Monday Night Raw
Date: July 31, 1995
Location: Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 4,181
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

We’re still on the way to Summerslam and unfortunately it seems that means King Mabel is coming after Diesel and the WWF Title. There is nothing good that can possibly come from that but it’s what we’re getting due to reasons of it’s 1995. Shawn Michaels continues to feel like the biggest star in the company, but Bret Hart got to remind us of how good he was last week. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Razor Ramon and Savio Vega getting ready to challenge for the Tag Team Titles.

King Mabel vs. John Barberry

Sir Mo is here too and I feel for the people who have to carry Mabel and the throne to the ring. Mabel runs him over to start as you would expect and the beating is on to start. They actually go outside with Barberry getting crushes again. Back in and Barberry avoids a legdrop and hits a dropkick but gets splashed in the corner. The belly to belly suplex finishes for Mabel at 3:13.

Rating: D+. Hey did you know that Mabel is really big? I’m not sure if they made that clear enough, because it’s all that Mabel had at this point. Literally, what else is there that is supposed to get my attention about him? This was another dull squash as we continue the horrible march towards Summerslam.

Post match Mabel wants to be the WWF Champion.

Fatu is still trying to make a difference.

We look back at Jerry Lawler and Shawn Michaels arguing last week.

Lawler and Michaels have a face to face meeting in the back, with Lawler saying fans want to see Sid beat Michaels up at Summerslam. Michaels thinks that sounds like a challenge and some poking ensues, seemingly setting up a match.

Goldust is still coming.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Bob Cook

Bigelow knocks Cook to the floor to start and sends him flying for a bonus. Cook actually gets in a shot, only to be suplexed down for his efforts. The chinlock goes on as we hear something about America Online. Bigelow slams him down and drops the top rope headbutt for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here, though it really is amazing to see how Bigelow had this kind of a career resurgence in 1995. He headlined Wrestlemania and King Of The Ring but then just fell away shortly thereafter. Nothing to see here as usual, save for the always good looking headbutt.

We go to the Report Card, where Dean Douglas agrees that Bam Bam Bigelow is indeed a beast, who looks like a walrus. He gets an F based on looks alone.

Jim Cornette talks about cars to suggest that Owen Hart and Yokozuna will retain the Tag Team Titles.

Skip vs. Major Yates

Sunny is here with Skip and insults the crowd before the match. Skip takes him into the corner to start and fires off some forearms. Yates comes back with a wristlock but gets hit in the face for his efforts. A sunset flip gives Yates two so Skip gives him a running clothesline. Skip hits a top rope superplex for the pin (and some pushups) at 2:20.

We go to the Summerslam Insider, focusing on Mabel vs. Diesel, with the latter saying he gets respect. He’ll earn respect from Mabel at Summerslam. Other than that, Jerry Lawler and Isaac Yankem look at a patient’s teeth (or a camera) and find what they see as disgusting as Bret Hart. Finally, Shawn Michaels is ready for Sid. Uh, yeah.

Next week, Diesel vs. Sir Mo. Sweet goodness somebody get my medicine.

Merchandise shill.

Tag Team Titles: Owen Hart/Yokozuna vs. Savio Vega/Razor Ramon

Hart and Yokozuna, with Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji, are defending. Vega and Hart start things off with Vega taking him into the corner to chop away. They trade wrist cranks and chops before it’s off to Ramon for an arm twist of his own. Hart gets knocked to the floor and holds his jaw as we take a break.

We come back with Hart getting beaten up some more but getting knocked over to the corner for the tag to Yokozuna. Ramon gets shoved down off to Vega, who manages to knock Yokozuna outside. Vega is smart enough to avoid being taken into the corner before it’s off to Hart for a spinwheel kick. Yokozuna drops the big leg and Vega is in trouble in a hurry. The nerve hold goes on and we take a break.

We come back with Vega making the tag and Ramon comes in with a middle rope bulldog. Everything breaks down and a double clothesline drops Yokozuna. The Razor’s Edge hits Hart for the pin and the titles at 15:49. And never mind as Hart wasn’t legal so the match has to restart. The match restarts but Cornette is ejected for arguing too much.

Ramon hammers at Yokozuna and throws Hart onto him for a bonus. Vega comes in for a rollup on Hart and we take a third break. We come back again with Yokozuna missing a big elbow and Ramon crotching Hart on top. Hart reverses the belly to back superplex into a crossbody for two and they’re both down. Ramon gets back up…and we’re out of time at 21:49 with the match still going. Well that’s certainly an ending. More on this next week I’d assume.

Rating: C+. Well it certainly wasn’t short. I’m not sure I’d call it good, but just seeing a match get this much time was nice to see. Ramon and Vega were a fine enough team and maybe even a better fit than Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid, at least in the ring. Other than that, you had your usual sluggish Yokozuna match, but thankfully the other three were doing most of the work.

Overall Rating: C. The main event was the big focal point here, but the problem is that we’re closing in on Summerslam, meaning King Mabel is going to be around that much more. For the life of me I do not get what Vince McMahon saw in him other than he’s a big guy, but that’s what we’re getting at the moment. Just move on from it already and find anyone else, because it almost can’t be worse.

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: 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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Monday Night Raw
Date: September 23, 1996
Location: Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 3,923
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Kevin Kelly

We’re done with Mind Games and the only thing that mattered at the show was the instant classic main event, with Shawn Michaels retaining the WWF Title over Mankind. Other than that, the big story here is Jim Ross promising that Razor Ramon and Diesel will be here. However, Gorilla Monsoon made it clear that it will NOT be Kevin Nash and Diesel. Nothing good can come from this so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick still of Razor Ramon and Diesel attacking Savio Vega at Mind Games.

Intercontinental Title: Marc Mero vs. Faarooq

For the vacant title, Sable is here with Mero, Sunny is here with Faarooq, Mr. Perfect is on commentary and Pat Patterson is guest referee. Faarooq jumps him to start fast but Mero is right back up with a dropkick. A clothesline puts Faarooq on the floor and the big running flip dive takes him down again. Back in and the Merosault gets two but Faarooq knocks him off into the barricade.

Ahmed Johnson calls in to swear vengeance on Faarooq, who gets two off a powerslam. A super fall away slam gets two more on Mero and Sunny gets in a choke, which is enough for an ejection. We take a break and come back with Mero reversing a Dominator attempt into a backslide for two of his own. Faarooq pulls him into a chinlock before going more simple with a knee to the ribs. The chinlock goes on again as Jim Ross promises to EXPOSE JEFF JARRETT tonight. I’ll spare you the obvious jokes as Ross again promises Diesel and Razor Ramon.

Mero’s comeback doesn’t work but he catches Faarooq on top with a super hurricanrana. A double clothesline leaves both of them down, with Ross explaining that the one with the more body weight, will have the advantage due to their clothesline being harder. That makes sense. Sunny comes back out and gets in a fight with Sable, allowing Mero to grab Sunny’s purse. A shot to the head sets up the Wild Thing for the pin and the title at 14:51.

Rating: C+. As has been the case throughout this tournament, Mero’s stuff was good while Faarooq was just dull. The idea was that Faarooq thought the title was his from the start so he was a big arrogant, which allowed Mero to slip in and win. The Wild Thing looked good as always, and unlike at Summerslam, it actually won a match.

Post match Mable thanks Sable and Mr. Perfect.

Razor Ramon and Diesel have their own dressing room.

We look back at Shawn Michaels beating Jeff Jarrett last July at In Your House. That same night, Jarrett sang a song….or did he?

Marc Mero celebrates with a bunch of other wrestlers.

We look at Jeff Jarrett allegedly singing at In Your House (again, last July) but then he left before finding out that he wasn’t really singing. Next week, the REAL singer will be here.

British Bulldog/Owen Hart vs. Bodydonnas

Non-title and Clarence Mason is on commentary. Hart runs Zip over to start and gets a front facelock…and we pause because “a local Philadelphia wrestling outfit” gets a wrestler over the barricade with a SABU FEARS TAZ sign (yes it’s Taz). We take a break and come back with Skip hammerlocking Bulldog, who breaks out of it rather quickly. A headscissors drops Hart but Skip misses a spinning crossbody.

Jim Cornette pops up in a split screen to rant about Mason stealing his team (which he did last night with a sneaky contract). After those promises of revenge, Zip hits a gutwrench powerbomb and a rocket launcher gets two on Hart. That doesn’t seem to do much as Hart is right back with a Sharpshooter to make Skip give up at 7:52.

Rating: C. As usual, the match was somewhat ignored to talk about something else. That’s not a good way to go, but at least in this case it was related to what was going on. Cornette vs. Mason is hardly thrilling stuff, though it’s not like the WWF has much else to brag about at the moment. Hart and Bulldog feel like good champions though, and that is something the division could always use.

We look at some stills of Mankind vs. Shawn Michaels, with Undertaker popping out of the coffin in a great moment.

Undertaker is back but promises that the scar of betrayal will never go away. Last night, Mankind and Paul Bearer saw what he will do and now he will bury Mankind alive. At Buried Alive.

Dok Hendrix is thrown out of Razor Ramon and Diesel’s dressing room, with Jim Ross saying that is HIS interview.

The Stalker vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Steve Austin is on commentary and rants about Bret Hart. Stalker starts in on the arm and grabs a hammerlock slam. Helmsley gets in a kick to the ribs and sends him outside as Mr. Perfect comes out to watch. Stalker manages a belly to back suplex and we take a fairly early break.

We come back with Helmsley hammering away in the corner and grabbing a chinlock. Stalker gets up and hits a hard clothesline, followed by a slightly delayed suplex. Perfect manages to steal Helmsley’s valet (again) and the distraction lets Stalker hit the superplex for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: C-. Yeah Stalker isn’t exactly working, and what else were they expecting? Barry Windham can wrestle with anyone, but he’s in some weird hunter deal and it’s not working in the slightest. Again: just let him be himself and see if he can get over. It’s better than this dead end gimmick that isn’t helping him whatsoever.

Jim Ross is in the ring for the Razor Ramon/Diesel return but we cut to Mankind and Paul Bearer in the graveyard, saying they’re in for the Buried Alive match. They don’t see it going well for Undertaker.

Back in the ring and….hold on as we need to take a break.

Post break, Ross goes on a rant about how he has no loyalty to this company because he is only loyal to himself. Toss left a job with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons but came here and he was given a toga to wear at Wrestlemania IX. Then he carried the 1993 King Of The Ring but he was taken off television.

He came down with a condition of Bell’s Palsy and Vince McMahon fired him. Ross wasn’t sure how to tell his family about it, but then they called him back to work in the front office for fifty cents on the dollar. He’s been in charge of bring in various wrestlers and that’s what he’s going to do now, with Razor Ramon.

We go to a wide shot and you can already tell that it’s not Hall (which granted is what they said last week) but rather independent name Rick Bognar, who looks a bit like Ramon, but more like someone doing a Ramon impression. The fans boo and commentary asks if Ross is trying to embarrass the WWF (no, as that would be whomever booked this). Savio Vega runs in to take out Ramon to end the show.

There is so much wrong with this, I don’t know where to start. First of all, it’s dumb. Like, incredibly dumb. The point here is that Ross was mad about being fired and disrespected so he’s apparently trying to embarrass the company by bringing in a pair of “lookalikes” to annoy the fans. As dumb as that is, it doesn’t quite work when he just revealed/reminded us that Vince McMahon owns the company, but he still allowed this on his show. How is it embarrassing if it was allowed?

On top of that (maybe) is the fact that it’s not interesting. As has been the case for years, fans don’t seem overly impressed by storylines involving announcers. Why should I care that Ross is mad at McMahon for what he did to him a few years ago? Ross is calling Raw and apparently helping with the roster. That’s all I really need to know, because otherwise…well, who cares? In addition to this just being dumb, it’s not a story that I would want to see, which is where it continues to fall apart.

Having Ross out there ranting and raving about behind the scenes stuff was dumb enough, but then to have him do something he knew was bad to embarrass his employers was even dumber. So he’s just been sitting there harboring all of these issues for years and this is his master plan? It’s a terrible story with a worse premise and an all time bad payoff, but I’m sure this will be it and it won’t be something that just keeps going.

Overall Rating: D+. The wrestling itself is ok at best, but then everything falls apart. On top of all that though, you have the Ross story and wow it’s actually worse than I remember. It’s not funny, it’s not interesting and it’s about a bunch of stuff that no one but the people involved are likely to care about. This is what they were putting up against the NWO and it’s no wonder everything was falling apart.

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 9, 1996
Location: Wheeling Civic Center, Wheeling, West Virginia
Attendance: 4,903
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re back to the regular Monday schedule and less than two weeks away from Mind Games. Therefore Mankind is already coming after Shawn Michaels and that isn’t going to end well. Other than that, Razor Ramon and Diesel are apparently on their way back to the WWF and I’m not looking forward to this. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a quick preview for the show.

Opening sequence.

Intercontinental Title Tournament First Round: Faarooq vs. Savio Vega

Sunny is here with Faarooq, who is still in his blue period here. A headbutt staggers Vega to start and a shoulder runs him down. Lawler won’t shut up about Sunny, at least until Faarooq cuts off a crossbody and throws him down in Sunny’s direction. The spinwheel kick gives Vega two but he walks into a spinebuster for two. A snap suplex gets two more and we take a break.

We come back with Faarooq holding a chinlock, with Sunny getting in some choking from the floor. Vega gets up and grabs a victory roll for two, only to get caught in another chinlock. Faarooq grinds away even more but misses a middle rope headbutt. Back up and Vega hits a running boot to the face, with the fans greatly approving. That’s cut off as well and the chinlock is right back on. Vega fights up again but gets caught with what would become known as the Dominator for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: C. Faarooq was not exactly lighting up the ring at this point and there wasn’t much that could be done about it. His look wasn’t helping him either, as the whole blue gladiator deal never worked. Vega’s better days were behind him too, making this far from the most interesting match.

Post match Sycho Sid, Faarooq’s opponent in the second round, comes out for the pull apart arguing.

Some wrestlers with Ahmed Johnson well. Some of them like the idea of hurting him even more though.

Here are Shawn Michaels and Jose Lothario for a chat. Before Michaels talks about Mankind, he wants to talk about Camp Cornette. Michaels has taken out everyone in Camp Cornette except Cornette himself, but Lothario will deal with him at Mind Games. Lothario rants in Spanish a bit before Michaels moves on to Mankind. While Mankind has been running roughshod over the WWF, it all stops at Mind Games. Undertaker is going to deal with Paul Bearer and while Michaels might not be Mankind’s mommy, he’ll be his daddy. Don’t hunt what you can’t kill. Michaels liked that line.

The Stalker vs. TL Hopper

The Stalker is better known as Barry Windham and this is his first match in the WWF since 1989. We go split screen to talk to Owen Hart and Brian Pillman, who promise that Bret Hart will be back at Mind Games. Back to the match, Stalker hits a clothesline as Ross says that mentioning Razor Ramon and Diesel’s return has led to a snag in negotiations but they’re still coming. Stalker takes him into the corner and hits the superplex for the win at 3:29.

Rating: D+. The fact that this was Stalker’s big debut and they IMMEDIATELY went to the split screen and then commentary talked about everything else told you everything you needed to know about his future prospects. It doesn’t help that he was the Stalker rather than plain old Barry Windham, which would have been an upgrade. Rather lame debut, with neither side helping matters here as the match was nothing to see either.

We recap Mr. Perfect stealing Hunter Hearst Helmsley’s valets.

We recap Mark Henry agreeing to face Jerry Lawler at Summerslam.

Crush vs. Freddy Joe Floyd

Clarence Mason is here with Crush and sits in on commentary. Crush hammers him into the corner to start and then throws him back out of said corner. Make up your mind dude. A gorilla press and elbow get…nothing actually as Crush pulls him up. Floyd pulls the leg and hits a crossbody, only to get dropped onto the top rope. A big boot sets up the Heart Punch to finish Floyd at 2:40. Total squash.

We look at Bob Backlund bringing back the Iron Sheik. By that I mean we just show most of the segment.

Undertaker vs. Salvatore Sincere

Undertaker doesn’t have his usual entrance gear and, by his standards, hustles to the ring to start hammering away. Sincere gets planted in a hurry and Undertaker hammers away in the corner. Back up and Sincere gets in a few shots of his own, followed by some shoulders to the ribs. A clothesline gives Sincere two as the idea is Undertaker is banged up and distracted. Sincere gets two off a Russian legsweep as we get an insert interview from Goldust and Marlena, where they quote the Untouchables.

Sincere’s chinlock doesn’t last long and a side slam gets two. The chinlock goes on again and we actually take a break. We come back with Ross talking about Diesel and Razor Ramon progressing in their negotiations to return. Sincere knocks him down again but Undertaker pops up and hits the jumping clotheslines. The chokeslam and Tombstone finish for Undertaker at 9:57.

Rating: C-. So the idea here was that Undertaker was all ticked off and wrestling differently without Bearer….but it was Salvatore Sincere. There is no logical way under which it should take Undertaker about ten minutes to beat him. Even a half speed and distracted Undertaker should have been able to take him out in short order, but we got this for so long instead.

Overall Rating: C-. This tournament isn’t exactly must see television and some of the other stuff wasn’t much better. It’s just such a dead period for the company as the NWO is still white hot over in WCW and the WWF has absolutely nothing (outside of Mankind vs. Michaels, which sounds great) to counter. It feels like that is going to be the case for a long time to come and hopefully Raw can boost itself up a bit. Otherwise, we’re in for some rough television.

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Best Of Vader
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bob Caudle, Jesse Ventura, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, Mr. Perfect

As tends to be the case with the WWE Vault, the title pretty much speaks for itself. Vader is as much of a monster as you can get and there is something very fun about watching him smash through people. That’s what we’re getting here, and hopefully it lives up to the hype that I’m giving it at the thought of that much Vader. Let’s get to it.

From the 1990 Great American Bash.

Big Van Vader vs. Z-Man

This is Vader’s WCW debut. For some reason the graphic lists Z-Man as Tom Zenk, which was a name used in WCW, but far less frequently than Z-Man. Vader hammers away to start and hits a corner splash. Z-Man fights back but gets caught in a delayed gorilla press. The big elbow and a clothesline set up a splash to finish Z-Man off at 2:17. Total dominance and Vader looks like a monster right out of the gate.

From the 1992 Great American Bash.

WCW World Title: Sting vs. Big Van Vader

Vader, with Harley Race, is challenging after mauling Sting a few months back. They argue a lot to start and Vader takes him into the corner to start hammering away. Back up and Sting hits a clothesline but Vader knocks him down with a single shot, leaving Sting shaken up. We see the backs of Ron Simmons and Tony Schiavone’s heads as they watch (what a weird camera shot) as Vader hammers away again.

Sting manages a quick belly to back suplex though and the comeback is on, with some clotheslines putting Vader on the floor and the place goes NUTS. Dang what a switch from quiet to insane. Back in and Sting makes the mistake of trying a test of strength (with commentary basically saying “you’re an idiot”) but goes to the eyes to cut Vader off and dropkicks Sting out to the apron.

A suplex brings Vader back in for two but he drops Sting with a single shot. The splash connects and Vader stops to pose, allowing JR to say he’s heard bodybuilding isn’t doing so well for the shot at the WBF. Vader drops a big elbow and then chokes, setting up the Scorpion Deathlock on Sting for a change. Jesse thinks it would be something for the champion to submit to his own hold and Vince McMahon’s ears perk up for some reason. That’s broken up so Vader drops him with a clothesline.

Sting manages to fight up with a rolling kick to the head and a DDT but Vader gets up top again. That’s cut off and Sting grabs a fireman’s carry, which he holds for a LONG time (notice his legs shaking) for a Samoan drop and two. The referee gets bumped and Sting gets a bridging German suplex for a delayed near fall. Sting hits a Stinger Splash and goes for another, only to hit his head on the buckle and knock himself silly. Vader gets two but Sting is mostly done. The powerbomb gives Vader the pin and the title at 18:17.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t a squash, but the match left very little in doubt: Vader was the new monster and Sting was going to have to do something special to beat him. That’s the kind of push you do not see happen very often and it worked very well for Vader. It would seem like he was ready to dominate the title scene…but he would lose the belt to Ron Simmons three weeks later.

From Starrcade 1993.

WCW World Title: Vader vs. Ric Flair

Vader, with Harley Race, is defending and this is title vs. career (and we’re in Charlotte). They take their time to start with Flair looking nervous as the fans are totally behind Flair, which shouldn’t be a surprise. The lockup goes to Vader so Flair tries to get the chase going, which is as smart of a move as he has. Back in and Vader wrenches the arm, setting up a hard clothesline.

Schiavone goes into a big rant about how Flair has left Starrcade as champion so many times over the years. Ventura: “None of that matters. It’s 1993 and this is Vader.” Point to Ventura. Vader hammers Flair down and takes him outside for a drop onto the barricade but misses a splash onto said barricade. Flair starts fighting back but Race gets in a cheap shot to cut both he and the crowd off again.

Vader hammers him down again, including a trip to the floor, followed by a big clothesline back inside. A slam plants Flair again but he avoids the middle rope splash for a much needed breather. Three straight top rope shots to the head put Vader down and Flair “hits” his knee drop which never really comes close but oh well. Vader gets in a superplex and Flair is bleeding from the mouth.

More big shots have Flair closer to death and Vader throws him outside. Vader’s splash misses in the corner…but the second connects and Flair is right back down. Flair’s poke to the eye lets him slug away, even managing to put Vader down (that was great). Flair wraps the leg around the post and then hits it with a chair (as in the old plastic kind) as Vader has lost his mask.

More right hands put Vader down on the floor and a chair to the head rocks him again. They get back inside and Flair unloads with more rights and lefts to put both of them down. Flair starts in on the leg but can’t get the Figure Four. The Vader Bomb misses as well and NOW the Figure Four goes on. Vader turns it over and drops Flair again, only to miss the moonsault. Flair covers but rolls away as Race tries a top rope headbutt, which hits Vader. Back up and Flair chops away but Vader runs him over. Flair is fine enough to trip him down and get a rollup (an ugly one but whatever) for the pin and the title at 21:11.

Rating: A. There’s no way around it: this is a classic with Flair rising up one more time to slay the monster that no one (other than Sting) could stop. Flair slugging away and managing to slow Vader down with pure heart and determination has stuck with me since I first saw this match live and it’s still incredible to this day. Outstanding stuff here and one of the best “hero fights the monster” matches you’ll ever see.

From Worldwide, April 30, 1994.

Vader vs. Cactus Jack

Texas Death Match and you knew we’d be seeing Mick on here somewhere. This is basically Last Man Standing, though it being called a “Texas Tornado” match makes it even more confusing. Harley Race is here with Vader too. Jack fights out of the corner to start and slugs away, only for Vader to run him over. Vader hammers away but Jack is back up with a clothesline to the floor.

After dropping Race, Jack grabs a chair to hit Vader in the head but has to backdrop an interfering Race. A flip dive off the apron drops Vader (dang) and they go back inside, where Jack drops a leg. We hit the sleeper but Vader drops back onto Jack for the big nasty crash. A pair of Vader Bombs crush Jack and a middle rope splash gets two, with Heenan losing his mind over why Jack would get up. Another Vader Bomb misses so Race pulls Jack outside for a chair to the face (though only Race falls down). Vader follows and powerbombs him on the floor (with a sickening THUD) for the win at 6:56.

Rating: C+. Well it was starting to get good, but then it just ended with that nasty powerbomb. I’m not sure what the point was in having the match go so short, as it felt like something that should have gotten that much more time. What we got was the intense brawl that these two are known for, but I was expecting something longer than you would see from Tatanka vs. the Brooklyn Brawler on Raw.

From Clash Of The Champions XXIX.

Vader vs. Dustin Rhodes

Harley Race is here with Vader, who powers Rhodes into the corner to start. As usual, Vader starts hammering away to take over without much trouble. Another shot to the face ticks Rhodes off and he SPEARS VADER DOWN to blow the roof off the place. Rhodes slaps away and comes back with a running crossbody for two. A clothesline sends Vader to the floor and Rhodes follows to keep hammering away.

Rhodes takes Race out and they go back inside, where Vader gets pounded down again. Vader hits the standing body block to take over again, meaning it’s time to pummel away in the corner. Rhodes gets in a shot of his own and avoids the sitdown splash. The bulldog is loaded up but Vader picks him up and LAUNCHES HIM over the top to the floor. Back in and the Vader Bomb gets two, with Vader hitting him in the face for daring to kick out. Vader just pummels him down again, but Rhodes starts waving his arm (ala Dusty, and we’re in Florida).

Rhodes catches him coming off the top in a powerslam (Vader loved that spot and it looked great no matter who did it) and the comeback is on. Rhodes slgs away and elbwos him in the head, with a clothesline knocking Vader into the ropes. The top rope clothesline drops Vader and a middle rope DDT gives Rhodes two. The bulldog connects but Race comes in, allowing Vader to deck Rhodes from behind. A wheelbarrow faceplant (OUCH) knocks Rhodes silly to give Vader the pin at 11:49.

Rating: B+. Sweet goodness this was a fight, with the crowd’s reaction to that takedown being insane. One of the traditions with Vader is that the best way to fight him is to hit him in the mouth and that’s what Rhodes did here. The problem is that Vader hits back, and that’s what we saw here in one heck of a slugout. The ending alone was awesome, as Vader absolutely planted him. Great fight here and one of Rhodes’ best matches ever.

Post match another Vader Bomb is loaded up but Jim Duggan comes in for the save. In theory that leads us into….

From Monday Night Raw, January 22, 1996 (I had the intro for the Vader vs. Duggan US Title match at Starrcade 1994 ready to go. That’s a rare miss from the Vault.).

Vader vs. Savio Vega

Vader, with Jim Cornette, is freshly debuted and this is his first match on Raw. As usual, Vader hammers him down in the corner then does it again for a bonus. The running splash misses though and Vega strikes away, with a superkick putting Vader on the floor. That’s fine with Vader, who drops Vega onto the barricade. Back in and the corner splash connects, setting up the Vader Bomb for the pin at 2:58. Pretty much a squash.

Post match Vader puts him down again for a second Vader Bomb. The referee tries to break it up and gets beaten up as well, with Lawler knowing that’s a bad idea. Another referee comes in and gets powerbombed so here is Interim President Gorilla Monsoon to yell at Vader. Cornette tries to back Vader off as Monsoon announces that Vader is suspended indefinitely.

Vader shoves Cornette away and goes face to face with Monsoon again, with Monsoon pointing a finger in his face. Vader slaps Monsoon on the back so Monsoon chops away (marking the first time he had gotten physical in almost fifteen years). That’s too far for Vader, who splashes Monsoon in the corner, setting up the Vader Bomb. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon make the save. As someone who grew up watching Monsoon as a commentator, this was INSANE. Monsoon wasn’t going to be able to wrestle again, but my goodness the heat would have been off the charts if he could have pulled it off.

From Summerslam 1996.

WWF Title: Vader vs. Shawn Michaels

Vader, with Jim Cornette, is challenging while Jose Lothario is here with Michaels (who was sick of him by this point and wanting the whole thing to end). Vader starts fast by hammering away and knocks him down without much effort. Michaels kicks away to put Vader down and hits him in the face a few times, followed by a low bridge to the floor. The big dive takes Vader out again (that was on a lot of highlight reels) and Michaels scores with a double ax handle back inside.

A headscissors sends Vader outside so Michaels tries a slingshot version, only to get countered into a heck of a powerbomb. Vader picks him up on one shoulder and carries him back inside, where it’s time to unload in the corner. Michaels gets tossed outside and then backdropped inside as Vader stays on the back. A hard clothesline cuts off Michaels’ comeback attempt and Vader plants him with kind of a reverse Jackknife.

We hit the head and arm clutch to put Michaels on his knees but he fights out and hits some running shots of his own. Vader tries to sit on him but gets low blowed, allowing Michaels to go up. The big elbow…doesn’t quite work as Michaels pulls up in the air, as Vader didn’t move as planned. This results in Michaels kicking him in the head and berating him, all because the spot didn’t work, which ONLY the people in the match would know about, making Michaels look like a whiny brat. They crash out to the floor and Michaels is dropped onto the barricade for a countout at 13:51.

Hold on though as Cornette says not that way and begs Michaels to come back because they want the title. Michaels eventually comes back like a moron and gets beaten down again, including a racket shot from Cornette. A belly to belly gives Vader two but Michaels fights out of a powerbomb. Michaels makes the comeback and loads up the superkick but Cornette tries to grab him. Instead Michaels takes the racket away and wacks Vader (with a great THUD sound) for the DQ at 17:49.

Cornette calls Michaels a coward who knew he couldn’t beat Vader and wants to restart this again. Works for Michaels so we starts it again, with Vader missing a sitdown splash. Michaels hits the forearm and NOW the top rope elbow connects (good, maybe Michaels can be happy).

Sweet Chin Music gets two but the referee gets knocked to the floor. Vader hits a powerbomb for two from a second referee and Cornette is losing his mind on their near falls. The Vader bomb is loaded up but Cornette wants the moonsault, despite Michaels being very close to the corner (it would have hit anyway, which is impressive). Michaels hits a moonsault press to retain at 22:19.

Rating: B-. That tantrum in the middle manages to bring down what is an otherwise awesome match, as Michaels kept surviving one way or another until he caught Vader making a mistake. That’s one of the recurring themes with Vader, as pretty much no one could hang with him one on one, but they could tire him out or eventually catch him screwing up. Michaels knows how to do this match in his sleep, but alas he had to go over the edge.

Also of note, this was originally going to be Vader winning the title and ultimately losing it back to Michaels at the Royal Rumble, but Michaels didn’t want to work with Vader so Sid got the spot instead (hence the December In Your House being called “It’s Time” when Vader had nothing to do with the main event.).

From In Your House XIII: Final Four.

WWF Title: Vader vs. Bret Hart vs. Undertaker vs. Steve Austin

For the vacant title and it’s elimination rules, with pinfall, submission or over the top for a unique setup. Vader has Paul Bearer for one last manager. After a quick interview from Hart, who knows these people are all tough and that the winner will deserve the title, we’re ready to go. Undertaker drops Vader to start before pulling Hart off of Austin. Vader is back up with a belly to belly and takes Undertaker outside (not out, despite Lawler thinking they were).

A chair only hits post so Vader puts Undertaker against the post and hammers away again. Back up and Undertaker boots the chair into Vader’s face (ignore Vader blading) as Austin elbows Hart down for two inside. Vader (bleeding from the eye) gets back inside to hammer on Undertaker some more as Austin jawbreaks his way outo f a sleeper from Hart. Austin takes Hart into the corner while Undertaker hits a chokeslam on Vader.

A Stunner (which is sold like a swinging neckbreaker) drops Undertaker for two as Vader runs Hart over for two of his own. Vader takes Hart outside for some chair shots to the back as his eye is GUSHING. Undertaker backdrops Austin out of a piledriver attempt in the aisle before switching off with Hart. Austin goes after Vader’s eye and sends him into the steps. Some belt shots rock Vader, who pounds Austin right back and hits him with the ring bell.

Vader and Hart go up the aisle with Hart being sent into the barricade, leaving Undertaker to beat Austin up back inside. Back at ringside, Vader tries a Sharpshooter on Hart, leaving Austin to stomp on Hart some more. That’s broken up so Hart goes after Austin (yeah that always works) but Austin goes back inside to Thesz press Vader (right on the bloody eye). Back up and Vader misses the moonsault to Undertaker, who takes him outside for a choke with a camera cable.

Vader cuts that off (the choking, not the cable) and chokes Undertaker down for two back inside. Hart’s middle rope elbow gets two Austin, who gets an O’Connor roll for the same. They switch off again so Hart can kick Vader low (with the camera showing Vader just covered in blood) for two more. Undertaker tries to throw Austin over (oh yeah that’s a thing) as Vader Fujiwara’s Hart’s arm. Back up and Hart tosses Austin for the first elimination at 18:09 (there have been longstanding rumors that Austin was supposed to win but those wound up being nonsense).

Undertaker hammers on Hart until Vader breaks it up as we see Sid (who gets the winner tomorrow) watching in the back. Undertaker is sent outside (not out) where Bearer gets in an urn shot, leaving Vader to take off the blood soaked mask. Hart cuts Vader off on the top and hits a top rope superplex, because this match needed another crazy spot.

The Sharpshooter goes on but Undertaker breaks it up (JR is confused) and Austin is back to go after Hart. Austin gets back in to keep up the beating as Undertaker breaks up a Vader Bomb. A low blow sends Vader out at 22:26, leaving Undertaker to drop Austin and chokeslam Hart. Austin pulls Hart out of the Tombstone though, leaving Undertaker to go after Austin again. Hart clotheslines Undertaker out for the win and the title at 24:06.

Rating: A-. These guys beat the living daylights out of each other and I had a great time watching it again. It’s such a unique match that it feels more like a regular four way until the eliminations, which is a fine way to go as it’s perfectly within the rules. Vader was a wrecking ball in this whole thing and everyone was game to fight him. Outstanding match and arguably a hidden gem, even if it meant very little as Hart would lose the title to Sid the next night on Raw.

Overall Rating: A. I had an absolute blast with this, as it was an awesome showcase of why Vader really was that much of a monster (and they didn’t cover all kinds of stuff from his American run). What mattered the most was that Vader didn’t feel like any run of the mill monster who was beaten and then faded away. He was always going to be around because very few people could do things like he could. WCW knew what they had with him and if the WWF hadn’t wasted so much of him, he could have been up there with Andre for all time greatest super heavyweight. Make sure to check this out as it’s outstanding.

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Shotgun Saturday Night
Date: February 7, 1997
Location: Penn Station, New York City, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Sunny

This was a special live broadcast (of a 27 year old show that is) on the WWE Vault channel and that alone should be more than enough to make it interesting. Shotgun was a show broadcast from various clubs and locations in New York City, making it a localized national show, because that was a thing. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Godwinns vs. Nation Of Domination

The venue is really cool as everyone has to come down a bunch of steps to get to the ring. Clarence Mason joins commentary as we take a good while to get started after the opening bell. Crush and Phineas finally lock up, over two minutes after the opening bell. Crush’s headlock keeps things slow to start until Phineas powers out and runs him over. A clothesline drops an invading Faarooq and the Nation runs away from the slop bucket.

After Todd Pettengill talks to some kids in a split screen, Savio Vega comes to ringside and we take a break. Back with Crush grabbing a nerve hold on Henry and then stomps away. Henry fights up for a double clothesline and it’s back to Phineas to clean house. Vega offers a distraction though, allowing Faarooq to hit a clothesline to give Crush the pin at 12:26.

Rating: C-. Pretty dull tag match here as they seem to be keeping it pretty basic with everything going on around here. It’s a weird place to hold a wrestling show and there is only so much that they can cover with a smaller than usual ring. The Godwinns are already feeling beyond their expiration date here too, as it’s one of the goofier New Generation style gimmicks and that doesn’t work so well in 1997.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley arrives in a long limousine and is ready to defend the Intercontinental Title against Undertaker.

Intercontinental Title: Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Undertaker

Helmsley, with the Ode To Joy theme, is defending and thankfully Undertaker picks up the pace on the way down the steps. We’re joined in progress with the referee getting bumped and Helmsley hitting Undertaker with the belt. We take a break less than a minute after coming back and come back again to HHH dropping a knee. A neckbreaker gives HHH two but Undertaker fights up. The comeback is taking too long for him though and he hits Helmsley in the face with the belt for the DQ at 7:18.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but it was more about saying Undertaker was in the ring for a title match than anything else. There was almost no reason to believe that Undertaker was going to win the Intercontinental Title so having a quick brawl before the DQ ending was fine. If nothing else, ticked off Undertaker is always worth a look.

Post match Undertaker gives him a chokeslam and takes him up the escalator, gives him a Tombstone, and lets him ride down the escalator. I believe this was on the Hidden Gems of the WWE Network.

Pettengill talks to another kid.

Savio Vega vs. Aldo Montoya

Clarence Mason is on commentary again. Montoya starts fast and takes Vega down, leaving him for a needed breather in the corner. Vega fires off some rather loud chops in the corner and then rakes at the face (as much as he can get to with the mask that is), setting up the spinwheel kick in the corner. A delayed suplex sets up some more choking and we cut to Todd Pettengill with a fan who has what looks to be an 80s Vince McMahon action figure.

Montoya fights back as the rest of the Nation comes down the step as we take a break. Back with Vega working on an armbar as the Godwinns are here to even things out a bit. The nerve hold goes on but the other four get in for…well nothing as we take a break. Back with…well something else, as we’ll say this one ended at around 11:00.

Rating: C. This had its moments with Vega getting in some of his stuff but only having so much to work with in Montoya. He just wasn’t that good in the ring and didn’t have much to offer, which made the match more than a little uninteresting. The ending didn’t help either, but at least it sets up something.

Godwinns/Aldo Montoya vs. Nation Of Domination

Joined in progress with Crush planting Montoya, who grabs a quick DDT for a breather as Pettengill talks to two women who get in a fight in the crowd. Crush cuts off the tag attempt and it’s Vega sending Montoya back into the wrong corner. The backbreaker goes on before it’s back to Faarooq, who can’t hit the Dominator.

Instead Crush comes back in to hammer Montoya down in the corner again. The front facelock goes on and Montoya gets the tag to Phineas but the referee doesn’t see it (that always works). Everything breaks down and Phineas chases Mason away, leaving Vega to kick Montoya in the face for the pin at 7:28.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how much the addition helped here as we had seen the others in action already and the Godwinns never actually got into the six man version. Instead it was the Nation beating the living daylights out of Montoya, or at least doing a rather slow motion version of such a beating. Not much to see here, but it felt like something out of an old school house show so call that a win? Maybe?

Post break Phineas slops Pat Patterson (and his amazing sweater) by mistake.

We look at the escalator Tombstone again.

A member of the Guardian Angels liked the show. And that’s it.

Overall Rating: C. I don’t think there is any secret to the fact that the wrestling isn’t the important part of the show. This was ALL about the atmosphere and that really did work. Above all else, the show felt different than usual and it is great to see that kind of change. I’m not sure if the charm was going to hold up every week, but it worked for a one off.

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Summerslam 1996
Date: August 18, 1996
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 17,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Mr. Perfect

Things have changed quite a bit since last year. For one thing, the NWO currently has its foot on the WWF’s neck but no one knew how bad it was going to get. Shawn was pretty much tanking as champion but he’s still defending tonight against Vader. The major match though is Undertaker vs. Mankind in a Boiler Room Brawl which has the potential to be awesome. Let’s get to it.

The pre-show match is kind of famous so I’ll throw it in as a bonus.

Steve Austin vs. Yokozuna

Austin is fresh off winning the King of the Ring and cutting the promo that made him famous. Yoko is so fat it’s terrifying at this point. Austin still has very slow music here which sounds like it belongs in a romantic drama. He goes right after the big man to start but a single right hand puts Steve down. A double middle finger earns Austin a Samoan drop and a legdrop. Yoko loads up the Banzai Drop and the freaking ring breaks with Yoko falling down to the mat, giving Austin an easy pin.

The opening video is about monsters like Vader and Mankind wearing masks but heroes standing up to them no matter what.

Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega

Owen has a broken arm/wrist coming in. Feeling out process to start with the referee warning Owen about using the cast. Savio does the smart thing by ramming the bad arm into the buckle to take over. We hit an armbar as we cut to Vader’s locker room to see Cornette firing him up. A monkey flip and a dropkick put Owen down and it’s back to the armbar. Owen kicks out of a rollup and sends Savio shoulder first into the post as momentum changes all of a sudden.

Off to a wristlock on Vega as the match is still waiting to get off the ground. Owen puts on a long armbar followed by a DDT on the arm for two. Vega bites his way out of the hold as the crowd is dead quiet for this. Owen charges into a boot and here’s Clarence Mason, a lawyer, to watch the match. An enziguri puts Vega down for two and a few rollups get the same for Savio.

Hart takes him down with a spinwheel kick but Savio comes back with right hands and clotheslines. Owen’s missile dropkick gets two as the crowd is into this all of a sudden. Hart is crotched on another top rope attempt but Savio lands on the cast in his belly to back superplex. Owen slips off the cast and lays out Savio (with the referee looking right at him), setting up the Sharpshooter for the win.

Rating: C. This took awhile to get going and could have shaved off five minutes or so. Savio was nothing special at all and Owen was in a transitional phase of his career as he was trying to become a singles guy but wasn’t ready to do it yet. The match wasn’t bad and picked way up but the ending was lame.

Post match Justin Hawk Bradshaw comes out to lay out Vega once again.

Todd Petingill is in the boiler room and finds Mankind licking a pipe and saying there’s no place like home.

Tag Titles: Smoking Gunns vs. New Rockers vs. Bodydonnas vs. Godwinns

The heel Gunns are defending and this is under elimination rules. The New Rockers are Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy (Al Snow) and the Bodydonnas are Skip (Chris Candido) and Zip (Tom Pritchard). Skip is in a neck brace here due to a potentially broken neck but he’s wrestling anyway. The Gunns have Sunny who looks GREAT as a cowgirl. Billy Gunn starts with Henry Godwinn with Hank throwing Billy around with ease.

A wheelbarrow slam sends Billy out to the floor and it’s off to Phineas vs. Zip. After a comedic feeling out process it’s off to both Gunns at the same time. Zip and Phineas strut across the ring for no apparent reason as the Gunns freak out about having to fight each other. The referee says either make contact or be disqualified. After no contact, Bart tags in Zip so the crowd can have something else to be bored by. Jannetty trips Zip and Billy gets an easy pin so the Bodydonnas don’t have to be out there long.

Henry comes back in to crank on Billy’s arm but Billy quickly tags out to Jannetty. Marty slowly pounds on Henry and plays to the comatose crowd. Leif gets the tag but quickly brings in Billy to work over Henry. The Rockers have a miscue with the Gunns and Henry gets two off a side slam on Billy. Marty’s save results in an elbow drop on Billy as everything breaks down. Henry kicks Marty into Leif and hits the Slop Drop (reverse DDT) on Cassidy for the elimination.

We’re down to the Godwinns vs. the champions and it’s Bart in for the first time. Henry explodes out of the corner with a clothesline to put both guys down. Bart breaks up a tag attempt as this match is dragging terribly. Billy comes in and the place is so silent you can hear the insults between the wrestlers.

Back to Bart to pound away on Henry for a few moments before bringing Billy back in. Henry catches a charging Billy in a World’s strongest Slam and there’s the lukewarm tag to Phineas. He cleans house and everything breaks down with Phineas hitting the Slop Drop on Billy, only to have Bart blast Phineas from the top for the pin to retain.

Rating: D-. This was so boring I could barely keep my eyes open. The tag title scene was so barren at this point that there were practically zero interesting acts at all. That would be the case for over a year when the New Age Outlaws FINALLY brought the division back to life for a few years. Terribly boring match.

Post match Sunny insults the women in the audience and unveils a huge poster of herself to make the arena prettier.

Video on the Summerslam festivities in the city this weekend.

Sycho Sid vs. British Bulldog

Sid is just back after being out for about six months with an injury. He’s part of Shawn’s war with Camp Cornette, making this a lower level battle in the feud. The fans are WAY into Sid here which makes his title reigns a lot more understandable. Neither guy goes anywhere on some collisions until Sid slams him down to the floor. A LOUD Let’s Go Sid chant starts up, giving us more interest than the entire tag title match had combined.

Bulldog tries to power out of a headlock as the announcers talk about Mason being out here instead of Cornette again. A powerslam gets two for Sid but Bulldog comes back with the delayed vertical suplex. That’s some impressive power, especially on a guy that tall. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Bulldog clotheslines Sid to the floor. Bulldog clotheslines him down again and flips forward to entertain us while Sid is down. Back to the chinlock before Bulldog hits the powerslam clean, but here’s Cornette to argue with Mason. Another powersam is countered into the chokeslam and an AWESOME powerbomb is good for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match was better than you would think with both guys’ power stuff looking good. That powerbomb was great as Bulldog just stopped once he hit the mat and the selling was even better. Sid is just scary over at this point, which made his heel turn all the better. To be fair though, the fans just wouldn’t boo the guy even when he was a heel. Take that for what you will.

The managers keep arguing post match.

Video on Shawn.

Goldust vs. Marc Mero

Marlena and Sable are the seconds here and Goldust has a thing for the latter. Goldust takes him into the corner and rubs his own chest before slapping Mero in the face. Some armdrags take Goldie down and he hides in the corner. They run the ropes a bit with Mero getting two off a cross body and hooking an armbar. The crowd is dead again so the announcers talk about Ahmed Johnson’s kidney injury.

Back up and Goldust backdrops Mero out to the floor before dropping him throat first across the barricade. Goldust hooks a chinlock and here’s Mankind who has been calling Sable mommy lately. Some referees chase him off a few seconds later, making this your pointless cameo of the show. A knee to the ribs puts Mero down for two but he comes off the middle rope with a back elbow to the jaw.

A clothesline and a backdrop put Goldust down again and a million dollar kneelift does the same. Goldust counters punches in the corner and they both tumble to the floor but Mero slides back in and hits a running flip dive. A slingshot legdrop gets two followed by the debut of the Shooting Star Press, called the Wild Thing. Since this is 1996 WWF, it only gets two. A few seconds later Goldust hits the Curtain Call (reverse forward suplex) for the pin.

Rating: D. Another dull match here other than the Shooting Star. Goldust was all thought and character but little in the area of substance in the ring. The crowd was dead again here other than for the Wild Thing which was by far the most exciting thing in the match. There wasn’t much to see here but as was the case back then, a lot of matches on PPV were filler.

Goldust stalks Sable post match until Mero makes the save.

We recap Jake Roberts vs. Jerry Lawler. Jake claimed to have sobered up and was speaking at churches about how Jesus helped him overcome his demons. Lawler claimed that Roberts was a fraud (which was the case in real life as he was still hooked on crack) and tonight is the showdown.

Jerry Lawler vs. Jake Roberts

Before the match we have the debut of a new Olympian who will be getting in the ring soon: Mark Henry. Lawler brings his own bag with him along with something in his pocket. He’s also wearing a Baltimore Ravens jersey (the beloved Cleveland Browns had recently moved to Baltimore and become the Ravens) because Lawler knows how to rile up a crowd like few others ever could. Henry thinks it’s hilarious despite being a face.

Lawler pulls out two bottles of Jim Beam to be Roberts’ partners tonight and says Roberts’ wife only looks good after a six pack. Henry is so stupid that if he won a gold medal he’d have it bronzed. Once Roberts uses his bar stool as a walker to get out here, Lawler is going to knock him sideways so everyone can recognize him. It’s very impressive how easily Lawler can have a crowd eating out of the palm of his hand like this.

Roberts finally comes out so Lawler pulls a huge bottle of booze from the bag. Jake pulls the snake out of his own bag to scare Lawler to the floor and the bell finally rings. Lawler looks for a microphone but Jake sends him face first into the steps and hammers away back inside. Back to the floor with Lawler being sent into various hard objects until he steals a drink from a fan to blind Jake. Henry: “So what is the fan going to drink?” Lawler gets one of the bottles from ringside but has to block a DDT attempt. Another DDT is countered and Jerry hits him in the throat with the bottle for the pin.

Rating: D. This was much more of an angle than a match with Lawler giving a great lesson in how to fire up a crowd. Roberts wouldn’t be around much longer before heading to ECW and the indies. This would lead to Henry’s first mini feud against Lawler which started got his career going in slow motion.

Post match Lawler says Roberts is holding his throat because he wants a drink. Lawler opens the big bottle to pour it down Jake’s throat but Mark Henry makes a delayed save.

Bob Backlund campaigns for President.

Paul Bearer comes to the ring. The next match will be won by retrieving the Urn from his hands.

Undertaker vs. Mankind

This is the Boiler Room Brawl, meaning the fight starts in the boiler room and you win by fighting to the ring and getting the Urn from Bearer. Taker goes into the room where Mankind is hiding somewhere. This is bordering on creepy as Taker is looking through the shadows to find Mankind but only finds machines. Mankind sneaks up on him with a pipe to the back as the fight begins. Keep in mind that the people in the arena are seeing this on TV screens as there’s no Titantron yet.

Undertaker comes back with a trashcan lid to the head and they brawl around the room with Mankind in control. The announcers have stopped talking as Mankind stuns Taker across a wooden stand. A stiff right hand puts Taker down and Mankind chokes away. The camera cuts out for a few moments so something can be edited and we come back with a trashcan shot putting Taker down.

Taker finds a pipe to knock the can into Mankind’s face but Mankind turns a valve to shoot steam into Taker’s face. A clothesline sends the can into Mankind’s face and the slow brawling continues. Taker hits him in the face with a wooden pallet but Mankind hits Taker low with a pipe of some kind. Mankind sends him into a wall and hits the running knee to drive Taker’s head into the wall again. An elbow off a ladder keeps Taker down and Mankind drags him along the floor.

The camera goes out again and the audience boos. Back with Undertaker laid out on the floor and Mankind setting up a ladder next to him. Mankind climbs up and in the best remembered spot of the match, Undertaker sits up and pulls him down onto a pile of pipes. Back up and Mankind goes for the door but Undertaker grabs him by the ankle. A fire extinguisher blast to the face puts Mankind down and it’s Undertaker out the door first. Mankind rams him into the door and gets out, only to fall in the aisle.

With Taker still inside Mankind barricade the door but Taker kicks it in anyway. They fight up the aisle with jobbers watching from the doors. Taker shoves him across the coffee area, allowing Mankind to get ahead a bit. He throws hot coffee onto Undertaker and crawls into the arena to give the fans something to see in person. Taker catches up with him and pounds away but Mankind keeps him out of the ring.

A Texas piledriver onto the concrete knocks Undertaker out cold but he sits up just in time to pull Mankind off the apron, slamming the back of his head into the concrete. Undertaker gets inside and gets on one knee in front of Paul but Bearer won’t give him the Urn. Mankind gets in and knocks Taker out with the Claw before Bearer does the unthinkable by turning on Undertaker and giving Mankind the Urn.

Rating: B. This is a hard one to grade as it was VERY long (nearly half an hour) and was unlike any other match up to this point. This match would have killed in the Attitude Era but here it’s just quite good. Bearer turning was shocking as he had managed Undertaker for nearly six years and I don’t think anyone believed he would ever turn on Undertaker.

Druids come out to carry Undertaker to the back. He’d be back the next night like nothing happened.

Camp Cornette is ready for Shawn Michaels. Cornette: “When Vader grabs you by the neck Shawn Michaels, you’re going to sound like Peter Frampton’s electric kazoo.” WHERE DOES HE COME UP WITH THIS STUFF???

WWF World Title: Vader vs. Shawn Michaels

Vader is challenging after pinning Shawn in a six man tag at In Your House #9. He pounds Shawn in the face to start before taking his head off with a clothesline. Shawn catches a big boot and leg sweeps Vader down before hitting a low dropkick to stun Vader. Michaels fires off rights and lefts from his knees and Vader bails to the floor. A HUGE dive takes him down again as the fans are finally waking up a bit.

Back in and a standing hurricanrana takes Vader down and a victory roll sends him back out to the floor. Shawn’s plancha into a hurricanrana is caught in a powerbomb and momentum changes in a hurry. Vader puts him on his shoulder and carries Shawn up the steps with one arm in a very impressive power display. A big suplex puts Shawn down again and Mr. Perfect gloats a lot. Shawn is sent into a Flair Flip in the corner and another whip sends him out to the floor.

Vader pounds away back inside but Shawn comes back with rights and lefts of his own. He can’t drop Vader though and a hard clothesline takes Shawn down again. Shawn tries to skin the cat but Vader pulls him back in and hits a kind of reverse jackknife for two. Off to a modified bearhug on the champion for a few moments until Shawn fights back with a running knee to the chest. Vader blocks a sunset flip but his jumping seated senton hits knees.

A hard clothesline puts Vader down and we get a semi-famous spot as Shawn goes up but aborts the elbow in mid flight, instead hitting a flying stomp. He throws a fit and yells at Vader before a cross body puts both guys on the floor. Vader drops Shawn throat first across the barricade…..for a countout win? Seriously? Female fan: “NO! NO! NO!” Cornette agrees because he wants to win the title by pin instead of countout.

Shawn agrees to get back in but Vader punches him down on the floor. Cornette pops Shawn in the back with the tennis racket and a belly to belly gets two for Vader. Michaels punches his way out of the powerbomb and hits the forearm/nip-up combo. He tunes up the band but Cornette throws in the racket, only to have Shawn intercept it and blast Vader for the DQ.

The third part of the match begins (Cornette, WE DON’T WANT IT THAT WAY, ring the bell again) with Shawn avoiding another seated senton and now the top rope elbow connects. Sweet Chin Music only gets two and the referee is knocked to the floor. Vader hits the powerbomb and a second referee comes in to count two. Cornette is stunned as Vader goes up, only to miss the moonsault. Shawn goes up top and hits a moonsault press to retain the title.

Rating: B+. I’ve only seen this match once or twice and it really holds up. Shawn was in his element here against a monster and he capitalized on Vader’s greed for the title to finally beat him. The problem was the people didn’t care about Shawn until he got in the ring which made him a hard sell for the fans. Still though, excellent match here.

Overall Rating: C. Well the last two matches are both good to great, but it takes awhile to get there. Thankfully for the show those matches take up over an hour of the card and help things out a lot. Unfortunately the NWO was running roughshod on the wrestling world at this point so the good matches here didn’t mean much at all. This wasn’t one of the stronger entries in the series though.

Ratings Comparison

Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega

Original: B+

Redo: C

Smoking Gunns vs. Bodydonnas vs. New Rockers vs. Godwinns

Original: B-

Redo: D-

British Bulldog vs. Sycho Sid

Original: D

Redo: D+

Marc Mero vs. Goldust

Original: C+

Redo: D

Jerry Lawler vs. Jake Roberts

Original: C-

Redo: D

Mankind vs. Undertaker

Original: A-

Redo: B

Vader vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A-

Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: A

Redo: C

Did I owe this show money a few years ago? My jaw is hanging open as I read these ratings again.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/30/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1996-mick-foley-has-arrived/

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 21, 1995
Location: Memorial Civic Center, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 1,600
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home Raw for In Your House and that means we are in for…well not much on the main event, which is already set. Other than that, we have another Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid match as the two of them aren’t getting along. Finally, Men On A Mission are facing Owen Hart and Yokozuna for reasons of evil. Let’s get to it.

Here is last week’s show if you need a recap.

This is a special Thursday edition of the show, which wasn’t mentioned last week.

We open with a recap of last week, with the 1-2-3 Kid costing Razor Ramon a match against British Bulldog. Kid wants to be taken seriously so he’ll have to beat Razor again.

Opening sequence.

Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid

During the entrances, we look at Razor attacking Dean Douglas in the classroom at Summerslam in case you want to be told what to expect here. Kid jumps him to start and fires off some kicks to put Razor on the floor. Back in and Razor goes with the power to take him to the corner for the super fall away slam. Razor chops away in the corner and tosses him HARD (with a great bump from the Kid) before working on the arm. A chokeslam gives Razor two but Kid manages to send him outside.

Kid hits a slingshot dropkick (over the top at that) and a spinning kick to the face gets one back inside (the foot on the rope helped). The sleeper takes Ramon down to one knee and we take a break. Back with the hold still on but Razor suplexes his way to freedom. The discus punch drops Kid and there’s the running corner clothesline. Back up and a collision sends Kid into the referee so cue Dean Douglas for a top rope splash to Razor. A VERY delayed cover gives Kid the pin at 10:33.

Rating: C+. Kid getting to bump all over the place worked and Razor gave him a ton of offense at the same time (I for one am shocked). The Kid winning makes a lot more sense and it is smart to let him move up the ladder a bit. Razor is more than a made man so this was a good example of helping bring someone up. Now just do it more often.

Dean Douglas grades the match, with the Kid getting a D (dumb), Razor getting an E (elevate, which Razor is trying to do by face Dean), Dean getting an A (because he’s nifty) and Razor vs. Dean at In Your House getting an N (no brainer).

Tatanka/Kama vs. Savio Vega/Bob Holly

Ted DiBiase is here with Tatanka and Kama. Vega cleans house to start before it’s off to Holly, who works on Kama’s ribs before it’s quickly off to Savio. The kick misses Tatanka but he distracts Holly so Kama can jump Vega. A double slam plants Vega as the referee takes FOREVER to get Holly out. Kama plants him down again and shoves Holly, who still doesn’t get how stupid it is to try to come in.

Vega is mostly destroyed in the corner but finally manages a shot of his own for a needed breather. Holly comes in and now is quite a bit more lethargic (he really isn’t that bright in this match), though a high crossbody does get two on Kama. Everything breaks down and Kama powerslams Holly out of the air (with a nasty landing) for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: C. This was an energetic match but Holly was hardly helping his partner most of the time. They were trying throughout though and that is always nice to see, especially in a nothing match like this one. Kama and Tatanka were pretty much just thrown together, but they did well enough all things considered.

Razor Ramon is ready to hurt Dean Douglas.

Wrestlemania: The Special is coming on September 30, featuring the two main events. That was a big deal.

Jean Pierre LaFitte vs. Brian Walsh

Jean shrugs off an early assault and stomps away as Bret Hart calls in to say he doesn’t like LaFitte stealing his gear over and over. Some shots to the face and chest have Walsh in more trouble as the slow beating continues. The Cannonball (Swanton) finishes Walsh at 3:17.

Rating: C-. Total and complete dominance here and that is how it should be. LaFitte wasn’t going to go anywhere because he’s a pirate of all things in 1995 but putting him in there with Bret is going to make it feel important. That’s the power of someone like Bret and the WWF knew just how big of a deal he really was.

Tag Team Titles: Men On A Mission vs. Owen Hart/Yokozuna

Owen and Yokozuna (with Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji) are defending and Mabel is carried to the ring, with the people carrying him cringing under the weight. Owen kicks away at Mo to start but charges into a powerslam so Mo can stomp away. Mabel comes in and nothing words for Owen, who is knocked out of the corner with ease.

Mo gets in a few more stomps but Owen gets away to bring in Yokozuna. As Owen sends Mo into the steps, the giants stare each other down but stop so Yokozuna can unload in the corner. We take a break and come back with Owen and Mo trying spinwheel kicks at the same time for a double knockdown.

The double tag brings in the giants, with Mabel winning a slugout and hitting a jumping (work with me) clothesline. Mabel throws Owen at Yokozuna and it’s Mo coming back in to slug away. Yokozuna clotheslines Mo down like he’s Yokozuna clotheslining Mo and hands it back to Owen. A cheap shot lets Mo get two of his own as everything breaks down. Owen drop toeholds Mo down and the Yokozuna legdrop is enough to retain the titles at 12:45.

Rating: C. I never would have bet on it but this was pretty decent. If nothing else, Yokozuna could still move well enough here and Mabel was slightly motivated, even after his main event run was dead. Owen was his usual self, so this was about as good as it could have been all things considered.

Diesel and Shawn Michaels are ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

Post break, Owen Hart/Yokozuna and company are still in the ring, with Jim Cornette promising to bring some more gold back at In Your House. They’ll make the Two Dudes With Attitude into the Two Fellas That Are Yellow. Cornette runs over the rules of the match (as you should) and promises that his men are ready to show how great they are. What happened the last time Shawn and Diesel were partners? They got in a fight, and how much worse will it be when they have titles to protect? Cornette: “In Your House, in your face and around their waists!” Great line to wrap this up as Cornette sold the match really well.

Jerry Lawler’s official prediction: Yokozuna wins the WWF Title.

A quick preview of Undertaker vs. British Bulldog for next week wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. They did what they could with what is basically a one match In Your House (Bret vs. LaFitte is a maybe at best) and that included a heck of a push for the Triple Header. Other than that though, there isn’t much going on for the show and it could be quite the mess to get through. At least it wasn’t a long build, which probably explains why is isn’t much of a show. They did what they could with what they had here, which is about as good as you can get.

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 18, 1996
Location: New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut
Attendance: 4,968
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

It’s the night after Survivor Series and there is a lot to unpack. First of all, Sid is the new WWF Champion (somehow the first major singles title of his career), having hit Shawn Michaels with a camera to win the title. Other than that, Bret Hart beat Steve Austin in a classic to give Austin something else to get mad over. To cap it off, Rocky Maivia made his in-ring debut, because the show didn’t have enough going on. Let’s get to it.

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

Steve Austin vs. Mankind

This is billed as a Toughman Contest, which seems to mean anything goes. It was also supposed to be Vader vs. Austin but Vader was hurt so we get what should be an upgrade. Mankind jumps him in the aisle to start fast with Mankind knocking Austin down, leaving Austin’s eyes bugging out (possibly at the fan sign which clearly has an F bomb). Austin gets whipped hard into the steps as we’re still waiting on the bell to ring.

They get inside for the opening bell and Austin hammers away in the corner with the style that made him famous. Some ax handles off the apron rock Mankind again but he posts Austin for a breather. Back in and Austin hits a heck of a clothesline before hammering away again. They go outside again with Austin whipping him HARD over the barricade but Mankind gets the Mandible Claw back inside. Austin kicks him low to escape and we take a break.

Back with Mankind dropping an apron legdrop and sending Austin throat first into the barricade. They get back in again where Mankind snaps off a neckbreaker. Austin’s sleeper is broken up and Mankind blasts him with another clothesline. Mankind goes up but gets pulled back down and choked on the mat. They’re already back on the floor with Austin taking over, setting up the middle rope elbow back inside. Mankind is in trouble but here is the Executioner to jump Austin for the DQ at 11:18.

Rating: B+. This was GREAT and one of the best fights you’ll ever see on Raw. They didn’t bother with wrestling and just beat the living daylights out of each other for a while. It felt like a match two years ahead of its time as you would absolutely believe this belonged in the heart of the Attitude Era. This was physical and violent, but above all else, it is the kind of match that would get your attention fast, which is what Raw needed.

Post match Undertaker runs in for the save but Austin clotheslines him out for a bonus.

Video on Survivor Series.

The suspended Ahmed Johnson is in the crowd.

Here is Sunny to introduce Faarooq, complete with PG-13 handling the rap.

Faarooq vs. Savio Vega

Vega hammers away in the corner to start and monkey flips Faarooq out of another corner. Sunny joins commentary (Lawler approves) as Faarooq fights out of a hammerlock. A hard whip into the corner rocks Vega again and there’s a belly to back as we take a break. Back with Vega in a reverse chinlock and Johnson, uh, watching the match from the crowd.

Vega suplexes his way out of trouble again and gets two off a small package. An elbow misses for Vega but he crotches Faarooq on top. They fall off the top and out to the floor and thankfully are fine enough for Vega to land a spinwheel kick. Vega misses a charge so PG13 goes after him, allowing Faarooq to get the easy pin at 11:15.

Rating: C. They got a bit more time than they needed here but what mattered was a pretty nice back and forth match. Faarooq was still rather mobile at this point and could do the power stuff, but he was stuff dealing with Johnson for such a long time. Not a bad match at all though, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the talent in there.

Post match Johnson runs in with his 2×4 to clear the ring. Johnson is livid with Faarooq and swears revenge. We get Johnson’s YOU’RE GOING DOWN chant and you can feel the charisma. If he could stay healthy for more than eighteen minutes at a time, the potential was right there.

Sunny beats Bob Backlund at Karate Fighters.

Sid is waiting to talk to Jim Ross.

Vince McMahon talks about Sid turning full heel by hitting Jose Lothario with a TV camera to win the WWF Title. Vince makes it sound like Sid set a bus full of puppies on fire and praises Shawn’s title reign. It turns into an almost weird praising of Michaels and the title reign, with Vince promising that Michaels will be back. This was just weird, as Vince was making it sound like Shawn was either dead or at least horribly injured.

Bob Holly/Leif Cassidy vs. Doug furnas/Philip LaFon

Captain Lou Albano wanders out to do….Spanish commentary? LaFon and Cassidy start things off with LaFon taking him down into an armbar. That’s broken up so Cassidy misses a kick to the face, earning a knock out to the floor. Back in and we go split screen, with Owen Hart and British Bulldog not wanting to hear about Furnas and LaFon. Cassidy comes back in and blasts LaFon in the back of the head with a clothesline as we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy hitting a dropkick as commentary talks about baseball contracts. LaFon gets over to Furnas for the tag and house is cleaned in a hurry. A dropkick gives Furnas two and a Frankensteiner get the same, with Cassidy having to make the save. Cassidy’s dragon suplex gets two on LaFon so he tries it again, only to get reversed into a cobra clutch suplex to give LaFon the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. You could see the different style from Furnas and LaFon here and that is the kind of thing that the company needed to try at this point. The problem is that they were hardly the most interesting team and that showed here. This was two dull teams having a pretty hard hitting match with a nasty looking finish. It worked, but only so much.

Here is Sid for his first appearance as WWF Champion (the title does look good on him) with Jim Ross handling the interview. Ross says that Sid is the man and it is his time, but does he have any regrets of how he won the title? Sid says that he doesn’t, because Jose Lothario made the mistake of getting involved. Sure Shawn Michaels can have a rematch because Sid can beat him again. There are challengers lining up, starting with Bret Hart at In Your House on December 15. Sid is ready and promises to keep the title, setting up his awesome pyro to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The opener is great and the rest is just ok, but the biggest change here is things felt more aggressive. We are still a pretty far cry away from the full on Attitude Era, but you could feel that things are changing. Austin is leading the charge but there are more than enough others to back him up. The opener is absolutely worth seeing, if nothing else because of what it could mean for the show’s future.

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.