Episode #109
May 1st, 1995 | Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska
According to the opening recap, last week’s Raw featured a record number of viewers. Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are on commentary.
The Allied Powers vs. George Anderson and Ron Hagan
Before the match, we get informed that Jeff Jarrett was stripped of the Intercontinental thanks to a controversial finish to his match with Bob Holly. They’ll have a rematch for the belt on the weekend. The Bulldog and Luger both get in pretty much all of the offense. Their opponents look like the definition of jobber. Anderson nearly gets in some stuff, but it looks awkward and he just ends up losing to the Bulldog’s powerslam.
Winners: The Allied Powers in 2:41
Fine enough squash match.
Now we get footage of the Jarrett/Holly controversy. Both guys won the match in odd ways. Jarrett had his feet on the ropes, then the match was restarted and Holly won but Jarrett’s foot was on the bottom rope.
Bob Holly vs. Butler Stevens
This dude has two last names. His shirt looks like a garbage bag to be honest. Holly obviously does most of the work here and the crowd seems somewhat into him. He hits the BEST DROPKICK IN THE BIZ before a flying cross body gets the win.
Winner: Bob Holly in 2:53
Not the best squash match. I’m supposed to believe Holly is a threat to a title?
Todd Pettengil brings us the In Your House Report! The 1-2-3 Kid is injured again and out of the PPV. Razor Ramon won’t get a new partner and is instead facing Jarrett and the Roadie in a handicap match. That’s the only new information we’re given.
Mantaur w/ Jim Cornette vs. Sonny Rogers
Why is the Mantaur experiment not over yet? He splashes Rogers quickly and then tosses him around. Rogers surprises me when he gets a rollup though it clearly doesn’t do the job. Mantaur ends up winning with a slam.
Winner: Mantaur in 2:23
Blah. I completely dislike Mantaur.
They show us a vignette that sees Man Mountain Rock in the NYPD Blue universe. Yes, it’s odd.
We’re supposed to get the advertised Sycho Sid/Razor Ramon marquee matchup now. As Razor’s in the ring and his pyro goes off, Sid steps through it long before Goldberg did stuff like that, and attacks Razor. Sid plants him with two powerbombs until Diesel runs out to make the save. Sid really doesn’t like the Kliq huh?
Adam Bomb vs. Dave Sigfrid
We didn’t hear about it during the In Your House Report, but Vince seems to say that Adam Bomb will face Mabel at the Pay-Per-View. This one is all Adam Bomb. He takes it home with a flying clothesline.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 3:41
Too many squash matches tonight. This one dragged a bit.
Time for our second Hunter Hearst-Helmsley vignette. He actually speaks this time. He doesn’t say much, but he’s clearly a smug bastard.
Men on a Mission vs. Bill Duke and Kevin Krueger
Who the hell booked tonight’s show? Krueger does a dropkick that stagger Mabel. He tags his Duke and they try a double dropkick but Mabel just swats them down like flies. This goes on for far too long. After some dull stuff, Mabel wins it with a belly to belly.
Winners: Men on a Mission in 4:37
Seriously, who the hell booked this show? Awful stuff.
Jerry Lawler has been talking trash about Bret Hart all night long. He has a contract for a match with Bret at In Your House, but says that Bret ducked the challenge and accepted the match with Hakushi instead. Vince says that Brer is coming but Lawler says he’s too scared. Once Bret’s theme plays, Lawler pretty much pisses his pants. Bret admits to taking the Hakushi match. Lawler interjects but Bret shouts for him to shut up and says that after he beats Hakushi, he’ll wrestle Lawler too.
Overall: 1.5/10. They’re hyping next week’s show as some sort of “Double Header”, but it will need to be more than that to make up for this atrocity. Nothing but boring squash matches, not really any interesting build for the Pay-Per-View and the one potential match doesn’t end up happening.
Raw History
Episode #110
May 8th, 1995 | Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska
The first ever In Your House is just six days away. Let’s see how the go home show goes. Our same commentary team handles things tonight.
WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/ The Roadie vs. Doink w/ Dink
I thought their mini-feud was the last I’d see of this pairing. They even flash us back to it before the bell rings. Doink starts hot so the Roadie gets involved, only to get his hand stepped on. Doink stays in control for the most part and continues to do damage to the Roadie too. Jarrett swings the momentum and starts to work his generic offense through a commercial break. Doink hits a DDT and actually sells some of the leg work. He also hits a powerslam but only gets two. Doink is nearing the win until Roadie gets in a cheap shot behind the official’s back. Jarrett locks in the Figure Four, causing Doink to submit right as Vince said he would never do that.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 7:24
This was your typical house show match. There was nothing special about this at all. Ho-hum. At least the work was decent, though uninspired. *½
We get our first ever Bodydonnas vignette. Sunny and Skip look into the camera and diss fat people.
Next, Bam Bam Bigelow speaks in a dark room. He talks about his rough start to 1995, but comes across as a babyface, putting over Lawrence Taylor and Diesel in the process.
Vince McMahon is in the ring and brings out Sycho Sid and Ted Dibiase for an interview. Dibiase admits that it was him who suggested to Shawn Michaels that he get Sid as a bodyguard. That’s the only real news he gives us. Other than that he just claims that Sid will end Diesel and his run as WWF Champion. Then Sid speaks and everything becomes amazing. He talks about a lion from Africa, while stumbling over his words. It’s Sid at his finest. The gist of it all is that he’s going to win Sunday.
Next Monday, newly face turned Bigelow takes on IRS.
Hakushi w/ Shinja vs. Gary Scott
Hakushi dominates Gary Scott and his stupid pants. Scott does get in a cross body for pretty much his only offense. Vince informs us that Hart/Hakushi will open the PPV this Sunday. Hakushi nails an impressive springboard splash, remaining undefeated.
Winner: Hakushi in 2:49
Better than your average squash.
In Your House Report! Diesel cuts a serious promo about Sid. He wants him to bring the fight and says that he’s not scared.
Bart Gunn w/ Billy Gunn vs. WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji
The Smoking Gunns get their rematch at the Tag Team Titles at the Pay-Per-View. Owen Hart stalls at the start before exchanging some WRESTLING with Bart. Bart gets in a fair amount of the early stuff. Owen speeds thing sup but runs into a sidewalk slam. Bart gets tripped up by Mr. Fuji, so Owen takes over. He rams Bart’s back into the ring post. Billy, being a complete doofus, is distracting the referee during this. Even so, Owen doesn’t stay in the driver’s seat for long. Bart wants a second rope suplex but Cornette grabs his leg and he falls. Billy then crotches Owen on top to even the score. Bart schoolboys Owen and steals it.
Winner: Bart Gunn in 6:30
A rather disappointing match. Owen Hart was great but Bart never seemed to click in singles matches. Plus, he was a charisma vacuum. *¾
Footage from WWF Mania airs. Todd Pettengill and Stephanie Waind check out the house you can win at In Your House. Todd is a dick, sitting and standing on the counter. Why would I want to live there?
Jerry Lawler announces that he will bring his mother to the PPV.
Overall: 3.5/10. Better than last week but not by much. The two actual matches were both pretty bad, though I like the Hakushi squash. Also, Sid’s promo was easily the highlight as it was just so damn insane.
In Your House Results
Bret Hart def. Hakushi
Razor Ramon def. Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie
KOTR Qualifier: Mabel def. Adam Bomb
Yokozuna and Owen Hart def. the Smoking Gunns to retain the WWF Tag Team Titles
Jerry Lawler def. Bret Hart
Diesel def. Sycho Sid via disqualification, retaining the WWF Championship
Raw History
Episode #111
May 15th, 1995 | Broome County Arena in Binghamton, New York
IRS and Bigelow get quick promos to open the show. IRS wants Bigelow to pay his taxes. Shocking right? Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler run things and we are live.
WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Bill Weaver and Nick Barberry
Yokozuna starts for his team and tosses the scrubs around. Cornette gets in some venomous disses shouting at Vince. Owen Hart comes in and does some actual work. As usual, Owen gives the jobbers something, though it isn’t much. Vince brags about Yokozuna being over 600 pounds like it’s a good thing. He hits the uranage for the victory.
Winners: Owen Hart and Yokozuna in 3:06
Your basic squash from the Tag Team Champions.
Still images are shown of the Lawler/Hart stuff from last night. Lawler is giddy about beating Bret.
An odd “WWF Saves the World” commercial runs, featuring aliens. 1995 was a strange time.
Man Mountain Rock vs. “Iron” Mike Sharpe
I’m actually writing this a day after the unfortunate passing of Mike Sharper. Rest in peace. He does his typical loud selling. It’s so great. Looking it up, this is his last ever match on Raw. It ends quickly with the whammy bar submission.
Winner: Man Mountain Rock in 1:25
Too short to really be anything.
They show the house giveaway from the Pay-Per-View last night. They tell us that the guy who won it is a big Shawn Michaels fan, leading to Vince saying that HBK returns next week against King Kong Bundy.
Now we get still images from the Jarrett and Roadie/Razor match, focusing on the debut of Savio Vega. We then hear from Savio, who cuts his promo in Spanish. He fixes it to English for a bit, saying that Razor is his friend, but then goes back to Spanish.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Bob Holly vs. Mantaur w/ Jim Cornette
Oh man, we’re coming up on the absolutely dreadful 1995 King of the Ring. The start of this match is totally one-sided. Mantaur just gets in everything. He hits a suplex but Holly continues to kick out of pretty much everything. Maybe it’s because he didn’t fully cover, instead choosing to just lay his hands on Holly. Holly starts making his rally, coring a few near falls. Finally, he gets the flying cross body and scores the three.
Winner: Bob Holly in 5:29
Why is Mantaur still a thing? How did it last so long? Bob Holly was fine as the babyface underdog but this wasn’t very entertaining. *
Vince McMahon is now in the ring to bring out Bob Backlund to make an announcement. Backlund uses a lot of big words as always. He shouts random historic moments but totally butchers all of the dates. I have no idea if he did that on purpose. This is drawn out far longer than it needs to be, just so he can announce that he’s running for president.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Diesel vs. IRS w/ Ted Dibiase
This is the debut of Bigelow’s new entrance gear and pyro. Diesel is brought out to be in Bigelow’s corner and he chases Dibiase away. They do some dull work before a commercial break. Returning, Bigelow misses a headbutt, so IRS comes back with shoulder blocks to take him down. The crowd doesn’t seem very into this. None of the stuff being done is interesting at all. That’s most likely because IRS is in control and he’s incredibly boring. He removes the turnbuckle pad, Bigelow charges and IRS moves, so he hits it. IRS tries a pin with his foot on the ropes but Diesel shoves it off. This turns it around for Bigelow, who wins with the diving headbutt.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 5:12
Someone needs to stop booking IRS. His run has to be coming to an end soon. This was painfully boring. ½*
A Shawn Michaels video package airs, set to his theme song. It turns ugly at the end when King Kong Bundy appears to say Shawn’s return will be short lived.
Overall: 2/10. What the hell happened? 1995 was going pretty well and then they put out these three Raws in a row. This one featured a shit main event, a lame KOTR qualifying match and an overdrawn Bob Backlund promo. Ugh.
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