Monday Night Raw – June 24, 1996: Kloudy With A Chance Of Stars
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 24, 1996
Location: Brown County Expo, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Attendance: 4,660
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler
We’re done with the King Of The Ring and that means King Austin, who gave what would wind up being one of the most important promos in wrestling history. Other than that, Shawn Michaels has vanquished the British Bulldog and needs someone else to come after him for the WWF Title. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Ahmed Johnson vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Johnson’s newly won Intercontinental Title isn’t on the line. Johnson works on the arm to start and shoulders Helmsley down. A headlock grinds Helmsley down and a clothesline drops him even harder. Helmsley avoids a charge though and Johnson is sent outside, where he gets sent into the steps. Johnson gets posted and then ax handled in the back as we go split screen to Goldust and Marlena. Goldust is mad about losing his title and he’s ready to bury Undertaker in his own casket. Helmsley’s chinlock goes on and we take a break.
We come back with Johnson fighting out of the corner but missing a charge into a different corner. Johnson pulls him out of the air for an atomic drop, setting up the gorilla press for two. Helmsley backdrops his way out of a Pearl River Plunge attempt and they both get a breather. Back up and Helmsley tries a backdrop, which is reversed into a Pearl River Plunge to retain the title at 13:04.
Rating: C. Johnson was someone who was at his best when he was able to go out there and showcase his incredible athleticism and that wasn’t really the case here. At the same time, it was all about Johnson getting over as a force as the new champion and this worked well enough, though having it be a non-title match doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Post match Johnson says he is proud to be the first African American Intercontinental Champion (geez that took awhile) and is ready to beat up Goldust again.
Bodydonnas vs. Brooklyn Brawler/Jerry Fox
The Bodydonnas debut Kloudy, their new manager, who is rather large and tattooed. Sunny, on commentary, is not pleased in the slightest. Zip hiptosses and slams the Brawler to start but Brawler is back up with a headlock. Skip comes in for a running neckbreaker to Fox, who gets taken into the wrong corner. Zip’s gutwrench powerbomb gets two and a top rope seated senton finishes at 3:53.
Rating: C. Good enough here, as the idea behind Kloudy is pretty clear right from the start. Unfortunately the other thing that is obvious is how one note that the whole thing is and I can’t imagine it going well. The team was only so good in the first place and having Kloudy going after Sunny (I’m sure you get the HILARIOUS play on words) is only going to get them so far.
Post match Kloudy chases Sunny off.
We look at the history of Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty.
Kloudy chases Lawler off too.
Vader/Owen Hart/Davey Boy Smith vs. Aldo Montoya/Savio Vega/Barry Horowitz
Jim Cornette and Diana Smith are here with the villains. Horowitz hiptosses Hart to start and it’s quickly off to Vega vs. Bulldog. Vega takes him over with an armdrag but Vader comes in to hammer away. A nice spinning kick to the face drops Vader and it’s off to Montoya for some dropkicks. Hart kicks him in the head though and Vader comes back in for a chokeslam. The Sharpshooter makes Montoya tap at 4:20.
Rating: C+. Pretty much a squash here, with Vega’s kick to the face being a highlight for the losing side. I do often wonder how these people feel in kayfabe when they find out they’re teaming with Horowitz. Montoya isn’t great in the first place and Vega is just ok, so they’re already in trouble and then they have Horowitz as a partner. That can’t be the most encouraging feeling.
Here is Brian Pillman on crutches for a chat. Pillman talks to Vince, saying he doesn’t need to get in the ring to make an impact.
Undertaker vs. Steve Austin
Paul Bearer is here with Undertaker and this is a big deal for the new King. Undertaker slugs away to start and of course that’s fine with Austin, who punches right back. Austin kicks him in the face but gets dropped as Lawler is going after Bearer, which can’t be a good idea. The fight heads outside, with Austin being sent into various steel objects.
They get back in and Austin is knocked to the floor again, only to get back inside for another shot to the face. Austin gets a whip into the corner but charges into a boot as we take a break. We come back with Undertaker hitting Old School but Austin gets smart by kicking at the leg. Austin wraps it around the post and the middle rope elbow gets two.
We go old school with a spinning toehold to keep Undertaker down as Goldust and Marlena come to ringside. Undertaker fights up but a chop block takes him right back down again as we take another break. We come back again with Undertaker missing a running clothesline but hitting a chokeslam. The Tombstone is loaded up but Goldust throws something in Undertaker’s eyes for the DQ at 15:34.
Rating: B-. This was a rare good match between the two of them, with Austin working on the leg, though much like the recent Undertaker vs. Bulldog match, it felt more like we were waiting around for the screwiness. That’s not the best feeling and while it’s nice to see Austin getting in the ring with a big name, having him beat a big name would have been better. Still though, I’ll take a nice match which gets some time.
Post match Austin beats on Undertaker, who reverses to knock Austin outside. Bearer loads up the urn but is hesitant to hand it to Undertaker. Lawler wants Bearer to explain why he cost Undertaker last night against Mankind (by hitting Undertaker with the urn), but Undertaker chases him off to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. With King Of The Ring out of the way, it’s time to reset things a bit with Austin and Johnson as some bigger names. That’s not a bad way to go, but seeing Undertaker vs. Goldust isn’t exactly inspiring. They’re still in the weak summer period, but at least they have something to build on after the pay per view. Just do something interesting and get Michaels a better challenger.
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