Many sites have a match of the week but ours is a little different. These matches are the ones that are fun to watch… in the non-traditional way.
This week, we’ve chosen Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock from Fully Loaded ’98. Members of the site @TimWelcomed, @typicalROHfan and @TomBlackett give their (lack of) expertise on the action.
Part 1: Enter the Basement!
Tim:
“That’s the dungeon?!” Lawler exclaims at which time Jim Ross basically says “Of course it is.” This reveals a lot of Good Ole JR. This man has never experienced a real dungeon before and it breaks my heart. Since we are best friends, maybe I should take him out to one of my local dungeons and show him a good time.
From the time Shamrock walks down the stairs until the match starts I am laughing at so many little things about this that I don’t even know where to begin. This is already amazing.
typicalROHfan:
Oh my god. Ken Shamrock‘s intense stare and growl before he walks down the stairs into THE Dungeon. Few things make me smile as much as this does.
I’m assuming it’s supposed to be a street fight mentality in terms of their gear? I’m going to believe Ken Shamrock walks around the streets in every day life wearing red shorts and an invisible shirt.
Tom:
Even though I’d only just gotten back into wrestling when I watched this as a kid, the build up to this had me convinced it was going to be something insane on the same level as a Boiler Room Brawl. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler do NOT manage expectations whatsoever, with both of them reinforcing the idea that Stu Hart’s dungeon is… well, basically a dungeon where guys get tortured and tested. So, when it’s revealed as just this pokey little basement, King’s immediate reaction of ‘that’s the dungeon?!’ was exactly the same one as mine when I first watched this.
The image of Ken psyching himself up at the top of the stairs next to the hanging coats is great:
It’s all just so weird! There’s a guy with a boom mic in the background as Ken comes down to meet Owen Hart hanging out in one of his better t-shirts and some fetching zebra stripe shorts. Thank goodness Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn and his glorious moustache are prepped to call the action! It’s surely gonna be a classic, right? Continue reading