[1997-05-11-WWF-A Cold Day in Hell] Vader vs Ken Shamrock

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I can't believe I'm watching this match in a WWF ring. Some cool stuff here, but this is the antithesis of a WWF match, so the fans and Lawler don't really have any idea what to do with it.

 

This match did not need Jerry Lawler doing color commentary burying it the whole time, but I suspect Lawler was a Vince surrogate to bury UFC. I don't think the crowd understood what they were going for, but they slowly got into it as this went on, showing me that with some effort, they could have possibly gotten into this style. But they should have done more to get these submissions over going into the PPV -- naming them and talking about which ones were most effective -- so the crowd had a clue. The Shamrock personality profile and in-ring brawl with the two was a great start, but not enough hype for something like this on its own.

 

Overall, I think this was an effective but not-as-effective-as-possible way to debut Shamrock and a good match, and I don't think anyone in the WWF at the time could have worked a match like this with him except Vader.

[Kevin Ridge]

Ross actually talks Vader’s history in UWFI though not mentioning it by name. Shamrock has a different sounding entrance music. Never seen this match. Sumbission or knockout only. This match reminds Lawler of Inoki/Ali! Nice hype.

 

I really enjoyed this match and loved how it was different than other WWF type matches. Shamrock uses a lot of strikes and goes for different kinds of submissions. Vader uses some of his own submissions. Vader picked up Shamrock with a suplex and just dropped him from the ring to the floor outside. The moonsault attempt by Vader didn’t make sense in this type of match but Vader ends up hitting a wicked strike to Shamrock’s face after. Shamrock gets the win with a take down into anklelock for submission which Vader taps to. I believe that is the introduction of tapping out to a submission in WWF. As a whole, what they were doing in the ring was tough since fans just weren’t educated on the various submissions being used. Nor did the announcing put things over specifically either. But I totally enjoyed this.

[soup23]

I actually think this was the most disappointing match so far of 1997 on rewatch. I had remembered liking it before based on how different it was but now seeing so much other shoot style wrestling, this pales in comparison to me. I'm not one that usually is really bothered by crowds, but this crowd not really reacting at all did some serious damage in this match. I would still say the match was good but not the hidden gem I was coming in expecting and maybe not even the best use of Shamrock debuting.

[PeteF3]

Man, Lawler was bad here, though I had the same thought of him acting as a Vince surrogate, but then why the fuck even sign Shamrock if that's what you're going to do with him? The holds aren't really put over either, though in fairness even in the UFCs the announcers didn't really know what to "put over" because nobody really "knew" what such a fight would actually look like. The action itself is really good--the strikes don't get that over with a WWF crowd, but they do pop for Shamrock's takedowns and they do chant for him when Vader has him in holds. They punctuate this with a few good wrasslin' spots for the audience, and they make it work. I liked the match itself quite a bit and think the hostile crowd talk is actually fairly overblown...that said, they wouldn't be able to do this sort of thing with Shamrock facing anyone else on the roster.

[Zenjo]

I guess that the rough plan was to produce a UWFI type of contest. Of course the fans weren't educated in that form of wrestling at all, so they moved more towards pro style as it progressed. It was certainly hard hitting. The win over Vader did a good job of putting Shamrock over. So it was a success in that regard. From a match quality perspective the problem was that they weren't sure how they should be working and seemed to be doing things on the fly. There was little in the way of flow as a result.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Vader vs Ken Shamrock - WWF Cold Day In Hell

 

Excellent debut showcase match for Shamrock. Vader is really the perfect wrestler for him in his debut. From a kayfabe standpoint, he is a big time monster with credibility. From a execution standpoint, he has the experience in UWFi and he is selfless. The beginning is all about getting Shamrock's unique style over. Everything Vader tries is stymied by either a strike, submission or takedown. So you get to see Shammy's diverse array of offense. I liked the pacing a lot. I loved Shamrock's posture, the forward leaning. Vader was great being pensive and cautious. You could feel Vader trying to figure Shammy out. When he catches him with that Short-Arm Clothesline, that's Vader bread & butter. Submission or knockout rules so Vader goes for a lot of submissions. We see Shamrock counter the armbar into a Triangle choke. In the bump of the match, Vader throws Shamrock over the top rope in a front suplex and Shamrock does not use anything to break his fall. I know this match is to get Shamrock over and I know Shamrock would wipe the floor with Vader in a shoot, but goddamn Vader's stuff just looks so much more brutal. I really think that's where Shamrock went wrong. He was a legit badass but his shit did look as dangerous or brutal as Vader's even if it was. Vader just destroys him, loved the rear naked choke. Vader goes for the Vadersault misses. Like I said I thought this was perfectly paced from shine to heat to the finish. Vader was a total pro in here. Shamrock starts overwhelming Vader with strikes until Vader CLOBBERS him with a wild right. Nice false finish, Vader falls into an anklelock and taps out.

 

From a layout, really perfect, strong transitions, no segment overstayed its welcome. Vader was so selfless made Shamrock look amazing in the beginning and finish. I will say it feels like Vader has lost a step. That match was made to make Shamrock look like a star and be competitive and I think they did that. I will say Shamrock's stuff did not look all that brutal. Overall, damn great debut match and really shows how great Vader was not just at pro wrestling but leading a match. ****

[Exposer]

Pretty interesting to see something like this in a WWF ring. Very good match. Some of the early exchanges are awkward but once Vader takes control & starts potatoing Shamrock I got into it. I loved Vader lifting & throwing Shamrock out of some kind of cradle. The suplex to the floor is nuts. Shamrock's selling in this is really good. The last few minutes are amazing with Shamrock lighting up Vader's face only to get knocked loopy with a sickening Vader meat hook. Shamrock catches Vader in an ankle lock soon after & makes him submit. Cool hybrid style match that's crazy to see in 1997 WWF or any period of the company for that matter.

[cactus]

This shoot-style flavoured match felt very out of place for WWF in 1997 and I'm sure a lot of fans were turned off by it, but I was a big fan of this and I thought this did a wonderful job of getting Shamrock over during his WWF debut. These two smacked the crap out of each. Shamrock getting frustrated by the rope breaks was a nice bit of psychology as they are obviously not a thing in UFC. Shamrock tries to chop Vader down with leg kicks and is always working to score the flash submission. He's able to mount a nice comeback after Vader misses his moonsault and lands a nice flurry before Vader cuts off his water by laying him out with a sickening palm strike. This match reminded me of UWFi Vader and I can't name you a better WWF Vader singles match than this one. ★★★¾