Monday Nitro 1-15-96 Review

Monday, January 15th, 1996
Knight Center
Miami, Florida

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We are welcomed by Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Steve McMichael as always. 

Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage

They announce that Savage will get a title shot against the winner of tonight's main event. The crowd is very into this one, as you would expect for a pay per view quality match. It really is amazing that Raw was headlined with Undertaker vs. Isaac Yankem. I have to say that this arena is an odd set up and doesn't look that great on TV whenever they go away from the standard ring shot. I guess I should start talking about the match, huh? Savage misses with a top rope elbow drop and Luger puts Savage up in the Torture Rack. Savage actually gives up? These are the kinds of things about WCW that were really just not well thought out. You give away a headlining match on free TV and rush through a match and give away a clean finish? Look, I love a clean finish as much as anyone, but Savage submitting should be saved for major events. The match was spirited and the crowd loved it. 

Match Rating: **

We're supposed to get Hugh Morrus and Kevin Sullivan vs. Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman but instead, they all walk out together along with Gene Okerlund and all the other members of their groups. Arn says that there is no financial gain with this match, so they are scrapping the match. Flair being the champion is the main order of business. Sullivan then says that Flair is the greatest champion of all time. Sullivan says that Flair can borrow the Giant at Clash of the Champions. Sullivan then says that he only has a problem with Pillman because he has no respect. Pillman chimes in and Anderson slaps him. 

Public Enemy vs. American Males

Bischoff gets word that they have a standby match and it's the debut of Public Enemy. I remember Public Enemy being such a staple of Nitro when it went to 2 hours (or at least that's what my memory tells me). We get a pretty standard TV tag match to start things off, which feels like a mistake. Bagwell hits a big scoop slam and then a botched looking roll up. Johnny Grunge then rolls him up and holds onto the tights for a really ugly looking finish. After the match, they continue the attack and set up a table outside the ring. They stack a second one on top of it and put Bagwell on it. Rocco Rock does a somersault dive from the top rope and hits it through the two tables. Tables may be kind. They are just pieces of plywood on stands. The match was awful. The dive at the end was the only thing worthwhile. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

WCW Championship Match
Sting vs. Ric Flair

Imagine having a title match not be a main event on your weekly free program. Sting dominates the early going, hitting a lot of the signature spots. Sting hits a big superplex but then Flair gets the knees up for the follow up splash. We get a commercial break and Sting tries to make a comeback but now both men are down. Sting misses with a dropkick and Flair goes for a Figure Four but Sting turns it into an inside cradle for a 2 count. Sting is back at it now with a big press slam but then runs into an elbow. Sting throws Flair off the top rope and then no sells a chop to the chest. He hits a less impressive second press slam. Jimmy Hart is on the apron now and Luger comes out to get him off. This leads to him accidentally pulling the megaphone away and hitting Sting with it. That's enough for Flair to win and Luger is mad at Jimmy. He goes after Flair but then Hulk Hogan and Savage are out to clear the ring and Mean Gene is in there to look at them checking on Sting. The match was going along pretty well until the ending. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Hogan hopes that Sting finally got some good sense knocked into him. Savage tells him to wake up and Hogan tells Sting that Luger is the reason he lost. Sting can't remember and he goes to the back to hear it from the horses' mouth. Hogan then tells Savage that he has a problem with him. He should be getting the title shot and not Savage. Hogan is so annoying and Savage says he'll see him at the Clash of the Champions. 

Meng vs. Hulk Hogan

In typical WCW fashion, Hogan goes to the back just to come back out for this match. I like Meng but it's hard for me to get excited about this match. Hogan is so terrible here and Meng never seems to win. Meng hits a body slam but misses with a second rope splash. Sullivan gets up on the apron but Savage is out there. He helps him there and Hogan hits a big boot for the win. This was the quality of match that you see after a live taping. Absolutely pointless. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

This was a pretty good episode overall with a lot of action, even if it wasn't all good necessarily. They were still in full court press mode with putting huge matches on free TV every week here, so they also win the war on that since Vince McMahon usually lost interest in stuff like that after a few weeks. 

Overall Rating: 56%

Monday Night Raw 1-15-96 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, January 15th, 1996
Bob Carpenter Center
Newark, Delaware

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We get a Martin Luther King Jr. intro. We then get a warning for graphic nature after that. They then run through a bunch of stuff for a scattered intro. 

Marty Jannetty vs. Owen Hart

I'd be good if this one got 20 minutes. Jerry Lawler predicts that someone with royalty will win the Rumble. Owen Hart, Mabel or himself. We get some good action as we head into the first commercial break. I really wish I didn't have to binge all of these Raw episodes without watching Superstars (and Nitro). Hopefully it will prove to have been a bad idea by me, but I have no faith that they will put this up on Netflix. We get mostly 50/50 action and then kind of a winner out of nowhere with Owen pinning Marty with a bridge. 

Match Rating: **

We go to Todd Pettengill and he's hyping up the first ever Free For All on the Preview Channel. I was legitimately so excited for this. I am pretty sure I watched every Free For All there ever was. Todd announces that there will be a match where the winner will get #30 in the Rumble and the loser will be #1. They flash through a lot of the Superstars in it, but don't name them like they typically do. We hear from Diesel and he says that it's Diesel time. We then see more of Vader. Todd promises that they won't show these Royal Rumble matches anywhere else like they did In Your House. That's still hilarious to me. 

We go to Dok Hendrix and he tells us that Razor Ramon is furious with Goldust and he can't wait any longer to tear Goldust apart. 

We then get the Sunny playing pool Raw vignette. Then they hype up the rest of the show into a commercial. 

Ringmaster vs. Matt Hardy

It's always good to see Matt Hardy. It's hilarious to me that someone approved the name "Ringmaster". Ringmaster has a real Widowmaker vibe to it. This match should be over already It should have been 5 moves and over. If they wanted to make this extended, they should have given him Bob Holly or Barry Horowitz. Ringmaster reverses a suplex by hitting a face first suplex. Ringmaster drops Hardy on the top rope and then slaps on the Million Dollar Dream for the victory. Like I said, this should have been quicker. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Shawn Michaels video package about how exciting he is. They then go over the concussion drama. They once again show him announcing that he'll be in the Royal Rumble. This, of course, is the origin of the "boyhood dream". 

We go to Dok again and he said that Razor is just a few miles from the arena. 

Smoking Gunns vs. The Spiders

We join this awesome match in progress. The Spiders are the Headbangers. They hit the Sidewinder and that is all. They mention the match with the Body Donnas, who have not been on Raw ahead of a pay per view title match. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Billionaire Ted wanting to buy WWF. 

Vince McMahon is in the ring for an interview with Goldust. They play on the homophobia of this era. It's all about as classy as you would expect it to be from pro wrestling. They go back to Dok and he thinks Razor has just gotten here. 

We see Razor walk in the arena.

Isaac Yankem vs. Undertaker

Lawler gives Yankem a pep talk before the match. There are very few matches that I want to see less than this one. Why are there still 2 commercials left in this show? The Undertaker dominates until the King gets involved and Yankem is able to drive Taker into the ring post. We go back to Dok and he says that after the match, he'll get to interview Goldust about his match with Bret Hart next week on Raw. Gee, I wonder what will happen. Taker reverses a piledriver and they cut to Dok, likely because they botched the move. Taker hits the Tombstone and puts us all out of our misery. This was horrible. I can't believe they saw this and were like, give me about 95 more televised matches of this. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Dok interviews Goldust and wouldn't you know it, Razor attacks him. I didn't see that coming. Goldust is able to slow him down with a low blow and then we go to commercial. 

We get Sunny in a bath tub. 

They show the same Razor attack again. The amount of filler on a 45 minute show the last month or two has been crazy to me. 

As mentioned, next week it will be Bret vs. Goldust. Don't forget to buy the Royal Rumble. They run through the card real quick and go back to Dok. Razor attacks Goldust again and throws him out the door and into the snow. He tries to hit him with a shovel, but Goldust throws him into a truck. Goldust is able to get away in a car before we end the show. That at least was pretty fun. 

I really hope that this isn't the last Raw I get to watch because that main event sucked big time. Let's hope Netflix decides to put the Raw library up sometime soon. If not, I bought myself some time by binging these episodes and actually made it further than I thought I would. Anyway, this episode sucked again, which is a shame heading into Royal Rumble. After a little hot streak in the fall, they have definitely slipped again. There are a few good things going on, but the taping cycle is really killing Raw. 

Overall Rating: 28%

Superstars 1-13-96 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, January 13th, 1996
Stabler Arena
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We kick off the show with them showing Shawn Michaels throwing his name in the Royal Rumble and that no matter who the champion is, they will be facing him at WrestleMania. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Owen Hart

Here's a match that I can get behind. We get some good pro wrestling to start off and Owen hits a top rope elbow drop before slowing things done. Godwinn hits a back body drop and a clothesline to regain the momentum. Godwinn hits a big press slam and goes for the Slop Drop. Jim Cornette gets on the apron and that's enough for Godwinn to go after him. That allows Owen to hit an enziguri and then puts his feel on the ropes for the victory. That was shorter than it deserved to be, so it never had a chance to live up to my expectations. I guess I shouldn't be surprised with it being Superstars, but a guy can dream. After the match, Godwinn tries to slop Owen, but he ducks and it hits Cornette.

Match Rating: *1/2

We get more Shawn Michaels with more of the press conference shown of him declaring that he is in the Royal Rumble. We hear from some Superstars on Shawn being in it including Diesel, Owen Hart and Razor Ramon. 

Smoking Gunns vs. Jason Ahrndt & Phil Apollo

The announce team lets us know that the Gunns will be defending their titles against the new team of the Body Donnas at Royal Rumble. This is the usual squash here with the Gunns looking good. They hit the spinning double team neckbreaker for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Dok Hendrix who is wearing leather gloves and a leather jacket for some reason. He hypes up Royal Rumble before we hear from Paul Bearer and Undertaker. I guess the skies are already dark over Fresno. It's probably just the pollution. Bret says Taker will fall to the excellence of execution.

We go to Vince and he introduces the Vader promo video. 

Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Hardy

We get a Goldust interview during the match and he talks about getting his hands on Razor's body. Meanwhile, Razor hits a fall away slam before setting him up for the super back suplex. He signals for the Razor's Edge and then out comes the usher of Goldust. He holds a photo of Goldust centerfold type picture. Razor goes after him and rips up the picture and that leads to Hardy winning the match by countout. He takes his frustration out on Hardy and hits the Razor's Edge. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's Diesel vs. Isaac Yankem. Oh boy. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Marty Garner

They show Jarrett going after Ahmed on Raw with his guitar and it didn't work out. After watching some Honky Tonk Man recently, it is just so crazy how much more over he was able to get over than Jarrett ever was able to. I'd argue that Jarrett is more popular in 2025 than he was at his peak. Anyway, he slaps on the Figure Four and no one cares. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We see clips of the Ringmaster's debut on Raw with Brother Love. 

Duke Droese vs. The Spider

So I guess Droese still exists. In 2025, I think it's fair to say that we wish he never did. Speaking of no one caring about matches, this one would also qualify. JR claims he is underrated and he hits the Trash Compactor for the quick win. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Dok and he says that Duke is trying to claim one of the last three spots in the Rumble. He names British Bulldog, Savio Vega, Bam Bam Bigelow, Vader, King Mabel, Barry Horowitz, Bob Backlund, Hakushi, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Henry Godwinn and Jerry Lawler, Dory Funk Jr., Owen Hart, Tatanka, Diesel, Jake Roberts, Isaac Yankem, Marty Jannetty, Yokozuna, Ringmaster, Kama and Shawn Michaels. I may have missed one or two there. We hear from Lawler, Marty and Diesel in between there. The Marty one is particularly lame. 

Barry Horowitz vs. Goldust

It seems like a lot of fake crowd noise being pumped in on this episode. Before I even think about wanting to bother typing about this one, Goldust hits the Curtain Call for the quick victory. Horowitz got a couple of moves in and that was all. They show Razor Ramon in the back watching on the screen and he's not impressed. Why didn't he come out and cost him his match. They then show Goldust unzipping his ring wear and making most kids at home uncomfortable. He then reveals a hear with Razor in the middle painted on his chest. Razor is disgusted and yeah. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it will be Aldo Montoya and Avatar against Sid and 1-2-3 Kid. The Ringmaster also makes his Superstars debut. We then go to Billionaire Ted's War Room...

Another pretty poor episode here as there are just a lot of characters that no one really seems to care about. I like this era probably more than 99% of fans but when you look back on it, it's pretty easy to see why they were failing. By the end of the year, things started heading in the right direction but unfortunately, I may never get to re-live it. We shall see. 

Overall Rating: 34%

Monday Nitro 1-8-96 Review

Monday, January 8th, 1996
North Charleston Coliseum
Charleston, South Carolina

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Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Steve McMichael welcome us as always. They hype up the big main event of Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Heenan says wherever you see two Horsemen, you see Four Horsemen. This leads to Pillman and Benoit on the way to the ring. 

Chris Benoit vs. Alex Wright

My biggest complaint with these early weeks of Nitro has been the lack of total superstars that have been featured. Wright has only been on a few times, so it's good to see him on here. Benoit attacks him on his way into the ring and is showing more aggression than we have seen in this run here. They mention how Pillman has been walking the line of being suspended for some of his off the wall antics and he gets in a cheap shot on Wright. Wright comes back with a slingshot that sends Benoit to the floor. He hits a baseball slide that sends Benoit into the guardrail and then a top rope crossbody to the floor. He turns his attention to Pillman before going back into the ring. Wright puts on a Boston Crab and then a STF. Wright feels like he is just sort of doing moves here as he hits a suplex. Wright goes after Pillman again and this time gets a shot in. Benoit gets his knees up when Wright tries to splash him. We get some back and forth in counters before Benoit hits him in the face with a right hand. Benoit hits a German suplex into a bridge and gets the victory. This wasn't bad action but like I mentioned, it kind of just felt like Wright was doing moves just to do them. 

Match Rating: **

Lord Steven Regal vs. Eddie Guererro

The amount of jabs they have taken at WWF so far this week is already exhausting me. They keep talking about how much action they are giving you for free as if they don't run as many pay-per-views or something. Credit to Heenan for not really joining in on the annoyance. Regal does his usual mat wrestling to start off until Guerrero explodes for a hurricanrana. Regal is starting to get angry and is increasing the intensity behind his blows. Regal continues to control the match until Guerrero sneaks in a backslide and steals the victory. Regal is livid and keeps attacking Guerrero to the point where the announcers aren't even sure if he won. This was pretty good but a little on the dull side. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We go to Mean Gene with Lex Luger and Sting but not before he makes fun of the New Generation. I guess the Huckster stuff did get under their skin. I don't get why because that was awful too. They tease the drama behind their friendship and it leads to them agreeing to be a tag team. This was lame. 

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Sting

Finally, we are getting some DDP on this show. Classic WCW with having Sting out for the interview and then having him come out right after for a match. Drives me nuts. Sting is destroying DDP as the announce team keeps telling us how much better DDP is than he used to be. We get what looks to be a miscue when Sting leapfrogs DDP but doesn't get all the way over. DDP goes to a rest hold already and just slows this thing down all the way. Sting makes his comeback but when he goes for the Scorpion Death Lock, DDP is too close to the ropes. DDP takes advantage briefly before Sting locks it on again and picks up the win. Sting continues to be over but this one wasn't that great. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They continue to hype up Clash Of The Champions and how it is free. Again, this company runs a ton of pay per views. We aren't stupid. 

Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage

It looks like these four are going to get some time to have a match. It gets harder for me to focus on anything Hogan does at this point. He is insufferable. We finally get Savage in and he slams Flair off the top rope. Savage puts on the Figure Four and then Hogan comes in and puts it on Anderson. This leads to Anderson hitting a DDT on Savage because Hogan is an idiot. Flair throws Savage over the top rope behind the referee's back. Later on, they throw Savage into the guardrail. Hogan gets the hot tag but Arn hits a spinebuster. Hogan no sells it and hits the big boot/leg drop combo for the victory. Out comes the Dungeon of Doom and Giant hits a chokeslam on Hogan while Kevin Sullivan and Pillman brawl. Were they supposed to stop the finish of the match? I really wasn't into this main event and the action was mostly vanilla.

Match Rating: *

This one felt like it should have been better than it was. There was a lot of wrestling action, which I appreciated. The announcers were unbearable this week and the storylines didn't really advance that much this week. I'd put this one somewhere in the middle.

Overall Rating: 49%

Off The Grid, Volume 61: Clash Of The Champions XVI: Fall Brawl Review

Thursday, September 5th, 1991
August-Richmond County Civic Center
Albany, Georgia

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Off The Grid, Volume 61:

Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone welcome us at ringside before passing it off to Eric Bischoff, Missy Hyatt and Paul E. Dangerously as our interviewers. 

Georgia Brawl Battle Royal

Each entrant gets their name called to generic music. We have Big Josh, Steve Austin, Oz, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham, PN News, Z-Man, Terrance Taylor, One Man Gang, El Gigante, Thomas Rich, Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker, Young Pistol Tracy, Ranger Ross and Bobby Eaton. Ranger Ross, Big Josh and Taylor all get eliminated first at the same time. This is one of those crowds that is very screamy in a fun way. I'm not sure what about any of this that they care about, but it's at least making it more interesting to me. The eliminations pick up including some of the bigger names like Austin and Windham. We're down to a final four of Oz, One Man Gang, Dustin Rhodes and El Gigante. So, I guess the difference between WCW and WWF is that WWF just shoves it down your throat about how tough it will be to get a big man eliminated over the top before watching it happen frequently, and WCW takes it literally. Oz and Gang team up to eliminate Rhodes. Then Gigante hits them both with a clothesline and they both are eliminated. I can't believe that both promotions pushed this guy. This was every battle royal ever but at least it was quick. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Badstreet vs. Brian Pillman

Badstreet is out with the Fabulous Freebirds. This is Pillman's return from injury here. This show feels like it's at a frantic pace and I am okay with it. Pillman looks great at the start here. He hits a springboard sunset flip for a 2 count and then a big dropkick. Pillman tries to suplex over the rope and into the ring but Badstreet counters and suplexes him to the floor. This of course leads to the announcers having to explain to us how that isn't a disqualification. Badstreet is able to pull Pillman into the ring post and then celebrates it in the ring. That gives Pillman time to launch himself into Badstreet. Badstreet comes right back with a neckbreaker. Badstreet goes up top and Pillman hits him with a dropkick. Pillman hits a suicide dive going about 900 mph and as a result, he hits the guardrail pretty hard on accident as well as nailing Badstreet. Pillman goes for a missile dropkick but Badstreet hits him with a dropkick. The action here is really fast paced for this era and there is just about no selling. Badstreet hits a DDT and gets a 2 count. Pillman goes for a crucifix but Badstreet counters and drops him to the mat. Pillman knocks Badstreet off the second rope and Pillman hits the crossbody for the victory. This is a semi-final match for the Light Heavyweight title apparently. This was balls to the wall action here. I wish they would have done some more selling but everything else was very entertaining. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

It's time for the Top Ten. 

10. Bobby Eaton
9. Z-Man
8. Diamond Studd
7. One Man Gang
6. Dustin Rhodes
5. Steve Austin
4. El Gigante
3. Barry Windham
2. Ron Simmons
1. Sting

Yes, El Gigante. 

US Championship Match
Johnny B. Badd vs. Sting

They show a hilarious clip of Sting opening a box and Abdullah the Butcher being inside of it. Badd hits a series of quick moves, including his signature top rope sunset flip for a 2. We slow things down and Badd works on the wrist of Sting. The flow of this match is that of one that is going to go for another 15 minutes. Jim Ross lets us know that another box has been delivered and of course it is not shown on TV. Badd sees the box and he thinks it's for him. Theodore Long pleads with him to focus on Sting and then Sting sees it. Sting gets an inside cradle and picks up the win in a terrible finish. Out comes Cactus Jack and he attacks Sting. He hits a top rope elbow to the floor. Back in the ring, he hits the double underhook DDT. Out come Sting's pals to make the save. I love how they just refused to show the box. WCW, everybody. Anyway, this match sucked for some reason. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

When we come back, they finally show us Cactus Jack coming out of the box. 

Richard Morton vs. Mike Graham

This is another Light Heavyweight tournament match and the winner of this will face Pillman. This is from the time where they thought it was a good idea for Morton to be a heel singles wrestler. The crowd is absolutely dead for this one. JR lets us know that Sting will be okay. I was really worried. This match is off to an absolutely terrible start. Graham finally does something of interest with a German suplex into a bridge for a 2 count. Graham looks like someone you'd meet at a bowling alley, so no one in their right mind is expecting him to win. This match is the absolute death sentence. It is dead silent and they just keep going. Alexandra York distracts the referee and he misses what would have been a victory for Graham. Morton pushes him into the corner and rolls him up for the victory. Absolutely terrible. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We are back to listen to how strong Bill Kazmaier is. We go to Bischoff in the ring and he brings him out to try to break a record tonight. This has some big time Dino Bravo vibes. Sadly, I cared about Dino more. He bends a bar on his head and then gets attacked by Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko. Out comes Rick Steiner to make the save. Another death segment here. 

Fabulous Freebirds vs. Patriots

So this match is not for the United States Tag Team Championships, but they fight again on Saturday and that one is. Since it's the Patriots, I don't really care. At least this match has some spunk after the last two segments. We are informed that Kazmaier refuses to go to the hospital. Please do us a favor and just go. Todd and Chip may be about as dorky of names as they could have possibly come up with. Hayes hits an elbow to the back of the head behind the referee's back and the Freebirds pick up the win. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Paul E. Dangerously is in the ring with Cactus Jack. Paul asks who his business partner is. There's a box on the ramp again and Cactus thinks it is Abdullah. He goes and gives the box a hug and out comes Sting, who tosses him off the ramp to the concrete. They brawl into the commercial break. 

We come back from commercial and the quality of it is pretty poor. They show Ron Simmons getting his number retired at Florida State. We go to a pre-recorded Bobby Bowden interview talking about how great Simmons is. 

Diamond Studd vs. Ron Simmons

Studd comes down to the ring yelling "I'm the bad guy". Studd attacks Simmons upon entering the ring. Simmons quickly battles back until getting raked in the eyes. Studd catches Simmons trying to leapfrog and turns it into a chokeslam. Studd hits a second rope bulldog but is too cocky on his pin attempt. Simmons is able to slide under the ropes and pulls Studd's legs and crotches him into the ring post. Simmons hits the shoulder tackle and picks up the win. That was it? They kept hyping how Diamond Studd was a top 10 contender. Not that this one needed another 10 minutes or anything, but this was actually a good match and so naturally the gave it about 2 minutes. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Dangerously is now in the ring with Simmons. Simmons says he isn't afraid of Lex Luger and his entourage. Out comes Harley Race and Mr. Hughes. Simmons says that he'll face Lex Luger and walks away. 

Terrance Taylor vs. Van Hammer

Hammer is one of my all time least favorite wrestlers. Watching him strutting around in the ring with his guitar confirms it. Taylor attacks him from behind with the computer. Hammer no sells it and hits a body slam. He hits a series of clotheslines and then a suplex. He starts doing a "We Will Rock You" chant and hits one of the worst looking top rope moves you will ever see for the win. Squash.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Missy Hyatt, who apparently has been having issues with locker room interviews lately. She's with Lex Luger and Ron Simmons knocks on the door. This looks like the quality of the skits my backyard wrestling videos had. They throw him out, so he does a running shoulder tackle to bust open the door. We get chaos and they quickly cut back to the ring. 

WCW Television Championship Match
Z-Man vs. Steve Austin

Zenk is such a dorky face. Austin is with Lady Blossom who looks like a woman you would see in wrestling during this era. Austin's trunks are horrendous and it's easy to see why he ditched the ponytail. We get some slow submission wrestling to start here. With the pace we are starting off at here, it looks like these two saw the Greg Valentine/IRS match from SummerSlam and were hoping to top that. This is not the match I was hoping for here. We finally get a burst and Zenk hits a superkick and a back body drop for a 2. The announcers are criticizing Zenk for not being aggressive enough. Zenk hits a dive on Austin but then misses with the top rope crossbody. Austin hits the Stun Gun but is too slow to get the cover and Zenk gets an inside cradle for 2. Zenk then puts on the sleeper. Austin gets to the rope and we get the most obvious hand off of a foreign object you will ever see. Zenk picks him up for a back suplex and Austin hits him with the object and picks up the victory to retain the title. This stunk.

Match Rating: *

The Ron Simmons hype train continues here as they show him at a local YMCA giving a speech to the youth. They keep telling us that Lex Luger is not quite ready for the press conference. Please just end this show. They show Simmons again and this time he's taking the kids on a bus to wrestle at the Omni. We're still waiting for Luger to show up. Luger is finally out and I have to say that you would never know that both of these guys were only 33 years old. They sign the contract and Luger tries to do the thing where he sounds like he is complimenting him but then offers him a job as his driver and that leads to a brawl. They run Luger into the limo and get him out of there. 

WCW World Tag Team Championship Match
Enforcers vs. Rick Steiner & Bill Kazmaier

On the plus side, we're under 10 minutes left in the show and this hasn't even started yet. Kazmaier is all taped up after the attack tonight. Steiner hits a big slam on Arn early on but Zbyszko breaks it up. Ross brings up that the fans would have loved to have seen Scott Steiner tonight and I'm pretty sure they'd rather see Rick's partner be a cucumber than Kazmaier. Steiner tries to make a comeback but the double teaming slows it down. Kazmaier tags himself in and no one cares. Arn runs in while Kazmaier has Zbyszko up in the air and hits him in the injured ribs. Zbyszko falls on top and we have new champions. This was so rushed and just nothing. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Arn tells us that the best sailboat can't move without wind or something stupid. Zbyszko says it doesn't matter how much muscle you have or how many holds you know. Whatever, just end it. 

This show started off promising and just turned into an absolute chore to get through. None of the stories being told were interesting and focusing so much energy on Kazmaier was a complete waste of time. This show is something that you never need to see outside the good Pillman match.

Overall Rating: 28%

Monday Night Raw 1-8-96 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, January 8th, 1996
Bob Carpenter Center
Newark, Delaware

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

They tease a major announcement from Shawn Michaels and another Billionaire Ted skit. 

Hakushi vs. Jeff Jarrett

Why wouldn't you have had this been the match for Jarrett to re-debut with instead of Fatu? We get your typical Jarrett stuff here, including grabbing the ropes for leverage during an abdominal stretch. Hakushi ducks too early and hits the swinging neckbreaker. Hakushi does finally get some offense in, hitting the cartwheel elbow in the corner. He goes for the springboard splash, but Jarrett gets his knees up. He slaps on the Figure Four and gets the victory. Again, why did they not do this with Fatu? 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We go to Jim Ross for the Slam Jam. This feels rare. Doug Gilbert of the USWA will be in the Royal Rumble! Plus, Jerry Lawler, Fatu, Isaac Yankem and Jake Roberts making his return. We then hype up Vader making his debut at the Rumble. Ross then rattles off that Henry Godwinn, Marty Jannetty, Kama and Skip will be in the Rumble. Plus, Takao Omori!

Ahmed Johnson is on his way and then we will find out who the new Million Dollar Champion is going to be. 

Ahmed Johnson vs. Jeff Brettler

Brettler's attire is definitely a choice. This is a squash in case you had any doubts. The Pearl River Plunge is enough to take care of Brettler. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jeff Jarrett tries to smash Ahmed with the guitar after the match, but Ahmed avoids it and smashes it himself as Jarrett runs away. 

Next week on Raw, it's going to be Undertaker taking on Isaac Yankem. Just what I need to see is more of those two wrestling each other. Plus, Marty Jannetty will take on Owen Hart. 

It's time for more Brother Love and he's with Ted DiBiase to make his big announcement. He finally found his guy, the Ringmaster. Total jobber. He holds his hand up to the camera so that everyone at home can touch their own hand to the screen to feel good about themselves. He says that he is in the Royal Rumble and that he'll tossing everyone over the top rope, man. He says the WWF Championship doesn't mean as much as the Million Dollar Championship, man. 

Goldust vs. Aldo Montoya

They sure gave up on Montoya pretty quickly and probably rightfully so. Aldo is able to get a back body drop in, but Goldust blocks the hip toss and hits the Curtain Call for the easy victory. This is the most Superstars feeling episode of Raw in some time. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go back to Jim Ross for the Slam Jam. He shows us an interview from earlier today from Shawn Michaels saying that the doctors don't think he should compete. He says sorry, but he's throwing his name in the Royal Rumble and that he's going to WrestleMania to face the WWF Champion. Scheme Gene is involved in all of this. 

Lawler says that this is the biggest mistake in Shawn Michaels' life. Not career, life. Diesel wishes his best friend luck. Razor thinks it's too soon to come back. Owen Hart says that he hurt him bad and that he's not ready for the Royal Rumble. He'll make sure he never wrestles again. 

Well, now it's one again time for another In Your House match shown for free. Again, I was very excited to be able to see this match, especially since it got great reviews. I just don't know how I would have felt if I paid for it. 

WWF Championship Match
British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart

Let's see how this one holds up. After feeling each other out, Bulldog puts Bret in the tree of woe and we get a weird spot with Bulldog hitting the referee and him playing it up like it was accidental, but not in a heel way. We get an "E-C-W" chant with Bulldog still on offense, but it doesn't last too long. Vince makes an announcement that Undertaker will take on the winner of this match. In 1995, this wasn't a bad thing to do since they didn't really do a ton of babyface vs. babyface matches during this time. Cornette gets in a cheap shot and Bulldog goes back to rest holds. We do get the big Bret sternum-first turnbuckle spot as well. Bret makes his comeback with a monkey flip and hits a bulldog on the Bulldog. Bret goes for a superplex, but Bulldog crotches him on the top rope and Bret falls to the floor. Bulldog lifts Bret up and drives his back into the ring post. Bret is gushing blood now and Bulldog throws him back into the ring. Bulldog hits a piledriver and the delayed vertial suplex while Vince says the match needs to be stopped. Bulldog puts on the bow and arrow submission, but Bret leaps out of it and tries to put on the Sharpshooter in a nice little momentum shift attempt. Bulldog knocks Bret with a shoulder tackle and Bret rolls out of the ring. Bret is always so good at timing his little spots. He makes a comeback and hits a dive onto Bulldog to the outside. He tries to do a reverse jump on top of Bulldog, but he catches him and hits a powerslam to the floor and Bret continues to bleed. Bulldog rolls up the protective padding outside and Bret blocks the suplex attempt by crotching Bulldog on the guardrail. He clotheslines him and Bulldog falls to the floor. We go back to the ring and Bret hits a top rope superplex. Bret works on Bulldog and goes for a quick pin attempt and pulls off the victory. Diana is not happy about it and comforts her husband to the back. This was a very good main event. With that being said, for whatever reason, I don't like the Bret/Bulldog matches as much as a lot of people do. 

Match Rating: ****

Funny that right after they just showed an exclusive pay per view match, Vince promises that the Royal Rumble matches will only be shown on pay per view. We hear from Undertaker and he says that he intends to deliver for the creatures of the night. Kathy Schreck wins the Royal Rumble Sweepstakes and are going to fabulous Fresno, California. 

Don't forget to watch next week to see two morons square off when Isaac Yankem faces Undertaker. Plus, the Ringmaster makes his debut. 

It's time for Billionaire Ted again. They even make steroids again. Vince is really the master of being a hypocrite. 

Again, this is another episode that is hard to rate. Obviously, the Bret/Bulldog match ruled and took up most of the time. However, everything else sucked. The Ringmaster debut felt flat, the matches were really short and basically just filler and the Billionaire Ted stuff is god awful. Hard to say anything other than a thumbs down. 

Overall Rating: 34%

Superstars 1-6-96 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, January 6th, 1996
Stabler Arena
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Ahmed Johnson vs. Jerry Lawler Royal Spider

Lawler comes out on crutches and says that he's not in any condition to wrestle today, so instead we get the Royal Spider. This is Thrasher from the Headbangers. Out comes Jeff Jarrett already to provide a distraction that allows Spider to dropkick Ahmed out of the ring. Ahmed chases after Jarrett but realizes he would get counted out and gets back in the ring. Ahmed hits a scissor kick to the back and the Pearl River Plunge for the easy win. I'm not really sure what the point of all of this is. Lawler walks to the back. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Dok Hendrix at the Slam Jam. He announces that Goldust will now challenge Razor Ramon at Royal Rumble. Goldust gives a long promo on Razor. I wasn't really listening. We get Fatu, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem, Doug Gilbert and Jake Roberts is coming back!

They show clips of Diesel beating Mabel at the Raw Bowl in 11 seconds and Diesel walking away with the young lady. 

Isaac Yankem vs. Brian Walsh

Are we really still doing this? Why is this match longer than 30 seconds? Please go away.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week on Superstars, it's Henry Godwinn vs. Owen Hart. Yes, please. 

Mr. Perfect is in the ring to bring out Razor Ramon for an interview. Perfect rambles on and on to get under Razor's skin about how Goldust is getting under his skin and that Razor can't sleep at night. He said he talked to Goldust earlier on and he asked him for a favor. He hands Razor a teddy bear like Goldust and Razor knocks it down and heads to the back. 

They hype up Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog from In Your House being shown on Raw on Monday. Plus, Hakushi will take on Jeff Jarrett. 

We see Ted DiBiase is talking to Brother Love on the phone and he confirms that he'll be on Raw and he's hyping up the new Million Dollar Champion he found. DiBiase was so terrible as a manager. 

Skip vs. Rad Radford

We finally are getting the big payoff to this scorching hot storyline. Radford runs in the ring and hits a series of clotheslines with the final one knocking Skip to the floor. He hides behind Sunny but picks her up and moves her out of the way. That allows Skip to attack from behind and take control of the match. Radford gets a little burst of offense until he misses with the elbow drop. We even get a commercial break during this one. Skip goes up to the top rope but Radford meets him ther and hits a superplex. Skip is back on offense but not for long when Radford shoves Skip off the top rope when he goes for his hurricanrana. Radford hits a spinebuster and then a northern lights suplex. Sunny distracts the referee and a guy dressed up like Skip interferes, giving Skip the win. The celebrate together and Sunny says that his name is Zip and he is Skip's twin brother. Couldn't they have just said brother? Zip is 13 years older than Skip. The match was decent enough. 

Match Rating: **

They show a hype video for Vader. As a kid, this was a very big deal to me. Even though I didn't know a lot about WCW at the time, I knew Vader and Sting were the two guys I wanted to jump over to WWF. 

We now get a Mankind vignette just showing his missing ear. They don't say who he is or anything. Do you know how annoying it is that we finally get to one of my favorite years as a fan and now I can't even watch Raw anymore? 

It's now time for the replay of the Undertaker/Mabel match from In Your House just in case you weren't insulted enough if you actually bought the show by this time. 

Casket Match
King Mabel vs. Undertaker

Boy, I am excited for this one. Taker hits a splash in the corner but Mabel comes back with a Boss Man Slam. Taker sits up so Mabel hits a body slam. Mabel goes to the second rope and misses with a splash after Taker sits up. Taker hits a couple of clotheslines but then Mo grabs his ankle for the distraction. Mabel hits the belly-to-belly suplex and hits the leg drop. Taker tries to sit up but he can't do it. Mabel hits a big splash and then Mo drags Taker out of the ring. Mo carries Taker on his shoulder and puts him in the casket. They don't close the door and then Mo grabs Mabel's crown and puts it on. Mabel struts over and Taker naturally blocks it. Taker is back in the ring and hits some more clotheslines. The leaping clothesline finally knocks Mabel off his feet. Taker kicks Mabel in the back and he falls into the casket. Mo attacks Taker before he can close the door. Taker hits a chokeslam on him and rolls him into the casket on top of Mabel. Before he closes the lid, Taker grabs the gold chain from Mo and then slams it shut to put us out of our misery. At least it was short. After the match, Undertaker gives the signal that he wants the WWF Championship. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

For the record, I did not watch this again. We go back to Dok and he does the worst impression of Michael Jackson that you will ever hear. He hypes up Diesel being in the Rumble before talking about the title match between Undertaker and Bret Hart. We're only 2 weeks away!

We now see the Raw Bowl queen and she's with Hunter Hearst Helmsley drinking wine sitting by the fireplace. He says that 1996 will be the best year yet. 

Now it's time for Billionaire Ted. This was such a stupid and desperate campaign. 

Next week they will show us highlights of Shawn Michaels' press conference. On top of Owen/Godwinn, we are also getting Goldust vs. Barry Horowitz. That show sounds better. The Skip match was pretty good and actually gave us some storyline but the rest of the show was awful. 

Overall Rating: 36%