Monday Night Raw
Date: July 17, 1995
Location: Danville High School, Danville, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 2,700
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

It’s the last Raw before In Your House and the big story is still Sid, who may or may not be scared of Diesel. Other than that, there is a lot of focus on Jeff Jarrett around here, which can’t be the best idea. We might get something else added to the show this week, though the card seems pretty full. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

IRS says Shawn Michaels is going to learn what it’s like to pay the tax man.

Shawn Michaels doesn’t seem worried.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Yokozuna/Owen Hart vs. Gus Kantarrakis/Jim Dimitre

Yokozuna and Hart, with Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette, are actually defending here for some reason. Hart works on a wristlock to start and then flips out of Gus’ version. A clothesline and dropkick put Gus down and it’s off to Yokozuna for a wishbone. Hart trips Gus for the big leg from Yokozuna and the Sharpshooter finishes Jim at 2:57.

The In Your House Control Center runs down the card and focuses on the lumberjack match. The rest of the show gets some attention as well.

Jean-Pierre Lafitte vs. David Thornberg

Lafitte knocks him against the ropes to start and splashes him in the back. They head outside to keep up the beating, followed by a Cannonball for the pin at 2:31.

Fatu is back where he grew up and now he wants to make a difference. Sweet goodness what a lame gimmick. It’s a perfectly nice idea, but they couldn’t have been more ham handed with it if they tried.

For the third straight week, here is the With My Baby Tonight video.

Shawn Michaels vs. IRS

Ted DiBiase is here with IRS. Michaels, in the always awesome looking black trimmed with red, takes IRS down to start and works on the arm to send him outside. Back in and IRS bails to the floor again, with Michaels grabbing the tie. A headlock takeover lets Michaels grind away a bit, and it works so well that he does it a second time. IRS finally manages to send him over the top for a crash out to the floor and the pace slows down a bit. Sidenote: I know it happens a lot, but IRS is so drenched in sweat that I thought he was in a light blue shirt. My goodness man that’s insane.

Michaels’ comeback doesn’t last long as he misses an elbow, allowing IRS to grab a chinlock. We take a break and come back with the chinlock continuing, as it tends to do. Michaels fights up and slugs away but gets dropped with a clothesline. Back up and the superkick finishes for Michaels out of nowhere at 12:14.

Rating: C. It’s not a good sign when the part of the match that stands out the most is IRS’s sweating. As usual, IRS isn’t interesting in the slightest but he’s perfectly fine from a technical standpoint. That was the situation again here, with Michaels just shrugging off whatever was thrown at him and kicking IRS in the face for the pin.

Merchandise shill.

Isaac Yankem DDS, again with Jerry Lawler in his office, pulls out a child’s tooth, which is censored due to the pain involved.

Kama Mustafa vs. Billy Mack

I wonder if he’s related to Willie Mack. Mustafa, with Ted DiBiase, hammers away to start but spends too much time yelling at the crowd, allowing Mack to hit a missile dropkick. That’s it for the comeback, as Mustafa hits him in the face for the win at 2:02.

Vince McMahon brings in Diesel to introduce his lumberjacks. First though, Diesel insults Sid and suggests he’s a CHICKEN. He insists he’ll keep the title and brings out the midcarders extraordinaire as his lumberjacks. Some of them say what they have planned for Sid if he goes outside, including Shawn Michaels promising a little chin music (for some reason, I’ve remembered the way he said that line for thirty years). Sid comes out for the staredown but walks away. The lumberjacks and Diesel celebrate (for some reason) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. What was the big draw here? Michaels had a perfectly watchable yet uninteresting match and then….here are the midcarders who will be watching the main event of the pay per view? That’s about it, and I’m going to need more than that to make the show worth a watch.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 10, 1995
Location: Danville High School, Danville, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 2,700
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

We’re less than two weeks away from In Your House II and that means we are firmly in the Sid Show. Sid is on his way to challenging Diesel for the WWF Title again, this time in a lumberjack match. Other than that, Shawn Michaels is ready to go after Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett, who feels more than in over his head. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video recaps Sid vs. Diesel, which is somehow about to headline its third straight pay per view.

Sid is rather menacing.

Opening sequence.

Roadie vs. Jerry Flynn

Jeff Jarrett is here with Roadie. Flynn grabs an armdrag into an armbar to start before Flynn strikes away in the corner. An enziguri misses though and Roadie pulls him into a half crab. Roadie gets caught holding the ropes, so instead he settles for countering a hurricanrana into a powerbomb for the pin at 2:39.

Jeff Jarrett shows a rather large man around some country music offices but gets thrown out. This was stupid.

Now it’s off to Las Vegas, where Jarrett is with a rather flamboyant man and goes in to see Paul Anka.

Just like last week, here’s the With My Baby Tonight video. That’s four straight segments featuring Jarrett if you’re counting.

The Allied Powers are ready for Tatanka and Henry Godwinn.

Merchandise shill.

Savio Vega vs. Mike Khoury

Vega wins an early battle over arm control to start and gets in a slam. Back up and Vega hits a running corner clothesline, followed by some hard chops in the corner. A rollup (actually what Orange Cassidy would call the Mouse Trap) finishes for Vega at 1:47.

The WWF was at the Special Olympics. Still cool.

Here is Sid, with Ted DiBiase, for a chat. DiBiase insists that Sid is NOT a coward and we meet the lumberjacks (the midcard villains of course). Diesel is going to find out that he can’t run and hide, but a DIESEL chant cuts DiBiase off. Sid hits the catchphrase and we get an extreme closeup of his face (that is some serious nostril flaring).

We look at Barry Horowitz beating Skip over the weekend in one of the biggest upsets in company history.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Matt Hardy

Helmsley takes him down for a knee to the back as Vince talks about all of the fans comments on the “internet” after King Of The Ring. I’m sure they were entirely positive of course. A suplex drops Hardy again but he gets a boot up in the corner. Hardy misses a moonsault though and the Pedigree (good one too) finishes Hardy at 3:03.

Rating: C. The Pedigree alone makes this work, as Helmsley took his time with it and cinched it in much more than would become his norm. Other than that, it was just a squash with commentary ignoring the whole thing. That’s a running theme around this time and that’s not the easiest thing to sit through, but what else are you supposed to do?

In Your House Control Center so we run down the card and look at Mabel beating up Razor Ramon at King Of The Ring, setting up a tag match with Ramon and Savio Vega vs. Men On A Mission.

Allied Powers vs. Tatanka/Henry Godwinn

Ted DiBiase is here with the heels. They start fast and Tatanka gives Luger a DDT to put him in early trouble. The stomping ensues before it’s off to Godwinn for a slam out of the corner. Godwinn chokes away and we take a break. We come back with Luger still in trouble and getting elbowed in the face for two.

The big elbow misses for Godwinn though and Luger makes the tag as Vince goes on about how safe the WWF is compared to wrestling in general. Everything breaks down and Godwinn trips Bulldog from the floor to cut off the comeback. Back up and Bulldog hits a quick powerslam for the pin out of nowhere at 9:19.

Rating: C-. Nothing to see here again, but what were you expecting? The Bulldog can work with anyone and Tatanka isn’t bad, but the other two are just big guys who work power styles. That doesn’t make for an interesting match and yet somehow it would have been worse under the original plan of King Kong Bundy rather than Godwinn.

We get a quick Isaac Yankem DDS vignette, as Jerry Lawler talks about Bret Hart while Yankem does some painful dental work to end the show. This stuff scared the heck out of me when I was a kid. Today it still scares me, but for entirely different reasons.

Overall Rating: D+. Bleh. I’m very quickly remembering why this time was sup bad and it’s not getting any better every week. At the end of the day, the wrestling is bad, the characters are worse, and the stories just aren’t there. While there are a few interesting people on the show, they’re not around enough to carry things and the lack of depth is showing very badly.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 3, 1995
Location: Danville High School, Danville, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 2,700
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

So we’re a few weeks removed from the Royal Rumble and unfortunately that means we are dealing with the reign of King Mabel. There is pretty much no good way around that, but thankfully we do have another In Your House coming up at the end of the month. That gives them something to build towards so it shouldn’t be nearly such aimless TV. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at last week’s Jeff Jarrett vs. Savio Vega match, with Shawn Michaels running in for the save. Tonight, we see what happened after the show went off the air.

Sid is ready for Bam Bam Bigelow.

Bam Bam Bigelow is ready to set Sid on fire. One of these promos is more intense than the other.

Opening sequence.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Mike Bell

Kid backs him into the corner to start and Bell is already accusing him of a hair pull. That doesn’t work for Kid, who hits a crossbody but bangs up his neck. Bell sends him into the corner and grabs a chinlock, which apparently hurts the neck more than the chin. Back up and Kid knocks him to the floor for a running seated senton off the apron. A spinwheel kick and an Oklahoma roll finish for the Kid at 3:02.

Rating: C. Watching these Kid matches back is making me think more of Rey Mysterio, who was much smaller than just about everyone else but learned to wrestle a unique style. It worked well here for the Kid, with the martial arts making for a good offense. Not much of a match of course, but more proof that the Kid was really good at what he did.

We go to the In Your House Control Center, headlined by Sid challenging Diesel for the WWF Title in a lumberjack match. We even hear the lumberjacks! Moving on, we get a clip from after last week’s Raw, with Jeff Jarrett saying he wanted to face Shawn Michaels, who easily beat up Jarrett and the Roadie. This set up Michaels getting an Intercontinental Title shot at the pay per view. The rest of the card gets a quick look.

We get Jeff Jarrett’s music video for With My Babe Tonight, which is absolutely on my wrestling playlist.

Bob Holly vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Brawler actually knocks him down to start but gets caught in a quick wristlock. Holly drop toeholds him into an armbar, followed by a dropkick. The high crossbody finishes Brawler at 2:53. Not much here.

Next week: Allied Powers vs. King Kong Bundy/Tatanka. Is that an advertisement or a warning?

We look at Adam Bomb and Henry Godwinn brawling to a double countout but Bomb got slopped anyway.

Henry Godwinn vs. Barry Horowitz

They’re bringing out the quality jobbers here. Godwinn powers him up against the ropes to start and chokes a lot, followed by an elbow for two. The middle rope elbow hits Horowitz as well but he avoids a charge into the corner. That doesn’t make much of a difference as the Slop Drop finishes for Godwinn at 2:59.

Merchandise shill.

Sid, with Ted DiBiase, comes out for the next match and DiBiase signals something to Henry Godwinn.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sid

Ted DiBiase is here with Sid. Godwinn blocks Bigelow’s entrance but security breaks it up. They take their time to start, with Sid waiting over a minute before driving him into the corner. Bigelow is right back with some running shoulders and Sid misses a charge. Sid knocks him off the top though and hammers away on the floor, followed by a kick to the head back inside.

Bigelow’s enziguri misses though and Sid boots him down as we take a break. We come back with Bigelow knocking him down but charging into a boot in the corner. The powerbomb is blocked though and Bigelow goes up, only for Godwinn to shove him off the top. Sid gets the pin at 9:02.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t the best idea, as the point of someone like Sid is to showcase the power. That doesn’t work against a monster like Bigelow and since Sid is rather one dimensional, it was only going to go so well. Throw in the lame ending and there really wasn’t much hope for this one.

Post match Sid gives Bigelow a powerbomb, which goes as well as you would expect.

The WWF was at the Special Olympics. Nothing wrong with that.

Waylon Mercy vs. Jeff Hardy

This is Mercy’s Raw debut and he shakes Hardy’s hand, then mauls him at the bell. An overhead belly to belly and faceplant have Hardy in trouble to start. Hardy is sent hard into the corner as we’re told that Henry Godwinn is taking Bundy place in next week’s tag match, which is an improvement…I think? A sleeper finishes Hardy at 2:58. It didn’t help that they were both wearing white, making it look like a couple of house painters got in a fight.

Earlier today, Jerry Lawler went to the dentist and threatened a kid with his personal dentist beating up Bret Hart. Dang I hope that kid is a wrestling fan, because otherwise that’s the weirdest thing he’s ever seen. Almost as weird as the man who would become Kane with curly blond hair.

We run down next week’s card and look at Sid vs. Blgelow again to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s rarely a good sign when the most interesting thing is a future legend makes a cameo, but that’s about all you had here. It’s a really dark time for the company as we’re in one of their worst years ever, but even worse is that it’s the worst time of that year. Just nothing to see here, and that isn’t going to change for the time being.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 14, 2025
Location: BJCC, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We’re finally out of Atlanta after a weekend of shows in the city. The big story is Seth Rollins, whose knee seemed to be really badly banged up during Saturday Night’s Main Event. There is a good chance we’ll find out something about his status tonight. In addition, there is a fight person gauntlet match to crown Gunther’s next challenger. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with long recaps of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution.

Here is Naomi to get things going after cashing in her briefcase to steal the Women’s Title at Evolution. She told everyone to not guess her next move because no one knew what she would do. Now she is the new champion and she has left Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill in the dust. It was a plan months in the making and look where she is now. Anyone who is wanting to come for the title can proceed with caution and here is Rhea Ripley to interrupt.

She’s not happy with what Naomi did and Ripley doesn’t proceed with caution. Naomi interfered in her match so she is now on Ripley’s list. Cue Iyo Sky to interrupt, saying Ripley can wait her turn. Naomi says shed cash in to become champion and that’s what she did. Cue Adam Pearce to say he doesn’t want any violence. He congratulates Naomi on here win and makes the triple threat for the title at Summerslam. Makes sense.

We run down the card.

Judgment Day is polishing their belts but Dominik Mysterio is worried about AJ Styles stalking him. Finn Balor isn’t worried but thinks Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez could use some help against the Kabuki Warriors. Balor thinks Mysterio should accompany them so it seems to be all ok.

Judgment Day vs. Kabuki Warriors

Non-title and Dominik Mysterio is here with Judgment Day. Asuka chokes Rodriguez to start but gets taken into the corner for the tag off to Perez. That’s fine with Asuka, who fires off some kicks to put Perez in trouble. Sane comes in to strike away as well and everything breaks down. The Warriors get stereo submissions but Rodriguez makes the save.

Asuka kicks away at Rodriguez and knocks her out to the floor. Mysterio’s distraction doesn’t do much as Asuka posts Rodriguez anyway. Back in and Perez gets German suplexed, with the Warriors hitting the assisted Insane Elbow. Mysterio offers a distraction though and Perez steals the pin on Asuka at 10:18.

Rating: C+. This was a bit of a surprise but at least the champs got a nice win to make them feel more established. They have a long way to go and it’s not going to feel right as long as Liv Morgan is out but this is as good as we have for the moment. It helps that Perez and Rodriguez work well together though and the win is a good sign.

Paul Heyman and company aren’t going to talk about Seth Rollins’ health, as he has until June to cash in Money In The Bank. As for tonight, Bron Breakker is running the gauntlet to go to Summerslam and become World Heavyweight Champion.

Miz was at a celebrity golf tournament over the weekend where his partner kicked him in the face.

Lyra Valkyria wants to beat Bayley tonight, but Bayley comes in and says she needs to win. Maybe what’s best for Valkyria is to just stay out of her way.

Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

2/3 falls for the shot at Becky Lynch at Summerslam. Valkyria armdrags her down to start and Bayley misses a charge to the floor. Back in and Bayley grabs a quick rollup for the first fall at 1:27. Valkyria is stunned and we take an early break. We come back with Valkyria kicking her in the head and hitting a tornado DDT. A suplex puts Bayley down again and Valkyria stomps away in the corner.

Back up and Bayley whips her hard into the barricade and we slow down. Valkyria gets sent hard into the corner but comes back by sending her outside. Bayley gets in a belly to back suplex onto the apron though and the back is banged up even more. Back in and a spinning slam gives Bayley two as frustration is setting in. Bayley loads up la majistral but Valkyria stacks her up for the pin at 9:35.

A running knee drops Valkyria again though and we take another break. We come back with Bayley favoring her knee but managing a Stunner over the ropes. The Bayley To Belly is blocked and Valkyria goes up, only to dive into the Bayley To Belly for two. Valkyria catches her up top with something like a super snapmare, followed by a gutwrench powerbomb for two.

They go to the apron where Bayley hits a fisherman’s suplex. Back in and they trade cradles for two each before heading outside again. A sunset bomb sends Valkyria into the steps and the top rope elbow to the back gets two. The crossface goes on but Valkyria powers up and reverses into Nightwing for the pin at 19:58.

Rating: B. This got rolling by the end and it’s nice to see another good in-ring performance from Valkyria. She’s perfectly fine between the bells, but they might need to find a way to make her feel more serious. Maybe starting by dropping the bird stuff, as it doesn’t make her come off like a main eventer. For now though, good match and a very important win for Valkyria’s career.

Post match Becky Lynch comes out for the staredown with Valkyria.

We look at Stephanie Vaquer winning the Evolution battle royal.

Vaquer is excited about her win and ready to fight for the title at Clash In Paris, but Chelsea Green, with the Secret Hervice, comes in to say she should get the shot instead. Green mocks her nickname and says she’s off to face a Hall Of Famer.

Karrion Kross, with Scarlet, says your favorite bad guys are here to save the day. Sami Zayn isn’t here though, because Kross helped take him out. Kross thinks Zayn is hiding at home, where he needs to stay until he is ready to say Kross told the truth.

Chelsea Green vs. Nikki Bella

The Secret Hervice is here with Green. Bella strikes away to start and they go out to the floor, where Green takes over. Bella gets sent into the steps to keep her in trouble and we hit the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up and they both need a breather. Bella gets in an enziguri out of the corner for two but Green is back with a neckbreaker. The Unprettier is countered into a Bella Buster but Niven offers a distraction. They have a lot of trouble setting up the Rack Attack until Bella switches to the Rack Attack 2.0 (and that wasn’t great either) for the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C-. This was a rough one at times as Bella didn’t look like she was exactly on the same page here. The sequence at the end looked like Green had to walk her through the finishing move, which isn’t a great sign. Then again it very well may have been ring rust as Bella hasn’t had a singles match in a good while, but this wasn’t a great showing.

Post match the Hervice lays Bella out but Stephanie Vaquer runs in for the save.

New Day, with Grayson Waller, is in the third stage of grieving for the death of their title loss: barbecue. They offer Adam Pearce a pair of well done….toupees. Pearce says they’ll find the new #1 contenders next week so don’t flip your wigs (which Pearce does). Pearce goes over to the Judgment Day and says Dominik Mysterio is going to be reevaluated next week. If he’s cleared, he’ll be defending against AJ Styles at Summerslam. The team leaves and Styles is praying that Mysterio is cleared. Mysterio: “God please don’t let me be cleared.” Styles: “Don’t listen to him God!” This was hilarious.

Rusev says he’s better than Sheamus, who comes up from behind. Sheamus says he isn’t going to jump Rusev, but they’re going to have a rematch because Rusev cheated the first time.

Summerslam rundown.

We look at the setup of Randy Orton/Jelly Roll vs. Logan Paul/Drew McIntyre from Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Here is Gunther to brag about retiring Goldberg. He beat Goldberg up, blew him up and finished him off. Now Gunther wants to know who is next and promises an answer soon. We’ll find that out next in a gauntlet match, which Gunther will be watching from his suite…and here is Bron Breakker to interrupt.

Paul Heyman shakes Gunther’s hand and loads up the catchphrase but Gunther says he knows Heyman’s name and doesn’t want to hear it. Gunther and Breakker have a staredown and Heyman explains the gauntlet match, saying that Breakker isn’t someone as easy as Goldberg. You aren’t looking at just another contender, because he’s a STEINER. Breakker is going to win the title, with Gunther eventually walking away. This isn’t giving me confidence in Seth Rollins’ future.

Gauntlet Match

Five entrants for the title shot against Gunther at Summerslam with Bron Breakker in at #1 and Penta in at #2. They run the ropes to start and Breakker hits him with the hard clothesline, allowing Breakker to glare a bit. Back up and Penta sends him to the floor for the big running flip dive and we take a break.

We come back with Breakker having sent him into the steps and then dropping Penta onto the steps for the big crash. Back in and Breakker sends him flying off a suplex, with the kickout leaving Breakker a bit surprised. Penta fights back with a sling blade into the slingshot dropkick in the corner. The Backstabber out of the corner gets two and Penta tries a springboard, only to get speared out of the air for the fall at 9:47.

LA Knight is in at #3 (Gunther seems interested in his suite) and hammers away, followed by a neckbreaker. Knight starts in on the arm and the gorilla press doesn’t work as a result. A running clothesline sends Breakker to the floor and a dropkick through the ropes drops him again. They take turns sending each other into the announcers’ table before Breakker drops him back first onto the turnbuckle back inside.

We take another break and come back with Knight still in trouble with a waistlock keeping him down. Knight elbows his way to freedom and a double clothesline leaves both of them down again. The jumping top rope elbow connects for Knight and he strikes away, only to have the BFT broken up. A gutbuster sets up the Super Spear to give Breakker the pin at 19:58.

Jey Uso is in at #4 and knocks Knight out to the floor for a suicide dive and then does his entrance again as we take a break. We come back again with Breakker catching him on top but getting knocked down. Uso’s high crossbody connects and the running Umaga Attack gets two. Breakker is back up with the running super Frankensteiner for two and Breakker can’t believe the kickout. Uso fires off some superkicks and hits his own spear for two more. The Superfly Splash is loaded up but Bronson Reed breaks it up (Cole: “There are no disqualifications!” Since when?), meaning another Super Spear can finish Uso at 28:56.

CM Punk is in at #5 to complete the field and strikes away to start fast. We take another break and come back with Punk working on the arm and getting two off a Russian legsweep. Punk’s armbar is broken up though and Breakker knocks him into the corner, where he can ask Punk if it’s clobberin time. A catapult sends Punk throat first into the rope and the chinlock goes on. Punk fights up and Breakker cuts it off in a hurry, meaning it’s time to talk more trash.

Another super Frankensteiner connects but Punk rolls through into a sunset flip for two. They knock each other down for a double breather, with Punk fighting up to make the comeback. Punk goes up top but has to kick Reed away before dropping the top rope elbow for two. The Anaconda Vice goes on but Reed comes in for the save. Cue Jey Uso to cut Reed off and the Super Spear is countered into the GTS to give Punk the pin and the title at 41:20.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a showing from Breakker, who went 40+ minutes and looked like he had another half hour in him. That’s not something you see very often and it worked well here. Other than that, this felt like a near guaranteed win for Punk, who very well may be getting the title at Summerslam. Either way, it was a good match with some solid action, most of which is attributable to Breakker. They seem to know what they have with him and if he is brought along properly, the sky is the limit.

Post match Reed jumps Punk again so Uso comes in for the save. Breakker hits a spear to Uso and another one to Punk and the double Tsunami is loaded up. And then none of that matters because Roman Reigns is back. The Superman Punch drops Reed and Reigns beats up Breakker. Another Superman Punch hits Breakker and the spear drops Reed. Reigns and Punk stand tall to end the show. I’m guessing Reigns/Uso vs. Breakker/Reed for Summerslam?

Overall Rating: B. Now this is more like it from Raw, with two and a half hours of mostly good to better than good wrestling. More importantly though, this show went a long way towards setting up Summerslam, as the card is mostly together. I like this a good bit and the Bella/Green match was the only weak spot. This show did a great job of making Summerslam feel like a big deal, which is more than could be said for the build towards Evolution. Strong show this week, and hopefully they can keep it up for the next few weeks.

Results
Judgment Day b. Kabuki Warriors – Rollup to Asuka
Lyra Valkyria b. Bayley 2-1
Nikki Bella b. Chelsea Green – Rack Attack 2.0
CM Punk won a gauntlet match last eliminating Bron Breakker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 25, 1993
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

Things got intense last week, as Crush returned and attacked former friend Randy Savage, revealing that he is now in cahoots with Yokozuna and company. That should put Crush in a pretty big spot, as he has potential as an upper midcard villain. Survivor Series is starting to come together as well and we have about a month to go. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

We look back at the Randy Savage/Crush summit, with Crush attacking Savage, as helped by Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna.

Crush vs. Phil Apollo

Mr. Fuji is here with Crush as Heenan mocks Randy Savage for having a lacerated tongue. Crush knocks him down to start and hits a spinning kick to the chest. Some choking on the ropes has Apollo in more trouble and a gorilla press drop sets up the head vice to finish Apollo at 2:43. Total destruction, as it should have been.

Johnny Polo doesn’t think much of Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid, who he could beat with his arms behind his back.

Marty Jannetty vs. 1-2-3 Kid

We get a quick show of respect to start and they take their time to get going. The lockup goes nowhere so Jannetty takes him down into a front facelock. Back up and they trade hammerlocks before they run the ropes. Jannetty hiptosses him down but Kid kicks him off and they nip up for a double standoff.

A victory roll gives the Kid two and a jumping spin kick to the face gets the same. The Kid’s hurricanrana is countered into a short powerbomb as Johnny Polo comes out to watch. We take a break and come back with Kid hitting his rapid fire legdrops. A Swanton Bomb misses and Jannetty hits a quick faceplant for two.

Polo trips the Kid down and Jannetty protests, though he does cover Kid for two anyway. Jannetty works on the arm but Kid grabs a bridging German suplex for two. The referee gets bumped and Jannetty is sent outside, where Polo shoves him out of the way of a running flip dive. That’s enough for the referee to get up and give us the double countout at 15:39.

Rating: B-. I don’t think it’s much of a surprise to see these two have a good match, as they’re both more than talented enough to make that work. The ending felt like a way to protect them both, but the more Johnny Polo, the more entertaining things could get. Solid stuff here, with the extra time letting it come together a bit.

Post match Jannetty and the Kid beat Polo up.

Jeff Jarrett is at Buddy Lee Attractions, a talent agency in Nashville, but doesn’t think much of Lee. Jarrett is going to prove his greatness to people like the Undertaker and Mr. Perfect. Then he’s going to take the country music world by storm. Yep, these things are already feeling dumb.

Ludwig Borga vs. Mike Bucci

Borga hammers away to start and gives him something of a faceplant. A suplex and elbow drop keep Bucci down and Borga hammers him in the ribs. The torture rack finishes Bucci at 3:44.

Rating: C-. Borga was a fine heel who could do some impressive enough power moves, but…Finland? Of all the places to be mad at America, they picked Finland? It’s just such a weird way to go and probably played a big role in Borga not getting over. Putting him against Tatanka isn’t a bad idea, but dang he’s just not that interesting thus far.

Post match Borga says he’s going to end Tatanka’s undefeated streak and the American dream.

Men On A Mission vs. Todd Matta/Steve Greenman

Oscar is here with Men On A Mission. Greenman wants Mo to bring it to start and sends him into the corner. That doesn’t get Greenman very far as Mo runs him over and hands it off to Mabel. There’s a slam to put Greenman down again and the Men start making the fast(ish) tags. Mabel drop toeholds Matta down and Mo comes in for a splash. The big legdrop hits Matta and Mabel stands on the back of his head. Mo’s chinlock doesn’t last long and Mable hits a running clothesline for the pin at 5:34.

Rating: D. And there’s the problem: Men On A Mission were not good at the wrestling part of being wrestlers. They were big, they were loud, and I guess they were entertaining with the rap stuff, but then the bell rang and it all fell apart. This was a rather awful performance and shows you why the team didn’t exactly click outside of children.

We get the Survivor Series Report, with the Four Doinks vs. Bam Bam Bigelow and company, plus team Razor Ramon vs. team IRS added.

Diesel vs. Dan Dubiel

Diesel starts fast with the knees to the ribs in the corner and then grinds away on a neck crank. Some heavy forearms and a backbreaker keep Dubiel in trouble. A big boot and a hard right hand finish him off at 4:02.

Rating: C-. Well, it was better than the Men On A Mission match. Diesel wrestled a pretty slow style here, which was ok, but having him on his own only gets him so far. He needs Michaels there to draw the interest, because otherwise he’s just kind of a big, slow paced monster and that doesn’t have the best shelf life.

Here’s a preview for next week’s show to wrap us up.

Overall Rating: C-. Definitely not one of their better efforts here, with only the opener being worth anything. The good thing is that match took up a lot of time so the show could have been worse, but those last two matches sucked the life out of the place. You can’t do that very often, so hopefully things pick up as they get closer to Survivor Series.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 18, 1993
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, Randy Savage

The big deal this week is the Randy Savage/Crush summit, as the two of them have apparently been having some issues. This week they get to talk everything out, which I’m sure won’t go badly at all. We also have a new Intercontinental Champion in Razor Ramon, plus some issues between Ludwig Borga and Lex Luger. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the Savage/Crush summit and recaps last week’s major stories, calling them summits as well. I sense a theme emerging.

Opening sequence.

Steiner Brothers vs. Corey Student/Tony DeVito

Scott and DeVito start things off with Scott snapping off a dragon suplex. Student comes in and gets clotheslined down, followed by the Steiner Screwdriver, which has commentary freaking out. A tilt-a-whirl slam sets up the Steiner Bulldog for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: C+. The match had the Screwdriver and that alone is going to make it worth a look. The Steiners were still one of the best teams around and getting to see them smash people was always fun. Throw in quite the collection of bumps, including the one off the Screwdriver, and this was a guaranteed success.

Commentary talks about Shawn Michaels’ suspension and you can call in (for 99 cents) to vote on whether he should be brought back. Diesel and Mr. Perfect argue either side.

Video on Yokozuna, stylized as an old Godzilla movie.

IRS vs. Scott Taylor

IRS starts fast with a suplex and an elbow to the face to drop Taylor again. Taylor gets two off a sunset flip but IRS is right back with another suplex. We hit the chinlock as the fans start up their IRWIN chants. The abdominal stretch doesn’t last long so it’s the Write Off to pin Taylor at 3:31.

Rating: C-. Nothing to see here, but what else were you expecting? IRS has always been someone who can have a competent match, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be the most entertaining. You can only get so much out of a guy whose offense is built around an abdominal stretch and a running clothesline, which was on display here.

Jeff Jarrett is in Nashville at the Country Music Hall Of Fame where he talks about being born into a wrestling family. He’s coming to the WWF to use it as a stepping stone to the country music injury. We get two spellings of his name, which Jarrett likes to do.

Tatanka vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

We see a quick clip of Tatanka running into Ludwig Borga for a mini argument over the weekend. Tatanka works on the arm to start as Savage says he doesn’t want his friendship with Crush to wind up like his friendship with Hulk Hogan. Savage goes into a rant about how Hogan is a primadonna and a backstabber who thinks he’s the greatest thing walking the face of the earth. Well that went hard fast. Sharpe fights back and sends him into the buckle, which sends Tatanka onto the war path. Some chops to the head set up the Papoose To Go to give Tatanka the pin at 3:02.

Rating: C. Again, there is only so much you can get out of a match like this, even with an established jobber like Sharpe. That being said, the Savage rant on Hogan was by far the most interesting thing here, as those two felt like they were about to explode at any time. With Hogan being gone from the company, things could be more open, which is certainly what Savage did here.

Survivor Series Report. My goodness I still remember that building skeleton theme from when I was a kid. Joe Fowler recaps the idea of Survivor Series and runs down the double main event: the All Americans vs. the Foreign Fanatics and the Hart Family vs. Jerry Lawler and three mystery knights.

Crush arrives and talks to Bobby Heenan.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Dennis Diamond

Diamond looks like an average guy off the street. Bigelow throws him out of the corner to start as Heenan rants about how Savage needs to beg Crush for forgiveness. Savage still has no idea what he did wrong as Diamond gets dropped with a suplex. A jumping enziguri drops Diamond and a slingshot splash finishes him off at 3:01.

Rating: C-. Now this is more the kind of show that makes Raw feel all the less interesting, as you have a bunch of short, nothing matches. Bigelow mauled him here and there was only so much to get out of it. The match wasn’t that long, but Bigelow beating people up while commentary talks about the show’s big story is only going to get you so far.

Diesel begs fans to call and vote to have Shawn Michaels brought back, though he seems to get the phone number wrong.

Here is Bobby Heenan in the ring for the Randy Savage/Crush summit and Crush has Mr. Fuji with him. Crush talks about how he and Savage (still on commentary) were best friends and Crush would listen to everything he said. Then Crush became Savage’s superior and people like Heenan and Fuji have shown him the light. Crush tried to face Yokozuna with a bad back and Savage didn’t help him from the Banzai Drops.

Crush’s career could have been ruined and that’s what Savage wanted. Savage called him….to see how BAD he was doing! Fuji owns the hotel in Crush’s backyard and his word is gold. Savage needs to stay out of his life and out of his way, which is enough for Savage to get in the ring. Savage calls Heenan and Fuji a couple of goofs and wants to talk to Crush man to man. If Savage is wrong, he’ll absolutely admit it, but he wants to talk to Crush one on one.

Savage offers a handshake but Crush isn’t sure. Heenan tries to say Savage is tricking him but Crush shoves him away. We do get a handshake and Savage holds the ropes open for Crush, who goes outside with Savage…and then lays him out. The huge beatdown is on, with Savage being dropped onto the barricade. Cue Yokozuna and Jim Cornette, with Crush bowing to them. Yokozuna crushes Savage with a Banzai Drop and Savage is carried out. This got intense in a hurry and you could feel the fans not being happy with Crush, which should be a good sign for his future.

Post break we’re told Savage has a lacerated…tongue. That’s not quite the devastating injury.

36% of people want Shawn Michaels back.

A preview of next week’s show takes us out.

Overall Rating: C. In a similar situation to last week, this was all about one big thing and the rest of the show was just time around that segment. At the same time, stuff like the blatantly pathetic “CALL AND VOTE, FOR MONEY!” thing was annoying and none of the matches were worth a look. While it’s always cool to see Scott Steiner bust out the Screwdriver, it wasn’t enough to carry the other half hour of the show. The big segment was good though, and like a lot of the shows from this era, that was about enough to get by.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 11, 1993
Location: New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, Randy Savage

Last week saw Razor Ramon and Rick Martel as the final two entrants in a battle royal. This week, the two of them meet for the vacant Intercontinental Title, which is a pretty big deal to air on Raw. Other than that, the slow build towards the Survivor Series continues and there is work to be done. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video recaps the battle royal and previews the title match.

Opening sequence.

Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon vs. Rick Martel

For the vacant title. Martel poses a lot and gets a toothpick in his face. They fight over a hammerlock until Martel takes him down for the slaps to the back of the head. Martel does some jumping jacks before charging into the fall away slam (even Heenan saw that one coming). Back in and Martel gets in a shot of his own, only to be powered out to the apron. Ever the uncertain one, Ramon brings him right back in as the fans certainly approve.

The big driving shoulders have Martel in more trouble and Ramon grabs an armbar to crank away. Martel breaks out but misses a charge into the corner as we take a break. We come back with Martel sending him outside before whipping him into the corner a few times in a row. A rollup with feet on the ropes gives Martel two so he knees Ramon into the corner.

The Boston crab goes on, with Ramon going straight to the ropes. Martel’s belly to back suplex sets up the Boston crab again but Ramon gets out again. A dropkick doesn’t do much to Ramon but Martel breaks up the belly to back superplex. Ramon rolls through a high crossbody for two and the Razor’s Edge gives him the pin and the title at 10:43.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of a match where there was no doubt about the result, but rather the question of how we would get to Ramon winning the title. Ramon is someone who has felt like one of the bigger stars in the promotion since his debut last year so this is a big step up for him. Good match, with the only possible outcome.

Headshrinkers vs. Tommy Morrison/Sid Curtis

Afa is here with the Headshrinkers, who take their sweet time getting ready. Samu backdrops Morrison to start as commentary talks about the Rock N Roll Express. Fatu comes in for the superkick and sends Curtis outside. Back in and a double clothesline drops Curtis and they drag him over for the tag to Morrison. Fatu’s top rope splash finishes Morrison at 3:49.

Rating: C. Not much to see here, but my goodness it was bizarre to hear Heenan talking about the Rock N Roll Express. Other than that, it was your run of the mill squash and that’s all it needed to be. The Headshrinkers were a team who could always work, and it was nice to see them showing that again here.

Owen Hart vs. Scott King

Hart works on the arm to start and pulls King into the chinlock. A monkey flip and dropkick have King down and Hart wrenches his guts with a suplex. Hart drops a middle rope elbow and we’re back to the chinlock. Back up and a missile dropkick into a northern lights fisherman’s suplex finishes King at 3:38.

Rating: C. As weird as it was to see Hart in what appeared to be something like the Blue Blazer gear, it was fun to see him doing his thing. At the same time, I’m not sure how well the bridging northern lights suplex is going to be as a finisher. Much like Shawn Michaels, drop the suplex and go with the (missile drop) kick.

Vince McMahon brings out Ludwig Borga for a chat. Borga doesn’t like America and insults the fans, suggesting that most of them work at McDonalds. He doesn’t like Lex Luger, who is a loser like everyone here. Cue Luger, and you know he’s serious because he’s wearing his American flag pants. Luger doesn’t like what Borga has to say about American when he’s happy to get paid right here in America. Luger goes with the classic “love it or leave it” and offers to help Borga leave right now. Borga calls him a typical hot blooded American and walks away. Savage: “You gotta be ribbing!”.

Adam Bomb vs. Russ Greenberg

Bomb has Harvey Wippleman as his new manager. Greenberg is powered into the corner to start and a jumping dropkick sends him to the floor. The slingshot clothesline into the Atom Smasher finishes for Bomb at 2:34.

Commentary previews next week’s Randy Savage/Crush summit.

Rock N Roll Express vs. Duane Gill/Barry Hardy

The Express’ Smoky Mountain Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Hardy hits a running shoulder on Gibson to start, earning himself an enziguri. Everything breaks down and something like a powerbomb/clothesline combination drops Gill. It’s back to Gibson to work on Hardy’s knee before the rolling double fists drop Gill. The double dropkick finishes Hardy at 2:20. Not much to see here, but the Express could do this match in their sleep. That being said, it’s still bizarre to see them in the WWF, as it never felt right.

We look back at Razor Ramon winning the title.

The preview for next week’s show takes us out.

Overall Rating: C+. This was the opener and then everything else, which made for kind of a strange show. What mattered here was getting the title picture reset with Michaels gone, but the rest of the show was only so much to see. The next few weeks should be getting us ready for the Survivor Series, and that should be enough to carry things until they get to Boston.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 4, 1993
Location: New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

We’re finally coming out of the long valley that is the post Summerslam period and getting ready to start setting up the long build to Survivor Series. While there are only going to be a few matches on the card, there are going to be some main stories and side stories to go with them, meaning we have some work to do. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Tatanka, Adam Bomb, MVP, Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, 1-2-3 Kid, Diesel, Jacques, Pierre, Bam Bam Bigelow, IRS, Randy Savage, Giant Gonzalez, Rick Martel, Bastion Booger, Marty Jannetty, Owen Hart, Bob Backlund, Jimmy Snuka, Mabel

The final two will face each other one on one for the vacant Intercontinental Title (thanks to Shawn Michaels being suspended). Savage jumps Gonzalez from behind to start fast and a bunch of people toss Gonzalez out. We settle down to the usual brawling around the ropes and the other giants try to get rid of Savage. Diesel finally muscles Mabel out and Ramon tosses IRS as we start getting rid of some people.

The Kid is gone too and Diesel beats up Tatanka in the corner. Diesel switches over to Perfect and misses a charge, allowing Perfect to eliminate him. We take a break and come back with Backlund and Snuka being eliminated, with Perfect following them. Jannetty is out and Tatanka misses a charge to put himself out. Booger and Bigelow are both out and we take another break.

We come back again with Hart dropkicking MVP out but getting tossed as well. We’re down to Bomb, Jacques, Pierre, Martel, Savage and Ramon and a 4-2 match breaks out. The Quebecers double team Ramon and Bomb tries to get rid of Savage, only for Savage to switch places and knock him out.

The Quebecers toss Savage and we’re down to four. A triple dropkick misses though and Ramon gets to make the comeback. The numbers get the better of him again and Martel even gets in some jumping jacks. Ramon avoids a clothesline and Jacques is out, with Ramon dumping Pierre, leaving Martel and Ramon to win at 19:21.

Rating: C+. Ramon getting one of the spots was a smart way to go as he is the kind of star who could use a boost from being the Intercontinental Champion. At the same time you have Martel, who is an established veteran who might not be the biggest star anymore, but he can make Ramon look good next week. The rest of the match was ok enough, though getting down to two is always a weird way to go.

Post match Ramon and Martel have to be held back.

Heavenly Bodies vs. Mark Taylor/Scott Thomas

Jim Cornette is here with the Bodies. Pritchard goes after the rather muscular Taylor’s knee to start and it’s off to Del Ray. A gutwrench suplex connects as Heenan talks about a team coming on Superstars: the Rock N Roll Express. Apparently they really don’t like Cornette. Pritchard hits a middle rope spinebuster to Thomas (though Vince has no idea which is which) and a double suplex takes him down again. A DDT finishes for Del Ray at 3:38.

Rating: C. I never quite got the appeal of the Bodies but they were good enough as a fresh heel team. The tag division was in need of some new blood so bringing in a team from Smoky Mountain makes enough sense. Other than that, though, just a squash with the Bodies getting to look decent enough.

We recap Doink The Clown throwing confetti on Bam Bam Bigelow and water on Luna Vachon. A chase ensued but Bigelow tripped over a well placed wire.

Doink The Clown vs. Cory Student

Before the match, Doink teases throwing water on Heenan but it’s popcorn instead in the old Harlem Globetrotters bit. Doink starts with a dropkick and wrestles Student down. The Whoopee Cushion finishes Student at 1:53.

Post match Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon come out, with Bigelow destroying Doink’s wagon.

Heenan is annoyed at the popcorn as we preview next week’s show.

Overall Rating: C. This was all about the battle royal and that took up a good deal of the time and star power. That’s not the worst way to go as they had to take care of the title picture and it isn’t like there is a pay per view in just a few weeks. Survivor Series can come later, which is likely going to be taking place in the next few weeks. For now though, this was an acceptable show, even if it was rather top heavy.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 7, 2025
Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re coming up on a major weekend as we have both Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution coming up. While Saturday Night’s Main Event is mostly covered, there is still some space to fill on the other show, which is feeling more than a bit thrown together. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Various people came to work today.

Here are Seth Rollins and company to get things going. Bron Breakker talks about how Paul Heyman has a vision of Breakker as the top star of WWE for the next twenty years. Breakker has his own vision of WWE, and that is one without Sami Zayn. Breakker doesn’t like Zayn’s music, he doesn’t like how he looks and he doesn’t like anything about him. He doesn’t understand why people cheer for someone who looks like they never go to the gym or never play sports. If Zayn comes out here tonight, Breakker will take him apart. Rollins: “You good Breakker?”

The fans sing Zayn’s song as Bronson Reed takes the mic, saying that Breakker is a tough act to follow, but so is he. Reed is the one who gave Rollins six Tsunamis, which was enough to get him into this group. He’s ready to find a way to get rid of CM Punk. Paul Heyman says he’s not going to try to follow that promo but he knows that Roman Reigns isn’t brave enough to come back and fight them.

As for tonight, Seth Rollins is facing Penta, with Heyman insulting him in Spanish. Rollins to Reed: “Did you know he spoke Spanish?” Heyman has no idea what the hand signals mean, but after tonight, Penta won’t be able to do them anymore. Rollins hits the catchphrase and they’re out. Breakker was the highlight here, as he went off the hinges for a bit there.

We look at the Judgment Day winning the Tag Team Titles last week.

In the clubhouse, Roxanne Perez has set up a tribute to Liv Morgan, though Raquel Rodriguez reminds Perez that Morgan isn’t dead. Rodriguez wants to retain the titles and they’re off, with Dominik Mysterio being happy with the Get Well Soon Dominik cake….which is from AJ Styles. A cabinet moves and Styles is watching him, causing Dominik to grab his doctor’s note to chase after him. This was hilarious in multiple ways.

Roxanne Perez vs. Kairi Sane

Raquel Rodriguez is here with Sane. They run the ropes a bit to start with Perez grabbing a rollup for two. An exchange of rollups gets two each until Sane hits the Cutless. Sane knocks her to the floor and nails a big dive off the apron for a knockdown. Perez gets in a shot to the arm though and we take a break.

We come back with Sane striking away and hitting a neckbreaker. Perez gets in a running shot to the back of the neck though and adds a Lionsault for two. Something like Penta’s Sacrifice keeps Sane in trouble and a DDT on the arm makes it worse. The cartwheel knees to the head hit Sane but she knocks Perez off the top. A dive takes out Rodriguez and a backslide gives Sane the pin at 11:12.

Rating: B-. It’s good to see Sane get a win, though unfortunately it had to come at Perez’s expense. At the same time, Perez is freshly in the title scene thanks to Liv Morgan’s injury and it’s a bit annoying seeing her lose. At least it wasn’t in a tag match though, so it’s a bit more excusable.

Post match the beatdown is on but Asuka runs in for the save, including a bunch of strikes. Sane gives Perez the Insane Elbow. Odds are we have the Raw team for Evolution.

We look at Karrion Kross injuring Sami Zayn last week, resulting in him losing in the main event. Jey Uso made the save to prevent a further beating.

Zayn says he isn’t managing all of this and he would love to deal with his ribs or Kross or the revenge he’ll be getting on Kross, but he has to think about Bron Breakker. Zayn leaves, with Scarlett coming in…and saying she has nothing to say.

American Made is confused about El Grande Americano being in action tonight, with Brutus saying “but Chad Gable is hurt”, earning himself a smack in the head. Ivy Nile is put in the Evolution battle royal and the team leaves. Asuka and Kairi Sane come in to say they want in the Women’s Tag Team Title match and Adam Pearce makes it happen. I’ll take it over another qualifying match.

Nikki Bella didn’t expect to get in a fight with Liv Morgan, who then got hurt. She wants to be back in the ring so she’s in the battle royal.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn

Actually never mind as here is Karrion Kross to jump Zayn with a pipe. Post break Zayn insists that he can wrestle so here is Breakker, with Paul Heyman, to do the thing. Breakker drives him into the corner for the shoulders to the bad ribs before shouting that HE’S A BUM. The tape is ripped off the ribs and a gutbuster has Zayn in more trouble. Zayn tries to fight back and gets knocked out of the air for a nasty crash. The Super Spear hits on the floor, followed by another one for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: C. This was more a storyline advancement than a match, as Zayn was basically destroyed here. There is only so much he can do when he’s attacked before the match and then gets smashed by Breakker. Zayn is going to be back for revenge later on and that requires him to be knocked down on the way there.

New Day is in black with flowers because they are in mourning. They want their rematch for the Tag Team Titles but Adam Pearce isn’t sure. Becky Lynch comes in to show them support.

Here is Lynch to complain about having to defend her title in a triple threat. The odds are against her and that isn’t fair when she’s the biggest star in women’s history. She should get to pick her own opponent, like Tiffany Stratton and Iyo Sky got to do. Maybe she could pick a woman in the front row and beat her in about a second.

Cue Bayley to interrupt but Lyra Valkyria comes out before she can say a word. Valkyria says Lynch has completed her transformation into a total raving lunatic. She wants the title back but Bayley blames Valkyria for her loss a few weeks ago. Valkyria: “She’s really speaking to me!” Bayley rants about it a bit and Lynch is impressed.

Lynch mocks Bayley for finally having a backbone but Valkyria brings up that Lynch called her after attacking Bayley to take her place at Wrestlemania. Valkyria says Bayley finally admits she doesn’t care about friendship when it comes to being a champion, which makes Bayley just like Lynch.

On Sunday, she has to regain the title from two failures. Bayley talks about being there every step of the way for Valkyria, including when she raised Lynch’s hand like a b****. Valkyria swings but hits Lynch by mistake. The brawl is on and Bayley is sent outside, only for Valkyria to give them a Nightwing each. Valkyria mockingly raises Lynch’s hand again. Valkyria still feels in over her head, but she’s still giving it all she’s got and it’s far from a disaster.

We look at Rusev beating Sheamus last week.

Bron Breakker is annoyed that Karrion Kross helped him because it suggests he can’t do it himself. Seth Rollins says that’s nonsense but Paul Heyman comes in to say that Zayn is out of action indefinitely. Rollins wants Bronson Reed to do something similar to Jey Uso, which works for Reed.

Bronson Reed vs. Jey Uso

Paul Heyman is here with Reed. Uso gets knocked down fast to start and the big elbow crushes him again. A superkick gets Reed out of trouble though and the suicide dive sends him into the announcers’ table. Reed gets superkicked in a chair…which he throws at Uso for the DQ at 3:17.

Rating: C. Again there was only so much you can do here, as it was similar to the Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn match. Reed gets to go through Uso and there is a good chance of a big beatdown coming after the match. It’s been the divide and conquer night so far and that’s a story that is working rather well.

Post match Reed hits a pair of Tsunamis to leave Uso laying.

LA Knight wants revenge on Seth Rollins, who sent Bronson Reed after him but Knight was back in one week. This weekend, Knight will take him out at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Video on Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley, focusing on Ripley never being able to defeat her.

El Grande Americano vs. Dragon Lee

Americano snaps off an anklescissors to start but a headscissors does the same to put Americano down. Cole thinks Americano used to be Chad Gable, with Graves saying Cole probably thought Giant Machine was Andre and the Midnight Rider was Dusty Rhodes. They fight over wrist control as commentary agrees that the referee should be wearing a mask. Americano sticks the landing on a monkey flip but gets knocked to the floor as Cole makes claims about missing tattoos on Americano.

Lee gets pulled outside and sent into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. We come back with Lee getting two off a sitout powerbomb. Lee goes for the mask (rudo) before settling with a knee to the face. Lee’s slingshot kick to the mask rocks Americano again and a running basement dropkick gets two. Americano gets tied in the Tree Of Woe for the top rope double stomp and a near fall. Back up and Americano loads up the mask, setting up a running headbutt for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: B. I’m curious about where this is going, but there is something rather interesting about keeping the story going with Chad Gable out. There are a few ways that this could go and that’s a good sign for the story. Lee is still someone who can go out there and work with anyone, including a great luchador like Americano.

Paul Heyman comes in to see Penta, setting up an argument in Spanish. Bron Breakker comes in to say he doesn’t know what Penta said, but watch your tone. Breakker and Heyman hate those hand signals.

Video on Stephanie Vaquer.

Here is Gunther to say that Goldberg is afraid of him but cue Goldberg in a snazzy car to interrupt. Goldberg wants to fight right now and knocks the mic out of Gunther’s hand. The threat of a spear sends Gunther running. That’s probably better, as spearing someone wearing a big gold belt isn’t advised.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

Evolution rundown.

Penta vs. Seth Rollins

Penta wastes no time in superkicking him to the floor but the chop hits the post. Back in and Penta sends him into the corner but it’s too early for the slingshot dropkick. Instead Penta clotheslines him to the floor for the big flip dive. We take a break and come back with Rollins wiping his forehead with the tie from Penta’s mask. Penta fights out of a waistlock and hits the reverse Sling Blade, followed by a Backstabber for two.

Rollins is back with a fireman’s carry gutbuster into a frog splash for two of his own but Penta catches him on top. Penta’s running anklescissors brings Rollins back down and the Penta Driver gets two more. Rollins is able to hit a buckle bomb, only for Penta to snap back with the Canadian Destroyer for another near fall as Rollins grabs the rope. Back up and a low blow slows Penta down and the Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 13:35.

Rating: B. The important thing here is how smoothly Penta has been slotted into the upper midcard scene. No he isn’t winning here, but he also doesn’t feel like he is in over his head. That is quite the accomplishment for someone who debuted about six months ago and it shows how far talent can get you. The match was another good showing, with Penta making a top star like Rollins sweat.

Post match Rollins tells Heyman to call someone so Heyman summons Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. Here they come but cue LA Knight to give Rollins the BFT to end the show. Sidenote: Cole says Rollins and company had a clean sweep. That’s true, except it’s not.

Overall Rating: B. I can always go for a show with a story running throughout and that’s what we got here, as Rollins and company smashed through most of their competition. That makes Knight surviving at the end and getting to Rollins all the better, as it sets up their match on Saturday perfectly well. Other than that, we got a bit of a last minute push towards Revolution, which fits the fairly thrown together feeling the show has had. This was a good week for Raw as they accomplished quite a bit going into a very busy weekend.

Results
Kairi Sane b. Roxanne Perez – Backslide
Bron Breakker b. Sami Zayn – Super Spear
Jey Uso b. Bronson Reed via DQ when Reed used a chair
El Grande Americano b. Dragon Lee – Loaded running headbutt
Seth Rollins b. Penta – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: September 30, 1996
Location: Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 3,923
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Kevin Kelly

Things got stupid last week as Jim Ross brought back the fake Razor Ramon, which makes me wonder how long it’s going to be before we meet the fake Diesel. Thankfully we have something a bit more interesting, with Undertaker and Mankind set for a Buried Alive match next month. That should work well so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at the return of Razor Ramon.

Opening sequence.

Steve Austin vs. Jake Roberts

Jerry Lawler has a mini bottle of booze for Roberts as this is still going. Roberts drives him into the corner to start and then does it again, where Austin gets in a shot to the face. Austin’s headlock is countered with a shot to the face and he bails out to the floor. Back in and the threat of a DDT sends Austin right back to the floor, leaving Roberts to go after Lawler. Roberts cuts off a cheap shot from Austin, who takes over without much trouble back inside.

Austin slowly hammers away, including some driving shoulders in the corner. Roberts’ comeback is cut off rather quickly and a kick to the face gives Austin two. We take a break and come back with Roberts sending him into various buckles. Austin gets crotched on top but the DDT is blocked.

Austin gets two off a rollup with feet on the ropes, only for the DDT to get the same thanks to one of the same feet being on the ropes. Lawler takes some of the booze and spits it into Roberts’ face, which is enough for the Austin to hit the Stunner (minus the kick to the ribs) for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: C. My goodness how long is this Lawler vs. Roberts feud supposed to go? Roberts isn’t even talking to keep the feud going and Lawler already beat him once. It’s one of those feuds that just keeps going for whatever reason and that’s not a good sign. At least Austin got to win and feels important, even while being momentarily associated with this.

Post match Austin and Lawler beat on Roberts but Savio Vega runs in with a strap for the save.

Mankind is digging a grave as Paul Bearer approves.

Here is a ticked of Hunter Hearst Helmsley to call out Mr. Perfect for a fight. More on this later I guess.

Godwinns vs. Grimm Twins

The Twins are better known as the Harris Brothers and Hunter Hearst Helmsley is on commentary. Jason clotheslines Phineas down to start but Phineas is right back with a clothesline of his own. Jared comes in and gets shouldered by Henry and we go split screen with Mr. Perfect, who accepts the challenge. He’ll even give Helmsley a few weeks to get in shape. Jared is back with a quickly broken chinlock as Henry fights up and hits a clothesline. Phineas comes in and cleans house, including reversing a side slam into a Slop Drop for the pin at 4:24.

Rating: C. Pretty standard ordeal from the tag division at this point, with something else getting the focus while a boring match breaks out. There’s no reason to care about what the Godwinns are doing because they’re such one note characters that the interest doesn’t last long. Other than that, the Grimm Twins could have been find as a monster team, as it isn’t like they needed any kind of a gimmick to make their act work.

Remember how last week it was revealed that Jeff Jarrett didn’t sing over a year ago? It was really the Roadie singing and his name is Jesse Jammes. This is a thing that was seen as worthy of television time.

Razor Ramon vs. Savio Vega

Jim Ross explains that he never said Scott Hall would be here so he wasn’t lying. Gorilla Monsoon is on commentary to get on Ross for the whole thing as Ramon takes over in the corner. Ross and Monsoon get in an argument over whether this is really Razor Ramon when it’s not Scott Hall, with Ross saying he wasn’t going to bring Kevin Nash back either. Monsoon thinks it’s an embarrassment, sending Ross going into a rant about how embarrassing it was when he got fired.

Ramon works on the arm but Vega fights out of the armbar. A clothesline cuts him off as Dok Hendrix joins us, saying he’ll be trying to get an interview with Diesel. Ramon misses an elbow as Ross is still going on about being fired. Hendrix can’t find Diesel and we take a break. We come back with Ramon working on a chinlock as Ross WILL NOT SHUT UP about how great he is at his job. Apparently he is NOT responsible for stupid things like Doink, but here is Diesel to low bridge Vega to the floor for the DQ at 9:27.

Rating: D. So not only did they actually continue this story, but they actually gave it almost ten minutes of television time. That’s where the next big problem comes in, as Bognar is rather terrible in the ring. The real Ramon was talented and had a natural charisma to him that couldn’t be faked and that was obvious here, as the fake version was a disaster. And then fake Diesel, who at least looks a bit like the real thing (from behind at a distance if you squint), comes in for the DQ. Because they need to keep this story going as it’s just getting started you see.

Post match Ramon and Diesel wreck Vega. Ross: “Now the WWE knows how it feels to be embarrassed!” This is earning every single bit of its terrible reputation.

Undertaker promises to dig Mankind’s grave and bury him alive.

Faarooq and Sunny have split. Can he split from the gladiator gear too?

Jim Cornette/Vader vs. Jose Lothario/Shawn Michaels

Michaels and Vader start things off as Ross is still complaining about things with Diesel. Michaels slugs away but gets dropped with a single shot to the face. The running splash in the corner crushes Michaels as Lawler wants to beat on him…with a hammer. Well that’s violent. The powerbomb is countered with a hurricanrana and Michaels hammers away, setting up a top rope seated senton.

Vader sends him outside in a heap though and that means it’s time to pose. Back in and Vader runs him over a few times so it’s off to Cornette. That takes too long though and it’s off to Lothario, who drops Cornette with a single right hand. Vader comes in and goes after Lothario so Michaels comes back in to take over. The top rope elbow connects but Vader drops him again with a hard clothesline.

We take a break and come back with Vader thinking about the moonsault but trying the Vader Bomb instead, allowing Michaels to get his feet up. Michaels manages a slam but tries it again and goes down, allowing Vader to hit the powerbomb. The Vader Bomb gives Vader the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C+. Maybe it’s just how uninteresting or bad everything else has been, but I will absolutely take this for what it was worth. This was a simple story of the monster heel going after the champion and the managers being in there for their side feud. It’s not something embarrassing and it’s not something that makes me wonder why I’m wasting my time watching the whole thing. I’ll take that after everything else as as this is easily the best thing on the show.

Post match Vader goes after Michaels again but Sycho Sid runs in for the save. Goldust (facing Sid next week) runs in as well and it’s a big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event helped a bit but at the same time, this show was focused on one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen on Raw. As is often the case for this period, it’s Shawn Michaels and just about no one else, with the tease of Undertaker vs. Mankind in a big gimmick match only having so much steam. Just stop doing stupid stuff and be amazed at how much better these shows can be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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