Raw History
Episode #126
September 11th, 1995 | Canton Civic Center in Canton, Ohio
For the first time ever, Raw and Nitro go head to head on September 11th, 1995. The Monday Night Wars have begun. I will be reviewing these shows and seeing which one proves to be better each week. The Nitro premiere beat every episode of Raw in 1995 by a fair margin.
A recap airs from SummerSlam, mainly focusing on the Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon Ladder match. The two big matches for tonight, British Bulldog vs. Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels vs. Sid are hyped on the “Season Premiere”. Finally, Raw has a new intro video. It certainly has some odd music behind it but the rest of the video has the right idea. The song literally has a guy seductively singing “I like it raw”.
Oh no. After seeing how great everything WCW did last week was, the WWF opts to start with Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon in front of a horrible green screen.
British Bulldog w/ Jim Cornette vs. Razor Ramon
It’s officially been three whole weeks since Bulldog turned heel. He’s sporting a new haircut to go along with the heel turn. Like any heel in this era, Bulldog gets sent outside and has to regroup with his manager. Bulldog does his sweet stalling vertical, but doesn’t hold it long enough to get a pop. Smart heel work. He does press slam Razor which is rather impressive. Razor starts to rally following a commercial break. Commentary plugs the upcoming Razor/Dean Douglas feud that started at SummerSlam. We get a ref bump just before Razor hits the Razor’s Edge. With no referee, Dean Douglas shows up and comes off the top with an elbow to the back of Razor’s head. The 1-2-3 Kid rushes out to even it up but gets slingshot suplexed immediately by Dean. Running powerslam from Bulldog connects and Kid comes off the top with a splash. Bulldog moves and Kid lands on Razor. The now awake referee calls for the bell.
Winner via disqualification: British Bulldog in 7:12
Outside of one or two big moves, this felt like a house show match but at least the crowd was hot. **
British Bulldog and Jim Cornette put boots to both Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid after the match. When they leave, a commercial comes and then Vince is interviewing Razor and Kid. I don’t get to enjoy or understand this segment because the always awful Jerry Lawler is talking over the entire damn segment. He’s not even saying anything relevant, he’s just being annoying. I catch enough to know that Kid is tired of being treated like a kid and says that Razor cost him a match last week. He’s tired of not getting respect and challenges Razor to a match next week. Kid says he will beat him to earn respect. After Kid leaves, Razor says that he made the Kid famous and agrees to the match.
Next week, Yokozuna and Owen Hart take on Men on a Mission.
The Smoking Gunns vs. Brooklyn Brawler and Rad Radford
I’m pretty sure Radford finds himself on PPV in a few months. For those unaware, Radford is Louie Spicoli. This goes the way you’d expect. Commentary doesn’t care about it, focusing on People Magazine instead. Sidewinder ends the Brawler.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 2:47
The Smoking Gunns last about another year but already feel stale at this point.
Another Goldust vignette airs. He’s wearing a golden top hat this time around.
Isaac Yankem DDS vs. Scott Taylor
Before the match, a quick recap is shown of the bad countout finish to Yankem vs. Bret Hart at SummerSlam. Both of these guys would play prominent roles on Raw in about five years, under different characters. Hell, Kane would be around for more than twenty more. Yankem dominates, trying to get some heat back after losing his debut by countout. He wins with the DDS (DDT).
Winner: Isaac Yankem in 2:15
Fine enough big man squash.
Todd Pettengill brings us the In Your House Report. I wonder when they stop doing these. The next Pay-Per-View is on September 24th. The third In Your House card is starting to take shape. The main event of In Your House: Triple Header will see WWF Champion Diesel and Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels taking on Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna. EVERY TITLE IS ON THE LINE! Razor Ramon goes one on one with Dean Douglas, as well as Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte. Yes, since wrestling for the title at Royal Rumble, Bret has been wasted on Bob Backlund, Hakushi (though the match was awesome), Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem and now Jean-Pierre (though that match ends up rocking too). Bam Bam Bigelow takes on the British Bulldog and lastly, Savio Vega goes up against Waylon Mercy.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Sycho Sid w/ Ted Dibiase
Wisely, this starts with Shawn Michaels playing a cat and mouse game with his larger opponent. He bobs and weaves to avoid getting caught. Shawn skins the cat and nails a dropkick but when things pick up again, Sid takes control. He sends Shawn outside and stupidly tries to take the countout win. I hate when heels do that in a title match. There’s no point. Out of a commercial, Sid is working a bearhug. Sid calls for the Powerbomb but Shawn counters with a backdrop. This is unheard of to Jerry Lawler. Time for the HBK babyface fire. He ducks a clothesline and fires off three superkicks, one to the gut and two to the face for the clean victory.
Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels in 7:24
Hey, that was surprisingly good. It didn’t reach the level that their Survivor Series 1996 does but it worked very well and both guys played to their strengths. **¾
Vince McMahon has an orgasm at ringside as Shawn Michaels strips to celebrate. After a commercial, things go backstage where Shawn meets up with Diesel. Dok Hendrix interviews them about the Triple Header match. Shawn shouts a bunch in his promo, saying that he’s righting all of the wrongs in his career, including them vacating the Tag Team Titles last year. Diesel keeps it simple, saying they are “two dudes with attitude” and “two chaps with straps”.
They do a weird preview of next week, showing clips of the upcoming Kid/Razor match. Thank god they scrap that quickly.
Overall: 5.5/10. This was a relatively fine episode. I thought the main event was solid enough and, while the opener was slow and disappointing, it at least moved things along nicely and furthered some angles. It was the middle of the show, featuring mediocre squash matches that hurt. Points to the WWF for hyping the upcoming PPV after so much time off.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #2
September 11th, 1995 | James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida
Of course, Nitro is live. Eric Bischoff, Mongo and Bobby Heenan are in the booth again. The official Nitro set debuts here. Bischoff hypes the main event as the “Match of the Century”. I mean, it’s a big match but whoa. They recap Luger’s confrontation with Hogan from last week. They then inform us that Vader is AWOL and is off of Hogan’s team at Fall Brawl. Vader would never show up on a Nitro and heads to WWF in the next few months.
Alex Wright vs. Sabu
Sabu is making his debut and comes out to La Parka’s future theme. They start fast and Sabu quickly sends Wright outside, following with a baseball slide and front flip. Sabu opens a chair outside and tries to leap off of it but crashes into the guardrail. It’s Wright turn to shine a bit, hitting a missile dropkick. Bischoff starts discussing shows from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wrestling was a very different place in 1995. Wright now nails a superplex before Sabu comes back with a springboard leg lariat. Wright hits a German for two shortly before Sabu wins with a victory roll. Sabu isn’t content, continuing the assault outside. He splashes Wright through the table and the decision gets reversed.
Winner via disqualification: Alex Wright in 3:59
Knowing they had four minutes, both guys tried to cram a ton of stuff into that time. They did a fine job with that and Sabu was actually not in botch mode for once. Interesting debut. **½
Mean BAH GAWD Gene is in the ring and introduces Ric Flair. Flair is in complete shout mode, bringing up memories of the Four Horsemen and hypes Luger/Hogan. Lex Luger walks out, tells Flair that he hasn’t changed a bit and then just walks back out. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT? At least we got to see some dude in the crowd change the “W” part of he and his friends’ WCW sign sideways so it says ECW.
They give a small plug to Fall Brawl. Hogan’s team is down a member, now only featuring himself, Savage and Sting. They could have probably faced the Dungeon of Doom down a man and still dominated. Also, Ric Flair faces Arn Anderson.
Non-Title Match
WCW United States Champion Sting vs. VK Wallstreet
Yup, one week in and Wallstreet already has a name change. VK. LIKE VINCENT KENNEDY. GET IT? While Sting makes his entrance, Bischoff infamously spoils the Raw results for the evening since that show is pre-taped. Mongo also disses them, joking that the show is named after uncooked eggs. Sting looks motivated here but Wallstreet, even in his debut, is the same old boring ass IRS that I remember. Sting makes a rally and wins with a cross body.
Winner: Sting in 4:15
Normally, I’d be disappointed in a new guy jobbing in his debut in less than five minutes. However, it’s just Mike Rotunda. He can lose until the end of time. No wait, that means I would have to watch him for that long. *½
This Saturday, see Renegade vs. Max Muscle, Big Bubba vs. Dave Sullivan and the debut of Disco Inferno!
Randy Savage vs. Scott Norton
This came about because of their altercation last Monday. Norton attacks during Savage’s entrance. He shouts some trash talk to Mongo at the booth. Savage comes off the top with a double axe handle to the outside. Norton relentlessly goes after the lower back. Bischoff sells that Savage’s back is hurt pretty well. Norton powerbombs Savage for two. Savage continues to take a beat for a bit, making Norton look like a monster. Norton brings Savage in from the apron with a damn DDT. He goes up top, where Savage catches him and stops him. The former Earthquake, now Shark, runs out. Bischoff calls him Avalanche (another of his failed gimmicks). Savage sends Norton into him and Shark/Avalanche falls on Norton’s legs. Savage hits the elbow and, with Shark on his legs, Norton can’t kick out.
Winner: Randy Savage in 5:40
Overall, I rather enjoyed this. Scott Norton looked like a beast and Savage sold everything pretty well. The interference came off stupid, hurting the score. **¼
The rest of the Dungeon of Doom show up but Randy Savage escapes. Scott Norton gets in Shark’s face but nothing happens.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Hulk Hogan (c) w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Lex Luger
They basically have a battle of who’s jock is bigger, trying to outshine each other. Hogan hits a suplex but Luger no sells and pops right up. Luger gets one of his own and Hogan is instantly up. Hogan’s too much and causes Luger to bail. “Let’s face it, Luger isn’t used to this level of competition” says Bischoff. Ouch. He adds to it by saying the WWF Champion, Diesel, couldn’t make it past the midcard in WCW. He is not holding anything back. Luger applies the Torture Rack but Hogan stops the referee from ringing the bell. Luger lets go of the hold thinking he won because he’s an idiot. It’s that kind of stupidity that led to him failing in the WWF. Luger covers, Hogan kicks out and Hulks up. Hogan hits the Leg Drop but the Dungeon of Doom run in to cause the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Hulk Hogan in 5:28
Acceptable match that is what you would expect from these two. They mostly played to their strengths and kept it short. **
The Dungeon of Doom completely ignore Lex Luger and beat on Hogan only. Sting and Randy Savage run in to make the save and get rid of the Dungeon like they’re nothing. After a commercial break, Mean Gene is in the ring with the babyfaces. Hogan wants to know why the Dungeon of Doom didn’t attack Luger. Savage is with Hogan in questioning Luger. Sting, as always, backs up his buddy. Sting wants Luger to replace Vader but Savage is against teaming up with the unknown. Savage now questions why the Dungeon also left Sting and Jimmy Hart alone. Hart is appalled at these accusations. Hogan is the deciding vote and puts Luger on the team. Luger only accepts if Hogan will give him another title shot down the line.
Overall: 5.5/10. Nowhere near the level of the fantastic premiere but still a decent episode. One thing is clear so far and that’s the fact that Nitro is hellbent on moving along quickly. Things happen at rapid fire and even on a show like this where the matches aren’t very good, the show remains entertaining.
WWF Rock Bottom
December 13th, 1998 | General Motors Palace in Vancouver, British Columbia | Attendance: 20,042
This was one of the most profitable years in WWF history. Closing it out, you had the Rock as the new Corporate Champion, getting a Pay-Per-View named after him (though thinking about it, the December PPV in 1996 was named after Vader even though he didn’t compete on it and the December 1997 PPV was named after DX). Though it is named after him, he doesn’t even headline the show, with that distinction going to the Buried Alive match between Steve Austin and the Undertaker. This show produced the lowest buyrate of 1998. It is the first and only show under this name.
Things open with the Rock cutting a promo somewhere in the arena. He says that every In Your House from here on out will be named after him, including “Rock Solid” and “Laying the Smackdown”. At least he got a TV show out of the latter.
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are on commentary. It’s Cole’s first PPV.
D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry w/ PMS vs. The Godfather and Val Venis w/ the Hoes
Venis and the Godfather are kind of a perfect match. Godfather rewards his hoes by giving them Val Venis for the whole night. D-Lo and Val, who had a pretty lengthy opener at SummerSlam a few months earlier, start things off. Michael Cole questions the use of D-Lo’s chest protector since the injury happened over eight months earlier. D-Lo’s chest is up there with DDP’s ribs and Bob Orton’s arm for longest injuries. Val starts taking the heat segment. D-Lo misses the Lo Down, opening the door for Val. Cole calls it the Sky High proving he sucked even back then. He also calls the Godfather a “master of martial arts.” Godfather gets the hot tag but doesn’t do much of note. He and Val double suplex Henry while the hoes argue with PMS. While Godfather tries to calm things down, Jacqueline slides in and exposes Val’s thong. That distraction allows Henry to knock him down and hit a splash to win.
Winners: D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry in 5:56
Not much to really discuss here. They seemed to work a house show like tag team match while waiting for the interference finish. *
They go through backstage segments rather quickly, so much so that I’m only going to discuss them if they’re important. Mankind attacked the Rock on Heat, but Rock still will defend the belt.
The Headbangers vs. The Oddities w/ Giant Silva and Luna
Wait. Why is this on Pay-Per-View? The Oddities are represented by Kurrgan and Golga. Golga is the former Earthquake for anyone that didn’t know. They plod through their offense while the crowd sits in complete silence. The Headbangers end up working a “heat” on Kurrgan. It’s hard to buy considering Kurrgan’s size and the fact that the crowd is dead. After some very uninspired stuff, Mosh catches Golga with am ugly cross body after a blind tag and they steal it.
Winners: The Headbangers in 6:52
I just don’t see why this had to be on Pay-Per-View at all. The crowd didn’t care, the guys involved didn’t seem to care and neither did commentary. The only person who looked like they wanted to be there was Luna. DUD
Owen Hart vs. Steve Blackman
The pop for Owen Hart is pretty insane. Owen was brought out of “retirement” by Blackman. He was in “retirement” after “breaking” Dan Severn’s neck. He attacks quickly to the crowd’s liking. Blackman turns it around and works a bow and arrow shortly. Both guys trade offense, with neither grabbing a real upper hand. Owen takes a breather outside, leading Blackman to take him out with a baseball slide. They oddly still work this match as if the crowd is against Owen. He does the rest holds and Blackman makes the comebacks, but it gets the opposite reaction they want. Owen gets two on an enziguri. He locks in the dragon sleeper, which gets the crowd to their feet, but Blackman slips free. Blackman then puts Owen in the Sharpshooter, garnering massive heat. He reaches the ropes to a big pop. Owen exits the ring and decides to walk out on the match, getting counted out.
Winner via countout: Steve Blackman in 10:28
Man, I wish this didn’t end the way it did. The match was going along fine until that finish. It wasn’t great, but it was entertaining. **½
The Brood vs. The J.O.B. Squad
The Brood is still in its infancy at this point. The J.O.B. Squad is represented by Scorpio, Bob Holly and Al Snow. Outside of Holly, who is debuting his Hardcore Holly hairdo, nobody in this match has really been with the company for long. The Brood seems to show a bit more chemistry. I always think Gangrel has a busted lip but it’s just his trademark fake blood. The Brood isolate Snow in the corner. Once he gets free and makes the tag, the match breaks down and everyone gets involved. Scorpio ends Christian over and outside, but misses a tope. Christian, not to be outdone, misses a diving headbutt. Snow hits him with Head, though it looked weak. Gangrel takes him out, before Holly goes after him. Scorpio comes off the top with a sick moonsault leg drop. Edge breaks up the count before leaping off of Gangrel’s back and onto the other JOB Squad members outside. Christian is left alone with Scorpio, hitting the future Unprettier for the 1-2-3.
Winners: The Brood in 9:08
Hey, that was better than expected. It was a neat little tag team match. It started a bit slow and didn’t really pick up until everyone got involved. Those final few minutes were pretty fun. **½
Striptease Match
Goldust vs. Jeff Jarrett w/ Debra
The rules are, if Jarrett wins, Goldust has to strip for the fans. If Goldust wins, Debra has to strip. They trade some early back and forth that seems uninspired. Jarrett seems to go after the left arm, hitting a single arm DDT. It’s interesting to hear Jerry Lawler, the heel, side with the babyface because he wants to see Debra strip. It’s probably the real start of his annoying “puppies” gimmick for the foreseeable future. Thanks to the prospect of tits, the fans are firmly behind Goldust, helping out a relatively dull affair. Debra nearly uses the guitar at one point but almost hits Jarrett with it accidentally. She distracts the referee after Goldust hits the Curtain Call. The fans are eating all of this up. As Goldust sets up for Shattered Dreams, Debra enters to distract him but as she’s taken out, he hits the move behind the referee’s back. Now, while Jarrett is being counted out, Debra lays out Goldust with the guitar. Jarrett slides in and hits the Stroke for the three count. BUT WAIT! New Commissioner Shawn Michaels strolls out. He congratulates Jarrett and sends him to the back. With Jarrett gone, he awards the match to Goldust via disqualification.
Winner via disqualification: Goldust in 8:02
The match itself is pretty basic. They are two guys that know what they’re doing though and they realized that they could let the heat from the crowd carry them. It did the job and made this slightly better than it actually was. **¼
Debra is now forced to strip. She seems to enjoy herself more as it goes further. Shawn Michaels even brings out money for her. Before she can remove her bra though, the Blue Blazer and Jeff Jarrett show up to cover her up.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. WWF Hardcore Champion Big Bossman and WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock w/ Shawn Michaels
So Shawn Michaels goes from babyface in one segment to heel in the next. The Outlaws, outside of Owen Hart, are the most over guys on the show so far. Bossman plays the powerhouse but finds himself in trouble against the well-oiled machine that is the Tag Team Champions. Classic Road Dogg as he goes all Shake, Rattle and Roll on Shamrock. Shamrock, probably embarrassed at taking that move, rolls him into an ankle lock but it’s quickly broken up. Shortly after this, the four men would split off into two separate singles feuds. It breaks down into Road Dogg taking the heat. Bossman is great at toying with him and being a real dick. The heat on Road Dogg lasts for a fair amount of time. Billy wakes up the crowd by shouting “YOU SUCK” across the ring. I’m not sure who it was directed at. Billy gets the hot tag and nearly wins, but Michaels pulls the referee out of the ring. That opens the door for Bossman to hit Billy with the nightstick. Shamrock covers but only gets two. Shawn tried to cheat again, but Billy rolls through the pin and they retain.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws in 17:04
If this went about 10-12 minutes, it would have worked much better. Giving them seventeen was far too much. Bossman and Shamrock did an acceptable job but a lot of their stuff was dull and seemed to drag. Certainly a case of less is more because this went on for far too long. *¾
Throughout the night, Vince McMahon and Mankind were in a meeting in the boiler room. Before the match, they spend time going over whether or not Mick Foley actually quit in the finals of the tournament at Survivor Series a month earlier.
WWF Champion
The Rock (c) w/ Shane and Vince McMahon vs. Mankind
Here we have the second meeting between these two out of four straight on PPV. That’s not including the televised matches (ladder, the night Foley wins the title & Halftime Heat) that they got out of this rivalry. Rock attacks from behind and the brawl is on. Mankind uses steel steps on the outside to help his cause. Vince gets on the microphone, saying that Mankind is on the verge of getting counted out, which opens the door for the Rock. Mankind takes a bump from the second rope onto the floor outside. The thud sound it makes is sickening. Rock does his signature trash talk on commentary during the match. Lawler kisses Rock’s ass all night and asks for a high five but gets denied and it’s glorious. The fight moves back inside where the Rock picks up a near fall. Mankind begins to rally and drops a leg onto Rock’s groin. Vince pops up wanting the DQ. Mankind prevents it by laying out the referee with the piledriver. He also takes out the timekeeper. Rock attacks and Shane tries to hit Mankind with the title. Mankind ducks and Rock gets leveled. A second referee shows up but Rock kicks out. Vince and Shane’s reactions are perfect. Mankind brings out Mr. Socko and puts Rock in the Mandible Claw. Rock passes out and the crowd goes wild. BUT WAIT! Vince gets on the microphone and admits that Mankind won the match, but says you can only win the title if you actually submit, which the Rock didn’t do.
Winner: Mankind in 13:34
This didn’t reach the limits of their 1999 bouts. Still, it was a fun sprint between two guys with growing chemistry. A lot of people dislike the finish but I’m not one of them. It made perfect sense since Mankind constantly said that he never quit at Survivor Series. Having Vince turn the tables on him was excellent and it set up their I Quit match at the next PPV. Sometimes it’s all about advancing the story, which was done expertly here. ***
Obviously, Mankind isn’t happy about that result and starts attacking Mr. McMahon. Shane hits him with a chair, which has no effect and he gets Socko too. He is finally pulled away when Ken Shamrock and the Big Bossman make the save.
Buried Alive Match
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
If Austin loses, he can’t enter the Royal Rumble next month. This is the second ever Buried Alive match. Due to the personal nature of the rivalry, the fight starts in the aisle. They do a ton of brawling in the aisle and around the ring. Undertaker is in control as they make it up to the grave and trade blows. The fight continues, bouncing around the arena from the entrance to the ring and everywhere in between. It’s hard to really discuss what they’re doing since it’s just a bunch of punches, kicks and throwing each other into stuff. Undertaker hits a Chokeslam in the ring and takes Austin to the grave. He nearly buries him but Austin escapes and hits him with some sort of can. Austin nails the Stunner and dump a wheel barrow full of dirt onto Taker. Austin leaves to the back for some reason. Undertaker gets out and hides, waiting for Austin with a shovel. Suddenly, a huge explosion erupts in the grave. Kane comes out from the grave ad goes at it with his brother. Undertaker nearly gets a Tombstone on him but stops because he sees something in the entrance. It’s Austin driving a backhoe. Kane Tombstones Undertaker, which the camera misses. He rolls Taker into the grave and Austin has the backhoe drop a ton of dirt onto him, winning.
Winner: Steve Austin in 21:30
These two have never really had great matches together. Some are good and most are pretty bad actually. This was possibly the worst and started a string of mediocre at best performances from the two for the most part. Undertaker was battling nagging injuries, this dragged on for too long and was mostly dull. ¾*
Overall: 2.5/10; Bad. Considering how successful the year of 1998 was for the WWF, it kind of sucks to see the PPV side end on such a whimper. Outside of the WWF Title match, nothing on this show is really any good. There are two decent matches hidden in there but this is an easy skip. Even the main event, which the WWF was mostly nailing at the time, is an abysmal waste of time. Up next on“Kevin's Random Reviews” will be WWF WrestleMania XXIV!
Raw History
Episode #124
August 14th, 1995 | Worcester Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts
Things start with a video package showing Shawn Michaels getting attacked by Mabel, possibly injuring himself heading into the big SummerSlam match. Jerry Lawler cuts a short promo about finishing what Mabel started. He faced Shawn tonight. With Lawler in action tonight, Vince McMahon is joined by Ted Dibiase on commentary.
Doink the Clown vs. Waylon Mercy
Before the gimmick dies, Doink gets to play enhancement talent. Commentary talks about Henry O. Godwin being a new acquisition of the Million Dollar Corporation. Dibiase is livid that Vince would suggest that, stating he’s not part of the team, but does some dirty work for them. Meanwhile, Mercy puts away Doink with a sleeper, continuing to be great at the facial expressions he has to deliver. Oh my, there were “kill the clown” chants during this.
Winner: Waylon Mercy in 3:06
The stuff I’ve come to expect from Waylon, which is always rather enjoyable.
Out first look at Goldust now. He’s standing in front of a green screen set to be Warner Bros. studios. At the time, my mother’s mind was blown that this was Dustin Rhodes. He looks like a giant Academy Award, in all gold. He talks about Diesel’s gold and how he was born as a star.
Ted Dibiase continues to badmouth Henry Godwin’s odor and things like that. Henry strolls out, upset that Dibiase is saying these things. Dibiase tries to calm him down but ends up getting slopped, starting the HOG face turn. Dok Hendrix shows up to replace Dibiase on commentary.
The Smoking Gunns vs. Bill Garrett and Cody Wade
Garrett and Wade look like an actual team, getting matching gear. I don’t know who is who, but one of them looks like a swollen version of the other. I guess that one is Garrett, who can’t bump. Wade gets tagged and doesn’t fare much better. The Sidewinder ends it.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 1:34
Not good. At least it was short.
Dean Douglas brings us the Report Card this week. He critiques a match between Bret Hart and Jimmy Del Rey. Dean grades Bret a good old fashioned “F” and calls him the Foundation of Failure instead of the Excellence of Execution.
Shawn Michaels cuts a quick promo from the back, hyping the main event.
Next week, Tatanka battles Undertaker. Undertaker is still pissed at the Million Dollar Corporation since Kama stole his urn and melted it down into a chain or something.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Jeff Hardy
Oh look, its two future World Champions. Who would have predicted that? Hardy shows off his speed early and often. Helmsley weathers the storm and ends him with a Pedigree. The same thing would happen again with these two in 2001 and 2008.
Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 2:07
Fine enough squash.
Todd Pettengill brings us the SummerSlam Report. The additions to the card are Skip vs. Barry Horowitz and 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi.
Henry O. Godwin vs. Russ Greenberg
Vince calls him Ross, but his nameplate is shown as Russ. This is joined in progress s Godwin slams Greenberg. Henry wins in under a minute with the Slop Drop. Then he slops the poor jobber.
Winner: Henry Godwin in 0:51
I never really got into the Godwin character.
We get another bad clip of Jerry Lawler and Isaac Yankem where Yankem is being really aggressive with a patient. Nothing about these segments were any good.
Non-Title Match
Jerry Lawler vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels
We’re still early in Shawn’s babyface run and he does that thing where he makes his opponent look like an idiot before taunting outside. Vince McMahon finds pure bliss in these antics. Shawn finds a really neat way to block the piledriver, putting his hands down and preventing his head from hitting the mat. Sid shows up and gawks at the Intercontinental Title at ringside. Shawn takes his signature corner bump heading into the commercial. Returning, Lawler remains in control until it’s time for the HBK babyface comeback. As he starts to set up for the finish, Sid enters the ring and the bell sounds.
Winner via disqualification: Shawn Michaels in 6:04
Typical Lawler match for the era. Mostly dull until Shawn started to do his thing and then we got the ho-hum finish. *½
The action continues as Shawn and Sid go at it. Sid plants him with a Chokeslam and Razor Ramon shows up. Dok Hendrix questions this strategy since Razor meets Shawn at SummerSlam. Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music but Razor tosses him aside to hit Sid with the Razor’s Edge. Lawler grabs Sid and pulls him to safety. Now alone in the ring, Razor and Shawn have a bit of a tug of war over the title. Razor goes to give it back but drops it at his feet just as they fade out. Coming back from break, Diesel is here to keep things calm. Gotta keep the Kliq in check.
Overall: 4/10. I wanted that episode to be better. I always want that for the live shows. None of it was particularly bad and most things were kept short at least. It wasn’t very entertaining though, with the marquee match being a drag and some of the squashes being bad.
Raw History
Episode #125
August 21st, 1995 | Worcester Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts
The WWF signature with the whole “...for over 50 years, the worldwide leader in sports entertaining” spiel debuts here. Then, footage from Superstars airs. One of the Undertaker’s “creatures of the night” jumped the guardrail and got taken out by Kama, who Undertaker is scheduled to face at SummerSlam.
Men on a Mission vs. Roy Raymond and Joe Hancock
With an unfortunate WWF Title match coming up for Mabel, this was clearly a dominating performance from Men on a Mission. Vince tells us that Mabel is 568 pounds. Wow. He hits a piledriver and taunts, allowing Raymond to sneak in with some shots. It has no effect. Mabel wins via belly to belly suplex.
Winners: Men on a Mission in 3:48
Typical stuff from MOM. Both winners are visibly gassed despite the short runtime.
After the match, King Mabel cuts a promo and challenges the Allied Powers to a tune up match. They get no response and leave.
The Report Card sees Dean Douglas in the production truck. He reviews the previous match and says that Mabel will dominate Diesel at SummerSlam. And we’re supposed to believe this guy is smart?
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Brooklyn Brawler
The Brawler leaps off the apron to attack the Kid during his entrance. Even with this early assault, the Kid comes back and pulls him into an Oklahoma roll for the quick victory.
Winner: The 1-2-3 Kid in 1:32
I wish Kid got longer squash matches.
Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
They play it like going after a “creature of the night” is the most heinous act you could do to the Undertaker. He comes out pissed and kicks Tatanka’s ass. Undertaker looks to have possibly hurt himself and Tatanka takes over, doing some of his dull offense. Undertaker gets out of a chinlock and starts to rally heading into the break. Returning, he hits the big diving clothesline. It leads to the Tombstone, ending things.
Winner: The Undertaker in 5:43
This is not the best era for Undertaker matches and Tatanka, especially as a heel, is a giant snore. Not a good combination. ½*
Jean-Pierre Lafitte vs. Scott Taylor
It’s another one of those instances where the enhancement talent ended up having a career that was better than the guy he’s jobbing to. Taylor looks game tonight, hitting some quick offense and even a cross body off the top. Lafitte quickly turns the tide and lays a pirate flag over Taylor before coming off the top with LE CANNONBALL for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Jean-Pierre Lafitte in 3:06
Actually pretty fun. Both guys played their roles and it was entertaining.
Our second Goldust vignette airs. This time, he’s near the famous Hollywood sign and his promo targets Shawn Michaels.
WWF Champion Diesel comes out for an in-ring interview with Vince McMahon. Diesel puts over the run that Mabel has had in recent months but promises to keep the gold at SummerSlam. Nothing of note happens until the British Bulldog shows up. He wishes Diesel good luck and says that Lex Luger had a medical emergency. Men on a Mission challenged the Allied Powers but with no Lex, Bulldog wants Diesel to be his partner. Diesel agrees.
British Bulldog and WWF Champion Diesel vs. Men on a Mission
Diesel beats up Mo at the start and hits the big boot. Vince is already calling for the finish. Diesel signals for the Jackknife and Mabel gets in the ring. Bulldog then levels Diesel from behind right into a slam by Mabel.
No Contest…I guess in 2:19
More of an angle than a match.
Vince is appalled that British Bulldog would do such a thing. Mabel holds Diesel in place for Bulldog to slap him. Diesel gets free of Mabel but just eats a powerslam from Bulldog and leg drop from Mabel. Jim Cornette joins in on the fray, presenting the WWF Title to Bulldog. Umm, why would Mabel be cool with that? Bulldog realizes this, handing the belt to Mabel. After the break, Jerry Lawler interviews the group in the back though they don’t say much.
Overall: 2.5/10. For the most part, this didn’t work well as a go-home show. Outside of the closing segment, nothing really meant anything and the Undertaker/Tatanka match blew hard. Surprisingly, the best match on the episode was the Lafitte/Taylor squash.
SummerSlam 1995 Results
Hakushi def. 1-2-3 Kid
Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Bob Holly
The Smoking Gunns def. Jacob and Eli Blu
Barry Horowitz def. Skip
Bertha Faye def. Alundra Blayze to win the WWF Women’s Championship
The Undertaker def. Kama in a Casket Match
Bret Hart def. Isaac Yankem via disqualification
Shawn Michaels def. Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match to retain the Intercontinental Title
Diesel def. King Mabel to retain the WWF Championship
So, here’s where things get interesting. There was no episode of Raw on Labor Day in 1995. However, the wrestling world was changed forever as WCW debuted Monday Nitro and the Monday night wars began. From here on out, “Raw History” will be accompanied by “Relieving Nitro”, a series of reviews for WCW’s weekly Monday night program.
Relieving Nitro
Episode #1
September 4th, 1995 | The Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Steve “Mongo” McMichael handle commentary. This show taking place inside of a massive mall really gives it a different feel, which it really needed.
Brian Pillman vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Now, this is the right move to open the show. Two guys that can do great things in the ring and they instantly give you an alternate feeling to what you’d see over on Raw. Quick start as they work a short wristlock and Liger hits a rolling kick in the corner. He gets two on a moonsault that didn’t look great. Pillman comes back with a rana off the second rope for a near fall of his own. They continue to work at a fast pace before Liger applies a surfboard. It gets a better reaction from the crowd than everything I saw on the last episode of Raw. Mongo continues to insult Heenan throughout the match. Liger does a cannonball dive outside but Pillman gets his turn to dive out onto him as well. They fight to the top where Liger nails a superplex for a near fall. Pillman catches a diving Liger with a dropkick for two. He then also manages to kick out of a good old fashioned Liger Bomb. A top rope rana from Liger somehow also only gets a near fall. More high impact offense as Pillman gets two on a tornado DDT. With actual moves not being enough, it takes a sweet rollup for Pillman to earn the win.
Winner: Brian Pillman in 6:55
Whoever booked this as the opener for the big TV debut was a genius. Sure they got a bit sloppy at points but they worked very fast, which they needed to so they make sure it felt so different from everything else, and it was exciting. Pretty much the ideal opener for WCW here. ***¼
PASTAMANIA IS RUNNING WILD BROTHER! Hulk Hogan did indeed have a damn restaurant in the Mall of America known as Pastamania. Eric Bischoff interviews him there about the main event tonight. Hogan says that he’ll retain the WCW Title against Big Bubba because Pastamania is running through his brain. I did not make any of that up.
Non-Title Match
Ric Flair vs. WCW United States Champion Sting
Another great idea for this show as both guys are staples of WCW and well known. Things get really interesting as right before the bell, LEX LUGER is seen in the aisle. Commentary, especially Eric Bischoff, sells this magnificently. They shout for the camera to get off of him because he doesn’t work here. Its nuts because Luger had just appeared at SummerSlam a week earlier. The match begins and they go through standard stuff for these two. Sting press slams Flair all over the place while Flair goes after the eyes and delivers a bunch of chops. Even when things spill outside, Flair gets press slammed back in. There’s a few too many press slams for my taste. Arn Anderson casually strolls out. He’s in the midst of an angle with Flair where he was fed up with always helping him and getting nothing in return for it. Sting no sells Flair’s offense and clotheslines him after he struts. Sting hits a superplex but ends up in the Figure Four. He uses the ropes for leverage and doesn’t break it at the five count, resulting in the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Sting in 8:44
A small sample size of the stuff they’re known for. Pretty fun but a few too many press slams for me. I did like the advancement of the Arn angle though. **¾
Arn Anderson gets in the ring and takes off his windbreaker, looking to go after Flair. Flair quickly scurries and heads to the back. The action doesn’t stop because a pissed off Scott Norton appears and shouts about wanting Randy Savage. This brings Savage out to confront him and Savage wants to rumble right now. Security keeps them apart, setting the stage for a future Nitro match. Very well done.
A video package for Sabu airs. He’ll be coming to Nitro soon.
Oh man, they promote WCW Saturday Night. The card doesn’t sound too though. Sting and Savage team up against the Blue Bloods, but Johnny B. Badd faces Dick Slater. Somehow that’s a “double main event”.
Goddammit. We get a backstage promo from Michael Wallstreet, also known as IRS. Like I didn’t get enough of his boring ass everything on Raw.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Hulk Hogan (c) w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Big Bubba
Three for three in smartly booked matches. Your main event features your top star and a very recognizable face from his WWF days as the Big Bossman. As the bell rings, Bischoff informs everyone that next week, Randy Savage meets Scott Norton. If you’ve seen these two work before, you know what you’re getting here. Bubba does some typical big man offense, Hogan sells for a while with false hope spots before doing the real Hogan comeback. Bubba tries to harm Jimmy Hart for no real reason, opening the door for Hogan. Now, with Hart’s distraction, Hogan does what Hogan does and cheats, choking Bubba with Jimmy’s jacket. Hogan ends up kicking out of a side slam and it’s Hulk Up time. Big boot and Leg Drop end it.
Winner and Still WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan in 7:10
About what you’d expect here. Nothing fancy but the crowd was in a frenzy for pretty much all of it. *¾
Ugh, the Dungeon of Doom run out and Hogan just hands them their asses. They all sell poorly for him. Lex Luger comes in and helps Hogan clean house. They bump into each other’s backs and end up face to face. Sting, Jimmy Hart and Randy Savage enter the ring to try and calm things down. Gene Okerlund gets in the ring with them to try and sort things out. Luger says he’s here to take Hogan’s WCW Championship and that he’s tired of playing with kids. He’s here to play with the big boys. Hogan takes a while with his response but it basically ends up being an announcement that next week, he’ll give Luger the shot.
Overall: 9/10. That’s what we call a grand slam on the first pitch you see in your career. This was a one hour show where things moved rapidly, everything had a purpose and the show had a real feeling of “can’t miss TV”. The opener was a great way to show people that you could see something different on Nitro. The next two matches had star power and you give everyone the great Norton and excellent Luger surprises. Viewers had to be hooked. I can’t think of another wrestling show that got off to this great of a start.
