Story orignially appeared in Solie's Vintage Wrestling
The British Bulldogs
Photo appears at Slobberknocker Central
TOKYO, JAPAN
Moments after The Bulldogs successfully defended their WWF/NWA World Tag Team Championship against the formidable duo of Antonio Inoki & Tasumi Fujinami, they were involved in a brief staredown with Rick & Scott Steiner (who had came down to watch the match)!!! No words or blows were exchanged but the looks on their faces told the story!! In an interview after the event, Scott Steiner told everyone around the world what the intentions of he and Rick were to Gordon Solie:
SOLIE: Hello wrestling fans!!! I am standing here in
the locker room area of the Tokyo Egg Dome here in Tokyo, Japan with Scott
Steiner of The Steiner Bros. First off, let me ask you about your triangle
tag team match you and your brother had against "The Outsiders" - Scott
Hall & Kevin Nash - and "The Land Of The Giants". The team of Andre
The Giant and The
Giant of WCW.
SCOTT: Well, first off let me say that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash got what was coming to them tonight!!! Yeah, me and my brother wanted to win that match but we are not too disappointed that the Giants won!!! They are a formidable challenge and I hope me and my brother will get the chance to face them again!! At least it wasn't those two scumbags "The Outsiders" that won!!!
SOLIE: Well, now let me ask what was all that about with you and Rick Steiner getting into a staredown with NWA & WWF World Tag Team Champions The British Bulldogs? It was almost like you were sending a challenge out in your own right.
SCOTT: You know something Gordon? You're right!!! We
are serving notice to Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith!!! We are making
a challenge to The British Bulldogs!!! Right now, we are after those two
stinking Russians Ivan & Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Tag Team belts!!!
But make no mistake, Bulldogs, if you are still the champs when we get
those straps
back from the Koloffs, then we want a challenge for
those belts of yours!!!
Scott leaves at this point.
SOLIE: Well, there you have. Scott Steiner speaking on behalf of the Steiner Bros. They have made it clear that they want The British Bulldogs.
MAY 16. MIAMI, FL
In this no disqualification bout from the James L.
Knight Center, Ivan Koloff has Scott Steiner in trouble as he makes the
tag to Nikita. Nikita comes in and gives a stiff kick to Steiners' ribs!!!
He whips Steiner into the ropes for a backdrop but Steiner hooks him into
the "Tiger Bomb" (double-underhook powerbomb)!!! Steiner falls back and
makes the tag to Rick Steiner!!!
Rick comes in with right hands that stagger Nikita!!!
Ivan comes in and gets a "Steinerline" clothesline for his trouble!!! Krusher
Krushev tries to interfere and gets a right hand!!! Nikita tries to sneak
in a "Russian Sickle" clothesline but Rick ducks it!!! Nikita's momentum
sends him into the ropes and Steiner catches him with a powerslam when
Nikita rebounds
off!!! Rick goes for the cover but Ivan Koloff prevents
the pin!!! Now, all four men are fighting!! The ref is with Scott and Ivan,
trying to get them back to their corners!!! Krushev, meanwhile, has entered
the ring and is holding Rick Steiner for Nikita to get in the "Sickle"!!!
But, as Koloff is running across, Bill Goldberg (from out of nowhere) comes
into the ring and gets in his spear shouldertackle!!! This is payback for
what happened to Goldberg at the hands of Nikita over in Japan!!! Krushev
is decked by a right hand by Goldberg!!! Goldberg throws Krushev outside
and is brawling with him on the floor!!! Meanwhile, Nikita is just getting
to his feet only to be taken down again by Rick's Bulldog Headlock from
the top rope!!! Rick covers Nikita and the ref, just coming back into the
ring, makes the three count!!! The Steiners have regained the WCW
World Tag Team Championship!!! Goldberg comes in and
hands them the belts!!! He then leaves the Steiners to celebrate!!! As
they leave, however, they hear someone over the house mic:
DAVEY BOY SMITH: Hey Steiners!! Congradulations on your victory!!! As everyone sees, you are a terrific tag team!!! Now, enough of the pleasentries, we and Dynamite know that you issued a challenge for a title shot at these belts!! Well, we will do it on one condition!!! And that is if you will put those WCW World straps on the line as well!!! The winner between us, the two greatest tag teams in the world today, should rightfully be the world tag team champions!!!
At this point, Rick and Scott have another house mic:
SCOTT: If that's the way you want it, then you got it!!!
RICK: I only have one thing to say!!! (Rick starts his dog bark)
The match is quickly signed for the first date of the NWA Great American Bash tour for Baltimore, MD at the Baltimore Arena on July 4!!! It is also decided that the whole theme for this card would be tag teams so many wrestlers formed teams while established teams went to this event as well!!! It was nicknamed "Tag-Mania."
TAG-MANIA/UNDERCARD
Ivan & Nikita Koloff VS. Bill Goldberg/Ken Shamrock (Texas Tornado Style)
In this bout, all four men were allowed to be in the
ring at the same time!!! Also, Shamrock brought down Steve "Lethal Weapon"
Blackmon to counter Krusher Krushev!!! This match was a wild ten minute
brawl with the Koloffs having a slight edge due to more experience as a
team but they couldn't put Shamrock or Goldberg down for the count!!! The
match ends
when Krusher manages to get in a shot with the chain
on Blackmon!!! Shamrock and Nikita are now battling on the floor and Ivan
has taken an advantage on Goldberg with an eye-rake!! Krushev tries to
hit Goldberg with the chain but hits Ivan instead!!! Goldberg quickly "spears"
Krusher and sends him out of the ring!!! He goes over to Ivan and executes
his"Jackhammer" suplex with Shamrock coming back in (Nikita had been "posted"
by Shamrock right before Goldberg's "JH")!!! Shamrock quickly applies the
anklelock and gets the submission!!! Nikita comes in to check on his uncle
and commrade but has a burning glare directed at Goldberg as he and Shamrock
leave!!!
The Road Warriors VS. The Land Of The Giants (Andre The Giant/WCW Giant)
For one of the rare times in their career, The Road
Warriors are both outweighed and out-sized!!! While the combine weight
of their opponents is a staggering 993 pounds with both men standing at
over seven feet tall!!! Still, The Warriors were not intimidated!! They
battled the two Giants as hard as anyone has since this team was formed
back at "Hell Burns Over"!!! At one point, Animal pulled off an unbelievable
body slam on Andre!!! This took its toll, however, as Animal's back was
injured in the attempt!!! Andre rolled over to tag The Giant while Animal
tagged in Hawk!! Hawk runs in and catches The Giant with a clothesline
that staggers him but The Giant is still on his feet!!! Hawk hits the ropes
again but The Giant nails him with a dropkick as he comes off!!! The Giant
then picks Hawk up by the neck and drills him with a "Chokeslam"!!! Animal
comes back in (as does Andre) and now all four men are in the ring!!! Hawk
gets thrown outside while the two Giants double-team Animal!!! Suddenly,
"The Skyscrapers" (Sid Vicious/Dan Spivey) come from the back and jump
Hawk!!! They were going for a "Powerbomb" on the concrete when Animal and
"L.O.T.G" come out to help Hawk!!! Sid and Dan beat a hasty retreat
after trying to fight all four men!!! The official
ruling is that The Road Warriors win by DQ!!! The Warriors shake the hands
of the Giants and, though upset by the way they lost, they return the gesture.
Chris "The Crippler" Benoit/Ron "Hands Of Stone" Garvin/Magnum TA VS. A**-Whippers Inc. ("Stone Cold" Steve Austin/Perry Saturn/TAZ)
This newly formed trio made their debut at this event
and their opponents were WCW US Champion Chris Benoit, NWA United States
Champion Magnum TA and the tough veteran from Montreal, Canada Ron Garvin!!!
This six man was out of control from the beginning with Benoit and Austin
wanting a piece of each other!!! Tempers also flared between Magnum and
Saturn and the matchup of Garvin and Austin was very physical!!! The end
came when all six men got into the ring!!! Austin went for a kick to the
midsection of Magnum but Magnum blocked it!!! He then spun Austin around
and (in a surprise move) put the "Stone Cold Stunner" on "Stone Cold" himself!!!
As Magnum went for the cover, Saturn came off the top with an elbow to
the back of Magnum!!! He then placed Magnum in the "Rings Of Saturn" but
Benoit prevented a possible
submission by diving off of the top rope with his
patened flying headbutt!! He then rolled Magnum on top of Saturn and threw
Austin to the floor to prevent a save (Garvin and Taz were, meanwhile,
violently hooking it up)!!! Magnum got the three count but the worst was
yet to come as Austin, Taz and Saturn lived up to their collective name!!!
As Magnum was getting up,
Austin had managed to "post" Benoit on the outside,
sneak back in, and gave Magnum the "Stunner"!!! Garvin came back in to
help Magnum but Taz was not far behind!!! He gave Garvin his "T-Bone" suplex
and hooked him in the "Taz-mission" as Austin and Saturn stomped Garvin
in the ribs and chest!!! Garvin and Magnum was helpless to defend against
this onslaught!!! Benoit came back in with a chair but was caught coming
into the ring!!! Austin gave Benoit the piledriver onto the chair and Saturn
hooked his "R.O.S" hold on Benoit!!! Taz was kicking Benoit in the ribs
while Austin kept driving repeated forearm smashes into Benoit's head (bear
in mind that Saturn is holding Benoit in the rings the entire time)!!!
Suddenly, help from the back arrived in the form of "L.O.T.G"!!! Austin
and Co. made a quick exit from Andre and The Giant and saved Benoit, Magnum
and Garvin from serious injury!!!
Jake "The Snake" Roberts/Raven VS. Diamond Dallas Page/Terry Funk (No DQ)
This was a revenge match of sorts as DDP was humiliated
by his former friend and mentor at "WarGames" in Atlanta, GA!!! DDP got
the crazy Texan to help him against Jake and Raven (with whom Terry had
a score to settle with anyway)!!! Like the six man, this one was out of
control from the opening bell!!! Ten minutes into it, all four men were
fighting in and out of the
ring!!! Terry managed to get in a piledriver on Raven
and was about to cover when Jake kicked him in the back, spun him around
and gave him the DDT (DDP was just crawling back into the ring)!!! Jake
elected, however, not to cover!!! He then went for another DDT when DDP
blasted Jake with a clothesline that knocked him into the corner!!! When
Jake came staggering out, DDP nailed him with the "Diamond Cutter"!!! Terry
covered Jake for the three count and the win!!!
The Hart Foundation VS. Bruiser Brody/Stan "The Lariat" Hansen
In their first big match since being taken out of WarGames,
the Harts faced the formidable international duo of Brody and Hansen!!!
The Harts, to be blunt, got their a**es handed to them for most of this
bout!!! Still, the former WWF Tag Champions fought back and capitalized
on a rare mistake by Hansen when he accidently nailed Brody with his "lariat"
clothesline (Hansen was trying to hit Bret)!!! Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
quickly grabbed the stunned Brody and held him for Bret's "Hart-Attack"
clothesline!!! As Bret went for the cover, Hansen came back in with his
cowbell and nailed him with it!!! The ref immediately called for the bell
and a disqualification against Brody and Hansen!!! Hansen then nailed the
ref with the "Lariat" and he and Brody motioned for someone to come down!!!
It was "A**-Whippers, Inc."!!! The men (Austin and
Saturn actually) that were partially responsible for
the Harts being on the shelf in the first place were coming down to help
Hansen and Brody in the carnage!!! Ten seconds later, Chris Benoit, Magnum
TA, Ron Garvin led by Davey Boy Smith charged the ring!!! It was a big
battle royal with fists, kicks, chairs and anything else flying everywhere!!!
In the end, A.S., Inc. made a hasty retreat with their two new allies with
the Harts, Magnum, Benoit, Smith, and Garvin standing tall!!! In any event,
however, A.S., Inc. had made their impact!!!
Sting/The Ultimate Warrior VS. The Outsiders (Scott Hall/Kevin Nash)
The reunited "Blade Runners" VS. The former WCW World Tag Team Champions (in my world anyway). This match was an incredible battle that saw the advantage trade back and forth!!! The match ended when Nash was going for the "Jacknife" powerbomb on Sting (Hall was laying out on the floor as a result of a thrashing from UW)!!! Before he could execute it, however, UW nails him with a clothesline that knocks him into a corner!!! As Nash staggers out of the corner, UW nails him with his flying shouldertackle and hits his splash!!! He then motions for Sting, who hooks in the "Scorpion Deathlock" for a quick submission!!! Afterwards, Hall & Nash was seen arguing with Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and members of the nWo!!!
The Fabulous Freebirds VS. The Skyscrapers
In this bout, the team of Michaels Hayes and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy stepped into the ring with the awesome duo of Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey!!! Late in the bout, Hayes got caught with a chokeslam from Vicious and was going for the cover but Gordy broke it up!!! Now, Spivey and Gordy was going at it with the ref trying to seperate them!!! Vicious continued his assault on Hayes when The Giant (WCW) snuck into the ring, kick Vicious in the back and gave him the chokeslam (payback for Vicious & Spivey costing him and Andre their bout with The Road Warriors)!! The Giant quickly left the ring!!! Hayes, the opportunist, covered Vicious and the Freebirds scored an upset over the favored Skyscrapers!!!
MAIN EVENT TIME
The ring announcer for this one is Gary Capetta:
"Wrestling fans, the following contest is the main event at "Tag-Mania"!!! It is the NWA/WWF World Tag Team Titles VS. the WCW World Tag Team Championship!!!"
With that, the Steiners' old theme of "Welcome To The Jungle" blares out to a great pop from the Baltimore crowd!!!
"First, the WCW World Tag Team Champions!!! From Detroit, MI. Total combined weight, 505 pounds!!! Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, The Steiner Bros.!!!"
Fans are doing the dog-bark as Rick and Scott Steiner make their way down!!! They are even wearing their old Michigan jackets again for tonight's bout!!! They hit the ring and limber up as Capetta introduces their opponents!!!
"Their opponents (at this point, the British theme plays), total combined weight 485 pounds, the NWA & WWF World Tag Team Champions, Davey Boy Smith, The Dynamite Kid, The British Bulldogs!!!"
Both Bulldogs are wearing tights with the British colors on them with white boots. Both are wearing the WWF tag titles around their waists and carrying the "original" NWA tag straps on their shoulders (Later, it was learned that the Bulldogs wanted the classic NWA tag belts to wear to the ring tonight)!!! They enter the ring to a great ovation from the crowd!!!
Now, the announcer is explaining the rules!!!
"Wrestling fans, I have just been informed by officials from WCW, NWA and WWF that, at the request of both teams, this match must have a winner (this gets a huge ovation from the crowd)!! The match can only end by pinfall or submission!!! No disqualification, no countouts!!!"
With that, the wrestlers readied themselves for a tough
bout!!! The bell rings and we are underway!!! It'll be Davey Boy Smith
for the Bulldogs and Rick Steiner for the Steiner Bros. to start it out!!!
Rick and DBS lock up, trying to push for position (By the way, I am pairing
DBS from 1992 with Dynamite from 1986)!!! DBS easily shoves Rick Steiner
down!!! As Steiner gets up to one knee, DBS gives Steiner a double-bicep
pose and smiles!!! Rick gets to his feet and locks up with DBS again but,
this time, he gets a waistlock on DBS, picks him up and takes him down
to the mat!!! DBS quickly gets to the ropes!!! Rick gives a clean break,
stands up and gives a dog-bark out to the crowd!!! The two circle each
other for about 5 seconds until Rick goes in for another tie up!!! This
time, however, DBS gets in a forearm to the chin as Rick was coming
in!!! DBS throws another forearm to the face that
knocks Rick into the corner!!! DBS stands Rick up and throws in two quick
knees to the gut of Rick!!! DBS then throws Rick into the opposite corner
but Rick reverses the whip!!! DBS goes into the corner chest first, staggers
backwards out of the corner, and gets a German suplex from Rick!!! DBS
gets to his feet immediately but is met with a "Steinerline" clothesline
from Rick!!! Rick goes for the cover but only gets a two count!!! DBS wisely
scoots to his corner and tags Dynamite Kid into the match!!! Rick, likewise,
tags in Scott!!!
Scott and Dynamite don't even bother with a "feeling-out"
process as they come in trading forearms and fists!!! Scott ends the stalemate
by kneeing Dynamite in the gut and delivering a press slam on Dynamite!!!
Scott picks up Dynamite and goes for it again but Dynamite slides out of
it, kicks Scott in the ribs and hooks in his "Snap" suplex!!! He follows
it up with an
elbowdrop and a cover!!! He gets a two count!!! He
brings Scott to the corner and quickly tags in DBS!!! DBS then hooks in
his standing vertical suplex, holding Scott for about 10 seconds before
dropping him!!! DBS covers for another close two count!!! DBS tags Dynamite
back in!!! Dynamite whips Scott into the ropes and nails him with a running
clothesline!!! With Scott down, Dynamite falls and connects with his headbutt
and covers for another two count!!! Dynamite whips Scott into the ropes
again but Scott reverses it!!! Scott then catches Dynamite with his "tilt-a-whirl"
suplex!!! With Dynamite down, Scott makes the tag to Rick!!! Rick comes
in and catches Dynamite with a "Steinerline" clotheline!!! He then picks
up Dynamite, sends him into the ropes and gets off his powerslam!!! He
covers Dynamite for a two count!!! Rick then goes to the top for his bulldog!!!
But, as Rick comes off, Dynamite hits the mat before Rick could catch him!!!
Rick crashes to the mat, injuring his right leg!!! Dynamite tags DBS back
in!!! DBS goes to work on Rick's leg with kicks to the back of the knee!!!
He then puts a leg lace hold on Rick, trying to get a submission!!! Rick
refuses to give up but he is in trouble!!! DBS then hooks in the
"Sharpshooter", concentrating more of the pressure
on the legs rather than the back!!! Scott, at this point, runs in and kicks
DBS in the back of the head to break up the hold!!! Dynamite almost comes
in but thinks better of it!!! Still, DBS goes back to the attack with forearms
and kicks to the injured limb of Rick Steiner!!! DBS tags Dynamite back
in!!! Dynamite then puts Rick in a "shinbreaker" (like the one Ric Flair
uses), takes Rick back down to the mat and hooks in a one-leg Boston Crab!!!
Dynamite is pulling for all he's worth as Rick Steiner
is in major trouble!!! After about a minute in this hold, Dynamite tags
DBS back in!!! DBS goes to the top rope while Dynamite holds the leg streched
out!!! DBS nails it with his own version of the flying headbutt!!! DBS
then hooks in a "Perfect-Plex" for another close count!!! DBS is getting
a little frustrated now as he tags back in Dynamite!!! Dynamite sends Rick
into the ropes and goes for a leapfrog but Rick catches him with a powerslam
in mid-air!!! Rick crawls over and tags in Scott!! Scott comes in, hooks
the arms of Dynamite, and puts him in the "Tiger-Bomb" (butterfly powerbomb)!!!
He throws Dynamite into the ropes and nails him with a clothesline!!! Scott
then hooks Dynamite in what looks like a vertical suplex but turns it into
the "Steiner-Screwdriver" suplex (suplex/piledriver
combo)!!! Steiner then signals to the crowd that it
is over as he goes for the "Steiner Recliner" chinlock!!! DBS, sensing
that the end is near, quickly comes in for the save!!! Rick Steiner is
back in and now all four men are in the ring!!! Rick is dumped over the
top by DBS while Scott is still working over Dynamite!!! Scott tries to
whip Dynamite into a corner but he reverses it on Scott!! Scott goes into
the waiting arms of DBS and is caught in his running powerslam!!! Dynamite
goes to the top rope quickly and gets in his diving headbutt on a prone
Scott Steiner!!! Dynamite covers and would've had the pin if Rick Steiner
didn't make it back in for the save!!! DBS goes for a clothesline on Rick
moves out of the way and DBS goes to the floor!!!
Meanwhile, Scott has Dynamite on his shoulders for
Rick's top rope bulldog!!! Rick leaps and connects on Dynamite!!! Dynamite
is covered by Scott but Dynamite kicks out!!! The Steiners are stunned!!!
Scott picks up Dynamite and throws him into the ropes!!! Scott goes for
the "Frankensteiner" and connects!!! Scott covers but DBS pulls Scott out
of the ring to prevent the pin!!! Meanwhile, Rick Steiner goes for a backdrop
after whipping Dynamite into the ropes!!! Dynamite, however, has other
ideas as he catches Rick, picks him up in a piledriver position, and drops
on his knees (dropping Rick on his forehead rather than the back of his
head)!!! The ref continues the bout with Rick and Dynamite as the two legal
men in the ring (this is legal because of the no-DQ, no-countout clauses
in the match. The ref can make whoever in the ring a legal
participant)!!! By this time, DBS has made it back
to his corner!!! Dynamite tags in DBS!!! DBS now puts Rick in the "Tombstone"
version of the piledriver!!! DBS covers and Rick barely avoids getting
pinned as DBS gets a 2 7/8 count on him!!! DBS puts a front-facelock on
Rick but Rick, unbelievably, gets DBS up in the air and rams him backfirst
into a corner!!! DBS' back is injured by the jarring blow!!! Rick falls
back to his corner and makes the tag to Scott!!! Scott comes
in and puts a "Gorg-Buster" suplex (face-first suplex)
on DBS!!! Scott then hooks in his "Steiner Recliner"!!! Dynamite tries
to come in for the save but Rick cuts him off and forces him outside the
ring!!! DBS hangs on for about a minute but finally gives it up in a rare
submission from DBS!!! The Steiners have done it!!! They are the true tag
team champions of the world (at least in this world)!!! They now hold the
NWA, WCW, and WWF Tag Titles!!! Dynamite comes back in to check on DBS!!!
The Steiners are exhausted but elated!!! In a surprising gesture, both
DBS and Dynamite (after about 2 minutes of recovering) hand them the NWA
and WWF tag belts and embrace the victors!!! Afterwards, both sides had
comments two days after this match:
SCOTT: This is the greatest victory of me and my brothers' career!!! The British Bulldogs are not as good as people say they are!!! They are better than what people say they are!!! Those are two tough competitors!!! This is what makes this victory so sweet!!! To beat an elite tag team such as the Bulldogs is an honor!!!
RICK: Yeah!!! The Bulldogs!!! Anytime you want another shot at these title belts!! Come on down!! Land Of The Giants, L.O.D., A**Whippers Inc., The Freebirds, any of you!!! You want this hardware?!!! Come on down to the dogpound and get 'em!!! Whofff!!! Whofff!!! Whofff!!! Whoffff!! Whofff!!!
DAVEY BOY SMITH: We can't take anything away from the Steiners!!! They are a great tag team and they deserved to win. But Steiners, don't think for one second that the British Bulldogs are going away!!! We will be back!!!