Monday Night Raw – November 13, 1995: One Of Those Stupid Calls
Monday Night Raw Date: November 13, 1995
Location: Keystone Arena, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Attendance: 2,000 Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler
This is the go home show for Survivor Series and the card really isn’t the most interesting in the world. Bret vs. Diesel should be fun as always but the Survivor Series matches aren’t looking great. It’s just such a bad time for the company and there really isn’t much of a way around that. Let’s get to it.
We open with a look at the 1-2-3 Kid and Razor Ramon getting into a bunch of fights over the weekend. Therefore, Kid will still be guest referee for Razor vs. Sid later tonight but it will now be a non-title match.
Opening sequence.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Henry O. Godwinn
Henry is sent outside so Helmsley can spray his perfume. Godwinn grabs his slop bucket and slops himself, which sends Helmsley running away to end the “match”.
We go to Dok Hendrix for Slam Jam (meaning the Control Center) with a talk about the Wild Card match where no one trusts each other.
Video on Shawn Michaels, who has been having head issues but he’s not quite done yet.
Ahmed Johnson vs. Jake Steele
This is Ahmed’s Raw debut. Steele has a good look but makes the mistake of punching Johnson in the face. We get a quick statement from Shawn Michaels about being happy to team with Ahmed at Survivor Series. A spinebuster sets up the Pearl River Plunge for the quick pin.
Post match Ahmed says something about snapping off a piece of a G on Sunday and you can see Vince wondering how he screwed this one up.
We get a sitdown interview between Diesel and Bret Hart to hype up Sunday. Diesel thinks he’s the best right now while Bret thinks he never should have lost the title in the first place. When they had their match at the Royal Rumble it ended in a DQ and Bret never had a rematch. Bret thinks he was the best challenger Diesel ever had though Diesel seems to think it was Shawn.
For some reason Bret thinks technical wrestlers aren’t getting enough title shots but Diesel points out that he’s defended against Shawn and the Hart brothers. Both guys talk about their strengths as this is clearly just being dragged out to fill time. Bret thinks Diesel is walking around with his title and this FINALLY ends after nearly ten minutes.
And now, Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler have a Karate Fighters match with Lawler cheating to win.
King Mabel vs. Roy Raymond
The bell rings and we go to comments from Undertaker, who is in shadows to hide whatever his crushed face looks like. Mabel stomps away in the corner and throws Roy around with a suplex. Raymond’s dropkick has almost no effect and the squash is capped off with a belly to belly to give Mabel the pin.
We look back at the 1-2-3 Kid and Razor having issues over the weekend.
Razor Ramon vs. Sid
Non-title but ignore the belt being held in the air before the bell rings. 1-2-3 Kid is guest referee and the fans still love him because this was taped before the heel turn. Sid has Ted DiBiase in his corner as part of the Million Dollar Corporation. A slugout goes to Razor but he eats a big boot to the jaw. We hit a headscissors of all things but Sid nips up (!) and grabs a chokeslam.
That means it’s time for a bunch of stomps instead of a cover, followed by some forearms to the back with Sid yelling at his own forearms. Razor comes back with a failed Razor’s Edge attempt as he’s backdropped to the floor, as is the case way too often. Now it’s Dean Douglas (Razor’s partner in the Wild Card match) coming out and we take a break.
Back with Dean stomping on Razor so Sid can drop him face first onto the apron. We hit one of the lamest chinlocks I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen Scott Steiner put on a reverse chinlock) but Razor gets underneath for an electric chair drop. Back up and Sid charges into a boot, setting up the middle rope bulldog for two. Razor gets Sid up for the Razor’s Edge but Kid pulls him down to set up the powerbomb with a count so fast I couldn’t even look at the video quickly enough.
Rating: D. Oh man Sid was falling apart at this point. They really had too much stuff going on here with Douglas just not needing to be involved. The Kid ending was as forecast as you could have asked it to be, assuming you weren’t in the arena. I really don’t get the idea of having this be a title change for the live crowd (of course it wouldn’t stand) while saying it was non-title in post production.
So yeah, Kid is Corporation now.
Razor tries to kill Dean to end the show.
Overall Rating: F. Total mess and waste of a show here as they were obviously out of content and trying to fill in the time with whatever they could before getting to the pay per view. The show was nothing short of a disaster though with bad wrestling, squashes and basically talking about three of Sunday’s six matches. Horrible show here and unfortunately that’s far too common in this era.
Monday Night Raw – November 6, 1995: Bret vs. Dental Hygiene
Monday Night Raw Date: November 6, 1995
Location: Keystone Arena, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Attendance: 2,000 Commentators: Vince McMahon, Dok Hendrix
We’ve jumped ahead again and now it’s time to get ready for the mostly forgettable Survivor Series 1995. The company is still running on Diesel Power as he’s held the title for nearly a year at this point but has a re-energized Bret Hart breathing down his neck and gunning for the belt. Let’s get to it.
We open with a clip of Ahmed Johnson slamming the nearly 600lb Yokozuna last week to make him a much bigger deal than he already was.
Opening sequence, featuring most of the roster in a fight on the roof of a very tall building. It’s certainly different.
Marty Jannetty vs. British Bulldog
Bulldog has Jim Cornette with him and this is due to Bulldog mocking Marty last week. Jannetty starts fast and smacks Bulldog in the face to set up a wristlock. It’s off to an armbar so we go to a chat with Cornette’s lawyer, who says Bulldog will get a shot at the winner of Bret vs. Diesel at Survivor Series. Bulldog comes back with the delayed vertical suplex and it’s time for the chinlock. Back up and Bulldog turns him inside out with a clothesline to send us to a break.
We come back with Bulldog slapping on another chinlock before sending him outside. Bulldog grabs a fourth chinlock in less than ten minutes to kill even more time. Thankfully it doesn’t last long as Marty misses a charge….to set up the fifth chinlock. Marty comes back again with a middle rope flipping cutter of all things (cool move too) and a DDT for two. Not that it matters as Bulldog hits the powerslam for the pin.
Rating: D-. Five chinlocks in a match that only ran about ten minutes. I don’t think I even need to go on at this point. Marty was actually the better of the two here as he seemed like he was trying but what are you supposed to do when you have someone who is clearly just there because he has to be?
A fake Bill Clinton will be at Survivor Series.
Bulldog is ready for his title shot.
Barry Horowitz and Hakushi talk strategy.
We look at Bam Bam Bigelow challenging the newcomer Goldust, which would happen at the pay per view.
Henry Godwinn vs. Terry Richards
Henry is finally face though no one cares yet. Richards on the other hand is better known as Rhyno. Some forearms to the back don’t have much effect as Henry throws him to the ground and rips at his face. The Slop Drop is good for the easy pin. Just a squash.
Cue HHH to jump Henry from behind and give him a Pedigree on the floor. With some white gloves on, HHH even pours the bucket of slop over Henry’s head.
It’s off to the Survivor Series control center with Undertaker promising to bury King Mabel and company and Diesel loving the rules of his match with Bret (No DQ/No Countout).
Kama vs. Tony Roy
Kama is part of the Million Dollar Team. Since this is just another squash, we get a phone call from Shawn Michaels to talk about his upcoming Wild Card Survivor Series match where the teams were “random”. Kama throws the jobber around like he’s nothing at all before finishing with a big right hand.
Rating: D. Kama was supposed to be this MMA style fighter but that’s not exactly what you can expect from the future Godfather. His punching and kicking were fine at the time but when you look back at it with a modern perspective of MMA etc., the whole thing looks more like a joke than anything else.
Jerry Lawler/Isaac Yankem vs. Hakushi/Bret Hart
The good guys have Barry Horowitz in their corner for reasons that aren’t important enough to explain. Bret and Yankem get things going with the future Kane pounding away in the corner and grabbing an early bearhug. It’s quickly off to Hakushi for the handspring elbow in the corner as I think I’d like to see a full Hakushi vs. Yankem match. Back to Bret to work on the arm as we’re waiting on Lawler to come in and take his beating. A sunset flip gets two on Isaac but he clotheslines Hakushi in the back of the head to take over.
Hakushi goes back first into the post and it’s finally off to the mulleted Lawler for two piledrivers. There’s no cover though as it’s off to Isaac for a whip into the corner as we take a break. Back with Isaac grabbing a Boston crab with Bret making the save. Jerry dives into a right hand to the throat and the hot tag brings in Bret. House is quickly cleaned and Bret gets the Sharpshooter on Yankem. Barry steals a chair away from Lawler but gets caught for the DQ despite not touching anyone.
Rating: C. Stupid ending aside, this was actually a nice tag match. Hakushi was one heck of a worker who just needed someone to do the talking for him. The idea of him hammering away on a big man like Isaac and trying to chop down a giant is rather intriguing but he wouldn’t be around much longer.
A preview for next week’s Raw, a commercial and another preview of next week’s Raw end the show.
Overall Rating: D. This was your standard horrible Monday Night Raw of its era as you could see the company really needing to get away from Diesel and get on to something fresh. The wrestling here was just above a disaster with that Bulldog vs. Jannetty match being a huge waste of time. They’re very lucky Nitro was starting to catch some steam at this point as they needed something to challenge them.
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Monday Night Raw – August 23, 2004: Unlike Anything I’ve Ever Seen
Monday Night Raw Date: August 23, 2004
Location: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
Hey it’s another request that I’m finally getting to. This is a fairly big week as Randy Orton was thrown out of Evolution last week and it’s time to hear not only why (shouldn’t be that complicated) but what happens next. On top of that we have Kane and Lita getting married in another step in a bizarre story. Let’s get to it.
We open with a quick recap of Orton being thrown out of Evolution.
Opening sequence. I miss Across the Nation as the theme song.
We start things off with the Raw Diva Search and they’re all in swimsuits to really hammer the point home. If nothing else this really shows the difference between ten years ago and what we see today as this would NEVER be allowed on Raw today. They get right to the point with Tracy (like most of their names matter) being eliminated in sixth place.
Now for tonight’s task: everyone will have two minutes to talk about how great the Coach is but Coach thinks five would be more appropriate…..but here’s the Rock to interrupt in a surprise. Rock gives Coach five seconds to get out and he barely gets out at four and a half. That leaves Rock and the five remaining Divas and Rock seems to approve. He also thinks the women are all wet (with perspiration) before saying that Lillian Garcia (looking even better than usual tonight) is a Raw Diva. She used to have a real job at the sperm bank but got fired for drinking on the job.
Rock asks which one is Carmella (while slipping in a line that he hasn’t been watching the show) because the rest of the girls hate her. Back in the day no one liked him either so she needs to stick to her guns here. Not that it matters what she thinks of course. Rock mocks a contest a few weeks back where the girls had to make ice cream cones because no one wants to see them do that. What Rock wants to see is these women eating pie.
This brings out Tajiri with some pies, which he just happened to have on hand. Now we have a table and it’s going to be a pie eating contest. Everyone has twenty seconds to eat pie in whatever way they want, but first Rock mocks some fans and asks Tajiri what is his favorite type of pie. Fan: “SUSHI!”
This just keeps going with Joy going first and insulting Carmella instead of eating. Amy goes second and Rock won’t even let her near a mic. Instead she slowly licks the pie out of the pan and keeps going after the clock runs out. Carmella rubs it on herself and teases a way too excited Tajiri. Maria eats her pie with her fingers and licks it a bit, leaving a drop on her nose for effect. Last up is Christy…..who sits on the pie. You can see the pain on Rock’s face as he goes through this.
In case this hasn’t gone on long enough, here are Coach with Raw Tag Team Champions La Resistance with promises of a Chinese beating (in honor of the Japanese Tajiri). The heels hit the ring and actually beat Rock down for a bit until Rhyno (Tajiri’s partner) comes out for the save. Coach challenges Rock and gets the usual to end this opening segment after an unthinkable TWENTY FOUR MINUTES. The only entertaining thing here was Rock riffing on how stupid it was and making it clear that he doesn’t actually watch Raw.
Kane, in his ring gear, arrives with his suit in a bag.
We recap Evolution turning on Randy Orton and throwing him off the team last week.
The remaining members of Evolution are in the back. Batista has delivered an ultimatum to Orton for later tonight.
Kane comes in to see a disgusted Lita and promises that nothing will ruin this wedding tonight. The wedding will be an all white affair to signify the purity of his child. He even has a dress for her.
Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Edge
Edge is defending and we have the first match starting about forty minutes into the show. Edge came back from injury a few months ago and it’s quite as popular as he was before he left. Jericho grabs a quickly broken hammerlock to start but is easily able to low bridge Edge to the floor. Back from a break with Edge chopping in the corner but eating a top rope elbow to the jaw for a near fall. A DDT gets the same for the champ but Jericho sidesteps the spear and grabs the Walls, only to have Edge reverse into a rollup to retain.
Not so fast though as the referee caught Jericho’s feet in the ropes, meaning we’re going to continue after a break. Back with Jericho missing a dropkick but hitting a running enziguri. The running bulldog looks to set up the Lionsault but Edge rolls away because he’s seen a Jericho match before. The Edge-O-Matic (I still love that move) gets two and sets up a high cross body with Jericho rolling through for a near fall of his own. Edge gets caught in the Walls he makes the rope for the quick break. Back up and Edge “accidentally” crotches Jericho and that’s a DQ with Edge hitting the spear just after the bell.
Rating: B. I was liking this one while it lasted but it was a storyline ending instead of anything conclusive. Edge would lose the title due to an injury (I’m shocked too) soon after this and would come back as a mega heel instead of the same bland face that he had been since coming back. Jericho on the other hand would continue to just float around until he would leave in about a year.
Here’s Evolution for their big address on the Orton issue. HHH says he doesn’t believe in destiny because every choice you make has a consequence. Orton was someone who was destined for greatness and chose to stand side by side with the greatest talent of all time. Then he chose to go on for himself instead of just softening Chris Benoit up like he was supposed to.
That sealed his fate because the World Title belongs to HHH and everyone knows it. Last week the confetti fell and it was just like sand in an hourglass because Orton’s time was up. The beating last week was just a warning though because Orton has his choice now. Orton can come out here and lay down to make HHH the champion that he’s supposed to be again. If Orton lets it go, Evolution will forget about him and let him live. There is no choice when it comes to the World Heavyweight Championship and it’s as simple as life and death.
This brings out Orton to Evolution music and a referee soon follows. Orton starts to hand over the title but pulls it back and spits in HHH’s face. A belt shot knocks HHH down and Orton bails before Flair and Batista and use his limbs as drumsticks. This story really should have turned Orton into one of the biggest stars in the company but instead HHH got the title back in less than three weeks, allegedly so there could be three face challengers for Taboo Tuesday. Seriously. That was the official justification HHH gave for wanting the title back so soon. Taboo Tuesday, which Orton headlined anyway.
Victoria is trying to get Eric Bischoff to call off the wedding but HHH interrupts and yells a lot. HHH gets a rematch for the title at Unforgiven. That’s what you get for beating Eugene at Summerslam.
William Regal vs. Ric Flair
This should be interesting. Speaking of Eugene, he’s in Regal’s corner here and this is fallout from Flair interfering in the HHH vs. Eugene match. Regal runs him over to start and it’s strange to see him as the (likely) stronger wrestler. Flair starts firing off some chops but gets uppercut and backdropped for his efforts. That means a Flair Flop but Ric is able to send Regal outside for more chops. Another backdrop on the floor has Flair in trouble and we take a break.
Back with Flair dropping back to back knees to the head for two. Regal fires off the uppercuts and forearms in the corner before slamming Flair off the top. Batista finally remembers he’s at ringside and hits Regal in the back to set up the Figure Four. Now it’s Eugene offering a distraction so Regal can turn the hold over. Batista goes after Eugene but here’s Benoit to chop Batista, allowing both guys to pull out brass knuckles. Regal is a bit quicker though and knocks Flair out for the pin and a pretty big upset.
Rating: C+. This was the kind of hard hitting match you would expect from these two, even though Flair was only doing signature stuff at this point. Regal always seemed like someone who might turn into a huge deal but he was happy to just be a cool midcarder who had almost unlimited respect.
We get a Smackdown Rebound, including JBL in a neck halo with his cowboy hat on top. Why this man isn’t in the Hall of Fame completely eludes me. We also saw Rey Mysterio coming out to save Eddie Guerrero but Kurt Angle destroyed Eddie’s low rider.
Coach shows us how to vote in the Diva Search.
Lita hates her wedding dress and breaks her mirror.
The ring has been transformed into a wedding venue and Kane is in an all white tuxedo. Naturally the ring bearer and flower girl are dwarfs, the former with paint under his eyes. Kane comes out with the biggest smile on his face…..until he sees Lita in a black dress. The minister says we have a special guest here and it’s someone very familiar to both the bride and groom.
Lita gets her hopes up but it’s Eric Bischoff, also in a white tux. Bischoff reads a passage from the Bible and even gives a brief prayer before the minister says this is clearly a very unique relationship. Kane has a video of their relationship, which is basically Lita being terrified when she finds out she’s pregnant and all the ensuing fallout.
That brings us to the vows, with Kane saying Lita is now his property. She will never know freedom again until the day he dies. On the other hand, Lita hates Kane more than life itself and he has no soul. She has no choice but to marry him but she will always love Matt Hardy. Well that’s quite the Edgey statement. All she can hope for is to see Kane suffer a horrible accident to free her from this nightmare. Kane: “That was lovely.”
We get to “speak now or forever hold your peace” and there’s no Matt. Instead here’s Trish Stratus in white lingerie (completely outclassing every one of the Diva Search contestants) to offer her services as Maid of Honor. Trish’s advice is for Lita to open her heart, just like she opened her legs.
The catfight is on for a bit until the minister gets things under control again. Cue Matt Hardy (with Lita doing a perfect damsel in distress smile) for the save from behind, only to have a wall of fire cut off the escape. A chokeslam off the stage and through a table destroys Matt. Lita is dragged back to the ring for the I Do and the forced kiss ends the show.
Overall Rating: C+. I’ve seen every episode of Raw ever and I don’t remember a single show that was all over the place like this one. From the ridiculously awful opening twenty five minutes (well as horrible as you can get with Maria, Christy and Carmella looking like that) to two good matches to the actually solid Orton segment to the so bizarre it’s great wedding (With Trish being a highlight. Just DANG.), this show somehow went from dreadful to one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen in a long time. Fix the opening segment and this could have been a classic but that was like a knife to the stomach.
Reviewing the Review: Monday Night Raw – August 1, 2016
I hadn’t planned for this to be a recurring feature but this week’s show seemed like it deserved a second look. Last week’s show was outstanding while this week’s show felt like any old episode and that’s not a good thing. I know things had to come back down to earth a little bit but there were some things here that really came off bad. Let’s get to it.
The show opened with a voiceover saying Last Week On Monday Night Raw. I know they do these almost every week but this made it feel more like a special feature instead of something to fill in time. They also kept it shorter and more to the point for a big improvement.
Sasha Banks (with the Women’s Title looking WAY too big) came out to open the show but was cut off by Charlotte (of course). They went back and forth a bit with the rematch being made, but Chris Jericho of all people interrupted. This turned into a back and forth between the Jericho and Sasha over which woman deserved to be champion more. The worst part about this was hearing Ric Flair’s name brought up over and over, making me think he’ll be back soon. You know, because last week’s title change was begging for Ric Flair to be at ringside.
Anyway Enzo Amore came out on his own to defend Sasha and hit on her as only Enzo can. The result was some actually funny comedy between Jericho and Enzo (I say actually because Jericho’s interactions with other big time comedy names often go badly) until Mick Foley came out to make it a mixed tag. The heels won with Charlotte pinning Sasha, which isn’t a good idea a week into her reign. Yeah it’s to set up the rematch but you couldn’t have Sasha get knocked out with Natural Selection on the floor to make it a countout? Also of note: Kevin Owens was on commentary here and didn’t like Enzo at all.
Braun Strowman squashed a jobber. These matches have gotten me more interested in Strowman than anything since his debut.
Mark Henry was given a US Title shot against Rusev later in the show. The match was exactly what you would expect from the two of them fighting with Rusev winning via the Accolade. There were two interesting parts here though. First of all, Lana was in her wedding dress and dear goodness that woman is gorgeous.
In the more interesting part though, Roman Reigns came out for the save post match and seemed to set up what seems like a feud against Rusev for the US Title. Punishment over the drug test aside, this is the kind of thing Reigns needs to do: fight in the midcard in a feud where people are going to cheer for him in a simple story so he can build more love from the fans. This is what he needed to do years ago to get himself over instead of getting one third of the Shield over but for some reason REIGNS MUST HAVE BEEN THE STAR AT WRESTLEMANIA XXXI NO MATTER IF HE WAS READY OR NOT.
Golden Truth seems to be breaking up over Pokemon Go. It’s not like Smackdown needs tag teams or anything. No instead let’s break them up for the sake of a lame comedy bit after spending months setting them up in the first place.
Now for the big speech of the night as Finn Balor came out for a chat and was cut off by Seth Rollins. Seth kept to the idea that he’s done everything Balor has done over the years but did it first. Balor talked about how there’s always someone talking down to him and everywhere he’s gone he’s taken their spot because he’s the better man before kicking Rollins out to the floor.
For some reason people have been saying Balor looked bad here but I liked the exchange. Balor definitely isn’t the most comfortable talker in the world but that’s where modern WWE gets in trouble: they seem to think that if everyone doesn’t fit their idea of what a big star is then that person has no value. Balor is going to get over because of his in ring ability, his look, his in ring work and his overall cool factor. But no, for some reason he’s doomed to never make it in the main event because he can’t stand in the ring and exchange with someone on the mic.
Look back at some of the biggest stars ever. How much did someone like Austin, Rock, Hogan or Sting get over based on their look and how you had to see what they were doing? Balor has the same appeal. There’s the leather jacket and the cool music and the posing and the Demon and all the other intangibles he brings to the act. No he isn’t the best talker in the world but what people don’t get is that he doesn’t need to be.
The same thing played a big role in bringing Reigns down: he was bad at talking in the middle of the ring but he didn’t need to be doing that in the first place. How over did Balor get in NXT while barely ever talking? The reaction to this seemed to be that Balor was stumbling over his words and having no business being there. I’m not sure what they were watching but I saw Balor looking just fine (different than excelling) in an area he really shouldn’t need to be great in.
Titus O’Neil beat Darren Young in a bad match. Afterwards they seemed to set up something more with Titus yelling at Bob Backlund and getting laid out by Young. I don’t want to see this continue but they have to fill those three hours somehow.
Now we get to the thing that actually made me want to do this again this week, though unfortunately I can’t take credit for pointing this out in the first place. Stephanie and Foley were backstage (They were on the show a lot more this week but it wasn’t annoying. Yet.) when Sheamus came in wanting to know why he didn’t get the US Title shot. Cesaro came in and asked the same thing. Foley said a lot of Cesaro’s issues are due to his Draft spot, which was lower due to that shoulder injury.
Here’s where we get to the big issue: Cesaro is drafted lower because he’s three months removed from a shoulder injury but less than half an hour earlier Rollins was talking about his near career ending knee injury that he returned from about a month ago. Rollins was the #1 pick in the Draft but that knee injury hasn’t been mentioned once by Stephanie or Foley or any other boss.
This is a great case of WWE picking and choosing their storylines and not paying attention to continuity. A simple “but he’s Seth Rollins and we believe how great he can be” from Stephanie would solve this but odds are we’re never going to hear about it because the writers either A, didn’t notice or B, think/have been told that it’s not important enough to mention. It’s inconsistency that should be solved so simply but instead it’s just left sitting there because Heaven forbid you close a small plot hole with a quick statement.
Oh and one more thing: Cesaro and Sheamus’ match isn’t for the #1 contendership or a future title shot. Well it kind of was but not directly. See, instead of the WINNER getting the prize, it was whoever would impress the bosses more. In other words: wrestling doesn’t matter because it’s all about making the bosses happy. I’ve never liked that idea and I was really hoping it would go away but that’s not the case just yet.
Nia Jax squashed another jobber. Same idea here as Strowman and the same positive result.
New Day beat Gallows and Anderson (which seems to be their official name) in less than ninety seconds to set up a post match beatdown. Big E. was crotched against the post to potentially injure him. I’m really not sure what the point is in having Gallows and Anderson lose so quickly is, unless their rematch will see them get serious and win the titles. Stupid again, but that’s WWE for you.
Cesaro and Sheamus had a good power brawl with Cesaro winning clean off the Neutralizer. I’ve seen these two fight before and they didn’t do anything we haven’t seen a dozen times but at least it was entertaining. Unfortunately this match further illustrated the problem with someone like Cesaro or Dolph Ziggler.
Yes, Cesaro has a lot of cool moves that are going to pop the crowd but he does them EVERY SINGLE MATCH. It’s kind of hard to get fired up over the same cool stuff week after week. They just stop having the same impact when they’re out there every single time but they have to do them to get the crowd going. Save that stuff for the bigger matches and find some basic stuff to get you through the regular matches.
Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater came to the ring to say they wanted jobs, Foley came out to make a match for said job and Mahal won in 14 seconds. Next.
Owens said he had Jericho’s back. Fine enough, especially if it leads to Kevin turning face.
Rollins beat Sami Zayn in a good enough main event. The idea here was to have Rollins beat someone similar to Finn with all the NXT experience to set up the Summerslam match and it worked just fine, though hearing the announcers brag about this being on Raw for the first time ever made me cringe.
The other reason I wanted to do this again was the closing segment, which I completely undersold in the live review. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar came out to do their usual speech with a focus on Randy Orton not being able to hit the RKO on Lesnar. Now anyone who has watched wrestling before knew what was coming here but it was still awesome to see Orton run through the crowd and lay Lesnar out with an RKO to end the show. I really liked this and it was pulled off perfectly.
Of course that’s assuming you don’t mind Raw and Smackdown already invading each other less than two weeks after the Draft. I really, really don’t need to see this already as it defeats the point of the Draft in the first place. If you want these shows to be separate then be separate. If you want them to be the same them let them be the same. There’s a very good chance that this is just because the match was announced before the Draft but I have a feeling that this is going to be the norm going forward.
Overall this show was up and down but the biggest issue was a lack of energy. Aside from the opener and one or two other things, most of the show felt like any given show that you might see in the middle of May instead of with just a few weeks to go before Summerslam. Hopefully they can make things better once they work the kinks of the Brand Split out but this was a letdown after last week’s great show.
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Monday Night Raw Date: August 1, 2016
Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
After last week’s well received show, it should be interesting to see where everything goes with the full time Monday Night Raw roster. Last week Finn Balor made his main roster debut and earned himself a shot in the first ever Universal Title match at the upcoming Summerslam. On top of that, Brock Lesnar is going to be making his first appearance since Wrestlemania. Let’s get to it.
We open with a “Last Week On Raw” video, which is a really good idea that I’d love to see become a regular feature, as long as they keep it short.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Sasha Banks to open things up and that belt looks ridiculous on her tiny waist. We have to wait for the YOU DESERVE IT chant to die down before Sasha can talk about herself and Bayley stealing the show last year over Summerslam weekend. That’s going to be the case again this year when she defends against Charlotte at Summerslam. Cue Charlotte who is walking much faster than usual.
That means we get the YOU TAPPED OUT chants before Sasha says she can’t put her finger on what’s different about Charlotte this week. Charlotte says it was a fluke because she was champion for over 300 days. Sasha thanks Charlotte would never have been champion without her dad and here’s…….Chris Jericho to interrupt? Jericho calls Charlotte royalty and thinks she’s done more than Flair ever did. Now we get to the important point: what makes Sasha his boss?
Jericho brings up the Snoop Dogg connection and calls Sasha a brat. Now it’s Enzo Amore coming out without Big Cass to kiss Sasha’s hand. Sasha doesn’t seem to mind the ensuing flirting but Charlotte has heard bad things about Enzo’s love life. This turns into a surreal scene of Jericho impersonating Cass and Sasha impersonating Enzo before it turns into Enzo saying Jericho is like a messed up iPhone.
Jericho calls Enzo a hip hop hobbit so the fans call Jericho a stupid idiot. Enzo talks about going back in time and warning Jericho to not buy that scarf but here’s Foley to cut them all off. Foley: “Enzo is a certified G and I’m a certified GM.” After a cheap plug for Holy Foley, Mick makes a mixed tag for right now.
Enzo Amore/Sasha Banks vs. Chris Jericho/Charlotte
To keep things odd, Kevin Owens is on commentary with Byron’s tie around his neck. The guys start with Enzo scoring off some armdrags before it’s off to Sasha for a quick rollup on Charlotte. Sasha’s chop hurts her own hand so she wristdrags Charlotte down instead. A double clothesline puts the bad people on the floor as Owens talks about wanting to knock Enzo out for interrupting him on Draft night. The double dive puts everyone down and we take a break.
Back with Jericho in control of Enzo until Amore gets two off a cross body and a faceplant to the knee. Jericho dropkicks him out of the air but bangs up his knee in the process, allowing the double tag to the women. Sasha kicks her in the face but here’s Dana Brooke for a distraction. Jericho offers another distraction, setting up Natural Selection for the pin at 9:58.
Rating: C-. I like the match being a very fresh mix but at the same time I REALLY don’t like the new champion getting pinned in her first match as champion. It weakens the new title reign, which is the last thing you want to do, especially when the champion is as on fire as Sasha is right now.
Post match Enzo takes a Codebreaker but Big Cass comes down for the save.
Braun Strowman vs. Evan Anderhold
When asked why he’s here, Evan (better known as Corey Hollis from NXT) says it’s because he gets $1000 and $5000 if he wins. Those numbers serve as great joke material for the announcers during Evan’s massacre, capped off by the reverse chokeslam for the pin at 59 seconds.
Stephanie and Mick talk about how awesome each others’ ideas have been when Mark Henry comes in. Henry thinks it’s time to reopen the Hall of Pain but Stephanie thinks he would be better in a mentorship role. All Mark needs is one more chance so Foley gives him a US Title shot against Rusev.
Golden Truth is still looking for Pokemon but Goldust thinks they should focus on their match instead.
Golden Truth vs. Shining Stars
Goldust and Primo start things off as Truth is still playing Pokemon Go on the apron. Graves mistakenly says Truth is playing inside the ring as Goldust gets in a powerslam to change control. Truth has apparently caught a Pokemon and misses a tag. On top of that he drops his phone and actually goes out to get it as Goldust is waiting for a tag. Epico grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 2:00. Cole: “Pokemon no for Golden Truth tonight.”
Truth finds another Pokemon post match.
Michael Cole brings out Finn Balor for a chat. Finn says he’s here to prove his draft status but Seth Rollins cuts him off. Seth tells us about Balor being a former NXT Champion, though he wasn’t the first NXT Champion because that was Rollins. Balor was also a first round pick but he wasn’t the #1 overall pick because that was Rollins too. Last week Balor pinned Roman Reigns, even though Rollins did the same thing in his first match back after a career threatening injury.
Balor is just like a bad Hollywood remake like the new Ghostbusters. The idea of Balor beating Seth for the title is like the Atlanta Braves winning the World Series. Balor says everywhere he’s gone, there has been someone like Seth, saying they’re the man until Balor comes in and takes that spot. They may have a lot of things in common, but at least Finn earned his spot in the title match instead of having it handed to him. The brawl is about to start but Balor easily kicks him out to the floor to send Seth running. Balor looked like an underdog here, though an underdog that belonged in this spot.
US Title: Mark Henry vs. Rusev
Rusev is defending and Lana is here in her wedding dress. Saxton: “What is she wearing?” Henry throws him around a few times to start and snapping his throat across the middle rope. Back from a break with Henry blocking the Accolade and kicking Henry in the face. Now the Accolade goes on and Henry taps at 6:35. Too much time spent during the break but this was every Henry vs. Rusev match you’ve ever seen.
Post match Rusev rips on the American Olympic teams for not having to face the superior Russian and Bulgarian athletes. This brings out Roman Reigns to a very distinct face pop. Rusev is chased off with a Superman Punch. That face pop has to be a big relief too, because if Reigns can’t get over by standing up for AMERICA, he might as well be running a doughnut shop.
Video on Nia Jax.
Darren Young vs. Titus O’Neil
Earlier today Titus asked the same question everyone has been asking: when was Darren great in the first place? Darren’s chops don’t have much effect and Titus hits a few backbreakers. The splash in the corner gets two and we hit the armbar. A slam gets two on Darren but he comes back with a kick to the face. Both finishers are broken up and Titus grabs a rollup with a handful of trunks for the pin at 3:58.
Rating: D-. Who in the world thought this was a good idea in any way? Neither guy is interesting and it was another spur of the moment heel turn that does nothing for either guy. The fact that it was a boring match because Titus has some of the worst offense in recent memory doesn’t help either.
Stephanie presents Foley with his own tablet when Sheamus comes in to complain about getting overlooked for that US Title shot. Cesaro cuts him off though and says the fans want to see him. Foley says the only reason Cesaro wasn’t drafted so highly was due to that shoulder. Sheamus on the other hand hasn’t had his head in the game since cashing in Money in the Bank. Tonight they’ll have a match and whoever impresses them the most (not whoever wins because that would make too much sense) gets a future title shot.
Backlund yells at Titus for cheating so O’Neil threatens to knock him out. Darren jumps Titus from behind and puts him down with one punch.
Nia Jax vs. Ariel Monroe
Ariel actually laughs at Nia to start and is pulled around the ring by her hair as a result. A fireman’s carry into a powerslam is enough to flatten Monroe at 1:12. That’s a much better finisher than the legdrop.
Post match Saxton asks Nia how it feels to be here so she runs Ariel over again. Nia: “Why don’t you ask her?”
Sami is ready to face Rollins tonight.
New Day vs. Gallows and Anderson
Non-title and Woods is banned from ringside due to drawing a banana out of a bag instead of one of the two oranges. The obvious joke is about to be made but New Day says that’s too serious. Big E. throws Anderson around to start but Karl gets in a cheap shot to take over. We get some Too Sweet but Big E. rolls Anderson up for the pin at 1:19.
Post match the brawl is on with Woods coming out, only to have New Day get destroyed and left laying. Big E. is crotched against the post to really hammer the point home.
Cesaro vs. Sheamus
They trade uppercuts to start with Sheamus getting the better of it. The fans don’t seem entertained though and it’s Cesaro coming back with more uppercuts. Cesaro sends him outside for the cannonball off the apron, only to have the bad shoulder go into the post. Back in and Sheamus hits the ten forearms to the chest, only to be deadlifted into a suplex because Cesaro is freakishly strong. The springboard corkscrew uppercut sets up the Neutralizer to put Sheamus away at 5:58.
Rating: C. How many times do we need to see these two fight each other? Cesaro vs. the winner of Rusev vs. Reigns should be a fun power brawl either way they go, despite Cesaro having next to no chance against either of them. Sheamus really is in need of ANYTHING new at this point as he’s really just a guy in trunks with weird hair.
Cesaro and Sheamus are still brawling after a break, leaving Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal of all people to show up in the ring. Slater promises that 2MB is going to set Raw on fire but here’s Foley to interrupt. Tonight they’re going to have a match and the winner gets a job.
Jinder Mahal vs. Heath Slater
Mahal kicks him in the face for the pin at 14 seconds.
We look back at the mixed tag.
Jericho rants about how Enzo and Cass made fun of him earlier tonight and promises some revenge, you dig? He has someone in mind to watch his back and it’s…..Jimin Marvinluter, a Canadian shot put champion? Kevin Owens comes in to say he has Jericho’s back instead because Jimin Marvinluter isn’t a real person. Oh and Tom Phillips is a stupid idiot for saying his name isn’t Tim.
Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins
The big attraction here: they’ve never fought on Raw before, making this completely different than the match they had on Smackdown about six weeks ago. They’re quickly on the floor with Sami hitting his moonsault off the barricade to take over. Rollins sends him into the barricade and then into the corner with a hard whip. Sami is sent outside again and we take a break.
Back with Sami getting caught in the Buckle Bomb, followed by an enziguri to keep him in trouble. That’s not enough for the Pedigree though as Sami climbs the turnbuckle for the tornado DDT, only to have Seth bail to the floor to avoid the Helluva Kick. That’s fine with Sami who hits his flip dive to the floor instead. Back in and the Helluva Kick misses again, setting up the Pedigree for the pin at 11:40.
Rating: C+. I can’t emphasize enough how lame of a finisher the Pedigree is for Rollins. I know that’s become his thing now but it feels like they’re just doing it to set up a match with HHH that really doesn’t have the highest level of interest. It’s a good idea to have Rollins go over various NXT stars to get ready for Balor, but I’m really hoping it doesn’t end with Rollins going over Finn himself. We’ve been there and it’s just not that interesting.
Puff Daddy guest stars next week.
Here’s Paul Heyman to introduce Brock. At Summerslam, Brock is going to entertain the fans. Yes entertain, because his form of entertainment isn’t what you see promoted in WWE. Instead it’s something violent, which isn’t something he should be saying but he can because he’s standing next to Brock. Good point actually. That brings Heyman to Randy Orton, who has this great equalizer called the RKO. All Orton has to do is hit one RKO at Summerslam to shock the world, just like when Brock conquered the Streak at Wrestlemania XXX. Heyman: “If that still bothers you, GET OVER IT ALREADY!”
Paul’s advise for Orton is to take it from the wise old Jew (his words): Lesnar is going to drag him down to Suplex City. Maybe Orton can stay out of the hospital though and can fight again in 2016. Maybe he can do it if he can hit one RKO, but that’s never gonna…..and here’s Orton with an RKO to lay Lesnar out. Yes indeed they made it a whole ONE WEEK before a Smackdown wrestler was on Raw. Orton bails through the crowd to end the show. I’ll give them this: that one RKO with Lesnar being down for a few seconds is better than anything Ambrose got in his buildup.
Overall Rating: C-. So much for Raw being awesome. This was every episode of the show you’ve seen for years with a few more squashes thrown in. It wasn’t terrible by any stretch and the ending segment was a good idea but there was just so much stuff on here that felt like a nothing episode.
The opening gave me some hope that they really were mixing it up but then a match was lost due to Pokemon, Jinder Mahal was back, Rusev squashed Mark Henry AGAIN, a champion got pinned and we were supposed to be excited about a match taking place on this show for the first time ever. Oh and Smackdown invaded. Welcome to the new era.
Results
Charlotte/Chris Jericho b. Sasha Banks/Enzo Amore – Natural Selection to Banks
Braun Strowman b. Evan Anderhold – Reverse chokeslam
Shining Stars b. Golden Truth – Sunset flip to Goldust
Rusev b. Mark Henry – Accolade
New Day b. Anderson and Gallows – Rollup to Anderson
Cesaro b. Sheamus – Neutralizer
Jinder Mahal b. Heath Slater – Kick to the face
Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Pedigree
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Monday Night Raw – March 27, 1995: Your Wrestlemania Commercial
Monday Night Raw Date: March 27, 1995 Location: Memorial Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California Commentators: Jim Ross, Gorilla Monsoon
It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania and there’s only one match announced as we have Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart in an anything goes match. Other than that the hyped up matches were done on the Sunday Night Slam special so there’s a good chance tonight is just going to be one big Wrestlemania preview, which to be fair it probably should be. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is a recap of Bret vs. Owen but we’ll only start back in November 1994 when Bret cost Owen the WWF World Title.
Opening sequence.
JR and Gorilla are in some corner of the arena so yeah this is a special episode. How lucky we are.
We go to Vince McMahon and Todd Pettengill who promise to talk to almost everyone involved with Wrestlemania this year.
We recap Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel. They used to be friends but then Shawn bailed on their tag team, leaving Diesel to win the WWF World Title. Shawn is angry and won the Royal Rumble, earning himself a title shot.
Shawn makes Pamela Anderson miserable.
With Diesel gone, Shawn debuted Sid as his new bodyguard.
Clip of Shawn’s speech at the press conference.
Vince and Todd speculate that Shawn might win the title and plug an online chat.
Salt N Pepa are ready for Wrestlemania.
Vince and Todd talk about Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow.
Recap of Bigelow vs. Taylor. Bigelow shoved him at the Royal Rumble and a match was eventually made.
We hear from Taylor’s team of NFL stars.
Vince and Todd hype the match.
Fan Festival ad.
Bob Backlund promises to trigger a cascade of chemical reactions in Bret Hart’s mind.
Video on the Intercontinental Title, which Jeff Jarrett won at the Royal Rumble thanks to Razor Ramon’s knee injury. Ramon gets his rematch at Wrestlemania.
Chat about Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy.
Undertaker, with his eyes looking even freakier than usual, says Bundy’s time is up.
Bret tells Backlund to watch the no holds barred match so he’ll know what’s coming.
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart
No holds barred. Bret starts fast and chokes on the ropes a bit before getting two off a DDT. They head outside with Bret in full control before Owen is tossed back inside to keep up the beatdown. Owen finally takes over with a rake to the eyes and a headbutt between the legs to slow things down. Back to the floor with Bret being sent into the barricade a few times in a row as this is already better than almost anything that would happen at Wrestlemania.
We take a break and come back with Bret caught in a chinlock. Owen ties him in the Tree of Woe and exposes another buckle, leaving the referee to untie Bret. Monsoon is completely accurate as he says the referee isn’t supposed to do that. I know it sounds heelish but Gorilla is right there. Bret uses the break to send Owen face first into the exposed buckle for two, followed by a good looking piledriver for the same.
A quick poke to the eye breaks up the Sharpshooter (Gorilla: “Do what you can!”) and Bret goes chest first into the exposed buckle (of course). Owen goes up for the missile dropkick but dives into a slingshot into the steel (of course again), setting up the Sharpshooter to give Bret the win.
Rating: B-. Sweet goodness this needed to be on Wrestlemania instead of half of the drek we saw instead. These two had a much better rivalry than Bret vs. Backlund, which was long since done by this point. If nothing else it would keep Owen looking like a big deal and let Bret get his win back from last year.
Referee have to drag Bret off.
One more batch of interviews, this time from celebrities, fill in even more times.
Ted DiBiase and company are ready for Taylor and company.
One last BUY OUR SHOW speech finally wraps us up.
Overall Rating: D. Well that happened. This is almost literally a big commercial for Wrestlemania and that doesn’t make for an interesting show. The first half of this was a bunch of ads and while the match does help improve things a lot, it was necessary for the sake of the pay per view. I’ve seen worse though and somehow that’s an improvement.
Monday Night Raw – March 20, 1995: Sweet Goodness 1995 Was Bad
Monday Night Raw Date: March 20, 1995
Location: Memorial Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette
There are less than two weeks to go before Wrestlemania and that means it’s time to really crank up the football talk. Ignore the fact that it’s not the most exciting story in the world because there are CELEBRITIES involved and that makes up for any lack of interest, talent or care whatsoever. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Razor Ramon vs. Henry Godwinn
This is still during Henry’s heel push which went as far as the evil hog farmer character was going to take him. Razor starts in on the arm as we hear something about his contract issues. A wheelbarrow slam plants Razor and Cornette continues to amaze me by never being able to shut up. He goes from insulting Steve McMichael to talking about Ernie Ladd to hyping up the Tag Team Title match to doing color on this match in the span of two minutes.
Henry chokes on the ropes a bit and we hit the neck crank as Cornette goes on a mini rant about Jim Ross reporting on everything. We take a break and come back with Razor scoring with some right hands. A bad looking middle rope bulldog (more a cross body to the back) gets two on Henry but here’s the Roadie for a distraction. The 1-2-3 Kid comes out to kick Roadie in the face and for some reason Henry is distracted as well, allowing Razor to hit the Edge for the pin.
Rating: D. This was too long with Godwinn not being anything worth watching other than a big strong man and Razor being way off his game for some reason. The interference was a good call but Razor and the Kid were really getting tiresome at this point as they were almost glued together at the hip.
Post match Razor is ticked off at Backlund getting a title shot on some upcoming Sunday night special. Razor wants to know what happens if Backlund wins the title and goes to Wrestlemania to defend against Bret so he basically promises to interfere in the match.
Just in case you have no idea what’s going on here, we see Backlund signing the contract last week.
Also on that Sunday night show, Lex Luger will face Tatanka in a cage match.
Jim Cornette leaves commentary to get ready for the Tag Team Title match.
Fan Festival ad.
Lawrence Taylor says he’s scared of snakes and alligators but he doesn’t see those things in Bigelow.
Yesterday on Action Zone, Bigelow shoulder blocked Doink like a football player.
Steve McMichael replaces Cornette on commentary.
King Kong Bundy vs. Raven Clarke/Adam Croomes
Bundy slams the jobbers together and the camera keeps cutting to the announcers instead. This just keeps going for awhile and an Avalanche ends Croomes.
Post destruction, here’s Kama to get in a brawl with McMichael.
Wrestlemania Report with a few nothing interviews that fill in some time.
Tag Team Titles; Smoking Gunns vs. Heavenly Bodies
The Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray and Tom Prichard, basically another attempt to recreate the Midnight Express) are challenging and have Cornette in their corner, leaving Vince alone on commentary. Billy has bad ribs coming in but starts with Tom anyway. Cornette yells at Del Ray for some reason, leaving Tom to get chopped by Bart.
Back to Billy for an armbar before Bart elbows Del Ray in the jaw. We take a break and come back with Tom holding Bart in a front facelock. Billy accidentally distracts the referee to break up a tag as this match just keeps going. A double clothesline drops Bart as the fans are trying to find ANYTHING to care about in this thing. In case the match wasn’t boring enough yet, Prichard puts on a reverse chinlock.
Del Ray misses a top rope splash but we need a double clothesline before the hot tag can bring in Billy. A modified Sidewinder looks to finish Tom but Del Ray comes in off the top and puts…..no one into a cover for some reason. Billy grabs a backslide for the pin to retain the titles.
Rating: D+. Technically the match was certainly acceptable but there’s just no interest in watching these teams fight. Neither team has a personality between them and it was clearly just a Rock N Roll Express vs. Midnight Express knockoff without anything that made those matches work. Well, save for Cornette of course.
We see clips from a charity auction last night with Undertaker signing autographs. That’s always weird to see.
Vince and Cornette preview the Sunday Night Slam (Sunday special) to end the show.
Actually not quite as Tatanka is ready for Luger in a cage next week to really end the show.
Overall Rating: D. Really not much to this one either as we’re heading straight for Wrestlemania with every single boring story they can cram in there along the way. The long tag match at the end didn’t help things either as it really didn’t set up the title defense at Wrestlemania. To be fair though that would imply something is more important than the football match and that’s just not true. There was very little sarcasm in that last sentence if that wasn’t clear.
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Monday Night Raw – March 13, 1995: Bret Hart Is Not A Racist
Monday Night Raw Date: March 13, 1995
Location: Memorial Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette
We’re crawling towards Wrestlemania and that means this is going to be NFL and Shawn Michaels heavy. On top of that we have a big match for tonight with Jerry Lawler facing Bret Hart all over again because these two have only had their great feud going for the better part of two years now. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Lawler vs. Hart, which started at King of the Ring 1993, then we jumped ahead about twenty months and Lawler accused Hart of being a racist with promises of proof coming tonight.
Opening sequence.
Headshrinkers vs. Blu Brothers
This isn’t even the match they had advertised in the opening video as the Headshrinkers are replacing 1-2-3 Kid/Bob Holly, the latter of whom wrestled on a dark match and the former of whom appeared later in the night. Odd indeed but I can’t imagine it was anything serious. Fatu and Jacob shove each other a bit to start and the twin makes the mistake of sending a Samoan into the buckle. It’s off to Sionne (Barbarian) to help on a double shoulder but it’s time to talk about clotheslines not being legal in the NFL.
Sionne gets knocked to the floor for a beating and the Blu’s tag, leaving Vince completely confused as to which is which. Back from a break with Sionne fighting out of a chinlock. A shoulder sends Eli outside and the twins switch. Not that it matters as they double team Sionne down to keep control. Sionne gets in a powerslam and the hot tag bring in Fatu to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s a double countout.
Rating: D. I’m a Headshrinkers fan but this was too long and boring. Holly and the Kid would have been a lot better here as it would have freshened up the styles a bit. You can only have power brawlers vs. power brawlers for so long and by the time you need a chinlock and a commercial, the match has probably gone on too long.
Lawrence Taylor says he’ll fight like crazed dogs.
We see some of the NFL plays that will be in Taylor’s corner. One of those players, Steve McMichael, is going to be here next week to see this Kama guy.
Bam Bam Bigelow and the Million Dollar Team are ready for Wrestlemania.
Former NFL player and wrestling legend Ernie Ladd offers his thoughts on the match, which he thinks will go to Bigelow due to Taylor going into this with too much emotion.
Barry Horowitz says he’s confident and has been talking to Razor Ramon about his match tonight.
Jeff Jarrett vs. Barry Horowitz
Non-title. Jarrett jumps him from behind because you need an advantage over Barry Horowitz. We get an awkward sequence in the corner until Barry grabs an armdrag into an armbar. A legdrop on the arm keeps Jeff in trouble as this is already more competitive than I was expecting. We get some bad news: the President of the San Francisco 49ers can’t call in to the show. Roadie’s save attempt fails and Barry gets in a high knee but hurts himself in the process. A quick Figure Four ends Horowitz.
Rating: C-. Much better than I was expecting here and it helped that Barry was actually building up to a moderate push and a win at Summerslam. Jarrett wasn’t interesting but that never stopped the company (or any company for that matter) from pushing him all over the place.
We look at Jerry Lawler landing on one foot to save himself from elimination in a battle royal, only to have Bret come out and eliminate him for real.
Bret promises to get rid of Lawler tonight. Not quite buddy, though this was as fired up as I’ve seen Bret in a long time.
It’s time for the Wrestlemania Report with the usual recaps and hyping up. The big stories are Salt N Pepa singing Taylor to the ring and the announcement of Owen Hart/??? vs. the Smoking Gunns for the Tag Team Titles. We also see Shawn hitting on Pamela Anderson, who clearly HATES this and doesn’t really try to hide it. Finally we see Men on a Mission turning heel in a turn that didn’t matter for months. This goes on for the better part of ten minutes.
Jerry Lawler vs. Bret Hart
Lawler brings out Japanese wrestler Bull Nakano to prove that Japan likes him better. Bret immediately punches him out to the floor before tying him in the Tree of Woe. Cue Bob Backlund as Bret sends Lawler into the buckle over and over. Now Hakushi and his manager Shinja come out to watch as Bret is sent into the steps. We take a break and come back with Lawler getting annoyed at the BURGER KING chants. A suplex drops Bret for no cover but the top rope fist goes awry, allowing Hart to take over. They head outside again with Nakano getting involved, causing Bret to get counted out because this referee is stupid.
Rating: C. Bret vs. Lawler is one of those matches that is going to work no matter what you have them doing because it’s such an easy story with the skilled technician vs. the dirty cheater who you want to see get beaten up. The Japanese stuff certainly was a story and I know they needed something to keep this going but it was still a bit weird.
Bret beats Lawler up post match.
Jeff Jarrett has had a contract drawn up to give Barry Horowitz a rematch for the Intercontinental Title next week but Backlund steals the contract and signs up instead because that’s how contracts work.
Overall Rating: D+. If you don’t like Wrestlemania, you’re going to HATE this show and almost everything about it. The Taylor vs. Bigelow stuff was clearly a spectacle but that doesn’t mean the build is anything remotely interesting. The Bret vs. Lawler stuff really felt like a way to pad out the show and it did help somewhat but this was still a rough show to sit through.
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Monday Night Raw – March 6, 1995: The First Of So Many
Monday Night Raw Date: March 6, 1995
Location: Macon Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
Attendance: 2,751
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette
We’ll jump back to 1995 and the build to the horrible Wrestlemania XI. Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble back in January but things aren’t over yet as he has to deal with the British Bulldog, who Shawn last eliminated to win the Wrestlemania title shot. Other than that we’re still setting up the real main event and it’s likely we’ll hear something about that here. Let’s get to it.
We open with clips of the Wrestlemania press conference which certainly doesn’t exist solely for the sake of sports reporters hearing from Lawrence Taylor.
Opening sequence.
Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog
Shawn has Sid in his corner. Smith shoulders him down a few times to start and an atomic drop (Cornette: “HE HAD PLANS TONIGHT!”) sends Shawn outside. Back in and Shawn gets caught in a headlock as they clearly have a lot of time to use here. Shawn reverses into a short armscissors but, after a commercial (making me think there wasn’t a lot missing during the break) with the hold still on, we get the same counter that Bulldog has always used as he muscles Shawn up into a powerbomb for the escape.
We hit a surfboard on Shawn before Bulldog backdrops him to the floor….but Sid catches him. That’s certainly guarding the body. The delayed vertical suplex gets two before Shawn sends him outside to possibly injure Bulldog’s knee. Back in and we hit the chinlock on Bulldog for a LONG time until a belly to back suplex breaks things up.
We take another break and come back with Shawn sending him into the corner, only to miss a charge. Bulldog crotches him on the top (I understand he had plans tonight) but goes flying through the ropes for one of the softest bumps you’ll see in a long time. Back in again and Shawn hits the superkick for the pin. More on that in a second.
Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that is much longer than good which tends to get confused from time to time. While it might not have been the best match (though it’s far from bad), this did a few things in one match and both of them helped Shawn as he was heading into the World Title match at Wrestlemania.
First of all, it gets rid of the Bulldog as an obstacle in Shawn’s way. While it’s not much, there’s no need to have Bulldog’s grudge hanging around after the Rumble. A clean(ish) pin for Shawn gets rid of that and lets him focus on Diesel and Diesel alone. The other is a big more historic.
That was one of the first times Shawn had won a big match with the superkick. Now instead of having to use that stupid teardrop suplex, Shawn can kick Diesel in the face to possibly win the title. That alone is the way to get someone ready for a major match and wound up being one of the most successful finishers of all time. No one knew it yet but they just witnessed history.
Long video on the Wrestlemania press conference with a bunch of bored reporters listening to Shawn and Diesel talk about their match before they hear from Taylor. After that eats up a bunch of time, we hear about all of the celebrities who will be around, headlined by Pamela Anderson.
Video on the Fan Festival, which is like the grandfather of Axxess.
Bob Backlund vs. Buck Quartermaine
Buck won’t shake hands to start so the announcers talk about all the NFL stars scheduled to be in Taylor’s corner at Wrestlemania. Backlund armdrags him down as Cornette wants Taylor to “strap a bucket of fried chicken around his back and ride a motorcycle across Ethiopia.” I could listen to that man all day.
As Backlund grabs a test of strength, Vince announces Backlund vs. Hart for Wrestlemania in an I Quit match. I love it when they just throw a match out there like that during another match. It doesn’t need to be some big segment because you can just do something like this to the same reaction. Buck actually drops him with a shoulder and gets two off a small package. Vince still thinks Buck might get the pin even after the hold has been broken. The Crossface Chickenwing puts Buck away with ease.
Rating: D-. Way longer than it needed to be here but again I really like the idea that they had a match going instead of stopping everything for the sake of announcing a match. Backlund was certainly winding down at this point and the Bret match at Wrestlemania would pretty much be it for him as a full time guy though he would be around for over another year.
Recap of Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler, who face off again next week. This time Lawler is calling Bret a racist for reasons.
Stephen Dunn vs. Duke Droese
Duke, the garbageman, starts working on Dunn’s arm as Lawler calls in to insult the Hart Family even more. Jerry promises proof that Bret is a racist as Dunn suplexes Duke for no cover. Vince finally hangs up on him as Dunn is actually still in control. Back up and Dunn charges into a boot in the corner, setting up a powerslam to give Droese the pin.
Rating: D-. How bad do you have to be to be the surviving member of Well Dunn? Droese is a great example of one of those characters that existed on a single note and nothing more. Why should I like or dislike him? He’s a garbageman. What makes him good or bad other than his rather generic actions? This happened way too often in the WWF at this point and it made for a bad period.
Dunn goes after Duke’s garbage can but there’s $100 inside.
An actor from NYPD Blue accuses Paul Bearer and Mr. Fuji of kidnapping/murdering Yokozuna. For reasons I don’t want to understand, both managers wind up in drag.
A 45 second highlight package takes us out.
Overall Rating: C-. This was basically Shawn vs. Bulldog and then whatever else they could get to fill in the rest of the hour. This was clearly not a good time for the company though as you had Shawn vs. Diesel and then a bunch of weak celebrities who weren’t going to do much for the audience. Bret vs. Lawler should be good though so at least there’s something to look forward to.
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Monday Night Raw – November 29, 1993: The Good Thing About The Kliq
Monday Night Raw Date: November 29, 1993
Location: Westchester County Civic Center, White Plains, New York Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan
We’re past Survivor Series and thankfully this was taped after Survivor Series so we don’t have some lame stand alone show to fill in time before the next taping. Now it’s that weird place where we need to start getting ready for the Royal Rumble but it’s still several weeks away so we can’t quite get there yet. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Steiner Brothers vs. Mike Khoury/Reno Riggins
Scott throws Mike around to start and gives him a dragon suplex of all things. Rick beats up Riggins a bit and it’s back to Scott for an armbar. The Steiner Screwdriver makes Heenan cringe (rightfully so) before the Frankensteiner puts Khoury away.
Rating: C. Any match that has the Screwdriver in it makes me smile, even if it probably broke half of Reno’s neck in the process. The Steiners were just such a dominant team and I’m surprised they didn’t get to hold the titles longer. That being said, they were always more of a WCW team than a WWF team but their run was always cool. They wouldn’t do much more but they would have several months to go in the company.
BUY THE REPLAY!
Jeff Jarrett can’t get a meeting at a talent agency. Is this going ANYWHERE anytime soon?
Razor Ramon vs. Diesel
Non-title. Diesel shoves him into the corner a few times to start as Heenan talks about Rio Rogers (a Dusty Rhodes knockoff). Some knees to the back have Razor in even more trouble and there’s the running crotch attack with Razor over the ropes. A side slam gets two and we hit the bearhug. This really does show you how much better Diesel got in a hurry as he’s gone from a boring match here to some good stuff with Razor the following year.
There’s the big boot (which made great contact) followed by Snake Eyes for a delayed cover. Diesel charges into a boot in the corner and Razor’s middle rope bulldog (formerly the Hall Buster in the AWA) gets two. The Razor’s Edge is loaded up but Shawn Michaels runs in for the DQ.
Rating: C. I know the Kliq gets a lot of flack but they really did have good matches against each other. I’m fairly sure this was the first time these two wrestled (certainly the first time on TV at least) and they had a pretty good power match with the screwy ending being necessary to protect both guys.
The 1-2-3 Kid saves Razor.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. John Crystal
Crystal actually gets in a few shots to start as Heenan makes fun of Gorilla Monsoon. A hard clothesline stops that offense and it’s time for a neck crank. Bigelow slams him and demands Doink get out here. An enziguri finishes Crystal with ease.
Rating: D. Bigelow was kind of a weird fit at this point as he was being treated as a bigger star than he used to be but wasn’t really doing anything. Somehow this would result in a Wrestlemania main event about a year and a half later because wrestling really is funny that way. Not bad so soon after the Four Doink match disaster.
On Wrestling Challenge, Santa Claus gave Doink a miniature clown (in a bag) named Dink. See there can’t be more than one Doink (because it would create chaos) so he was named Dink instead.
Vince is in the ring to present the Superstar of the Year Award. In November? Anyway Vince brings out Lex Luger as the runner up, which is rather impressive considering he didn’t really do anything all year. Luger thanks everyone who voted for him and congratulates the winner for everything he’s accomplished. With that he brings out Bret Hart as Heenan thinks he’s in line for the REAL trophy next year. Bret is honored to win and knows he has a lot of challenges left to achieve. The award is dedicated to everyone who has stood by him and this isn’t really going anywhere.
We see the end of the Hart Family vs. Shawn Michaels and his Knights with only Owen being eliminated. This would be the very early stages of Owen’s heel turn and amazing series against Bret.
Owen Hart vs. Chris Duffy
In a change of pace, Owen wears Bret glasses and gives them to a fan ala his brother. Owen dropkicks him down and hits a legdrop as we get a WE WANT BRET chant. This seems to get on Owen’s nerves as he backdrops Duffy for no cover. Duffy is sent to the floor and taken out with a plancha. Back in and a missile dropkick sets up the Sharpshooter to complete the squash.
Heenan can’t get an interview with Owen.
Scott Taylor vs. Ludvig Borga
That would be Scotty 2 Hotty. Taylor avoids an early elbow and has almost no effect off a dropkick. One heck of a clothesline turns Taylor inside out and Borga chokes him with one arm. Borga torture racks him for the fast submission.
The 1-2-3 Kid accepts a challenge to face Shawn next week.
Overall Rating: C-. Some better wrestling helps this one a lot though it might have more to do with less Quebecer singles matches. They’re certainly back to the stand alone/lower level shows at this point which makes every week a lot more hit or miss than the times where we’re building towards the big shows. You can also see the rise of the Kliq starting to take shape and that’s a mixed bag to say the least.
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