
The contestants in this week’s “Rewind-Mania” are then-WWF champion Diesel and “The Hitman,” Bret Hart.
The venue was the USAir Arena in Landover. The stage was “Survivor Series,” held on Nov. 19, 1995.
This match was recommended to me by independent wrestler “Big Trouble” Ben Bishop.
If you would like to recommend a classic match for me to review, please feel free to email me at [email protected].
By 1995, the WWE, then known as the WWF, was two years into its self-proclaimed “New Generation.”
Following the WWF’s vaunted “Golden Era,” which saw the McMahon Family’s regional Northeastern promotion expand into a national powerhouse under the guidance of Vincent K. McMahon, the early-to-mid ‘90s was a period of radical change for the World Wrestling Federation.
In 1991, the company was rocked by a scandal, stemming from a federal investigation into McMahon’s involvement with Pennsylvania doctor, George Zaharian III.
Zaharian had illegally supplied wrestlers with anabolic steroids. In turn, investigators questioned McMahon’s involvement in the matter, culminating in the “United States v. McMahon et al.” Clearly, McMahon, who is currently embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation, is no stranger to controversy. However, in this instance, McMahon was found not guilty. The verdict didn’t deter pundits and the court of public opinion though, who became vehemently opposed to McMahon and the WWF.
The WWF had also lost their perennial world champion, Hulk Hogan, who defected to Ted Turner’s Atlanta-based WCW—which had emerged as a legitimate challenger to McMahon’s empire. Randy Savage followed Hogan soon thereafter, joining WCW in Dec. 1994.
So, McMahon pivoted, building his promotion around a new wave of stars, and a new era of programming—dubbed the “New Generation.” Stars like Shawn Michael, The Undertaker, and Yokozuna took center stage; led by the “Excellence of Execution,” Bret Hart.
As the eighth child of famed wrestling trainer and patriarch, Stu Hart, Bret was born Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Trained in the Hart Family’s legendary “Dungeon,” Hart quickly found his footing in his father’s Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling, before rising to prominence in the mid-‘80s, as one-half of The Hart Foundation, with his brother-in-law, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart.
At “WrestleMania VII” in 1991, The Hart Foundation were forced to disband after losing to the Nasty Boys, which marked the beginning of Hart’s illustrious career as a single’s wrestler. By “SummerSlam,” Hart had captured the WWF Intercontinental championship. And, by October 1992, Hart had captured his first WWF championship, defeating the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
By 1993, Hart had become the centrifugal force of the WWF’s burgeoning “New Generation.” Meanwhile, his opponent, Diesel, was just finding his footing.
Diesel, aka Kevin Nash, was born in Detroit. Nash, who grew to be a legitimate 6’10”, was a prolific basketball player—playing three seasons at the University of Tennessee and eventually overseas in Germany. When Nash’s professional basketball career abruptly ended due to injuries, Nash joined the U.S. Army—serving in Western Germany. When Nash returned to the United States, he worked on an assembly line in Detroit and eventually as a floor manager of a strip club in Atlanta. It was there that he began his journey in professional wrestling.
By 1990, Nash had made his debut in WCW as one-half of The Master Blasters. Nash’s foray into tag team wrestling was brief, becoming the infamous character, Oz.
Eventually, Nash jumped to the WWF in 1993 and was rechristened as Diesel, Shawn Michaels’ insurance policy. The two became known as the Two Dudes With Attitude, capturing the WWF World tag team championships. Diesel was also a burgeoning singles star, defeating Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental championship.
While their union eventually dissolved, Michaels’ betrayal turned Diesel into a fan-favorite. And, when Bob Backlund beat Bret Hart for the WWF Championship in 1994 at “Survivor Series”—Backlund quickly lost the title to Diesel three days later.
Diesel’s reign lasted nearly one year, defending his title against a myriad of challengers. Earlier in 1995, he even retained his championship against Bret Hart—in a match that ended in a no-contest, due to a series of outside interferences.
This time, it would be a no-disqualification match, and the “Hitman” wouldn’t be deterred.
The match began with both men removing the top turnbuckle pad from their respective corner, as a demonstration of their animosity.
Diesel quickly took advantage in this affair, cornering Hart and inundating him with a barrage of knees to the diaphragm. Hart escaped the ring, but Diesel followed him—dropping him chin first onto the barricade, slamming him into the ring steps, and using a steel chair to level “The Hitman.”
With Hart lying in a heap, Diesel tried to put the “Hitman” away early with his patented Jackknife Powerbomb, but Hart expertly countered the giant—hooking his leg and escaping his grasp.
Hart was finally able to gain some measure of control, stunning the giant with a chokehold. From there, Hart began to target Diesel’s knee, taking him down on the mat and applying a Figure-Four Leglock
Diesel used his superior height and length to his advantage, grabbing the ropes to break Hart’s hold. However, “The Hitman’s” onslaught didn’t end, retaining control over Diesel’s left leg and continuing to target the knee with lethal precision.
Hart continued his methodical assault, tying Diesel’s right ankle to the ring post and attacking him with a steel chair.
“The Hitman’s” own hubris proved to be his downfall, losing control after he mistakenly tried to attack Diesel from the top rope.
While “The Hitman” was stunned, Diesel untied his left ankle and brought the fight to Hart—sending him into the exposed turnbuckle with an Irish Whip.
Before Diesel could body slam him, Hart escaped—driving Diesel’s head into the exposed turnbuckle. From there, Hart began an impressive sequence: battering Diesel with shots to the forehead, followed by a clothesline for a failed cover, a top rope bulldog for another failed cover, and a side Russian leg sweep for a third failed cover.
The champion wisely escaped to the outside. Hart tried to punctuate the affair with a dive over the rope. Unfortunately for “The Hitman,” Diesel anticipated Hart’s high-risk maneuver and evaded him—sending Hart crashing into the floor.
While Hart was trying to recompose himself and enter the ring, Diesel delivered a vicious shoulder tackle—sending Hart from the ring apron through the Spanish announce table.
Diesel deposited Hart’s lifeless body back into the ring, ready to finish “The Hitman” with a Jackknife Powerbomb. However, Hart quickly regained his composure and shockingly pinned Diesel with an inside cradle.
“The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be” had escaped from the jaws of defeat. Diesel was apoplectic, attacking viciously assaulting Hart and the officials who tried intervening.
Earlier in the affair, McMahon, who was the WWF’s lead play-by-play analyst, pontificated whether Diesel could compete in a prolonged affair with Hart. In a sense, that hypothesis proved to be true. The bout lasted well beyond 20 minutes, and Diesel was unable to defend Hart’s inside cradle. However, “Big Daddy Cool” didn’t seem nearly as fatigued as McMahon had suggested he would.
On the other hand, Hart seemed haggard—expertly conveying the punishment he incurred from Diesel’s onslaught.
It’s no secret that Kevin Nash was physically limited in the ring—infamously known for his “five moves of doom.” Still, Hart was able to conjure a career defining performance from Nash—punctuating the latter’s run as WWF champion with arguably his best performance yet.
Rating: ****