falls into the cover and garners a LONG two count before The King of Harts wills his shoulder off the mat. Undeterred and certain the end is near, Michaels drops Owen with a body slam and mounts the turnbuckle in preparation for a diving elbow. He connects and drags himself to the opposite corner of the ring. The crowd remains out of their collective seats, knowing EXACTLY what's coming next.
...Allow me a moment to step outside this environment and just say that CLEARLY I gave this fantasy booking a lot of thought. I've back and forth on the outcome numerous times since Thursday, half of the time deciding that Bret would retain the title, the other half almost positive that HBK would leave as champion. After all, Michaels is the only one of these six with Chamber experience beyond one match.
But a novel idea crossed my mind on Saturday afternoon that ultimately gave me my resolution. Throughout his untimely short career, Owen Hart managed to capture every major title WWF/E had to offer....all except one. The big one. What better (and bigger) stage to finally secure the World Championship than the one I've booked here? Imagine the Jericho-esque ranting from Owen if he could lay claim to defeating Bret Hart AND Shawn Michaels, not only in the same night, but within moments of each other in the same match...now THAT would be something...he would have earned it, too...Alright, back to the action--
Stomping the earth, Michaels begins to "tune up the band" for one final Sweet Chin Music to close the deal. Zeroing in on the target, Michaels sweeps, but Owen ducks under and comes back with a rolling prawn hold and floats over into a Sharpshooter. Michaels is able to block again, countering with an inside cradle of his own, but cannot secure Owen's leg for the pinfall. Both roll through, return to their feet and Owen is quicker on the draw, firing back with a THUNDEROUS enziguri to HBK's temple and Shawn crumples to the mat face first. Owen scrambles to the cover and picks up the unlikeliest of three counts. At long last, The King of Harts; The Rocket--no longer The Nugget, now World Wrestling Federation Champion. Enough is enough, it was time for a change....
Stay tuned for the next installment, the much anticipated Attitude Era match. Should be fairly obvious who the participants in the contest are. However, should you need a little assistance in determining the sextet involved in the match, might I recommend WWF's Attitude Super Bowl ad spot from 1998-99, you'll find five of them. From there the sixth should be a piece of cake.
Thanks for reading folks, catch ya on the next one.
-TSR
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