RAW #117

Date: 26 June 1995
Location: Whitey McCloskey Center; Danville, PA
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Shawn Michaels

TONIGHT: It's the fallout from King of the Ring and Jeff Jarrett defends the IC Title!

We're in another high school gym for this set of tapings, as Vince welcomes us and his co-commentator for the night, Shawn Michaels, to the show. Jerry is still getting his mouth sorted or something.

The Smoking Gunns def. The Black Phantom & Jason Arhndt (1:41)
The Gunns apparently want revenge on MoM but it sounds like they'll have to get in line. Billy and Phantom start the match and Billy works him over. Both men tag and Bart catches Arhndt with a vertical suplex as the Gunns assert themselves. Billy is tagged back in and the Gunns finish Arhndt with a Sidewinder. The highlight of this was HBK making lots of subtle jabs at Sir Mo (who was pretty much universally hated at the time in the back).

We now catch up with Jerry Lawler at the office of his dentist, Isaac Yankem DDS, and apparently the loss to Bret Hart has affected King's oral hygiene badly. Yankem is, funnily enough, a wrestler as well as a dentist, and he's coming for Bret Hart. Yankem is, of course, none other than Glenn Jacobs (a.k.a. Kane) but we'll meet him soon.

Skip def. Scott Taylor (2:13)
Usual Sunny promo to start, as she continues to lap Skip in terms of both fan interest and charisma. Skip does some high-fives in the ring and goes for a pop shot on Taylor but misses. Taylor works Skip a bit, but the fitness bod drops him with an enzuiguiri and then parades himself around the ring a bit. Taylor actually gets his shit in though and dropkicks Skip out of the ring, before sending him into the barricade outside with a baseball slide. Skip halts his momentum pretty fast though and trips him from the outside, slamming him on the floor before levelling him with a plancha. Skip then takes his opponent to the top for a hurricanrana and gets the pin. Neat finish. As much as I've called the action, pretty much all the focus was on Sunny here.

King of the Ring Report now with Todd, as he wraps up the action from last night and plugs the main event for In Your House 2: Sid vs. Diesel in a Lumberjack Match. Meanwhile, Savio Vega and Jeff Jarrett cut promos ahead of their match later tonight.

Man Mountain Rock def. Phil Apollo (1:20)
Usual guitar solo introduction for Man Mountain Rock, who is still getting something of a push (at least for now). This is mostly a backdrop to talk about the Backlund presidency angle. Rock hits Apollo with a belly-to-belly and then beats on him a bit until it's time to go home with the Whammy Bar. Get this loser off my screen, please.

King Mabel def. Kenny Kendall (2:33)
They have four poor schmucks carry Mabel's fat ass out to the ring on his throne and that doesn't look fun. Inside the ring, Mabel roughs up his opponent and screams about being King. He whomps Kendall with an ugly-ass enzuiguiri and then tosses him into the steps on the outside. Back in the ring, Mabel is being compared to Henry VIII (I guess he gets a lot of bitches too) as he finishes Kendall with a belly-to-belly. This push is instantly DOA.

What isn't DOA is this awesome Waylon Mercy character, who debuts on RAW next week. Dan Spivey delivers the material really well, it's just a shame he couldn't really go in the ring.

Also, we're just a week away from hearing Jarrett's new single WITH MY BABY TONIGHT and oh boy, I'm excited.

Intercontinental Championship: Savio Vega def. Jeff Jarrett (c) via DQ (5:30 shown)
Roadie distracts the guy who pinned him last night to allow Jeff Jarrett to take control early on. Savio responds though and manages to avoid getting a boot to the face in the corner. He hits a flying punch for a near fall, before Jarrett manages to get him into a corner and work the challenger over. Vega fights back but Roadie tries to get involved and ends up getting knocked off the apron. The match moves to the outside now, as Savio clotheslines Jarrett, while Shawn has some fun on commentary and pulls on Roadie's dreads. Back from a break, Jarrett gets a two off a snap suplex and Roadie tries to attack Savio's throat with the ropes while Jarrett distracts the ref. Vega makes a comeback though and connects with his own suplex, as both men are down. Vega gets his arm over for two and then levels Jarrett with a chokeslam. Roadie tries to trip Savio now but gets kicked back onto the announce table, where Shawn plays with his hair once again and pushes him back. They get into it and Jarrett tries to sneak attack HBK, but Shawn has his number and beats on him, before throwing him back in the ring. Savio then goes for a victory roll, but Roadie runs in to save Jarrett's title and give Savio a DQ win. The stuff at ringside with Shawn was more interesting than anything in the match itself but it was fine for a TV match, I guess. *½

Post-match, HBK helps Savio even the odds, effectively setting up the Jarrett/HBK feud heading in to the next PPV. Shawn is over as hell (like, scarily more over than anyone else on this show) and that's how we finish things off this week.

Not a terrible show this week but there's not a whole lot to sing about right now and I have very little interest in any of the programmes they have going. Slight thumbs down.

NEXT WEEK: Bam Bam Bigelow goes one-on-one with Sid and Waylon Mercy debuts!

RAW #118

Date: 3 July 1995
Location: Whitey McCloskey Center; Danville, PA (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: Sid clashes with Bam Bam and we get to see Double J's music video!

Jerry Lawler is back as usual this week but still has some bad breath in what's surely not going to be a really irritating running gag throughout the episode.

Dueling promos between SID and Bam Bam now. This clash is certainly one of the matches that ever happened.

The 1-2-3 Kid def. Mike Bell (3:03)
Despite getting flattened by MoM a little over a week ago, Kid is back to face Mike Bell. Kid gets an early clothesline but Bell boots him in the corner to cut off the momentum. Kid gets back in the game though and does a form of seated senton dive from the apron to the floor, wiping out Bell. A spinning heel kick form Kid connects and he pin Bell with an Oklahoma Roll. Kind of a weak finish there but good to have Kid back.

In Your House Report with Todd now, as he announces some of the lumberjacks for the Diesel vs. Sid match at the PPV. We'll also be getting Roadie vs. 1-2-3 Kid, The Allied Powers vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna and Jarrett vs. Shawn for the IC Title. Delicious, finally some good f***ing food.

Big moment now (as I'm not covering Superstars) as we get a first glimpse at "With My Baby Tonight", as it's revealed that Double J can sing! This song is actually a banger, and taking the character in the "oh, he's good" direction rather than just making him a goof out of the gate is a surprisingly erudite move from WWF in this era.

Bob Holly def. The Brooklyn Brawler (2:54)
Holly gets knocked down early but recovers and executes a flying head scissors on Brawler before working the arm. Brawler gets him down with the leg and works some heat (if I'm being less generous, more like mild annoyance). Holly works out of that though and connects with a dropkick, before hitting the flying body press from the turnbuckle to put Brawler down for three.

Henry O. Godwinn def. Barry Horowitz (2:57)
Godwinn has started a mini-feud with Adam Bomb after "slopping" him on Superstars. I wouldn't give that too much thought. HOG overpowers poor Barry to begin with, as the latter continues battling for his first victory. The fans seem to be getting behind him though, so the storyline is working. Horowitz tries to keep his head above water, but HOG clotheslines him and follows that up with a knee drop. Horowitz then manages to hit a knee lift though and evades a corner charge, as the crowd start to chant his name. Have I missed something here? When did he get this popular? Unfortunately, he misses a dropkick and HOG finishes him with the Slop Drop for the win.

Post-match, Godwinn continues hanging out at ringside as Sid makes his entrance for our featured match. DiBiase seems to gesture to him about something, so I guess that won't be the last we see of him tonight. As he heads up the aisle during Bam Bam's entrance, the two big boys start trading fists, but the referees manage to break it up.

Sycho Sid def. Bam Bam Bigelow (5:42 shown)
Sid gets an advantage early but spends too long taunting the crowd and misses a clothesline, as Bigelow takes him down with a body tackle. Bam Bam continues to foil Sid's attacks and attempts at using DiBiase as a distraction, as Bigelow connects with a DDT. Beast from the East in charge. Bigelow goes up top but then decides to chase DiBiase around and gets jumped by Sid. Sid hits a big boot on Bigelow now and puts the beating to him, as the crowd actually boo him. Well, maybe that's real. Back from a break and Sid has Bam Bam caught in a REST HOLD. Bam Bam powers out of that and hits Sid with the electric chair, but he charges the corner and eats boot sole. Sid chokeslams him and goes for the Power Bomb but Bigelow reverses with a backdrop. He climbs to the top now for the flying headbutt, but Ted has the ref distracted and Godwinn returns to push Bigelow off his perch. I guess that's a new feud then. Sid gets the cover and the fall is enough to put Bigelow out for three. Couldn't just give Sid a dominant win, then?
Post-match, Sid gives Bigelow a Power Bomb for good measure. This was not very good and went through the motions, but I think I liked it more than the King of the Ring match. *¼

Waylon Mercy def. Jeff Hardy(!) (2:59)
This isn't Jeff's first rodeo on RAW, as he got decimated by Razor as Keith Davis previously. It's the first under his own name though and I can't imagine he was more than 17 or 18 here. This is also the Waylon Mercy debut following all those cool vignettes. He shakes everyone's hand to start, including Jeff's, but turns all psycho when the bell rings. It's kind of like a thinking man's Festus. Hardy gets nothing in here as Mercy just destroys him, doing real evil, vicious shit like choking him on the rope. He finishes the poor kid Nero off with a brainbuster and sleeper combo. Not a bad start but Spivey was looking old and broken at this point.

Lawler is in the dentist waiting room now, and this segment feels like it goes on forever before Isaac Yankem, a.k.a. Kane, emerges from his office. And he looks ugly! He had just made the jump from SMW of course, which was going down like a house on fire at this point. That's pretty much our lot for this week.

Similar to last week, this wasn't the worst show they've done lately and had some interesting new developments (the Mercy debut, a new feud for Bam Bam, the introduction of Yankem) but the action didn't really hit and I remain fairly bored by the overall direction of the company. Thumbs down.

NEXT WEEK: The Allied Powers take on King Kong Bundy and Tatanka...oh dear lord.

RAW #119

Date: 10 July 1995
Location: Whitey McCloskey Center; Danville, PA (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: The Allied Powers take on Tatanka and King Kong Bundy Henry O. Godwinn!

Vince and Jerry are back in Danville as we get a retrospective on the chaos Sid has been causing since his return to the WWF.

The Roadie def. Jerry Flynn (2:41)
Roadie gets a head lock early but Flynn hip tosses Roadie and gets some brief control with the arm. Roadie punches out of it but Flynn shows some fire and kicks away at Roadie in the corner. Flynn then makes a charge but eats boot and then gets elbow dropped by Roadie. Flynn tries for an enzuiguiri to get back in it but misses and Roadie goes for a single leg crab. Flynn gets out of the submission but Roadie catches him with a Power Bomb and pins him. Is this guy Sid or something? Actually a fun little squash here as they went about even.

We now, for some reason, get a retrospective on Jeff Jarrett in the WWF, all the way up to another airing of "With My Baby Tonight". Were they short of material for tonight or something?

Savio Vega def. Mike Khoury (1:52)
Savio has got some pep in his step tonight and takes over early, batting off Khoury's attempted strikes and chopping the shit out of him in the corner. Khoury tries to reverse the situation, but Savio back drops him and maintains control. He puts Khoury in the abdominal stretch to wear him down and then cradles him for a three count. He'll team with Razor at IYH2 to take on Men on a Mission.

Vince welcomes Sycho Sid to the ring now for an interview, although DiBiase does pretty much all of the talking as they introduce their 15 lumberjacks for the Championship match at IYH2. Damn, Jimmy Del Ray made the cut! And shit, Mantaur is still around. Sid does his usual bit about being the ruler of the world and this was segment was just there really.

In other news, Barry Horowitz finally won a match on Wrestling Challenge over Skip, which of course produced the famous JR call "HOROWITZ WINS! HOROWITZ WINS!". Good for Barry.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Matt Hardy (3:12)
Triple H vs. Matt Hardy in 1995 feels like an acid trip. Helmsley does his usual slow and deliberate start, methodically working away at Hardy's arm. Vince actually adresses the negative reception towards King of the Ring during this, which is something. Also, Jack Tunney is retired as WWF president, so we'll be getting a new authority figure soon. Hunter continues the beat down and takes out Hardy with a delayed suplex. Hardy gets a brief hope spot off a boot in the corner, but Hunter blocks the moonsault attempt and finishes Brother Matt with the Pedigree.

In Your House Report now with Todd, who announces more matches for the upcoming PPV, including Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry O. Godwinn. Meaty men slapping meat!

The Allied Powers def. Tatanka & Henry O. Godwinn (5:53 shown)
So King Kong Bundy was advertised last week but has pneumonia. Which would make sense, except all of these episodes were taped? So what's up with that? In any case, I'm not sure we even see Bundy again but I could be wrong. Tatanka and Lex Luger start and oh boy do I not need to see them wrestle again. Tatanka hits Luger with a DDT, but Luger fights back. Tatanka gets a two count off an elbow smash and works Luger over to the heel corner, where him and HOG launch a double-team assault. Back from a break and Luger is still getting worked over like a geek. Tatanka gets another two off an elbow smash and tags Godwinn in, who slams Luger but misses the elbow drop. Both men tag out and Bulldog runs wild. He hits Tatanka with a vertical suplex for two as the crowd starts to heat up. Godwinn then trips Bulldog from the outside, allowing Tatanka to slam him and head up top. He can't capitalise though, as Davey Boy recovers and hits the running powerslam for the win. Well, Luger really helped out there. This was alright but mostly just heat on Luger with a decent enough finishing sequence. *¼

We finish on another visit to the office of Isaac Yankem DDS, as he drills a poor patient while Jerry sits around and asks questions. Very cheesy stuff here, even by King standards.

Pretty crappy show this week, as everything ft like filler and the company clearly doesn't care enough right now to properly build to the minor PPV coming up. Thumbs way down.

NEXT WEEK: Shawn Michaels meets IRS and we find out who Diesel's lumberjacks are!

RAW #120

Date: 17 July 1995
Location: Whitey McCloskey Center; Danville, PA (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: Shawn Michaels beats up the tax man and Diesel introduces us to his lumberjacks!

We open with duelling promos from IRS and Shawn Michaels ahead of their featured match. Vince and Jerry then welcome us to the show, as it's our final night in Danville.

Owen Hart & Yokozuna def. James Dimitri & Gus Kantarakis (2:55)
Hey, the jobber team is matching tonight! Owen kicks off the match and takes control, but Dimitri gets a hold of the arm and the jobbers actually work Owen over in their corner a bit! Owen levels Kantarakis with a clothesline and dropkicks the life out of him. He tags Yoko in now, and they do the drop toe hold and legdrop combo to pretty much end this one as a contest. Owen synches in the Sharpshooter and Dimitri taps.

A final In Your House Report now ahead of the PPV as Todd runs down the card. Here's what's on tap:

• WWF Championship: Diesel (c) vs. Sid in a Lumberjack Match
• Intercontinental Championship: Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
• World Tag Team Championships: Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) vs. The Allied Powers
• Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry O. Godwinn
• Razor Ramon & Savio Vega vs. Men on a Mission
• The Roadie vs. The 1-2-3 Kid

Jean-Pierre Lafitte def. David Thornberg (2:33)
Feel like we haven't seen Lafitte in a while. He absorbs a bunch of clotheslines to start before decking Thornberg with one of his own and then nails him with a German Suplex. On the outside, Lafitte flies at Thornberg with a clothesline, as Vince speculates he may be the reason for things going missing in the locker room. Maybe the Repo Man is back?! Lafitte does his usual routine of tying up his opponent in the ropes and hitting them full force, before connecting with a DDT. A cannonball senton from the top wins the day.

We get a Fatu vignette now, as his singles career is about to begin post-Headshrinkers. He takes us to his hometown and tells kids to say nope to dope.

Look, I love the song, but they play "With My Baby Tonight" for a third week in a row and it's starting to feel like overkill.

Shawn Michaels def. IRS (8:38 shown)
Shawn tries to get a quick start in this as the crowd come alive for him, and puts IRS in an ARMBAR. IRS ropes his way out of that and tries to bail, but HBK brings him back in and hits a forearm smash for a two count, before grabbing a REST HOLD. Is he playing IRS at his own game here? IRS works out of that eventually and evades a charge from HBK, who flies to the outside. IRS takes the chance to send to Shawn into the steps and takes some control of the bout. Shawn fires back though and slingshots into the ring for a sunset flip, which gets two. IRS catches him with a shot to the stomach though and then locks in the abdominal stretch, for a long and boring sequence that brings the match to a standstill. Back from a break and Shawn is still caught in a hold, but IRS has transitioned to a head lock now. IRS then slams Shawn but gets caught with a dive from the top as both men are down. Shawn goes high now and hits the double axe-handle for two. Shawn signals for some Sweet Chin Music but IRS avoids it and hits the Write-Off. He then goes for a whip into the corner for some reason, but Shawn is able to engineer this sequence into a super kick and falls on IRS for the three count. This was IRS' last TV match ever for the company, although he will be one of the lumberjacks at the PPV. He shows up in WCW later in the year. This was okay but IRS matches are a chore and even Shawn couldn't get something that great out of him. *¾

We get another Isaac Yankem DDS promo now as he terrorises a child and Lawler continues his verbal onslaught at Bret Hart and his family.

Kama def. Russ Greenberg (2:02)
The announcer calls the jobber the wrong name and gets a telling off to start. That's great. Kama puts the beating on Greenberg early and rolls him up for two. Greenberg rallies and hits a missile dropkick, but then eats Kama's boot on the follow-up. Kama works Greenberg over in the corner now and is in firm control. A right-hand strike puts Greenberg down and Kama gets the pin. Afterwards, Kama gets in the faces of the goth kids at ringside as he leaves.

It's interview time now with Diesel. He proclaims victory at IYH2 and introduces us to his lumberjacks, which include Shawn Michaels. He gives Diesel the high-five. Sid arrives next and comes down the aisle as we go to a break. Back from the break and Sid is on the apron, as his lumberjacks arrive behind him for the big stand-off. Sid and his boys eventually back-off and leave their adversaries to celebrate. Well, that didn't make Sid look like a bitch at all.

Well, there you have it. A "go-home" episode alright, but not exactly a great sell for the PPV. I won't complain about a HBK match on TV though. Thumbs down.

NEXT WEEK: Bret Hart vs. Hakushi part deux! And the fallout from In Your House 2.

In Your House 2

Date: 23 July 1995
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

Double J returns to Music City and leaves the WWF on the same night...



We get an opening video package with the In Your House theme music before Vince and Jerry — decked in cowboy garb — welcome us to the show.

The Roadie def. The 1-2-3 Kid (7:26)
D-Generation X explode! Before they even exist! No Jarrett at ringside for this one, as he's getting warmed up for his performance tonight. Kid, who was put out of action by Roadie and Jarrett, starts aggressive and attacks before the bell, outpacing Roadie in the early exchanges and connecting with a spin kick in the corner. He then catches Roadie with a head scissors to the outside and springboards over top boot first. Back in the ring, Roadie catches him with front slam. Jarrett is not even watching backstage, as Vince point out. Roadie nails Kid with a clothesline from the apron and then drives him face first into the post. Back in the ring, Roadie stays on top and works a REST HOLD (but not for too long). He goes high but misses a splash and Kid comes back with a roundhouse for two. He goes high off a slam and connects with a frog splash for two. Roadie then reverses again and catches Kid in power bomb off the rope for a two count. Roadie runs into the turnbuckle but crotches Kid as he goes high before piledriving Kid from the top! Well that looked gnarly as f*** and no way they'd let anyone do that today. Unsurprisingly, that gives Roadie a win. This was a fast-paced, fun opener but ended before it really had a chance to get going. Roadie visibly whiffed a few spots. **¾

Post-match, Roadie makes sure to get the stage ready for Double J's performance.

Sid and Diesel are hanging out backstage with their respective posses of lumberjacks, which are near enough the entire babyface and heel locker rooms.

Men on a Mission def. Razor Ramon & Savio Vega (10:09)
This is of course a follow-on from the events of King of the Ring, not that they've really been pushing it on television. Mo gets in Razor's face to begin and slaps him like a bitch. Razor catches Mo for a fall away slam and tags Savio, who has an awkward exchange with Mo and then clotheslines him down. He recovers and tags Mabel. Savio avoids the avalanche and then kicks both members of MoM in the head. Mabel catches him with a uranage though and chucks him out the ring. Back in the ring, Mabel beats on Savio some more and hits a kick to the back of his head for two. MoM double-team Savio now as Mo hits a suplex and Mabel comes back. Savio foolishly attempts a slam but Mabel falls on him for a near fall. Mabel hurls Savio across ring in a rare impressive move (think Brock just lobbing fools around the ring) while Razor begs for a tag. Razor tries to get in to help, but MoM work a distraction to keep Savio isolated and connect with a drop toe-hold and leg drop combo. Razor breaks up the pin. Mo goes for a moonsault but misses and Savio finally tags Razor, who runs wild. He takes Mo up for his usual turnbuckle back drop and connects. Mo manages to tag Mabel, who goes high, but Razor catches him on top and pulls him down for a 2.9999 count. Mabel regains control soon though and hits a DDT, he then goes for a splash but misses again. Razor makes it to his feet, but only in time to be avalanched in the corner after a slug fest. As Mo has Savio occupied, ?Mabel picks up another big win by belly-to-belly suplexing Razor for three. A surprisingly cromulent tag team match that utilised Mabel just enough without exposing him too much. **½

Jarrett's performance is coming up now as Todd acts like an idiot. Backstage, there's a rumour that DiBiase has bought off a Diesel lumberjack and converted them to his team. I don't think this went anywhere.

Jarrett performs "With My Baby Tonight" and some fans seem genuinely surprised he's good. Clearly they haven't been watching RAW lately!

Bam Bam Bigelow def. Henry O. Godwinn (5:33)
Hilariously, there is literally zero reaction for HOG as he enters. Bam Bam gets a head lock early but HOG back suplexes him. Bam Bam then responds with two of his own and sends HOG to the outside. Back in the ring, Bigelow nails HOG with DDT. Godwinn recovers though and pulls the rope down to send Bigelow tumbling outside, before heading outside himself and slamming him to the floor. He clotheslines Bam Bam back inside for two and then grabs the chin for a REST HOLD. Bam Bam breaks out and hits a flying body press off the ropes, but Godwinn recovers and maintains control. He hits a body slam, followed by an elbow drop, for two. Bam Bam turns things around though after HOG hestistates in corner and sets him up for a flying headbutt, but he misses it. Godwinn goes high now but also whiffs and Bam Bam is able to roll him up for three. The post-match is super awkward here, as Godwinn seems too injured to do the angle with the slop bucket as Bam Bam exits sheepishly. Altogether, a poor match with no heat. ¾*

Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels def. Jeff Jarrett (c) (20:01)
HBK cuts a pre-match promo before Roadie introduces Jarrett to a pretty negative reaction. Shawn gets huge pop bucks comparison and wins the pose off pre-match. Slug fest to start as Shawn cracks Jeff in face and sets him back. Jarrett takes Shawn down now and struts; he then gets the better of a speedy exchange, and sends HBK out of the ring. Shawn now gets the better of Jeff and clotheslines him out the ring while he skins the cat. Always love that spot. Jeff tries to bail now but Shawn embarrasses him and goads him back as Jeff stalls his re-entry. Shawn gets tired and follows him out, but he's caught coming off top once they get back in the ring. He soon turns it around though and hurls Jarrett out on top of Roadie before hitting a flying body press to the outside on both men. The crowd are going bananas for this. Back in the ring and Shawn engineers a sunset flip for two, but Jarrett back bodydrops HBK right out of the ring for a sick bump. Jarrett heads out to bang Shawn's head on steps and takes over. A modified brain buster gets a near fall and then Jarrett puts on the abdominal stretch, using Roadie's hand for leverage until Earl Hebner kicks it away. Shawn whips Jarrett into the ropes now but Double J counters with a DDT. Jarrett then takes out Roadie accidentally as Shawn rolls up Jeff for two. Jeff launches Shawn over thr rope again and occupies the ref while Roadie nails HBK with a clothesline from the apron. Back in ring, Shawn reverses a body press into a near fall, before the two exchange fast counts in a pinning sequence. Jarrett then nails Shawn with a drop kick for a two count and locks in the sleeper. Shawn works out of it though and both men are down following the back body drop. Shawn moves first and covers Jarrett, but he kicks out. Shawn hits a flying clothesline next as fans go crazy. He runs wild and comes off the top with a spinning axe for two. The Macho elbow drop also gets a two and then Shawn crotches Jarrett to the outer post. Roadie returns the favour by crotching Shawn on the ropes and allows Jarrett to super-plex him for a near fall. Shawn wins back control, but Roadie gets involved and chop blocks him while the ref is out. Jarrett gets a 2.99 off a body press but then gets tripped by Roadie accidentally as Shawn connects with Sweet Chin Music to win the title. Great match as these two had instant chemistry and a excellent dynamic to play off, with Shawn being more popular than Jeff in his own home town. The nterference was not too intrusive either, punctuating the match rather than consuming it. Probably the match of the year so far. ****

Backstage, Dok Hendrix reports a potential bust-up between Jarrett and Roadie. The real story of course is that Jarrett and Roadie were not happy about being separated via storyline and wanted to continue their partnership, so both walked out of the company in protest. It all worked out in the end for both of them but man, Roadie leaving just as he was getting a push was a choice.

World Tag Team Champipnships: Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) def. The Allied Powers (10:54)
Luger and Yoko start and have a strength test as USA chants ring out around the arena. Luger takes charge now and smashes Yoko's head into turnbuckle for the obligatory ten count by the crowd. It's a rough start in general for the champions, as Yoko and Owen get into it after Yoko falls on Owen's foot in the corner. They have a shoving match but Jim Cornette is able to split them up. Owen slaps Luger now and then goes on the attack, but Luger hip tosses him and tags in Davey Boy. Owen does his classic arm work and manoeuvring on Bulldog, but Davey responds with his own technical skills and slingshots him into the babyface corner. Bulldog shoulder blocks Owen now but gets whacked in the heel corner by Yoko and Owen starts to work the leg before tagging Yoko back in. Yoko gets a nerve hold and wears down Bulldog. REST HOLD! He tags Owen, who gets a two off a drop kick before Davey gets his own near fall off a sunset flip. Owen misses a dive into thr corner and gets walloped by the turnbuckle, as the fans will Davey back to his corner by chanting USA? He tags Luger, who takes down Yoko and runs wild on Owen, slamming him from the top turnbuckle before pressing him into Yoko. Luger and Bulldog double clothesline both Owen and Yoko and get a near fall off the latter, before double backdropping Yoko for a big pop. Owen breaks up the pin and takes Bulldog out of the ring, as Yoko hits the legdrop and beats Lex AGAIN. Lex would hang around for a few more weeks but in case it wasn't obvious, he's pretty much done with the WWF. A decent tag match but not exactly outstanding for some of the participants and there wasn't enough Owen for my liking. **

WWF Championship: Diesel (c) def. Sycho Sid in a Lumberjack Match (10:06)
The lumberjacks are out at ringside, ready for thr arrival of Diesel and Sid. Prominent figures on both sides include Shawn, Razor, 1-2-3 Kid and Bam Bam in Diesel's corner, and the Million Dollar Corporation in Sid's. Sid attacks early and hammers away but Diesel gives it right back and throws Sid out to the babyfaces, who hurl him right back in. Diesel slams Sid, who rolls out to his lumberjacks and takes a breather. Diesel then gets launched out by Sid and the heels all put the boots to him, until the faces make the save Sid goes for a pin to take advantage but Diesel kicks at one. Sid continues the assault and focuses on the ribs before clotheslining Sid to the mat. I just noticed the Kliq all standing together at ringside, besides Hunter (who is in Sid's corner obviously). Diesel responds and drops Sid to the mat before delivering an elbow. Diesel then dives to the outside (which looks pretty sick) and goes after the heels in a dumb move. Diesel gets back in and gives Sid snake eyes but Mabel trips him and avalanches him into the post on the outside, before slamming him to the floor and dropping the leg. MoM throw Diesel back in while the other lumberjacks brawl and Sid grinds Diesel down. It's REST HOLD time as Sid jams his knee into Diesel's back and softens him up for the power bomb. He hits it but starts to celebrate too early and Diesel obviously kicks out. Diesel back drops Sid now as both men are down. Sid gets up and then rushes the face lumberjacks, as HBK gives him the axe handle from the top. Back in the ring, Diesel goes for the Jackknife, but has to fend off the MDC first. Amidst thr chaos, he connects with a big boot to Sid and apparently that's enough to end this godforsaken feud. An unequivocally terrible match once again between these two, which had some bells and whistles keeping it out of DUD territory, but I found it worse than their IYH1 encounter. 1/2*

Post-match, Diesel celebrates with the other babyfaces while Mabel berates him from the outside, clearly setting up our next world title programme.

Overall

This show is a real mixture of highs and lows, as we get the WWF MOTY so far and one of the worst main events we'll see all year (and trust me, there's a lot of bad ones). This did have more energy than the last couple of PPVs though and the average of the card came in a little higher. This Diesel title reign just weighs everything down though. Let's call it a 5/10.

RAW #121

Date: 24 July 1995
Location: Louisville Gardens; Louisville, KY
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: Bret Hart and Hakushi settle the score and we meet a mean professor called Dean Douglas!

We reflect on Shawn Michaels winning the Intercontinental Championship at IYH2 as HBK himself makes his way to the ring to rapturous applause. This is the debut of the new RAW set, with the big letters at the entrance way rather than the colourful arch.

Shawn Michaels def. Jimmy Del Ray (5:21)
This is actually Del Ray's final match in the WWF, as The Heavenly Bodies soon became the latest in a long line of releases around this time. Del Ray gets a cheap shot in early but Shawn quickly gains control and sends Jimmy over the rope with a clothesline. He hits a baseball slide but misses the next and Prichard gets a hold of HBK. He averts the double team attack though and sends Del Ray back inside. Del Ray gets a low blow off though with the ref's back turned and taunts Shawn with his signature pose. After some control for Del Ray with Prichard's help, Shawn gets a sunset flip off for two, but Jimmy responds with a clothesline, followed by a reverse neckbreaker for two. Del Ray then heads to the top but whiffs the splash. Shawn kips up and heads to the top for the big elbow drop, which connects for two. He sets up for Sweet Chin Music but Prichard interjects and gets a super kick for his trouble. This gives Del Ray an opening, but Shawn counters and connects with Sweet Chin Music for three. A pretty fun and surprisingly competitive little contest here. I dig it. **½

Vince and Jerry cover off the Double J and Roadie situation and reference the fact that Jarrett was supposedly lip synching. That's pretty much all they could do to tie this one off as both men had taken their ball and gone home.

The Smoking Gunns def. John Faulkner & Rich Stockhauser (2:02)
Billy Gunn gets it going with Faulkner, with the latter getting some shots in early and tagging Stockhauser to play the numbers game. Billy works out of it though and tags Bart, who goes wild on Stockhauser. The Gunns hit the Sidewinder for the win and that's all. These guys are just kind of floating in the aether at the moment.

After this Barry Didinsky clown shills some more godawful merch, we get a first teaser for Goldust. No creepy promos yet but they're coming.

Meanwhile, Fatu is out on the mean streets of San Francisco and takes us to the Cow Palace. This Do the Right Fatu gimmick is lousy.

Waylon Mercy def. Gary Scott (2:01)
As usual, Mercy is all smiles and handshakes to begin but cheap shots his opponent to begin. He beats down Scott and then hurls him outside. He lets him back in and even graciously pulls the bottom rope up for him, only to let it snap down on Scott as he rolls under. I love that spot. Mercy roughs up Scott some more and slams him on the outside, before finishing with the sleeper while he pulls a crazy face. Another fun squash here but you sense the longer his matches go the worse they'll get.

A final In Your House Report for now, as Todd wraps up last night's action and looks forward to Summerslam. King Mabel has already declared himself number one contender and oh god it's really happening. Mabel talking like he's try to get sued for IP infringement by Mr. T isn't helping.

Bret Hart def. Hakushi (9:24 shown)
Pre-match, Hakushi once again reveals the bust of Bret Hart, which remains a pretty sick deal. Bret gets distracted early by Shinja and goes after him, which allows Hakushi to take him out with a sneak attack. Back in the ring, Hakushi goes for a Vader Bomb but Bret gets his knees up and hits a clothesline. Bret then goes for an Irish whip which Hakushi counters, sending Bret flying into the post for a great bump and sell. Hakushi hits the handspring elbow smash and grinds Bret down while taunting the crowd. He then starts to chop away at Bret, but Hitman blocks it and takes Hakushi down with a Russian leg sweep. Hakushi recovers and connects with a spin kick to Bret, before delivering a backbreaker for a near fall. Going after the back, Hakushi hits a splash for two and then puts him in a brief REST HOLD, which Bret engineers into a roll-up and near fall. Hakushi throws Bret out and as we come back from a break, he lands an AWESOME Space Flying Tiger Drop (basically a Sasuke Special variant). Bret then does a DIVE of his own, taking out Hakushi and Shinja with a springboard. Flippy Bret is fun. Back in the ring, Bret executes a backbreaker and then hits the second rope elbow drop for two. Shinja sees the tide turning now and tries to interject, but Bret annihilates him and hits a bulldog on Hakushi for two. A small package gets another near fall. Hakushi reverses here and hits a suplex on Bret before heading to the top, but whiffs the flying headbutt. Bret now takes Hakushi up for a superplex and synches in the Sharpshooter to make Hakushi tap. Awesome television match here and *hot take* a bit more fun and sharply worked than their IYH encounter. ***¾

Post-match, Jean-Pierre Lafitte robs the Bret Hart mannequin head and scarpers to the back. Well that's leading somewhere.

It's time for The Report Card with our newest addition to the roster, Dean Douglas (better known as Shane). He explains what knowledge means and then promises to give all the other wrestlers an F. This has the whiff of Lanny Poffo's Genius gimmick but is way, way more boring. You take one of the best promos in ECW and do this with him?! Maybe the company deserved to go out of business in this nineties.

We finish the show with a split screen interview with Shawn, as everyone (including Jerry, it seems) is gunning for his Intercontinental Championship.

Hey, a good show! Perfectly cromulent opener, a fantastic main event and Waylon Mercy squashes are always fun. Handily one of the best episodes of the year. Thumbs up.

NEXT WEEK: Razor and Savio team up again to challenge Owen Hart and Yokozuna for the Tag Team Titles!

RAW #122

Date: 31 July 1995
Location: Louisville Gardens; Louisville, KY (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: Razor and Savio challenge for the tag titles as the build towards SummerSlam begins!

Vince and Jerry welcome us to the show and look ahead to tonight's featured match.

King Mabel def. Nick Barberri (3:12)
Those poor fools are carrying Mabel to the ring again and oh god everything about this is terrible. Mabel just manhandles Barberri to begin and beats him up. Barberri attempts a fightback and gets a few licks in, but Mabel neutralises him with an ugly-ass enzuiguiri. To the outside now, as Mabel hurls Barberri into the steel steps. Ouch! Back in the ring, Mabel goes for an elbow drop which Barberri evades, but his dropkicks fail to put a dent in Mabel's fat ass and the King ends him with a belly-to-belly. Post-match, Mabel proclaims that he will be the new WWF Champion after SummerSlam. I guess that match is official then.

Fatu is now hanging outside his old high school. Fine. He'll wrestle next week once he gets done reminiscing.

Meanwhile, the war of words between Jerry Lawler and Shawn Michaels continues, as Jerry heads backstage to challenge Shawn to a match. But he doesn't want one on RAW! Shawn seems more than willing to fit him into his schedule though.

Goldust is coming!

Bam Bam Bigelow def. Bob Cook (3:21)
Cook rakes the eyes of Bam Bam early and then slides out of the ring after Bigelow reverses the Irish whip, thinking he's all smart. My heel radar is off the scale for this jobber! Bigelow grabs him soon enough and starts to beat the schmuck down. Cook pops him in the face, so Bigelow wrecks him with a suplex and then grinds him down some with a REST HOLD. Cook breaks out of that and actually takes control again briefly, but Bigelow takes his head off with a clothesline and slams him. He heads to the top now and hits the flying headbutt for the win. Bigelow just feels dead in the water and this squash didn't make him look like a threat at all.

Another edition of The Report Card now with Dean Douglas and this character is instantly death. He gives Bam Bam Bigelow an "F", which I'm sure will make the big guy really, really mad.

Skip def. Major Yates (2:23)
Skip is trying to recover from the loss to Barry Horowitz but let's face it, he never really did. Sunny does her usual fat-shaming promo to start as the crowd chant for Barry. Skip slams Yates to start and boots him in between jumping jacks, at least until Yates rolls him up and nearly beats him. Yates gets a classic monkey flip off and applies some pressure to the arm, but Skip works out of it. Yates then connects with a sunset flip for a near fall, but Skip wipes him out with a sling blade and then takes Yates to the top for a superplex. He gets the pin and then talks down the camera to cry about Horowitz ruining his life. I think there's another guy on the roster you'll probably want to blame for that real soon.

It's time for our first SummerSlam Insider with Todd Pettengill. What was wrong with the word report, exactly? Diesel vs. Mabel has been announced, along with Bret Hart vs. Isaac Yankem and Shawn vs. Sid. Yeah, that last one doesn't happen.

World Tag Team Championships: Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) vs. Razor Ramon & Savio Vega was fought to a time-limit draw (13:28 shown)
Owen and Savio start things off, as the latter backdrops Owen and then brings Razor into the fray. Razor takes Owen down and sends him out the ring as we break off for a commercial. Owen has taken over as we come back, but Razor catches him and hits the fallaway slam for two. Owen gets to his corner and tags in Yokozuna, while Razor manages to work around the big man and bring in Savio. He dropkicks Yoko out of the ring as the champions are in disarray. Yoko gets back in but tags out immediately, as Owen gets taken down on entry. He rallies though and wipes out Savio with a spinning heel kick, before tagging Yoko back in for the drop toehold and leg drop combo. They work over Savio now, with Owen slamming him on the outside. Back in the ring, Yokozuna synches in a REST HOLD as we go to a break. As we return, Savio escapes and manages to tag Razor, who runs wild and wipes out Yoko with a flying bulldog, which Owen breaks up for a two count. After some chaos with all four men in the ring, Razor gets Owen up for the Razor's Edge and connects. He pins Owen and that seems to be it, but the ref realises Owen was not legal and the match MUST CONTINUE. Cornette is ejected from ringside and goes crazy, as Razor continues to overcome the heels' double team efforts, hurling Owen into Yoko. Vega tags in now and covers Owen for a near fall, before working a few more pinning combinations, to no avail. Back from another break, Owen is working over Savio, until the latter gets two off a sunset flip. Owen tags Yoko in, and he cleans Savio out with a clothesline, but misses an elbow drop as Savio tags Razor in. Owen is also tagged in and the two men go at it. We get a nice sequence now as Razor gets Owen up for a suplex, which is countered into a pin fall, only for Razor to reverse again and nearly steal the win. Razor nails Owen with a uranage now but time is running out and we go off the air before Razor can hit the Razor's Edge. I guess we'll find out what happens next week? I don't love the finish but I get what they were going for. This didn't need to be as long as it was though, especially if they weren't going to give us an ending! Solid enough match though. **¼

I'd say this was a pretty tepid, lukewarm episode with not a lot going on after last week's uncharacteristically fun show. Thumbs down.

NEXT WEEK: Diesel takes on Mo and the Tag Team Title situation will be resolved!

RAW #123

Date: 7 August 1995
Location: Louisville Gardens; Louisville, KY (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: Razor and Savio challenge for the tag titles...again! And Diesel faces off against Mabel's squire Sir Mo.

We start off with a recap of last week's tag team title situation and duelling promos from Mo and Diesel. The latter is really going Ham on the cheesy babyface voice and it's so phony it's unbelievable.

World Tag Team Championships: Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) def. Razor Ramon & Savio Vega (12:14 shown)
So last week was a draw, which makes this a replay. In front of the exact same crowd. And you wonder why they're so quiet? We learn pretty early on, by the way, that Gorilla Monsoon has taken over as Interim President and booked Shawn vs. Razor II in a Ladder Match for Summerslam. That's random but great! Razor tries to get an advantage early but Yoko slams him. The big man misses the elbow drop though and Razor tags Savio. We get a pretty long sequence now of both teams tagging in and out and wearing each other down with limb work, with nobody really holding onto the advantage. Owen picks up a near fall off a neckbreaker, after some meddling by Yoko, before tagging Yoko in. He immediately puts Razor in a REST HOLD and oh lord this feels like it goes on forever. Razor breaks out of this eventually but Owen whomps him with the spinning heel kick for two, after which Razor hip tosses him and grabs a backslide for another two count. Another long REST HOLD now as Owen jumps on Razor's back and puts him in a sleeper, but Razor back suplexes out of it for two and then tries to make it to his corner. He makes it to Savio just as Owen tags in Yoko and the two fresh men go at it, with Savio chopping away at Yoko, thrust kicking the soul out of Owen, before levelling Yoko with his own version of the spinning heel kick. Everything sort of breaks down here, as Razor and Owen brawl outside of the ring and Yoko recovers to deliver a Samoan Drop to Savio. He drops the leg now and that finishes it. I really don't think we needed two long-ish tag matches to get that point across. This was bogged down by long rest hold sequences as well. Much less enjoyable than last week. *½

It's time for another edition of The Report Card with Dean Douglas, as he grades Razor and Savio's performance TT for Terrible Twosome. I would grade this segment C, for crap.

Next up, we head to Yankem's dental surgery for more mind games ahead of the match with Bret at SummerSlam.

Fatu def. Tony Devito (2:43)
Do the Right Fatu is making his solo RAW debut here (well, sort of) and manages to avoid a sneak attack to start. Fatu back bodydrops Devito and then tries to rally this dead crowd after a slam. He beats on Devito some more in the corner before levelling his opponent with a Samoan Bulldog. A flying splash finishes it for Papa Uso. Suffice to say he was going nowhere with this gimmick.

It's time for our SummerSlam Insider now, as Todd chats to new Interim President Gorilla Monsoon, who plans to be the most popular President of all time. Alright, Donald. It's then announced that Alundra Blayze vs. Bertha Faye and Kama vs. Undertaker have been added to the card. Popular!

Kama def. Troy Haste (1:25)
Speaking of Kama, we get a mercifully short squash here, as the Creatures of the Night look on. This is just a backdrop for a phone-in with Sid, who is mad about losing his shot at the Intercontinental Championship. Of course, they changed it because they thought the card looked terrible and yeah, they were probably right to do so. Kama doesn't waste much time with Haste and beats him to a pulp before finishing with a cross arm-breaker.

Diesel def. Sir Mo (6:56 shown)
We get some early heel tactics by Mo, as he evades Diesel and then catches him with an eye rake and some cheap shots. He wails on Diesel now, but the champ battles back and and connects with a big clothesline for two. Diesel then slams him and sends him to the outside, at which point Mabel rocks up. HBK also heads out to back up Diesel, as Mo tries an embarrassing attempt at a low-bridge on the champ. Mo sends Diesel into the post on the outside and sends him back in the ring. Mo goes for the cover but only gets two. He then applies the REST HOLD for a bit before heading to the top and completely whiffing the elbow drop. Diesel follows up with a side slam and a big boot to Mo, before hitting the Jackknife for the victory. As pointless and dull as you would expect. ½*

Post-match, Mabel attacks Diesel and leg drops him, which brings HBK in for the save. He sends Mabel out the ring but gets rammed into the post, as MoM take over. Diesel soon recovers though and hits Mabel with a double axe-handle from the apron, as the refs finally restore some order. And that's this week's show.

A really crummy episode that kind of captures everything wrong with the company right now; the main event angle sucks, the booking seems to engineer audience apathy, and everything feels super phoned-in. Thumbs way down.

NEXT WEEK: Jerry Lawler challenges HBK for the Intercontinental Championship!

RAW #123

Date: 14 August 1995
Location: Worcester Memorial Auditorium; Worcester, MA
Commentary: Vince McMahon, Ted DiBiase & Dok Hendrix

TONIGHT: Jerry Lawler breaks his journalistic oath to challenge Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship and someone gets slopped!

As usual when Lawler has his working boots on, we rotate commentators. DiBiase starts off the episode with Vince but *spoiler* he doesn't finish it. DiBiase is in a particularly whiny mood, since Sid has lost his opportunity to face Shawn at SummerSlam.

Waylon Mercy def. Doink the Clown (3:05)
Doink is Dink-less and, honestly, I thought Doink had already been cut. Doink refuses this nut job's handshake and takes him down with a couple of arm drags, which is maybe the first time I've seen someone get Mercy down. Mercy rolls to the outside for a breather. On commentary, DiBiase insists Henry O. Godwinn is not a Corporation member. That'll become relevant in a bit. Meanwhile, Mercy is back in the ring after beating on Doink outside and offers him a route back in, but does the awesome rope snap on him. Doink tries for a comeback, but Mercy flattens him with a clothesline and locks in the sleeper for an easy win. The crowd give Doink a ruthless send-off, chanting "kill the clown" at him. Ouch. Just a squash here but they're both name guys so I'll rate it. 1/4*

It's time to meet Goldust in a pre-tape! To summarise, he talks about other stars from Hollywood who were made into who they are by studio execs, while Goldust was born like it. He'll be bigger than the Oscars too, I tell ya. This gimmick obviously had the potential to go very, very badly (and to be fair, some versions of the character were pretty terrible), but it's as iconic as it is because of Dustin's commitment and delivery. That soft drawl he speaks with is immediately unsettling and cuts through the external absurdity of the look.

Henry O. Godwinn is out now and has a bone to pick with DiBiase. He makes DiBiase get down on his knees and then slops him! This is effectively a face turn for HOG, who was just boring as a heel. Weird that none of the Corporation members came out to help their supreme leader? Dok replaces DiBiase on commentary for the next match.

The Smoking Gunns def. Bill Garrett & Cody Wade (1:36)
Awkward start to this one, as Garrett sandbags Bart on the hip toss, and Vince has to cover for it. The Gunns are facing The Blu Twins at SummerSlam and surely, surely, that is the pre-show match?! Wade tags in for the jobber team, but Billy and Bart overcome him and hit the Sidewinder for a very brisk victory. Just a time-filler here.

Oh god, it's time for another edition of The Report Card with Dean Douglas. This time he decides to pick on Bret Hart for not hooking the leg in a match he definitely won, and gives him an F for Foundation of Failure. If the point is to make me want to change the channel / turn off the episode, then I guess this is working.

Ahead of the main event, Shawn Michaels has some cross words for Jerry Lawler and Mabel, following the closing angle from last week.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Jeff Hardy (2:08)
This would be a PPV main event for the WWE Championship in about 13 years' time. Funny how things work out, huh? Jeff gets HHH down to the mat with an arm drag early and even connects with a few loose dropkicks. We then get a really cool spot in hindsight, as Jeff goes for what would become the Whisper in the Wind but, sadly, misses his mark. Hunter loads up the Pedigree and it's night-night for Jeff. Fun little squash and a cool collector's item! HHH faces Bob Holly at SummerSlam.

It's the SummerSlam Insider with Todd Pettengill, as we learn about two more matches for the upcoming PPV. Barry Horowitz vs. Skip has been added, which sounds a lot like the barrel being scraped. More excitingly, 1-2-3 Kid will take on Hakushi in a match I'm definitely looking forward to!

Henry O. Godwinn def. Russ Greenberg (0:52 shown)
Mega-quick squash here, as we enter in progress to witness Godwinn beating Greenberg down, before finishing him off the Slop Drop. If you thought the slopping was done for the night, think again, as Godwinn dumps another load on Greenberg as he walks out.

We pay another visit to Isaac Yankem's office now, as he brutalises a patient with his drill. Pardon? Lawler does his usual maniacal face and promises pain for Bret at SummerSlam.

Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) def. Jerry Lawler via DQ (6:05 shown)
HBK gets off to a hot start, toying with Lawler by sliding underneath him and tripping him up. King can't get near Shawn as he continues to play to the crowd between manoeuvres. Lawler ramps up the intensity now and goes for a piledriver, but Shawn executes a really near handstand reversal to avoid any damage. Sid arrives now though (where was he when DiBiase was getting slopped) and takes a look at the IC Title, distracting Shawn long enough for Lawler to take over. Back from a break, Lawler hits a suplex and the fist drop, before DDTing Shawn into the mat. He decides to celebrate too early though and Shawn kicks out of the delayed cover. Jerry goes to the top again but this time misses the fist drop, as Shawn gets back into things with a kip up. Shawn connects with the flying elbow drop from the top and then hits Lawler with Sweet Chin Music, but King rolls out. It doesn't matter though, as Sid gets involved to force a DQ. Very little to this, it was just a pre-cursor for the post-match and not worth the weeks of build. *1/4

Post-match, Sid beats Shawn down and drops him with a chokeslam before going for the Power Bomb. Razor Ramon makes the save, though, and tries for a Razor's Edge, which Lawler foils, allowing Sid to escape. Shawn and Razor then get in each other's face and have a tug-of-war with the belt (ugh, such a Vince trope), which brings Diesel out to split the two men up. Too sweet!

A strange episode, as there was some noticeable effort at character development and introductions, but the total absence of valuable in-ring product holds it back. Thumbs down, but not the worst episode recently.

NEXT WEEK: Undertaker meets Tatanka in a match nobody (and I mean nobody) wants to see.

RAW #125

Date: 21 August 1995
Location: Worcester Memorial Auditorium; Worcester, MA
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: Undertaker battles Tatanka and someone makes a shocking turn!

We start with a recap of Superstars, where Kama attacked a creature of the night! Undertaker is pissed! They'll have a casket match at SummerSlam now. Great!

Vince and Jerry welcome us to the show, as we get the last bit of build before SummerSlam. This is the last night RAW would go unopposed before the debut of Nitro (and thus, the Monday Night Wars begin).

Men on a Mission def. Roy Raymond & Joe Hancock (3:48)
Mabel gets carried to the ring again by the strongest people of all time. Men on a Mission steal control early with a sneak attack and punish their opponents. MoM work together and level Hancock with a double clothesline, before Mo press slams him (with some difficulty). Mabel then murders Hancock with a piledriver, which brings Raymond in to make the save. He gets destroyed too as Mabel avalanches him and Mo connects with an elbow drop. Mo can pin the jobber, but allows Mabel to finish the job with a belly-to-belly.

Post-match, Mabel grabs a mic and demands that The Allied Powers face him and Mo tonight! I smell a conspiracy.

Another edition of The Report Card now as Dean Douglas is in a good mood and praises Mabel's performance, awarding him an NC grade for New Champion. He'll be grading matches live at SummerSlam apparently, which shouldn't be good at all.

The 1-2-3 Kid def. The Brooklyn Brawler (1:33)
Brawler takes charge early in this one, roughing Kid up before evading a cross body attempt. He then stun guns Kid throat-first onto the ropes. Kid soon fights back and fires away on Brawler with kicks. He connects with a spinning heel kick in the corner, before cradling Brawler in an Oklahoma Roll for the three count.

The Undertaker def. Tatanka (6:42 shown)
Undertaker has it out for the Million Dollar Corporation and goes for Tatanka early, taking him down and hitting OLD SCHOOL. Tatanka fires back, but Undertaker doesn't stay down. Tatanka connects with a Samoan Drop (of sorts) though and then locks in a REST HOLD to wear Taker down. After an age, Undertaker back suplexes out of thr chin lock. Back from a break, Tatanka tries to retain control but Taker clotheslines him. Tatanka escapes the Tombstone briefly and wipes out Taker, but a second clothesline misses and gets nailed with a chokeslam. Undertaker hauls up Tatanka and tombstones him for the win. Short enough to be acceptable I guess. *1/4

A final Insider report before SummerSlam now, as Todd previews the show and cuts to promos from Lawler et Yankem, and Mabel (who calls out The Allied Powers once again). Here's the final card for the PPV:

• WWF Championship: Diesel (c) vs. Mabel
• Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match
• Women's Championship: Alundra Blayze (c) vs. Bertha Faye
• Bret Hart vs. Isaac Yankem DDS
• The Undertaker vs. Kama in a Casket Match
• The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi
• Skip vs. Barry Horowitz
• Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Bob Holly
• The Smoking Gunns vs. The Blu Twins

Jean-Pierre Lafitte def. Scott Taylor (3:06)
Lafitte wails on Taylor in the corner but the latter responds with dropkicks and a flying bodypress for an early near fall. Lafitte blocks a dropkick now before hitting a slam and heading to the top for a flying splash. Lafitte continues the assault now and ties up Taylor in the ropes for a pair of body shots. He pulls the pirate flag out now and drapes it over Taylor, before connecting with the Cannonball for the win.

Another pre-taped Goldust promo now, as he targets Shawn Michaels and then quotes a bunch of movies. This was a lot less different and effective than last week, in my opinion.

Vince welcomes Diesel to the ring now, for a final PPV push. Diesel seems confident he can Jackknife Mabel, even though nobody else seems to believe in him. British Bulldog is out now and informs us that his partner Lex Luger has a "medical situation". I believe it's called WCW Syndrome. He wants Diesel to tag with him against MoM tonight! And Diesel accepts!

Diesel & The British Bulldog vs. Men on a Mission was fought to a No Contest (2:01)
Diesel starts off with Mo and beats him around the ring, before connecting with a big boot. He then calls for the Jackknife but Mo rolls outside and tags Mabel in to take on Diesel. Here comes the turn, as Bulldog nails Diesel from behind and allows Mabel to level the champ with a sidewalk slam. The attack begins now, as the ref calls for the bell. Jim Cornette has arrived too, as Bulldog punishes Diesel with a slap and a running powerslam. Mabel follows up with a couple of leg drops, and the heels head to the back in celebration. Pretty cool angle here, if only because it seemed like the crowd were genuinely caught off-guard.

Back from the break, the heels continue the party backstage, as Jim Cornette promises there is more surprises to come for Diesel.
.
Overall, a pretty weak show on the action front, but the main event angle is quite unlike anything we've seen on RAW since the Sid attack on Shawn. I'd call it a thumbs in the middle leaning down on balance.

NEXT TIME: RAW vs. Nitro go head to head for the first time as Shawn takes on Sid for the IC Title (if he's still champion)!

SummerSlam 1995

Date: 27 August 1995
Location: Pittsburgh Civic Arena; Pittsburgh, PA
Commentary: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler & Dok Hendrix

It's time to face the heat...



Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler welcome us to the show, live from the Igloo! Get it, because the Penguins played there! Dean Douglas will be on hand tonight too to rate some of the matches. Hey Dean, that's my job.

Hakushi def. The 1-2-3 Kid (9:35)
Hakushi is without Shinja and has just lost to Barry Horowitz on Action Zone, so things aren't going too well for him. The two competitors start by trading hammerlocks until the 1-2-3 Kid used his speed to flip into an armdrag, winning the initial exchange. A back-and-forth sequence of missed kicks led to a brief stalemate, after which Hakushi takes control, first with a handspring elbow and then a Bronco Buster. He sweeps Kid's leg now and delivers a Vader Bomb for a two count, then grounds the action with a REST HOLD. Kid battles free now, as a miscommunication on a face buster leads to the Kid executing a full flip and selling it as a backdrop, sending himself crashing to the floor. Seizing the moment, Hakushi hits a motherf***ing SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP! He rolls the Kid back in for a flying shoulder block and another near fall. Hakushi goes back up top now, but misses a flying splash, giving Kid an opening. Kid tosses Hakushi to the outside and connects with a diving body press to the floor. Awesome! Back inside, Kid hits a slingshot leg drop for two, and a subsequent flying splash for another. Kid then goes for his signature spin kick, but Hakushi catches him for a power bomb and gets the pin. A really fun, energetic opener with a great pace and cool spots. Very prototypical of the hot cruiserweight opener format WCW would popularise with their PPVs and TV in general. (***3/4)

Backstage, King Mabel cuts a rubbish promo and I've just realised he looks like the evil emperor Homer with that crown on.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Bob Holly (7:21)
This is Hunter's PPV debut, so somewhat significant I guess based on where his career goes. The match begins with Holly slamming Hunter but the blue blood quickly seizes control and beats on Holly in the corner, choking him out before delivering a corner whip and then a hard knee drop for a two-count. Hunter now focuses on working the back of Holly and eventually clamps on an abdominal stretch, illegally using the ropes for added leverage. Bulldog has arrived, by the way, not that he actually does anything on the show (all very weird but we'll get to it). Holly manages to reverse the hold, but Hunter catches him with a hip toss, sending Holly to the floor. Holly doesn't stay down for long though and back in the ring, he hits a DDT before levelling Hunter with a dropkick. Both men are down, but Hunter is up first and charges into an atomic drop. Holly connects with a massive backdrop, but a second is countered into the Pedigree and that's a victory in for Connecticut in their battle with Alabama. Not much to write home about here, but perfectly adequate work and there was residual energy from the first match feeding into this one that made it hotter than it probably ought to be. (**)

We get a look at the WWF wrestlers defeating a bunch of Pittsburgh firefighters in a tug of war, for charity. Cool. On to the next match!

The Smoking Gunns def. The Blu Twins (6:15)
I don't think we've seen the Blu Twins since WMXI (at least on RAW and PPV). They gang up on the Gunns early, but Billy rolls up one of them (don't ask me) for two and hits a mini Fameasser. He tags Bart in now and they work the double team for a bit, until Billy re-enters the fray. The Blu Twins take over again and hit Billy with a chokeslam, before getting a two off a power slam. Billy struggles for a bit but eventually makes it to Bart for the hot tag, although he runs into a big boot straight away! Tough break. There's some confusion for the Blus though, who run into each other, allowing the Gunns to finish one of them with a Sidewinder. I'm pretty allergic to Blu Twins matches, they're pretty much all really awkward and clunky. This didn't need to be on the PPV. (3/4*)

Barry Horowitz def. Skip (11:29)
Most of the build for this took place on syndicated shows, but to summarise, Barry is 2-0 against Skip now and even got a win over Hakushi on Action Zone (thanks to an accidental Skip distraction). Before the match, we get the usual grating intro from Sunny. Barry Horowitz charges in and throws strikes at Skip, setting him up for a backdrop followed by a jawbreaker. Horowitz maintains the pressure with a sliding punch from the floor and a leg drag. He then uses a series of clotheslines to send Skip crashing to the outside, before sling-shotting him back into the ring and immediately dodging a charge. Horowitz attempts a roll-up for two, but Skip takes charge briefly, sending him out to the apron. Barry grabs Skip and suplexes him out to the floor in a cool spot. Sunny is just about ready to throw in the towel, but Earl Hebner says no. Frustrated, Sunny trips up Horowitz from the outside, allowing Skip to take over with a suplex. A middle rope leg drop follows, and Skip starts working on the neck, choking Horowitz on the ropes. He hits a gut wrench, goes up top, and delivers a fist drop, continuing to choke him out. Horowitz manages a brief comeback with a couple of shoulder blocks for two, but he immediately runs into a clothesline. Skip cinches in a REST HOLD to wear Barry down and follows up with three leg drops, which gets a near fall. The two men start slugging it out now and both miss dropkicks for the everybody down spot. Skip rises first and goes up top, but Barry dropkicks him down. Skip fights back though and hits a diving headbutt for a two count before electing to pull Horowitz up instead of covering. Heels never learn. This gives Horowitz the opening for a comeback, but when he tries to go up top, Sunny pulls him down behind the referee’s back. Skip capitalises with a superplex as Hakushi arrives. Time for a babyface turn! Skip gets distracted by Hakushi, who leapfrogs him and allows Barry Horowitz to roll him up for three, as Barry goes 3-0 over Skip, much to Sunny's chagrin. I liked this! A very simple match in terms of workrate (with a few cool spots of note), but this really rides off the crowd's investment in Horowitz and his neat midcard underdog story. This is the sort of thing the WWF would learn to do a lot better in the Attitude Era (i.e., making the undercard stuff matter more). (**3/4)

Backstage, Dean Douglas bemoans the result of the previous match and defines "vivify" for us, before giving the referee a "F" grade. Shawn cuts a promo now too, promising to avenge his loss in the ladder match at WrestleMania X.

Women's Championship: Bertha Faye def. Alundra Blayze (c) (4:35)
So they did the angle on RAW After Mania with Faye attacking Blayze, then debuted Faye as a colourful love interest for Harvey Whippleman, and after all this time we're now running the match. And you wonder why the crowd doesn't care? Bertha uses her strength to dominate Blayze early, hitting a leg drop before going up top. She misses the splash though, and Blayze tries a victory roll for two. Faye takes over soon enough though and connects with a slam for a near fall. Blayze fires up now and delivers a series of sling blades to Faye, but loses sight of things as Harvey distracts the ref. Blayze goes after him and the, back in the ring, gets two off a crucifix. Blayze then gets two off a hurricanrana as things seem to be going the champ's way, but a missile dropkick from the top misses the mark and Bertha bodies her with a power bomb to win the title. This started to show some life towards the end, but the crowd was dead and a lot of the work was really sloppy. (1/2*)

The Undertaker def. Kama in a Casket Match (16:24)
The match begins Undertaker choking Kama and quickly tossing him onto the casket at ringside, before bringing him back in for a clothesline. Taker follows with a corner splash and OLD SCHOOL, then successfully throws Kama into the casket, but he cannot get the lid shut. Kama takes advantage, necking Taker on the top rope and hitting a flying clothesline, but Taker no-sells the impact and tries another corner splash. Kama catches him with a slam, but Taker immediately sits up. Kama tries to take him to the casket, but Taker reverses, pulling him in, which forces Ted DiBiase to distract Taker with the remains of the urn (a.k.a., Kama's chain). Kama furiously slugs away in the corner and then clotheslines Taker over the rope onto the casket, but the lid is already shut. DiBiase now puts the boots to Taker on the floor as Paul Bearer hilariously erupts, with the referees having to restrain him. Taker quickly fights back, brawling with Kama on the floor. Kama takes control and hurls him into the post, before executing a suplex onto the casket. They fight on the casket, until Taker backdrops Kama back into the ring and makes his comeback, at least until Kama power slams him. Kama goes for a pin now, only to realise that you can't win the match like that. A nice touch! Kama goes to REST HOLD now to grind Taker down, but Taker fights out with a belly-to-belly and the brawling begins again, with Kama delivering sharp kicks. Taker finally hits a flying clothesline, after which both men fly over the rope and tumble into the casket. There's coffin cam tonight which definitely adds to things and Jerry is finding this angle very exciting. Kama attempts to crawl out, only for Taker to pull him back in, but somehow, they both make it out of the casket and back to their feet. Kama lands a neck breaker, but Taker basically no sells that and immediately responds with a chokeslam, followed by the Tombstone Piledriver. That's all she wrote for the Supreme Fighting Machine, as Taker throws Kama into the casket and shuts the lid. You know, this wasn't as bad as I thought I might be. They did some nice, hard-hitting stuff (for the time at least) and the whole coffin cam thing was a cool addition. It was still WAY too long though and it's Kama, so you know. (*1/2)

Bret Hart def. Isaac Yankem DDS via DQ (16:10)
Finally, we see Lawler's demon dentist in the flesh! That's gotta be Kane! Bret Hart starts the action by slugging away at Yankem, but the big man quickly puts him down with a knee and stomps away. Yankem misses a charge though, and Hart takes control, driving the big man down with clotheslines before sending him tumbling to the floor with another. Lawler sounds very concerned. Hart follows up with a pescado dive to the outside. Flippy Bret! Back inside, Hitman goes for the Sharpshooter, but Yankem blocks it, so Bret settles for a rope burn and a quick roll-up for two. A backslide also gets a near fall. Yankem attempts to drop Hart neck-first onto the top rope, but he cannot quite get the champion over and it looks a little awkward. Hart stays alive and manages a two count with a another roll-up, but Yankem stomps him down and chokes him out until the referee is forced to physically pull him off. Yankem connects with a guillotine leg drop on the ropes for a two count, a nice move for the big guy. Hart manages to send Yankem to the floor and follows with another dive, showing fierce determination. Back in, a bulldog gets two, and a leg sweep also gets a near fall. Hart climbs the ropes and hits his middle rope elbow, then signals for the Sharpshooter, but Jerry Lawler interferes to hold him up. Hart backdrops Yankem to the floor, and they brawl outside. Hart then slams Yankem off the top rope after the demon dentist climbs up and gets creative, hogtying Yankem’s feet in the corner with a TV cable. This allows Lawler to get involved again, and Hart unleashes his frustration on The King. Yankem comes back and hits Hart with a double axe-handle to the floor, but Lawler inserts himself again and the referee calls for the DQ. What a lame finish as this feud MUST CONTINUE. The match itself was decent and Bret worked around a green Yankem admirably, but it's not a great carry job from Bret or anything. (**1/2)

Post-match, Yankem and Lawler tie up Bret's head in the ropes and beat on him until the referees emerge and put a stop to the assault. No dental extractions or anything here, though.

Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) def. Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match (25:00)
There's a funny moment before the match, as the title is lifted way too high, and Vince says you'd need to be Andre the Giant with a jetpack to reach it. They get it right eventually and Shawn and Razor go right for each other. Hendrix is on commentary now, after Lawler left with Yankem following the previous match. Razor tries for a Razor's Edge but Shawn escapes, only for Razor to send Shawn flying over the top rope. Razor heads out and goes for the ladder, but Shawn cuts him off and tries to suplex him back into the ring. Razor then suplexes him out of the ring and onto the floor, but HBK's leg collides witb the barrier on the way down in a painful looking spot. Back in the ring, Razor goes for a Razor's Edge again but Shawn escapes once more. He misses Sweet Chin Music as well and both men clothesline each other. Razor recovers first and finally gets the ladder. Shawn tries to hit a baseball slide into the ladder, like in the first match, but misses. The ladder is set up now and both men try to climb, but neither can get there. Shawn has a nasty fall with his leg caught in the ladder (if they planned that, it looked great) and Razor capitalises by putting Shawn’s knee in the ladder and stomping on it. The ladder, which looks to be in rough shape now, is set up in the corner. Razor continues punishing Shawn's knee, and even topples a ladder on to it for good measure. Shawn sells it all really well, as usual. Razor climbs now, but Shawn climbs to the top turnbuckle and flies over to thwart him. Razor tries again, but Shawn drops him with a backdrop suplex and whips him into the corner, with the ladder there. Shawn climbs the ladder in the corner now and moonsaults, which connects, but he misses the flying splash in another WMX callback. Both guys go for a climb now and trade strikes at the top, but the ladder topples and both men hit the mat, with Shawn crotching himself on the top rope in the process. Shawn is first up though and charges at Razor outside with the ladder, which actually takes HBK out along with his opponent. Razor finds the backup ladder now, as we have a MULTI-LADDER situation. *Dennis Reynolds podcast voice* "Twoooooo ladders". Shawn climbs now but Razor finally connects with the Razor’s Edge. Both men set up ladders and Razor makes it up first, but Shawn boots hik off. Shawn goes for the belt, but he can't quite reach it and takes a fall, allowing Razor to go for another Razor's Edge. Shawn backdrops him out of the ring though and climbs up for what was presumably the finish. He grabs the belt but falls once more and has a pretty funny, very Shawn-coded hissy fit about it. Shawn climbs up again and grabs the belt, as this war is finally over. Look, I know some people prefer this one to the WMX ladder match, but I don't see that at all. The finish is flubbed, the best spots are really just callbacks to the original, and I think this one drags ever so slightly too long. Don't get me wrong though, it's still a great match with all-timer selling and athletics by Shawn and a white-hot crowd. This one has more psychology and actual strategy on display too, so if that's your bag this might be preferable to you. (****1/2)

After the match, Razor rips the belt off Shawn and teases a turn (I think they were right to resist this, Razor was far too over) but soon hands it back and raises Shawn's hand, as the the two babyfaces hug it out while fireworks go off. This should have been the end of the show, really, ala SummerSlam 1992.

Backstage, Douglas critiques Razor's performance as "Bad" but gets confronted by Ramon and sucker punched, as it appears Douglas has his first official programme. I guess Razor drew the short straw.

WWF Championship: Diesel (c) def. King Mabel (9:07)
Mabel is carried out on his throne by those poor stooges, once again. Mabel chokes Diesel in the corner until the champ fires back with elbows and gets some room to breathe. He goes for a slam and nearly gets fat ass Mabel up, but the King escapes and heads outside for a break. Diesel doesn't let up though and flies out over the top rope for a pretty ugly dive. They fight it out on the floor now as Mabel sends him into the post, only to run into a big boot. Diesel takes it to the challenger back in the ring, but Mabel catches him for the sideslam and then lands square on Diesel’s back, which Diesel clearly isn't happy about. It looked a painful one. The ref goes down now as Diesel works out of a submission, which is the cue for Lex Luger to make the save, helping Diesel fight off an interefering Mo, only to get attacked by Diesel himself. What's that all about? Lex finally gets rid of Mo (and himself, as this is the last we'd see of him in the WWF), but there's no sign of Bulldog at all which feels like bizarre booking based on what they set up. Mabel legdrops Diesel on the floor, as everything has fallen apart and they're clearly in a rush. Back in the ring, Mabel hits a belly-to-belly for two, as the ref is slow to make the count, but misses a splash. Diesel is clearly struggling here and goes to the finish with a flying clothesline, ending this train wreck. And still, no sign of Bulldog or Cornette. This was pretty horrendous, although it moved at a fast enough pace to not make me truly despise its existence. Mabel just wasn't the guy to push to a main event like this and some of his work was actively dangerous. Once again, then, we finish the night with a terrible main event. (1/4*)

Diesel celebrates with the belt now and that's a wrap for the biggest party of the summer!

Overall

An unfairly maligned show by some quarters, although I accept the main event stinks up the joint and leaves a sour note. There's one really good match and a worthy sequel to a classic here though, along with the apex of Horowitz-mania! The crowd even seemed like they wanted to be there! For those reasons, my thumbs are slightly leaning up for a 6/10.

RAW #126

Date: 11 September 1995
Location: Canton Civic Center; Canton, OH (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: Razor meets the Bulldog and HBK puts his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Sid!

Finally, the Monday Night Wars begin! Nitro went unopposed last week due to RAW's pre-emption, so this is the first official head-to-head! WCW won with a 2.5 rating to RAW's 2.2. You'd hope for an improvement in RAW now it has competition, but we'll see.

We start with new titles! It's the classic open with everyone fighting on the roof of Titan Towers and it looks pretty slick! Vince and Jerry welcome us in front of a GREEN SCREEN, as this was actually taped a few weeks prior (allowing Bischoff to give away the results of the taping).

The British Bulldog def. Razor Ramon via DQ (7:04 shown)
Bulldog has completed his heel turn by cutting off his greasy locks and is now rocking the cropped look that would pretty much stick with him for the rest of his career. It's a pretty even power exchange to begin, but Razor strikes the first blow, clotheslining Bulldog over the top rope. Back in the ring, Razor works the arm, but Bulldog escapes and takes the fight to Razor and lands an impressive delayed vertical suplex. That's RAW power baby! Bulldog targets the back now and uses his power to body press Razor. Back from a break, Bulldog is still on top and gets two off a slam. He goes for the running version now, but Razor holds on to the rope and engineers a two count. Bulldog recovers and heads to the top, but Razor cuts him off and slams him to the mat. A fallaway slam follows for two, at which point Razor sets up for the Razor's Edge. The ref manages to get whomped in the process though and he's out. Razor hits his finish, but Dean Douglas (who Razor punked at SummerSlam) heads and interferes, connecting with a flying knee drop. 1-2-3 Kid heads out to even the odds, but Douglas escapes. Bulldog takes advantage to hit the running powerslam, but this time it's 1-2-3 Kid who tries to get himself involved, only for the referee to see everything. Kid actually splashes Razor instead of Bulldog, but it's the latter who gets the DQ win. Cool to get two upper midcard / main event guys in a match on RAW but the action was just average as Razor didn't seem especially motivated. (**)

After the match, Vince heads inside the ring for a summit of sorts between 1-2-3 Kid and Razor Ramon, and things get a little bit heated. 1-2-3 Kid doesn't want Razor babying him anymore and is still angry Razor cost him against Dean Douglas. He goes as far to challenge Ramon to a match on RAW next week and walks. Razor accepts while Kid heads to the back and that's a pretty big one for next week. This would be the early knockings of a heel turn for Kid, who was getting a little stale, I suppose.

The Smoking Gunns def. Rad Radford & The Brooklyn Brawler (2:47)
So this is the first time we're seeing Radford on RAW and he's teaming with Brawler? Ouch! We get a sneak attack from the heel jobbers to start, but the Gunns overcome this early assault and work a double team on Brawler. The heels do get a bit of a heat segment though, as Radford tags in and works with Brawler to ground and pound Bart a bit. Bart eventually makes it over to Billy though after slamming Brawler off the tip. Billy goes wild and takes out Radford, before the Gunns finish off Brawler with a Sidewinder. The rebuild of the Gunns continues as they have a big few weeks coming up.

Time for a new Goldust vignette, as he talks about thr creatures of the night and their dark leader, The Undertaker. Damn, that's a show of faith in Goldust, throwing him right into a programme with Taker! Not a bad promo again, as the sheer difference of this character to anything else on the card is enough to make the absurdity of it work.

Isaac Yankem DDS def. Scott Taylor (2:14)
It's Kane vs. Scotty 2 Hotty! Yankem uses his huge size advantage to take control early, putting a beating on Taylor before wiping out his opponent with a huge chokeslam. That could be a good finisher for him! A stun gun onto the rope follows, after which Yankem hits a DDT to finish Taylor off.

It's time for What's Happening In Your House with Todd, which I guess is what we're calling it now. The PPV is less than two weeks away, so it's not exactly an all-time build. The main event is the Triple Header championship match between Diesel/Shawn and Yoko/Owen, but we're also getting Bret vs. Jean-Pierre LaFitte, Razor vs. Douglas and Savio Vega vs. Waylon Mercy! Bulldog takes on Bam Bam Bigelow too, which feels random.

Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) def. Sycho Sid (7:24 shown)
Shawn does a fun promo ahead of the match, getting the willies as he walks past a ladder. He starts the match strong though, avoiding a Sid attack before taking down his much larger opponent with a dropkick and a flying forearm. Sid takes a brief walk now, as HBK plays to the crowd. Sid tries again and gets Shawn over the rope, but he skins the cat and then dropkicks Sid through the ropes. Finally Sid gets some traction in the match, as he cinches in a REST HOLD before levelling Shawn with a spinebuster. Sid takes full control now, beating on Shawn inside and outside of the ring, dropping HBK onto the apron outside. Shawn makes it back in to the ring rather than accepting a count out. Back from a break, Sid has Shawn gasping for air in a bearhug. HBK breaks out but Sid boots him and locks in another REST HOLD to slow this match right down. Sid then does a kip up (what!) and chokeslams Shawn before going for the Power Bomb. Shawn backdrops him though and connects with a flying body press for two. Sid hits the boot again, but misses a clothesline and wham, HBK lands Sweet Chin Music for the clean victory. Big celebration after the match as DiBiase looks real mad. This was perfectly fine as a TV main event, but Sid's heat segment in the middle brought it down a bit. (**½)

Backstage, Shawn and Diesel celebrate the fact that they will be heading to IYH3 together to face Owen and Yoko for all the belts. They will be the chaps with straps. And that's all for this week!

The new lick of paint and much-reduced time wasted on squashes and other crap made this a more enjoyable episode, but the action wasn't special or anything and I can't say the upcoming PPV seems appealing. Thumbs in the middle.

NEXT WEEK: Owen and Yoko face Men on a Mission for the tag titles, as Razor clashes with 1-2-3 Kid!

RAW #127

Date: 18 September 1995
Location: Canton Civic Center; Canton, OH (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

TONIGHT: It's the battle of the fat-asses, as Yokozuna and Owen Hart battle Men on a Mission. This isn't a title match, so ignore my last review!

We look back to last week to open the show, as 1-2-3 Kid challenges his "friend" Razor Ramon to a match.

The 1-2-3 Kid def. Razor Ramon (7:09 shown)
Aggressive start from Kid, who isn't quite a heel officially, yet. He spin kicks Razor out through the ropes and the Bad Guy has to gather himself. Razor gets back in and imposes himself, eventually getting Kid caught up on the top rope for a sweet looking mega fallaway slam. It only gets two, though. Razor continues the onslaught and roughs Kid up, hurling him across the ring. A wicked punch sends Kid flying out of the ring, and now he has to regroup. Back in the ring, Razor remains dominant and gets a chokeslam off for two. Razor telegraphs a charge though, and Kid moves out the way, before slingshotting to the outside. He sends Razor back inside and connects with a spin kick for one. Kid goes for a sleeper now and this spot just doesn't work visually. Is anyone buying Sean Waltman passing out Scott Hall with a sleeper?! This spot goes on through the break and once we're back Razor breaks out with a back suplex, before draping his arm over the fallen Kid for two. Razor ups the pace now, but both competitors collide and bump the ref out of the ring. Kid also flies out, and that's the cue for Dean Douglas to interfere once again, connecting with a splash that I suspect was a last-second adjustment from a knee drop. Despite an age between this and Kid getting back in the ring, a slow count is enough to beat Razor. And you wonder why he left for WCW?! Okay, it was money, and he would have had no issue putting over his buddy, but still! The action here was just okay really, as both guys looked like they were going through the motions. (**)

Dean Douglas has got back to his "mobile classroom" just in time for The Report Card, as he grades the performance of Razor, Kid and himself, before prophesising victory over Razor at IYH: Triple Header.

Kama & Tatanka def. Savio Vega & Bob Holly (5:50)
Man, Savio has fallen from a KOTR final only a month into the gimmick to slumming it as part of a thrown-together JTTS tag team. At least he has a match at the PPV. Savio kicks it off with Tatanka, who'd actually got himself suspended around this time (so he'll disappear for a bit after this taping). A pair of dropkicks brings Kama in straight away, followed by Holly for a four-man melee. Holly and Kama tag in for an awkward exchange, and then Savio tags back in? This is a chaotic start. The heels eventually work together to take control and get Savio isolated in the corner, while Holly's constant attempts to interject only gives them more opportunities to cheat, and incurs some snide remarks from Vince about him not being a team player. Holly eventually gets the tag and runs a little wild, at which point everything becomes a messy free-for-all. While Savio and Tatanka brawl on the floor, Holly goes for a body press, but Kama just about reverses it (nearly dropping Holly on his neck) and pins him. Ugly finish there. This was a pretty terrible match with no worthwhile action at all, basically. (1/2*)

Fairly basic promo from Razor now to preview his match against Dean Douglas at the PPV, can't say I'm really looking forward to it though.

Jean-Pierre Lafitte def. Brian Welsh (3:18)
Lafitte starts strong but misses a corner splash and gives Welsh (an especially pasty looking jobber) a chance. Welsh goes for a dropkick and connects, but the second one misses. Bret "phones in" now from the set of what I presume is a television show and talks up his match against Lafitte at the PPV. He also questions whether pirates even exist anymore, subtly shitting all over the gimmick (which is pretty beast). Lafitte hits Welsh with a vertical suplex and chokes him for a bit. He then pulverises him with a backbreaker and heads to the top for the Cannonball. A three count follows.

Ahead of our next match, the referees and ring crew reinforce the ring, as it's about to hold some serious weight.

Owen Hart & Yokozuna def. Men on a Mission (9:06 shown)
Owen and Mo starts us off while the big lads watch on. Mo gets the better of a striking match early but eats boot in the corner and gets taken down by a clothesline from Owen. Mo recovers though and puts Owen down with a slam, before tagging in Mabel. He misses the avalanche but gets to the corner, and MoM now play the heel role of isolating their opponent. Owen eventually outsmarts Mo and sends him outside, before tagging Yoko. He gives it to Mabel, who rolls Mo back in to get us moving again. Yokozuna wails on poor Mo, as him and Owen take the chance to isolate their opponent. Back from a break and we get an everyone down spot between Mo and Owen, which of course leads to a double tag and, finally, a showdown between Mabel and Yoko. Mabel takes charge early and hurls Owen like a toy at Yokozuna. The tag champs fight back though and get a near fall off a big missile dropkick by Owen. Owen hits a reverse neckbreaker and goes up high, but Mo cuts him off at the pass, superplexing Owen for two after Yoko makes the save. Mabel tries to even things up, but Yoko sends him out the ring, and the drop toehold leg drop combo finishes it. I hope you enjoyed your push while it lasted, King Mabel. This was surprisingly fun considering it was Owen and a bunch of slugs, but they built to the Yoko/Mabel face off well and kept things moving. (**3/4)

After the match, we cut to a promo from Diesel and HBK for a final IYH push, as they promise to leave with all the belts. Then, after a break, Vince interviews Owen, Yoko and their manager Jim Cornette, still in the ring. Cornette cuts a pretty good promo here and reminds us that last time they teamed together, Diesel and Shawn exploded. A nice bit of continuity from Jim there and that's pretty much it for this week. It was basically a draw between RAW and Nitro this week.

The main event overdelivered, but this felt like a pretty tepid episode of wrestling television all the same, with no heat whatsoever going into the PPV. A tentative thumbs down.

NEXT WEEK: In what must surely be a first-time ever match, The British Bulldog steps in the ring to face The Undertaker!