Grim Reviews RAW and PPVs (October 1996-October 1999)

[Apoho Creed]

Pretty crazy seeing this before my other Laptop needed to be fixed I had all of Raws, and PPVs from the night after WM 13 till 2001 to review nice to see this for sure .Vega vs Austin always had great Matches their Strap Match in 1996 was one of the best Matches from the Year for WWE and it was nominated during the Slammies which had HBK vs Bret winning the Category just saying.

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Monday Night Raw
October 28th, 1996
War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana​

We are back once again ladies and gentlemen with another exciting, riveting, amusing edition of MONDAY NIGHT RAW! Our show emanates once again from the War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana (this show was taped on October 21st, 1996, which is why they’re back in the same stadium). The show opens up with a recap from Superstars where Vince McMahon tells us how Stone Cold Steve brutally attacked his best friend Brian Pillman and broke his ankle (which in reality is because Pillman broke his leg in an auto-accident and still wasn’t clear to wrestle). We also get a highlight of Bret Hart in his home in Calgary, and Austin at WWF Studios in Stanford, Connecticut. Not to mention that Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog is tonight and it’s time to go!

“The Real Double J” Jesse James vs. Salvatore Sincere​

Out comes “The Real Double J” Jesse James to his song, “With My Baby Tonight”. He’s got a fluorescent blue sleeveless cowboy jacket. Vince McMahon shows off some photographs with Jesse James during Desert Storm (they are in fact legitimate photographs of Brad Armstrong in the service). Salvatore Sincere, or better known as Tom Brandi, gets the first bit of offense on the match as he pokes JJ in the eyes. Jesse James bounces back and throws Sincere out of the ring. My question is if WWF is trying to push Jesse James as a moderately decent mid-card wrestler, why is he having trouble in the early going against Sincere?

There’s a hilarious spot where Sal Sincere gets in the ropes, signally for the ref to get James away from him. Jesse James looks up at the entrance and points to distract the ref, punching Sincere and continuing his offense. The in-a-year-to-be Road Dogg is pretty good, not gonna lie. His eldest brother Brad Armstrong he is not; but I’d say he’s probably the third or fourth best worker of the Armstrong family. Sal taunts after getting a little offense, and JJ just tosses him off the apron by running the ropes. This match is so weird. Sal Sincere and Jesse James are good workers, but nobody gives two flying flips about this match. The finish of the match sees Sal Sincere get a full-nelson on “The Real Double J”, but James gets out of it and hits a surprise Pump-handle slam for the victory. A short, sweet, and to the point match.

(Action in Motion)​

Alright, we got a Survivor Series promotion package with Dox Hendrix. He starts to plug the program, but who is that coming in the rain on everyone’s parade!? It’s Stone Cold Steve Austin, that’s who! He comes in and says that nobody cares about the WWF Hall of Fame; he yells at Dox to hurry up and talk about Stone Cold Steve Austin. Dox hypes up the matches of Survivor Series, such as Shawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, and classic Survivor Series match between Triple H, Crush, Goldust, and Jerry Lawler vs. Barry Windham, Marc Mero, Rocky Maivia (The Rock), and Mark Henry. He also mentions The Undertaker vs. Mankind with Paul Bearer in a shark cage above the ring! Finally, we get to Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart-- Dox mentions that Stone Cold is in the studios while Bret Hart is at home in Calgary…

Now just wait a damn second; Stone Cold is hot and angry. He goes on a tirade about WWF letting Bret Hart stay at home while they drag the greatest wrestler in the world, Steve Austin, all the way to Connecticut from Texas for this stuff. He mentions, “stuff like this is why someone’s gonna get their ass kicked, Dox”. He then shouts that that’s exactly what’s gonna happen to Bret at Survivor Series. Stone Cold Steve Austin is a gold-mine, folks.

Crush w/ Clarence Mason vs. Aldo Montoya​

We’re back in action after the commercial break, because Crush is coming to the ring with his lawyer Clarence Mason! On the phone is Wild-Man Marc Mero who is very angry over what happened last week. He mentions that if he sees Mr. Perfect out in public, he’s gonna whoop his ass. He also mentions that Hunter is now the hunted; Marc Mero is surprisingly underrated on the mic.

Now we have to watch the match. Fantastic; Jim Ross joins us on the commentary, and he mentions that this match is as predictable as watching paint dry; something to that effect. The major point is that Ross says that Farooq will have Clarence Mason’s services. Jim Ross just buried this squash match between Crush and Aldo Montoya. Crush dominates Montoya and win’s in just a few minutes. There’s this whole storyline that Crush was apparently in jail and now fans call him “jail-bird” and it makes him angry. After the match he just starts beating down a “fan”.

(Action in Motion)​

We get a recap from last week’s main event, where Mr. Perfect turned on Marc Mero and helped Triple H win the Intercontinental Championship. Apparently Gorilla Monsoon declared that Mr. Perfect is now suspended from wrestling in the WWF indefinitely; this makes Perfect very angry on Superstars and calls it, “a bunch of crap”. Stone Cold Steve Austin blesses us with his appearance on television yet again, he declares “Stop jerking me around, Vince. You put me on the air, and then you don’t wanna give me no air time--” They immediately start going to commercial break and Austin is incensed. He cannot believe this.

Oh my god! It’s back! The Milton Bradley Karate Fighters Tournament! We get Phineas I. Godwinn vs. Mr. Perfect, and Jerry Lawler hypes up Perfect. Our first match sees Mr. Perfect distract Phineas by shouting, “Dolly Parton!”. Phineas has to be one of the biggest idiots I have ever seen in my life. Next week though is Sycho Sid vs. Marlena. Can’t wait to see that one.

After the commercial break Vince McMahon talks about going to interview Brian Pillman from his home, and Stone Cold Steve Austin has just had enough of this. He shouts to the heavens that if WWF is gonna go to Brian Pillman’s house, he’s gonna go there too. Vince screams, “don’t you think you’ve done enough to Mr. Pillman?” Austin scoffs and retorts, “What do you mean, done enough?” Austin has a big grin on his face. This interview is honestly amazing and chaotic and it totally fits Austin to a tee. Steve Austin even calls out Vince McMahon and points out that Gorilla Monsoon isn’t even actually the President of the WWF.

(Promotion in Motion)​

We finally get the split interview with Austin and Bret but dagnabbit, technical difficulties. Out at ringside comes Sunny. Well at least there’s something to watch. What could Sunny possibly want here? She goes to the commentary table and gives Jerry Lawler a big hug. Alright, well I guess it’s match time because Billy Gunn is by himself. On Superstars he split up with Bart and is now a singles superstar.

Billy Gunn vs. Freddie Joe Floyd​

Hey look, it’s the return of Freddie Joe Floyd! Sunny talks about why she preferred Billy over Bart. Out comes Bart Gunn during the match; the two start arguing and jaw-jacking with one another. Bart wants a piece of Billy. The referees take Bart to the back so this match can continue. Freddie Joe Floyd takes advantage of the distraction and starts beating down Billy Gunn! Billy Gunn bounces back and hits one of the worst and nastiest looking leg-drops I’ve seen in awhile, but he gets the win. Nothing to even say about this match… it happened.

(Action in Motion)
​

Right, finally, Bret and Austin have a split interview. Vince asks Bret about his decision to come back; he mentioned that he was tired and needed a break, but now is ready to come back. He does say though that Austin was not a part of the decision to come back. Austin, translates it instead as Bret saying he’s scared to face Bret. Bret hilariously asks Austin to cut back on the language and then two seconds later says the word “a**”. Austin cheerily is like, “There ya go!” God I love Steve Austin. He makes these episodes worth watching when, like this one so far, it’s just awful in the ring. Austin starts laughing at Bret’s comments about being better than ever. Austin making these faces are hilarious; my god man. You need to go out of your way to see this particular segment just for Steve Austin’s facial expressions.

(Promotion in Motion)​

After the segment, Steve Austin gets even more pissed off and starts throwing people around and attacking a production assistant. He is going mad, and why wouldn’t he? He was dragged halfway across the country to do something while his Survivor Series opponent got to relax at home. This aftermath is one of the more iconic Steve Austin moments in his early career.

British Bulldog w/ Clarence Mason vs. Shawn Michaels w/ Jose Lothario​

British Bulldog and company come out to the ring for what I assume is the main event of the evening. Owen Hart comes out to the commentary table and he has his lovely Slammy Award with him. Did you know Owen Hart is a two time Slammy winner? Yeah, shocking, I know. We cut back to Steve Austin attacking a security guard. Well that’s fun. Out comes Shawn Michaels with Jose Lothario. We get a quick recap from last week where Shawn came out to help Sycho Sid after Owen and Bulldog attacked him.

The match starts off with Bulldog using his power to push down Shawn after a quick run of the ropes. Shawn starts running the ropes again, and as Bulldog jumps up for a Lou Thesz press, Shawn sneakily stops in his tracks and pokes Bulldog in the eye leading to a hurricanrana. Owen Hart obviously backs up his boy Bulldog. Shawn taunts and struts around the ring, pissing off Bulldog. This match thus far is a pretty good back and forth. Bulldog finally regains control then he tosses Shawn into the ropes after a military press.

We get one of the worst commercials I’ve ever seen WWF produce. It’s hyping up the WWF Wrestling Theme soundtracks, or something of the sort; all it is is this young kid imitating the wrestlers. His imitation of Shawn Michaels and Goldust are… questionable, shall we say. Back to the match please.

Apparently Stone Cold Steve Austin had the cops called on him during the break, which is funny to hear in 1996. Bulldog still has control of the match, hitting a great looking stalling suplex. I love how Owen mentions that he and Bulldog don’t have any problems together; just wait about three months or so, Owen. When Vince McMahon mentions Bret Hart, Owen goes into overdrive talking about how he was the reason the Hart name is famous, not his “lousy brother, Bret”. I love Owen.

Shawn begins to mount a comeback after a while, but is continually cut down by Bulldog. These two are very evenly matched; this is no surprise since they feuded over the summer. After the commercial break, we finally get Shawn’s real comeback. Shawn almost gets hit with the powerslam, but he fights out of it and hits the flying elbow! He prepares for Sweet Chin Music, and here comes Owen Hart to hold onto Shawn’s legs! British Bulldog and Owen are attacking Shawn, but Sycho Sid is here! It’s a big brawl! Sid just threw an elbow into Shawn while attacking, and we got the two of them having some big words for each other! Owen challenges Sid and Shawn to a WWF Tag Team Championship match for next week on RAW! The two of them discuss it, and Owen looks like he immediately regrets it.

(Action in Motion)​

The show finishes with Stone Cold Steve Austin being confronted by cops at the entrance of WWF Studios. With that, RAW is off the air. What a bad show outside of the main event talent. I don’t care for Jesse James, I don’t care for Crush, and I certainly don’t care for Billy or Bart Gunn. What matters is Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Sycho Sid, Owen Hart, and British Bulldog. You owe it to yourself to see this show for those guys only, and to skip just about everything else. That is this one in the books; see you all next time on RAW as we get the infamous “Pillman’s Got a Gun” angle.

 

[Chris]

Raw is Austin has arrived it lasts until ~November 1999 and it's the most chaotic time in the show history lol

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I really hope they push that Freddie Joe guy in the comin' weeks.