SummerSlam 1996 Review

Sunday, August 18th, 1996
Gund Arena
Cleveland, Ohio

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We get a good intro video featuring the two main events, Mankind vs. Undertaker and Shawn Michaels vs. Vader. They highlight the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, Jacobs Field and Gund Arena before going to Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect and Jim Ross inside Gund Arena. This was one of the shows that I actually ordered at my house, but in a bit of a twist, I had to order the replay and stayed up until about 1 am to finish the show. We were at a family gathering and we didn't get home until well after the start time, so my parents let me get the replay instead. 

Savio Vega vs. Owen Hart

I don't believe there was any storyline here other than they thought these two could maybe be a good opening match. Jim Cornette is not out with Owen and is noted by Vince. Owen is still wearing his cast and the referee is all over it before they lock up. Savio then goes after the injured arm by slamming it on the turnbuckles. There is definitely a contingent of Owen fans in the crowd tonight. They show Cornette backstage watching Vader lift weights and Vince thinks that Owen should feel slighted. Savio hits a monkey flip and some hip tosses before going back to work on the arm. Savio gets a roll up in but Owen kicks out and Savio's shoulder flies into the ring post. Perfect and JR bring up how Perfect lost to Bret back in 1991 at SummerSlam. Owen works on the shoulder and they show Clarence Mason in front of the screen at the entrance. We get a close call by Savio and then Owen hitting the enzuigiri and a nice sell by Savio. Savio gets a inside cradle for a 2 and Vince talks about Mason maybe moving into Cornette's territory. Owen almost steals one with his feet on the ropes and then hits a nice spin kick for another 2. Savio catches a charging Owen with a spin kick of his own. Inverted atomic drop and a couple of clotheslines from Savio prompts JR to gives us his "government mule" line. Owen catches Savio with his head down too soon and hits a neckbreaker. Owen climbs up top and hits the missile dropkick but Savio kicks out. Owen climbs up top again but Savio kicks his legs out and hits a super back suplex. The back of Savio's head on the way down fell on top of Owen's cast. Owen sneaks off his cast and hits Savio in the head with it. Somehow the ref didn't see that one. He slaps on the Sharpshooter and picks up the victory. I thought this was a pretty good opener. Owen was just so good, he's impossible to not like. Mason comes in the ring and celebrates with Owen. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

After the match, Justin Bradshaw and Uncle Zeb are out yelling at the announce team. He then clubs a limping Savio from behind and the referee assisting him also takes a spill from it. 

We now go to Todd Pettengill in the boiler room and he does a good job of hyping up the creepiness of the area. Mankind is sitting on the floor in there saying there's "There is no place like home". He starts licking part of it and with the darkness you can't tell that he actually did it, but with Mick, you know he did. 

Four-Way Elimination Match For The WWF Tag Team Championships
New Rockers vs. Body Donnas vs. Godwinns vs. Smoking Gunns

Billy and Henry are the two to start things off. Billy has a cast on for his injured thumb. Henry hits a huge hip toss and hits that wheelbarrow move that more people should use. We get a spot where Bart is tagged in and they have to make contact, so all the other teams refuse to tag. This all just leads to Marty Jannetty tripping up Zip and he's eliminated. Was Skip legit hurt and that's why they were out so quickly? Marty is at his absolute dorkiest here. We are still pre-Attitude era but he still just looks really out of place. We get a little bit of chaos and that leads to a Slop Drop on Marty and they are gone. We are pretty much just at the match we probably should have had with Godwinns vs. Gunns. Loser has to lose an "n" from their last name. It should be noted that the crowd doesn't really care about this at all. Billy leaps in the corner, but Henry catches him and hits a slam. Phineas gets the hot tag and takes care of both opponents. Henry clotheslines Bart over the top rope and Phineas hits the Slop Drop. Hillbilly Jim and Sunny distract the referee and Bart hits Phineas from the top rope and that allows Billy to make the pin for the win. Honestly, I remembered this being awful, but it wasn't offensive or anything. Just heatless. 

Match Rating: *

After the match, Sunny announce the Gunns as the winners and makes fun of all the fat women before unveiling a big banner photo of her above the ring. 

Vince then talks about Cleveland or something and he does this weird thing where he refuses to look at the camera. I feel like he would fire someone else if they did this. This leads to a video package of the Godwinns taking a train against the Smoking Gunns taking a horse to see who would get to the Gund Arena quicker. Todd is narrating the whole thing. To the surprise of no one, the Godwinns and train wins. Whose terrible idea was this? They then go to Jacobs Field and they show Jerry Lawler at batting practice. He wants to know how to learn how to throw the spitball. He fails. They show him throwing out an opening pitch before sitting in the worst seats in the house. Then they show WWF Superstars painting buildings. Paul Bearer and Undertaker gave away a funeral? Stridex then threw a party with autograph signings. I can't believe they thought people who paid $30 for a show would want to see something this long. 

British Bulldog vs. Sid

Cornette is naturally not out with Bulldog here as well. Sid cuts a quick promo with Dok Hendrix and he says that the people wanted him back and now he's here to stay. Since Sid took the spot of Ultimate Warrior on the house show I went to, he kind of ended up becoming one of my favorites. I did always like him in his Sid Justice era as a kid also. It's all Sid in the early going, with Bulldog not able to overpower him. Sid is quite over here too. Bulldog is able to hit his vertical suplex and then slows things down. Clarence Mason is out again for this one too. Sid hits a shoulder in the corner, but then misses with a second one. Bulldog scoops him up and hits the running powerslam. Out comes Cornette to argue with Mason and that distracts Bulldog. Sid hits a chokeslam and then follows it up with a powerbomb for the victory. This was a nothing match to just get Sid a meaningful victory. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get a cheesy alien themed commercial for In Your House.

Goldust vs. Marc Mero

Todd interviews Mero and Sable. They show Mankind calling Sable "mommy" on Superstars this weekend. Mero is tired of the mind games and tells Goldust that he's going to be a falling star. The first big move of the match is a back body drop by Goldust that sends Mero over the top and to the floor. Goldust gets Mero back on the apron and hits him from behind and sends him flying into the guardrail. Out comes Mankind and he stalks Sable before a bunch of referees come out and he runs away. This was the match I was most looking forward to as a kid outside of the double main event and so far it is not delivering the goods. Mero makes a comeback and hits an inverted atomic drop. Perfect calls him Maro, which must have been a note from Todd. Mero goes for the 10 punches in the corner, but Goldust lifts him up. Mero does an ugly kind of body scissors to take Goldust over the top. That sets up his somersault dive to the floor and then a catapult leg drop into the ring. Mero sets up Goldust so he can go up top and he hits the Wild Thing but a distraction from Marlena allows Goldust to kick out at 2. Goldust comes back and goes for the Curtain Call and nails it for the victory. This was kind of a styles clash for whatever reason. The ending was fun with the Wild Thing being something we hadn't seen up to this point in WWF. After the match, Goldust stalks Sable and she's screaming while Mero is in pain. He grabs her and Sable gets in a slap. This allows Mero to attack and he crotches Goldust on the top rope and dropkicks him to the floor. Mero clotheslines him up the aisle and officials break it up. Just none of this storyline is working.

Match Rating: **

We get an interview of Ahmed Johson in a robe that leads to a video package of the Faarooq storyline. They show Ahmed narrowly winning a battle royal to become the #1 contender for the WWF Championship. He did legit get hurt and they show him at the doctors. Gorilla Monsoon had to make the decision to make the Intercontinental Championship vacant. There will be a tournament that begins tomorrow night on Raw. They say if his kidney stops bleeding, he will be back in a few months. If it doesn't, they will have to remove it and he won't be able to wrestle again. Ahmed says he will do whatever it takes to come back. Gorilla is having the final four participants in a sudden death match to take Ahmed's spot as #1 contender. This leads to an in ring interview with Sunny and Faarooq. Faarooq is adamant about Gorilla handing over the Intercontinental title to him since he's the one who took Ahmed out. This combination of him and Sunny is just such an odd fit. This was pretty pointless. 

Speaking of pointless, now it's time for the buildup for Jerry Lawler/Jake Roberts. Mark Henry then joins the announce team for this match. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Jake Roberts

Lawler is out in a Ravens jersey and waives a pennant. This leads to a Lawler standup routine. He does his favorite joke, which is bringing out Jake's favorite tag team partners, Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. He then makes fun of Mark Henry for not winning any medals at the Olympics. Jake's music finally hits to a decent ovation, but not as big as you would expect. I have been dreading this for so long. Lawler brings out a huge bottle and then fights with the referee over it and that allows Jake to put Revelations on Lawler. I would write about this "wrestling" match, but honestly it is horrible. Lawler jabs the bottle into Jake's throat and then we get one of the worst covers in wrestling history for the win. Absolutely one of the worst matches in WWF pay per view history up to this point. These two legends have done a lot of amazing things in this business. This is not one of them. After the match, Jake is grabbing his throat and Lawler says his throat is dry and starts dumping alcohol all over him. That prompts Mark Henry to get up and go after Lawler. Lawler runs to the aisle and celebrates as Henry checks on Jake. Henry helps Jake to the back. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Let's focus some more on some of our young Superstars by showing Bob Backlund in the crowd. 

Next up, it's time for a Mankind/Undertaker video package. 

Boiler Room Brawl
Undertaker vs. Mankind

Paul Bearer makes his way to the ring, as you have to grab the urn from him to win the match. We then see Undertaker backstage walking to the boiler room. He pauses at the door and then slowly walks in. JR makes a good point about feeling bad for the cameraman assigned to this one. Taker looks around for a while until Mankind attacks him from behind with some aluminum. He rips off a piece of a pallet and runs it into Taker's head. Taker is able to fight him off with a trash can lid and then hits him with some more unconvincing weapons. Mankind is able to snap Taker's head on some sawhorses. It should be noted that the announcers aren't really calling the match. They are just giving reactions here and there, but very minimally. We get some "technical difficulties" and then more attacks from Mankind. Mankind uses a pipe to hit Taker below the belt, which gives us the biggest audible crowd noise so far. He then chucks Taker into an overhead door and then hits him with a knee. Mankind climbs a ladder on the wall and falls off to hit an elbow drop. We get more technical difficulties and another ladder climb from Mankind. Taker sits up when he is climbing it and he pulls the ladder off the wall and he falls onto a box but not like one we'd have set up here in 2026. This part of the match has just been going on for too long. There just isn't enough to this one area to make it interesting for this long of a time. Taker sprays Mankind with a fire extinguisher. Mankind is able to get out of the boiler room and closes the door on Taker despite his best efforts. Mankind gets to the next door and tries stacking as much stuff in front of the door as he can. Taker struggles but is able to push it open and knock over Mankind in the process. We see a bunch of the locker room back there watching, which honestly is the highlight so far. Mankind rams a cart into the face of Taker and then grabs some coffee and pours it on Taker. Mankind heads through the entranceway and Taker isn't too far behind. Taker runs and hits him with a clothesline and then smacks him in the back with a piece of wood. Taker gets to the ring first, but Mankind grabs him before he can enter. Mankind pulls up the blue mats and hits his variation of the piledriver on the concrete. They battle on the apron and Taker sends Mankind to the exposed concrete. Taker enters the ring and gets on one knee to Paul Bearer. Bearer doesn't give him the urn though and Mankind comes in and puts on the Mandible Claw while Bearer laughs. Taker is out cold but before Mankind gets the urn, he sits up. Mankind puts the Mandible Claw on again and sits up Taker so Bearer can get some cheap shots on Taker. Taker crawls to Bearer and Bearer hits Taker with the urn in the head. Honestly, that should have just happened the first time. Mankind gets the urn and picks up the victory. This is a really hard match to rate. The worst part of the Boiler Room Brawl was the part in the boiler room. The ending wasn't that well executed in my opinion either. After the match, the lights go out and the druids carry Taker to the back. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Vader and Jim Cornette are with Dok with a very old school feeling interview (in a good way). 

WWF Championship Match
Vader vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn is able to get Vader to the ground pretty quickly and hits him with a low dropkick. He is able to dump Vader to the floor and hits a baseball slide. Michaels then hits the dive over the top and hits some right hands. Michaels hits a hurricanrana back in the ring. He jumps on Vader's shoulders and again dumps Vader to the floor. He goes for a potential hurricanrana, but Vader catches him and hits the powerbomb to the floor. Vader puts Michaels on his shoulder and carries him up the steps and dumps him in the ring. Vader whips Michaels into the corners and the second one sends Michaels to the floor this time. Vader levels Michaels with a clothesline, which looked awesome. I know he's working with Michaels and I know people say this isn't peak Vader in his WWF run, but he looks really good here. Michaels slides under Vader, but Vader puts his boot on his chest. He goes for a splash, but Michaels gets his knees up. Michaels goes up top and this is the infamous spot where Vader messes up and Michaels throws a fit and stomps on his head. I'm a big fan of Michaels, but this was one of those reasons he got the reputation he did. Michaels hits a crossbody that sends both men to the floor and then Michaels shoves away the cameraman. Vader drops Michaels on the guardrail and gets back in the ring to win by countout. What is this, SummerSlam '93? Cornette gets on the mic and says that they came here to win the title and they want a winner. I mean, he could have just told Vader to roll back out of the ring and extend the count. Cornette continues to egg Michaels on and then the referee just decides for them saying that the match will continue. Vader immediately attacks Michaels outside the ring and then Cornette hits Michaels with the tennis racket in the back. Vader hits a belly to belly suplex and goes for a powerbomb, but Michaels fights out of it. He hits the leaping forearm and goes up top for the elbow drop. He tunes up the band, but Cornette grabs his leg. Cornette throws in the racket, but Michaels gets it and hits Vader with multiple shots and then moves to Cornette. The bell rings and Vader is announced the winner by disqualification. Cornette gets back on the mic and here we go again. This time Gorilla is out and they announce the match will continue. The action gets started quickly and Michaels hits the forearm again. He hits the top rope elbow drop again and tunes up the band. He hits the Sweet Chin Music but Vader kicks out. The crowd totally fell for that one. Vader shoves Michaels into the referee and then hits a powerbomb. He covers him but there is no official. A new one comes out and Michaels kicks out. Vader drags Michaels to the corner and climbs the ropes. Cornette tells Vader to go to the top, which makes no sense because Shawn is way too close to the corner for him to hit it. Michaels moves anyways and Vader misses. Michaels climbs up and he hits a moonsault for the victory. I do like this match more than most people. This time around, the funky ending didn't do it for me as much as it had in previous viewings, but I still really enjoyed this match. The false finish was definitely a highlight. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

This is a good example of where nostalgia doesn't really help you enjoy something more. I watched this show quite a bit as a kid but it truly is not a great show. You don't have Bobby Heenan and Gorilla on commentary to help it in that regard either. The main event is very good, the Mankind match is unique and the opener is solid but the rest is pretty atrocious. 

Overall Rating: 46%

Monday Night Raw 7-22-96 Review

Monday, July 22nd, 1996
Key Arena
Seattle, Washington

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They're so excited that they are in a big arena for Raw that they treat the intro like an informercial for the Seattle tourism. Sunny wheels out a cake along with the Smoking Gunns before we get the Raw intro.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Smoking Gunns vs. Ahmed Johnson & Shawn Michaels

They have the entrance area as really short, which is kind of odd. Sunny says the birthday cake is for Shawn and that distraction allows the Gunns to attack. Shawn fights back and knocks Billy out with Sweet Chin Music. The match has not officially started, so Shawn goes outside and wipes a little bit of frosting on Sunny's nose. Sunny grabs the cake and tries to sneak up on Shawn, but he sees it and Ahmed sneaks up and shoves it in her face to a big pop. I guess the match isn't going to happen?

Goon vs. Marc Mero

They go to Gorilla Monsoon during the Goon's entrance and he says the match will happen tonight or they will be stripped of the titles. The Goon attacks Mero and then hits a check in the corner. Steve Austin is out to join the announce team and Vince congratulates him on his win over Mero last night. Austin goes over who he'd like to take on and Bret Hart comes up. I wonder if they'll ever wrestle each other? They go to a phone call with Jake Roberts and he says that it's slow going. Lawler then starts making fun of Jake's drinking. Jake says that he's hoping to back in 2-3 weeks. Austin then makes fun of the Wildman gimmick and Lex Luger's school bus. The Goon is getting a lot more offense than I expected here. Goon charges at Mero outside the ring and misses, running into the steps. Mero hits his somersault dive. Mero hits a slingshot leg drop back in the ring and picks up the victory. Mero looked a little off here, especially coming off a good match last night. This was more competitive than expected, which makes for a better rating.

Match Rating: *3/4

We hear from Shawn and Ahmed, but Shawn does all the talking. He just says they want the titles.

We get a Stridex contest commercial and boy, did I want to win that. 

Bob Backlund is campaigning in the crowd. They then show Clarence Mason talking with Gorilla Monsoon about bringing in a new competitor.

Freddie Joe Floyd vs. Mankind

I love that we are in the "jobbers with gimmicks" era. They show still photos of last night's attack by Mankind. Floyd hits a dropkick but misses with a top rope reverse crossbody. Floyd actually gets some more offense in here. He hits a top rope reverse elbow for a 2 count. Mankind crotches him on the top rope and then puts on the Mandible Claw. He can't win there, so he crotches him again and he falls to the mat and puts the Mandible Claw back on for the win. That was an enjoyable squash match. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Next week it will be Vader vs. Marc Mero and Sid vs. Justin Bradshaw. 

Out comes Brian Pillman to the announce team in a Green Day shirt. 

Barry Horowitz vs. Goldust

Pillman says he might just say the 7 words you're not allowed to say on television. During Goldust's entrance, we get a backstage interview with Mero. He will be fighting Goldust at SummerSlam and he's sick of the letters they are sending Sable. Meanwhile, Goldust hits a clothesline and slams his head into the steps. Pillman and Lawler is such a weird pairing to me here on commentary. Goldust hits the Curtain Call and picks up the victory. This was here to just show off Goldust's more "aggressive" style. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go back to Sunny and the Smoking Gunns. Sunny is still covered in frosting. Bart talks for some reason. 

The Stridex Slam of the Week is Vader hitting the Vader Bomb at In Your House. When we come back, Vader and Jim Cornette are in the ring with Vince for an interview. At SummerSlam, it will be Vader time. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Smoking Gunns vs. Ahmed Johnson & Shawn Michaels

The Gunns come out running and we have a brawl and this time we get a bell. Once things settle down, Michaels is able to clothesline Billy over the top and Shawn showboats in the corner of the ring. He tags in Ahmed and he stomps away at Billy into the commercial break. When we come back, Bart is able to hit a Stun Gun on Ahmed. That offense doesn't last long and Shawn is in there now. The Gunns are able to snap Michaels neck on the ropes and then Billy hits an Irish whip that sends Michaels over the top to the floor. Michaels tags in Ahmed, but the ref doesn't see it and the Gunns get in some cheap shots. We get one last commercial break and the big news on the Superstar Line is speculation that SummerSlam will be Undertaker's last match. I'm leaning towards yes. Shawn is finally able to make the tag and Ahmed cleans house. I should note that there are a lot of ECW signs in the crowd tonight, which is odd for a west coast show. Out comes some guy in a foam helmet and he attacks Ahmed and that's enough for a DQ. He sure looks a lot like Ron Simmons. Officials finally are able to get him off. Sunny acts as if they have a business relationship. He goes back to attack as we go off the air. That was a solid match with a predictable type of finish, but the Faarooq surprise was nice. 

Match Rating: **3/4

I'm sure nostalgia is part of my enjoyment here, but I really liked this show. I liked the idea of the jobbers with gimmicks, as it at least made it more interesting than just beating guys that don't look to be in better shape than most normal people. The main event was enjoyable and the crowd was into everything. This was a good episode. 

Overall Rating: 71%

In Your House 9: International Incident Review

Sunday, July 21st, 1996
General Motors Place
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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They start off by showing Jose Lothario knocking out Jim Cornette on the Free For All and then Vader and Shawn coming down and chaos ensuing. 

Smoking Gunns vs. Body Donnas

The Body Donnas are interviewed before their entrance. They thank everyone who applied to be their manager, but now that they had Kloudi, they realized they don't need a manager. If that isn't stupid enough, this is a non-title match. On a pay per view. Great booking. Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross are the announce team for us now. I'm not really sure why the crowd is supposed to like the Body Donnas. They are a good team, but that's about all there is to them that has been presented as likable. They also announce that Jake Roberts is not able to wrestle tonight. I'm not stating anything super insightful here, but typically the opening match of a pay per view usually has a red hot crowd no matter who it is. While the crowd isn't silent here, they certainly are not super into it. We get mostly standard fare until Sunny fakes a collapse. Skip goes out and checks on her and she slaps him. The Gunns double clothesline him and Sunny is ecstatic. Bart hits a nice Irish whip on Skip and it is sold really well. Skip goes upstairs and goes for a crossbody, but Bart catches him and hits him with a powerslam. Billy goes for a leap over Bart's shoulders to jump on Skip's back but he aborts it and that kind of looked dumb. He just kicked him instead. The Gunns continue to isolate Skip until he hits a reverse crossbody, but then Bart levels him back with a clothesline. Billy is up on top and lands into an inverted atomic drop. Zip is tagged in and the pace quickens. Billy tripped Zip while running the ropes and Bart gets him up for their finisher, but Billy is outside the ring arguing with Sunny about something. Skip comes off the top rope and hits a missile dropkick. Zip falls on top of him and they pick up the victory. Sunny is livid and has a tantrum before raising her team's arms. I gave this a really bad score back when I watched this a long time ago and I'm not really sure why. This was solid. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We go to Mr. Perfect and Camp Cornette. Cornette keeps using the "he pulled a switchblade on me" line for Lothario. Cornette says that he'll refund everyone in the audience and everyone who ordered the show if his team loses tonight. 

Mankind vs. Henry Godwinn

Godwinn is the replacement for Jake. I mean honestly, I'd much rather see this than 1996 Jake any day. Henry is able to hit a powerslam and then clothesline Mankind over the top. Henry is showing some of his 1995 aggression here and I am here for it. Mankind hits a modified bulldog and follows it up with an elbow drop before pulling out some more of his hair. Mankind rips up the blue mat on the outside. Mankind hits a backbreaker on the concrete before throwing him back in the ring. Godwinn is able to avoid a charging Mankind in the corner, and he levels him with a clothesline. Godwinn then hits a big slam on Mankind onto the concrete. Back in the ring, Henry goes for the Slop Drop, but Mankind holds onto the ropes. Mankind immediately goes for the Mandible Claw and that is all she wrote. This was a really good little hard-hitting match. Mankind continues to be one of the best things the WWF has going right now. 

Match Rating: **1/2

They go back to the Superstar Line with Brian Pillman. He's with the Body Donnas and insults them and we also see Sunny with Raymond Rougeau saying it wasn't a big deal they lost. 

Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero

Austin starts to level Mero in the corner and Mero returns the favor. They run the ropes and it ends with Mero hitting a crossbody for a 2 count. Mero hits a series of boxing punches and Austin rolls out of the ring to buy some time. They show Marlena with the Usher in the AOL room backstage. Mero hits the pin attempt that caused Austin to get stitches at King of the Ring. Austin fakes an injury and that allows him to attack Mero and also that gets him some cheers from the Canadian crowd. Austin hits a catapult outside the ring and into the post. Back in the ring, Austin hits Mero off the second rope for a 2 count. Mero is able to crotch Austin on the top rope and then Austin maybe goes for a powerbomb? They lose their balance but recover and Mero hits a hurricanrana to the floor. Mero then hits a somersault dive off the apron. Marlena and the Usher are out and hand something to the announce team. I'm not sure why they would come out during this part of the match because Mero's high-flying moves are being overlooked. Mero hits a moonsault and 10 punches in the corner. He goes for another high-risk move but it backfires and he gets crotched this time. Mero blocks the Stunner and hits a catapult leg drop for a close call. Austin kicks out Mero's leg and hits the Stunner for the victory. This was another really solid match between these two. The whole Marlena thing was not really well executed though. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

They show Bob Backlund out in the crowd. Tomorrow night, Ahmed Johnson and Shawn Michaels will take on the Smoking Gunns on Raw. 

Goldust vs. Undertaker

I just will never understand this sub-feud. We get lots of stalling, as expected. Goldust hides behind the referee and Undertaker just stands there staring at him. Taker hits him with one right hand and Goldust rolls out of the ring. Goldust tries to surprise Taker by pulling his foot and out of the ring, but Taker doesn't feel pain, so that doesn't work. He hits a chokeslam-ish move onto the steel steps and then goes back in the ring and just stands there. He realizes that is stupid, so he goes back outside and goes to hit him with the steps, but Marlena lays on top of Goldust to stop him. Goldust tries to use his mouth to untie the turnbuckle. Even Marlena looks more bored than usual. Goldust gets a thumb in the eye and then corners Taker and hits some knees to the midsection. Again, Taker no sells it and then just goes back on the attack before hitting Old School. Goldust comes back and clotheslines Taker over the top, but he lands on his feet. Taker snaps Goldust's neck on the top rope. The referee tells Taker not to do that and that allows Goldust to rip off the turnbuckle pad. He is able to whip Taker into that corner. They go back outside and Goldust drops the steps on the back of Taker. We get a rare inside cradle from Taker though and then he hits a leaping clothesline, as if none of Goldust's offense ever happened. Taker hits a Tombstobe and then we get an awkwardly slow cover that leads to Mankind coming from under the ring to pull Taker underneath. Only Mankind emerges and the smoke is coming out from the hole. The lights begin to flicker and Mankind looks into the hole. Undertaker finally emerges and it's from the other side of the ring. He attacks Mankind and they brawl up the entranceway. This match was mostly terrible and then the ending just felt way too long.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get the always great SummerSlam 1996 commercial. That one unlocks some core memories. 

Jim Ross brings up again about the whole refund angle with Cornette before we see some more brawling from Taker and Mankind. We then hype up the main event with a Todd video package. This includes the suspension of Ultimate Warrior. We then go to Dok Hendrix with Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson and Sid. 

Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson & Sid vs. Vader, Owen Hart & British Bulldog

One of the guardrails falls over when Shawn Michaels is entering due to how many fans were leaning on it. Shawn tries to fire away at Vader and all it takes is one right hand for Vader to knock him down. Michaels hits a hurricanrana, a clothesline and a crossbody that sends both of them over the top rope. Michaels hits a baseball slide and then a dive to the floor. The chemistry between these two is underrated. Michaels leaps off the apron but misses and hits the guardrail. Michaels is able to tag in Sid and he unleashes a series of kicks and clotheslines, including on Owen and Bulldog. This is the perfect type of match for Sid and the crowd is absolutely loving this. Sid clotheslines Owen and tags in Ahmed. He hits three waist locks into suplexes but then misses with an elbow drop and in comes Bulldog. Ahmed quickly fights back with a spinebuster and he hits the Pearl River Plunge but Vader breaks it up. Both guys get spots to hammer away on each other in the corner. Vader goes for a splash in the corner and Ahmed catches him and hits a slam for a 2 count. In comes Owen and he hits the spinning heel kick on Ahmed. Ahmed hits a military press slam and tags in Sid and he hits the big boot. Sid makes a mistake and sends Owen into his corner and he tags in Bulldog. Bulldog gets him up and hits the delayed vertical suplex. That was cool stuff. Sid battles back enough to get Shawn back in there and he takes it to Bulldog until he rams his own shoulder into the ring post. We get a series of pin attempts from Owen and Shawn, which is always a pop from me. It ends with Owen leveling Shawn with a clothesline. Bulldog is in and Owen hits Shawn when he's running the ropes with his cast. Vader whips Shawn into the corner and that sends him over the top. Vader goes at Sid, which allows Owen to get a cheap shot in and throw Shawn back in the ring. We get our first rest hold of the match, which is well deserved. They work on Shawn for a couple of minutes until Owen collides with Owen. He gets the tag to Sid, but the referee did not see it and that allows shenanigans from Camp Cornette. Bulldog holds Shawn and Owen goes up top. He goes for a missile dropkick, but Shawn moves and he hits Bulldog instead. Shawn crawls over and makes the tag to Sid. Sid hits a clothesline on Vader and then a chokeslam to all three men. He tags in Ahmed and they double clothesline Vader and then launch Shawn off the top rope on Vader. Bulldog makes the save and now he and Owen double team Ahmed outside the ring. Shawn goes after Cornette and Vader tries to use the racquet behind his back. Shawn is able to get it away and hits Vader in the head with it. Vader is able to kick out of the pin attempt and Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music. Cornette grabs his leg and Vader attacks him. He hits the Vader Bomb and picks up the win. This was a freaking awesome match. After the match, Sid and Ahmed attack the heels with Sid hitting a powerbomb on Bulldog. He hits a boot on Owen and gives him a powerbomb also. He goes for one on Vader, but Bulldog pulls him out of the ring. Shawn then runs off the ropes and leaps onto Vader and they start brawling. I loved this match and it gave Vader the much needed pin over Shawn. 

Match Rating: ****

We get Dok with Gorilla now and he announces that Mankind will take on Undertaker at SummerSlam in a match that will start in a boiler room. In comes Cornette and Vader and they want a match for the title. 

Just because a show isn't designed to be anything important, doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. This isn't anything special, but it was a nice time capsule of a time period where changes were happening that would eventually get the product to the next level. The only real dud here was the Undertaker/Goldust match, but what else is new? The main event more than made up for it and the undercard was solid enough.

Overall Rating: 69%

Monday Night Raw 6-24-96 Review

Monday, June 24th, 1996
Brown County Expo
Green Bay, Wisconsin

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Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Ahmed Johnson

This is a non-title match, as Helmsley is still being punished for high fiving his friends. Did they ditch the valet gimmick for Helmsley too? They may not have been able to find an attractive woman in Green Bay. Sorry, I'm a Lions fan. Helmsley survives the early domination by Ahmed and has absolutely no heat here whatsoever. He leaps off the top rope to hit Ahmed in the back and the crickets are chirping. They interview Goldust and he says he'll be back. He's still mad at Ahmed, so naturally we need to throw in another match with Undertaker for no reason. We get a commercial break and when we come back Ahmed is making a comeback. Ahmed hits a big spinebuster and goes for the Pearl River Plunge, but Helmsley counters with a backdrop. I am mistaken, they show a valet cheering Hunter on. He sends Ahmed off the ropes and ducks his head, so Ahmed hits the Pearl River Plunge and gets the victory. This was fine, but the crowd could not have cared any less for Hunter.

Match Rating: *3/4

Dok Hendrix is out to interview Ahmed and asks him about being the first ever African American Intercontinental Champion. He says that he will defend this title for all people. He tells Goldust that he isn't hard to find if he wants another shot. 

They show a commercial for the replay of King of the Ring and then the Slam of the Week, which is Marty Jannetty hitting a top rope powerbomb on Skip. Sunny is now out to join the announce team. 

Body Donnas vs. Brooklyn Brawler & Jerry Fox

They show some entries for people that tried to become the Body Donnas new manager. Sunny yells at how gross Kloudi is. This match is a lot of yelling and just some moves in the background. Sunny announces that she's going to be bringing in a singles competitor. She literally asks if Vince thinks that only 2 men can keep Sunny occupied. The Body Donnas are a pretty solid team, but again no one cares about them. Skip hits a top rope hurricanrana and then Fox does the most obvious re-positioning I think I can recall ever seeing so that he can get hit by Zip's Whoopee Cushion. Kloudi then taunts Sunny and chases her around the ring. She eventually makes it backstage. This was fine. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They hype up Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty next week and show their history. Kloudi then goes after Lawler into the commercial break.

Aldo Montoya, Savio Vega & Barry Horowitz vs. Vader, Owen Hart & British Bulldog

This is quite the drop on the card for Savio here. He gets to be the one to knock Vader down with a nice looking spin kick. Aldo hits a couple of dropkicks on Owen before running into a spin kick from Owen. Vader hits a chokeslam and a splash in the corner. Bulldog hits a running powerslam and then tags in Owen instead of going for the pin. He puts on the Sharpshooter and that's all. This was shorter than I was anticipating but was fine enough for what it was setting out to do.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Another commercial to watch the replay of King of the Ring. We then get a weird ad telling us to unleash the Warrior in you. 

Brian Pillman is out and Vince and Pillman wants to know where his money is. Vince says that he is yet to step into the ring and Pillman says he doesn't need to. 

Steve Austin vs. Undertaker

I should also note that Austin really didn't get much of a reaction here just 24 hours after his big moment. It did take some time. Undertaker looks extra white here for some reason. Austin attacks Taker and wouldn't you know it, it doesn't work. Lawler gets up and goes after Paul Bearer asking him about what happened last night against Mankind. For those that don't know, Bearer accidentally hit Taker in the head with the urn and cost him his match. Austin runs into a boot in the corner and we go to commercial break. Don't miss the Attitude Adjustment Tour. They do list the Joe Louis Arena show that I attended, but it is most famously remembered for who didn't attend it. That person being the Ultimate Warrior. Austin is able to drill Taker's knee into the ring post. The crowd gets a "Rest in peace" chant going and that gets Bearer excited. The match itself, not so much. As Austin is working on the knee, out come Goldust and Marlena. Goldust joins the announce team as Taker breaks out of the submission hold and we get another commercial break. Don't forget to call the hotline. Taker hits a chokeslam and Goldust takes off the headset. Taker gets Austin up for the Tombstone and Goldust throws well, gold dust in his eyes. That's a DQ, but they still keep brawling. Austin retreats and Taker's music plays. That was a lame finish. Bearer seems a little hesitant during their celebration. Lawler comes up on the ring apron and tells Undertaker to ask Bearer why he did it. I don't remember them really hinting at them splitting this early. This was a pretty dull match and had an even worse finish. 

Match Rating: *

Well, I mean this wasn't terrible or anything. It just didn't feel like the night after a pay per view type of show. The crowd for whatever reason was pretty out of it also, so that didn't help. I'm not really sure why this was a Netflix selection.

Overall Rating: 44%

King Of The Ring 1996 Review

Sunday, June 23rd, 1996
MECCA Arena
Milwaukee, WI

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We get a hype video that starts with Ultimate Warrior/Jerry Lawler. As a huge Warrior fan at the time, I was not excited for that match at all. At the end of it, they claim that this is the greatest card in the history of the King of the Ring. Out comes Owen Hart to join Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. Owen interrupts and says let's get on with the show here. 

King Of The Ring Semifinal Match
Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero

I completely forgot about the big crown over the ring that they did for this show. Mero gets a pop that truly is only for Sable. Mero beat Owen to be in this spot and Owen is already killing it on commentary. The sad thing about Mero at this time is that he actually was entertaining in the ring most of the time, but the character was just so lame. Owen joking about Jake Robert's age will never get old. We get a bit of a slow burn here to start, hinting that these guys will be given some time to tell a story. Austin is able to sidestep Mero and send him over the top and to the floor. Austin lifts up the blue mat and drops Mero face-first on the concrete. Austin celebrates in the ring and gets a pretty solid reaction. Austin hits a vertical suplex in the ring. Austin is working on the back and gets Mero in a Boston crab. Mero gets out and gets a quick pin attempt for a 2 before Austin nails him with a back elbow. Mero sneaks in a few more pin attempts and then Austin levels him with a right hand. Mero gets a sleeper hold on, but Austin quickly counters with a jawbreaker. Mero hits a back leap off the second rope and that's where Austin is famously busted open. Mero comes back with a nice dropkick and a series of punches in the corner. Mero goes up to the top and hits a double ax handle for a 2 count. Mero sends Austin over the top and he hits his somersault dive and we get a better look at the blood all over Austin's mouth. Mero is back in the ring and then hits a suicide dive. Mero throws Austin back in the ring and hits a missile dropkick for another 2. Mero sets Austin up on the top rope and hits a hurricanrana but that still isn't enough to put Austin away. Austin out of nowhere gets Mero up for a powerbomb but turns it into a hot shot. Mero kicks out of that, so Austin hits the Stunner and that's all. This was a good opener, as these two have good chemistry with one another. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Dok Hendrix is with Jake Roberts and he talks about robbing a bank or something. Not one of Jake's better promos. 

King Of The Ring Semifinal Match
Vader vs. Jake Roberts

Jake throws the snake into the ring during his entrance and instead they show the highlights of Jake making it to the semifinals. Vader dominates the early going until he runs into a boot. Jake hits a knee lift and goes for the DDT but Vader drives him into the corner. This match is a good reminder of how tall Jake is. Vader misses with a splash in the corner and Jake hits the DDT. On his way down, Vader grabs the referee and he calls for the bell. That was a stupid finish. If they were going to go this route, they should have done it with Vader not listening to the ref. After the match, Jake goes for the snake and Vader attacks him. Cornette keeps the ref away so that Vader can hit the Vader Bomb. He goes for a second one until a bunch of referees come out to stop him. Vader even shoves Cornette out of the way in frustration. This was nothing. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get a Coliseum Video exclusive with Vader and Cornette livid about the loss and the crooked referee. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Godwinns vs. Smoking Gunns

The Godwinns come out with some goats and we see some of the drama surrounding Phineas and Sunny. Dok Hendrix is back with Sunny and the Gunns. They ask about Kloudi, who debuted with the Body Donnas on the Free For All. She then teases what she's going to do tonight to Phineas. Before the match, Billy Gunn grabs the mic and says that he has made Sunny feel like Phineas will never make her feel. That allows Bart to attack him and the match is underway. Phineas starts to have "one of those spells" and unleashes on Billy. The crowd is fairly quiet here so far. They then interview Kloudi because why not? Kloudi blows a kiss to JR. I can tell this is a storyline that will definitely have legs. Bart runs into a Henry boot in the corner and the Godwinns are now in control. Billy kicks Henry's back when he's running the ropes for the cheap shot to shift the momentum. The ref loses control and all four men are in the ring. The Godwinns get the best of it until the referee tries to get Henry out of the ring. That allows for Bart to take off his boot and hit Phineas in the back of the head and pick up the victory. This was very much a match that happened. 

Match Rating: **

We go backstage to Dok Hendrix and he is with Cornette, British Bulldog, Diana and Clarence Mason. Mr. Perfect walks in the locker room to get ready to hype up the collusion. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Ultimate Warrior

Lawler walks up to the throne and grabs a mic. He says that he's been there and done that and then insults the losers of Milwaukee. He then walks down and insults a few fans, including a comment that doesn't age very well. He then shifts his focus to Warrior and they show the infamous Warrior hat segment. Out comes Warrior and Lawler attacks him with a scepter on his way to the ring. I mean, I get that Lawler is a legend and all that, but I can assure you that no one bought that Lawler was any kind of threat to Warrior here. Regardless, Lawler beats up Warrior for a minute or two outside the ring. He brings him in the ring and gives him a piledriver and of course Warrior no sells that. He hits a bunch of clotheslines and then the running shoulder tackle for the squash. The crowd mostly liked it, but it's definitely not the ovation that he got at WrestleMania. Putting him up against Goldust and Lawler at the next two pay per views was definitely a choice. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go backstage to Dok and Gorilla Monsoon. They are discussing Jake's health condition with Jake being worked on in the backstage. Gorilla says that if he has to stop the match, he will, but he's going to let Jake wrestle. 

Mankind vs. Undertaker

Undertaker does a sneak attack by leaping off the top rope for a clothesline. Such trickery. He continues to manhandle Mankind and then hits Old School. Mankind gets a back elbow into the face of Taker and that finally slows him down. Mankind hits a leaping elbow drop off the apron to the floor. Owen continues to be awesome as a commentator here tonight. Mankind throws Taker into the steps and then goes under the ring to get a chair. The referee is distracted by Paul Bearer, which is interesting. It backfires and Taker gets his boot up to hit the chair in Mankind's face. He hits a back body drop on the chair and then hits him with a chair about 5 feet from the referee, who is once again distracted by Bearer. Taker gets him up for the Tombstone but Mankind gets out and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Undertaker finally breaks out of the rest hold and clotheslines Mankind over the top rope. Mankind battles back and sets up Taker's head against the step and nails him with a knee to the head. That looked vicious. Mankind comes off the apron and Taker grabs the chair to block it. Taker then hits Mankind with an unprotected chair shot. Ugh. Mankind battles back and hits his signature piledriver for a 2 count. He starts pulling his hair out, which always grossed me out as a kid. Mankind grabs the urn from Bearer. He lifts it up to use it and Bearer is able to grab it out of his hands. Mankind instead stuffs his hand down Taker's throat. Taker battles back though and Bearer tries to hit Mankind with the urn, but accidentally hits Undertaker. Mankind goes back to the Mandible Claw and that's enough for the victory. Owen speculates that Bearer did it on purpose. We get the epic Mankind outro music. Mankind then grabs a chair and goes after Bearer. This was a good match, although not quite as good as I remembered. They have done a great job with the Mankind character so far. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Dok is with Mr. Perfect and Shawn interrupts. Perfect doesn't understand why no one believes him that he's the perfect referee.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Goldust vs. Ahmed Johnson

Ahmed comes running out and attacks Goldust while he's still in his wig and robe. He hits him with a big clothesline and Goldust sells it wonderfully. Ahmed continues to destroy Goldust until he misses with a splash in the corner and falls all the way to the floor. Goldust slams the steel steps on the back of Ahmed while Marlena was distracting the referee. I like this version of Goldust so much better than what we have seen up to this point. He's much more aggressive than what we have seen. We start getting more shenanigans from Goldust and he hits a piledriver, well not really. Even the announcers say that he didn't get all of it. I'm pretty sure he got none of it. Goldust then starts rubbing his hand up Ahmed's body and then goes for a cover but Ahmed kicks out at 2. Ahmed has Goldust backed in the corner and starts leveling Goldust with clotheslines. Goldust is able to get an Irish whip into the corner and follows Ahmed to hit a knee to the back. We have Vince yelling about histrionics during the slow portion of the match. Ahmed then misses with a big dropkick that probably would have killed Goldust. Goldust puts on the sleeper hold and then lets go. He stops so he can give Ahmed CPR again and that wakes Ahmed right up. He unloads on Goldust and then hits a spinebuster. Ahmed hits the Pearl River Plunge and we have a new Intercontinental Champion. I remember being a little surprised that they didn't have a countout or disqualification finish here. The crowd was definitely into that finish. The match was decent but I'm not sure it needed over 15 minutes. 

Match Rating: **

They show a bunch of babyfaces backstage spraying champagne on Ahmed in a Coliseum Video exclusive. 

Out comes Brian Pillman on crutches. Jim Ross interviews him and Pillman makes a Jeffrey Dahmer joke. He says that he's brightest star to ever step foot on Earth. He eventually gets played off by Austin's entrance music.

King Of The Ring Finals
Steve Austin vs. Jake Roberts

Austin and Pillman cross paths but just kind of give each other a look. Austin attacks Jake as he is entering the ring and we're underway. Jake keeps going after the injured ribs, which makes perfect sense, but does not make for an entertaining match. Austin rips off Jake's bandage around the ribs and out comes Gorilla Monsoon. He enters the ring and orders Austin off of Jake. I love Gorilla, but this makes no sense. Jake refuses to stop and Jake attacks Austin with right hands. He signals for the DDT but is driven into the turnbuckle. Austin continues with multiple shoulders to the ribs. He hits the Stunner and Austin is your King. He gets a little bit of a pop for the victory. The match stunk, but it kicked off the very early stages of the company being saved by Austin. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Austin meets Dok up at the throne for an interview. Then he hits us with the words that forever changed the course of history, the creation of Austin 3:16. 

WWF Championship Match
British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels

Mr. Perfect is introduced first. Gorilla Monsoon comes out to the ring again. Fink lets us know that Mr. Perfect will be the referee outside the ring and Earl Hebner will be the referee inside the ring. We get a slow mat-based beginning before Michaels skins the cat and brings Bulldog over the top rope with the floor. Michaels hits a slow hurricanrana before hitting Cornette in the butt with his racket. After a lengthy rest hold from Bulldog, we get a weird spot where you can see Shawn tell him to hit a press slam. Now Shawn decides to work on the arm of Bulldog. Shawn switches to a sleeper hold, but Bulldog backs him into the corner. We get a big spot where Bulldog gets Shawn up in a press slam and falls back towards the ropes and drops Michaels to the floor. Vince is complaining that this should be a DQ. I have never seen anyone disqualified for something like that before, but okay. Bulldog just lets him lay there for a long time before finally realizing he can't win the title that way. Shawn kicks out at 2 and then we get another rest hold. Michaels tries to make a comeback but Bulldog levels him with a clothesline. Bulldog gets Shawn up in a surfboard, which is always a favorite of mine. Bulldog hits a big back body drop and gets another 2 count. Shawn comes back with a crossbody and gets a 2 count and then Bulldog gets up and levels him again with a clothesline. Shawn gets a crucifix and that also gets a 2 count. Michaels gets Bulldog up on his shoulder, but Bulldog reverses it. Michaels escapes and goes for Sweet Chin Music but Bulldog holds on the ropes and then hits another clothesline. Bulldog nails a piledriver and then climbs up to the top rope. He misses with an ugly looking something or other. Vince thinks he may have slipped. Owen says that Jose grabbed the ropes, which is hilarious. One underrated thing here is that both guys have gold sequence all over their backs from the Goldust entrance. Bulldog hits a top rope superplex and again Shawn is able to kick out. Shawn counters a super back suplex into a crossbody and gets a close call. Both men collide in the middle of the ring and I have to say that was pretty convincing looking. Michaels goes for a hurricanrana but Bulldog countered it into a sit down powerbomb for another 2. That looked very good. Michaels lifts up Bulldog for a body slam and Bulldog's legs hit the referee. Michaels hits a top rope elbow drop and he sets up for Sweet Chin Music. He hits it and Hebner starts counting. Mr. Perfect comes in and starts counting with him and then Owen comes and pulls Perfect out of the ring. Michaels then goes after Owen and puts on the Figure Four. Bulldog comes at him and he puts him in a small package while still having on the Figure Four. That was an odd choice. Eventually the 2 on 1 doesn't work out and Owen nails him with a spin kick. Out comes Ahmed Johnson to make the save. Now Vader is out and he clubs Ahmed. The crowd starts chanting for Warrior. The heels beatdown goes on for quite a while until the Warrior finally comes out. The crowd loves it and the faces have been saved. They celebrate and all is good in the world. I have to say, this match was not as good as I remembered. The last few minutes were entertaining, but before that was a lot of rest holds and a slow pace. This was the end of Bulldog as a "main eventer" and rightfully so. The whole Mr. Perfect thing also made absolutely no sense. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Vince announces that we'll have a 6 man tag match at International Incident and get a Coliseum exclusive with Camp Cornette. They do lots of complaining. We get a video recap and that's the end of the show. 

I have to say, this was always locked in my head as an underrated gem. While I did enjoy it, it certainly was nowhere near as good as I had remembered. I really liked a couple of the matches and liked the outcome of the tournament, but it did drag in some spots too. Overall, this is a mild recommendation. 

Overall Rating: 67%

Monday Night Raw 6-3-96 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, June 3rd, 1996
Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium
Fayetteville, North Carolina

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We get a quick recap of the Goldust/Ahmed Johnson feud before going to the arena. Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are here to let us know that Ahmed and Goldust will face off at King Of The Ring. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Bob Holly vs. Steve Austin

Holly is rocking the blue tights here. They talk about the technical difficulties and then Austin fighting Savio in the dark. We then see the highlights from the official match and DiBiase leaving the WWF to be pointless over in WCW instead. We get a pretty basic match to start. Austin hits a backbreaker and there is a pocket of the crowd that is popping for Austin. We are in WCW country, so that would make sense. Austin dominates the entire beginning of the match and Holly tries to come back, but Austin kicks him in the face when Holly goes for the back body drop. When we come back from commercial break, Austin has Holly in a headlock on the mat. Holly finally gets some offense after crotching Austin on the top rope. Holly goes for fists in the finish, but Austin shoves him to the mat and puts on the sleeper and picks up the win. That was a big time squash there for Austin and that's the right move. The match was fine for what it was. 

Match Rating: *

They show highlights of the Lawler/Ultimate Warrior saga and they confirm that they will square off at King Of The Ring. Lawler talks about Warrior's comic book and then King shows his comic book cover with Lawler stepping on the Ultimate Loser. 

Barry Horowitz vs. Mankind

They go back to Jim Ross when Mankind is entering so that he can tell us that Mankind will be Undertaker's most difficult challenge to date. Barry tries to go right at it before Mankind takes over. I'm not really sure why this match gets a commercial break, but it does. We get an Attitude Adjustment Tour commercial too. We get to the finish pretty quickly and Mankind of course wins with the Mandible Claw. Next week, Undertaker takes on British Bulldog. This was a squash.

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Ross interviews Mankind in the ring. He says he has nothing left to lose and the thing he misses the most, is his mind. 

Vince keeps talking about this "rare" pay per view footage and it's the finish of the Bulldog/Shawn Michaels match. Fun.

We go to Goldust, who is laying seductively in a robe. They then show Goldust giving Ahmed mouth to mouth. Ahmed is so mad that he lifts Bob Holly up against a wall and drives a security guard through a door. Goldust says that he gave Ahmed the breath of life and quotes The Color Purple. This is all...not very good. Lots of racial undertones here too. Why was this episode one of the ones they chose to be on Netflix? 

Techno Team 2000 vs. Godwinns

Sunny is with the announce team in her Smoking Gunns gear. They then show the Body Donnas talking about finding a new manager and they are doing a worldwide search. They then give a PO Box for you to submit to be their manager. When was the last time Techno Team 2000 even appeared on TV? Vince says they're on a roll lately. Phineas tags in and the crowd starts chanting "Sunny". Why is this match on Raw? Phineas runs into a double leaping kick and that gets a 2. This match even gets a commercial break. One of the Techno idiots tries to suplex his partner on Phineas, but he gets his knees up. Henry comes in and hits the Slop Drop for the win. This just all felt very 1995 Raw. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We then here Clarence Mason on the phone while the Godwinn's crappy stock music plays and he's showing how Gorilla Monsoon "assaulted" Mason. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Jake Roberts

Hunter is definitely going to win the King Of The Ring this year. Oh wait, he broke kayfabe. Jake goes for a couple of DDTs while Lawler flirts with Hunter's valet. Vince asks about his nose and she says that Hunter is perfect. I am just still in shock that Jake is 2 years younger than me here and looks about 20 years older. Absolutely nothing is happening in this match and the tease going into the commercial is just the camera showing the snake bag and Vince trying to make it seem like he's going to come out. What an awful episode tonight and this match just keeps going. Vince is just insufferable tonight too. Jake hits a short arm clothesline but Hunter drives Jake to the corner when he goes for the DDT. We come back from another commercial and Jake finally puts us out of our misery by hitting the DDT for the win. After the match, he puts Revelations on Hunter. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

This was an atrocious episode of Raw here. Nothing worked for me, which is odd, because I really like King Of The Ring 1996. I'm really not sure what on this episode made it notable enough for this to be one that Netflix selected either. Skip.

Overall Rating: 28%

In Your House 8: Beware Of Dog Review

Sunday, May 26th, 1996
Florence Civic Center
Florence, South Carolina

Tuesday, May 28th, 1996
North Charleston, South Carolina
North Charleston Coliseum

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Ah yes, this very infamous show. With this being a Memorial Day weekend, a friend of mine ordered this show and had a few friends over for a sleepover. It turned into a disappointing result for wrestling, but still a great night otherwise. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Marc Mero

Helmsley's valet tonight looks like she's in her 40s, which I'm sure was not the intention. Dok Hendrix is backstage with Mero and Sable and Mero cuts one of his cheesy Wild Man promos. Mero gets in the ring and goes right after Helmsley. He knocks Hunter to the floor and hits a dive to get this match off to a good start. Vince mentions that there are some big storms outside the building and warns that there may be some technical difficulties. Hunter hits a high knee and gets a 2 count. Mero goes for a backslide but Hunter has been working on the shoulder and he can't pull it off. Hunter takes Mero's left arm and slams it into the ring post. Hunter continues to work on that shoulder and arm and Vince just keeps saying the word "methodically". Hunter lays out Mero's arm and hits a running knee drop on it. Mero gets a small burst but it's cut short by a clothesline. Hunter goes back to work on the arm and uses the rope for leverage. Hunter goes up top but Mero gets there and crotches him. Mero hits a top rope hurricanrana to a good pop and both men are down. Mero hits a back body drop and I like how he used his right shoulder to send him up. Mero goes up top and hits a sunset flip for a nearfall. Mero dropkicks Hunter over the top rope and misses with the somersault dive. He's now grabbing his left knee. Hunter now grabs Sable and tells her to watch this. Hunter goes back in the ring and slaps Mero before setting him up for the Pedigree. Mero counters and hits a slingshot into the ring post and picks up the victory. I am probably in the minority here, but I liked that match. 

Match Rating: ***

Mr. Perfect is backstage with British Bulldog, Jim Cornette, Diana, Clarence Mason and Owen Hart. Cornette announces that he was able to get Owen a manager's license for tonight only so that he can have a manager who has all of his attention since he also has Vader vs. Yokozuna. 

And then the power went out...

We waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually we got the power back on and we are at the main event of the evening. 

WWF Championship Match
British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels

Dok is with Shawn and Jose (for some reason). The audio sucks and he says that no matter what is going on, he's still focused and compares this storyline to Melrose Place. They show Michaels walking to the ring and Mr. Perfect bumps shoulders into him. Clarence Mason has a mic held up for him and of course it doesn't work at first. He eventually says that Michaels has tried to break up a family and he serves Michaels. Great. Shawn rips it up and Diana is shocked. Bulldog attacks Michaels and we are underway. Bulldog tries to dump Michaels over the top, but he lands on the apron. They go back and forth and Bulldog holds onto the ropes when Michaels goes for a superkick and then Michaels dives over the top onto Bulldog. Jerry then kind of defends Shawn, saying he understands what Shawn is up against since they are both good looking guys and women throw themselves at them. Shawn hits an ezuigiri. Shawn slows the match down and gets in some mat wrestling. Even Vince calls out Bulldog for the lack of aggression from Bulldog. Lawler defends him due to the distraction Shawn has created with his wife and then Vince argues with him with the exact same point. Bulldog gets out of the hold and hits a big back body drop. I can assure you that in 1996, not one single person believed that Bulldog would ever win the WWF Championship. I will say that the storyline for my younger self was definitely a little surprising, it still didn't make me believe in Bulldog any more than I did prior. Now it's time for Bulldog's rest hold. They've really slowed this match down to a crawl right now. I understand that they are giving them nearly 20 minutes here, but I don't understand the logic of 5 consecutive minutes of it being rest holds. Bulldog sends Michaels off the ropes and he ducks a clothesline but looks to trip through the ropes to the floor. Michaels battles back and sends Bulldog off the ropes, causing the two to collide. Both men are up and Michaels hits the flying forearm and a kip up. Bulldog is off the ropes and accidentally runs into the referee. Shawn hits a top rope elbow drop and starts tuning up the band. Owen runs in so he hits him with it instead. This allows the Bulldog to attack him and now a new referee is out. Bulldog goes for a running powerslam, but Michaels pushes his way out of it and hits a German suplex into a bridge for a 3 count. Bulldog's music hits and Diana brings in the WWF Championship. The second referee comes in and holds up Shawn's hand and his music plays. Fink tries to make an announcement but the referee's and competitors are still arguing. Diana holds up the title belt in the aisle and out comes Gorilla Monsoon to grab it out of her hands. We finally get a replay while all of this is going on. Both guys shoulders clearly look to be down. Fink finally announces that Monsoon has declared this match a draw. That's always a popular decision. Fink then of course lets us know that the title can't be changed on a draw, so Shawn is still champ. They show a different angle and Bulldog tried to get his shoulder up but was unable to. This was definitely one of the more disappointing Shawn singles matches. 

Match Rating: ***

Off to Tuesday night we go. We have Jim Ross and Mr. Perfect on commentary for this portion of the show. 

Caribbean Strap Match
Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega

They show footage of Austin losing to Vega on Sunday in the dark. DiBiase is so confident that Austin will win this time, he will leave the WWF if he loses. Ross and Perfect are laying it on heavy about how they just had this match in the dark two nights ago. These guys get this match off to a physical start and the crowd is responding to it much better than WrestleMania. Austin gets his first attempt to touch the turnbuckles, but we are way too early for that, so Savio is able to break the count. Austin is able to dump Savio over the top and Austin comes along with him. Savio props Austin on the top rope and goes for a superplex but Austin is able to knock him off. Austin slowly tries to stand up and Savio now kicks him to crotch him on the top. Savio climbs back up and hits a top rope superplex. Savio gets close to getting the 4th turnbuckle until Austin nails him with a spinebuster. Austin goes for a Tombstone and they go back and forth with it ending with Savio falling over the top rope to the floor. Austin goes up to the top and Savio pulls him off and into the guardrail. That may be the closest thing to a high flying move that I have seen Austin pull off in WWF. Austin is able to come back and desperately drives Savio into the steps. Savio then pulls the strap and now he goes into the steps. Savio tries to carry Austin and touch all 4. He gets 3, but then Austin falls to the ground and is able to pull him back. Austin hits a piledriver and then DiBiase, being the brilliant manager that he is, tells Austin to go for one more. Savio obviously counters out of it and DiBiase is furious. Austin puts on the Million Dollar Dream and Savio moves around and touches the turnbuckles with Austin on his back. Savio is able to fall on his back and counter out of it. Austin wraps the strap around Savio's neck and starts dragging him around the ring. Austin is touching the turnbuckles, but so is Savio unbeknownst to Austin. It takes DiBiase until the third one to realize it. Austin and Savio start battling over the last one and Austin pulls Savio and he goes into the fourth turnbuckle for the victory. DiBiase is upset and Austin heads to the back on his own. Who would have thought that getting rid of DiBiase would be the best thing for his career other than every person on planet Earth? Savio grabs the mic and starts singing "Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye". I promise you, no one was upset that DiBiase was gone. They actually start playing the song as well. This was a hard-hitting match for a feud that I'm not really sure many people were invested in other than young me. They won them over with this one though.

Match Rating: ***3/4

They show Shawn Michaels in the AOL room chatting. Actually, he doesn't appear to type a single thing.

Vader vs. Yokozuna

They go at it quickly but then we get some stalling. They do a tease of a football stance vs. a sumo stance but Vader backs out of it. After more stalling they do actually do it and Yoko wins that and clotheslines Vader over the top to the floor. Yoko continues to get the better of Vader here and is working on his left leg. Yoko hits the Rock Bottom and a Samoan drop and is visibly winded. He sets him up for the Banzai Drop until Cornette is on the apron. Yoko blocks the tennis racket shot and throws Cornette into the ring. Cornette puts the racket on the ground and tries to shake his hand. Yoko grabs it and starts squeezing it before giving him a headbutt. He then pulls Cornette into the corner but Vader is starting to crawl over there. He moves Cornette out of the ring and Yoko misses. Vader hits a big elbow on the injured leg of Yoko and then hits a splash on the leg. Vader hits the Vader Bomb and that's all. That was a lot of stalling in there and while I know Yoko is no slouch, they definitely kind of took a little of the mystique away from Vader here in my opinion. Vader does a great job selling his injured leg after the match, so props to that. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We get a King of the Ring commercial featuring Jerry Lawler and Vince as Satan. Pretty accurate. JR lets us know that Shawn Michaels will take on British Bulldog again and the Smoking Gunns will take on the Godwinns. They have some big news for Ultimate Warrior taking on Jerry Lawler. They show the brackets and Vader already advanced over Ahmed last night and he gets a bye due to the Lawler/Warrior match. 

Casket Match For The Intercontinental Championship
Goldust vs. Undertaker

This is still the most random casket match that I can recalls. Goldust is feuding with Ahmed and Undertaker is feuding with Mankind and yet here we are. Taker could never bet outdone with mind games, so he has Paul Bearer come out the entrance and Taker is behind Goldust and he attacks him to kick things off. Taker is mostly dominating here and hits Old School before it was old. Goldust is able to hit a body slam and of course Taker sits right back up. Goldust hits him with at Tombstone and again, Taker sits back up. Goldust hits him with a running clothesline while Taker is seated. We get our first view of the casket cam, as Goldust rolls Taker in. He can't shut the lid because Taker fights his way out of it. Goldust is able to dump Taker out of the ring despite being hit with a big boot just moments before. Goldust slams Taker into the steps and chokes him with electrical cables. Back in the ring, Taker starts fighting back and knocks Goldust down with some right hands. Goldust is able to slap on the sleeper hold and has him down flat on the mat. He rolls Taker into the casket, but Taker just is able to block it closing with his arm. Taker pushes the lid and it sends Goldust to the floor. Back in the ring, Taker hits a leaping clothesline and then they both spill to the floor after another clothesline. Goldust hits a body slam back in the ring and climbs to the top. He hits a top rope clothesline and goes for a cover and counts to 3. I feel like his character wouldn't make that mistake. Goldust goes for Old School, but Taker doesn't let it happen and yanks him off the top. Taker puts him up and hits the Tombstone. He goes to roll Goldust into the casket and when he opens it up, Mankind is in there and puts on the Mandible Claw. Taker is in the casket and Goldust is the winner. They kind of gave away the outcome by making this for the Intercontinental title, but I don't think anyone expected such a well executed finish there. The casket starts smoking and when they get it open, it's empty. Paul Bearer is upset and the lights go out. Much like the Diesel/Bret match at the February show, the match itself was just okay and the finish was awesome. 

Match Rating: **

Now, obviously watching this live, this was a disappointment, but not one that you can pin on the actual show itself. In its condensed version, this is a very solid show. Nothing is terrible and the strap match is actually quite good. Coming off a hot main event at the last show, the Shawn match is definitely a disappointment. Even if you take the booking out of it, they really just didn't put in the effort you would have expected here. However, this is one of those shows that actually has a few feuds that matter rather than a bunch of random Raw matches and that's a win. 

Overall Rating: 59%

Monday Night Raw 5-13-96 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, May 13th, 1996
Sioux City Municipal Auditorium
Sioux City, Iowa

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Zip vs. Ahmed Johnson

Sunny tries to use her looks backstage to distract Ahmed, but he says that his mom told him to always take the trash out, not in. Zip tries to get something going but it doesn't last long. Ahmed starts to dominate and Sunny is now up on the apron. The distraction allows for Skip to come in there and Vince thinks he's so clever because he noticed it. Unfortunately, I am going to miss the Body Donnas defend their titles against the New Rockers on Superstars. Ahmed hits an electric chair but then misses an elbow drop. Ahmed dumps a charging Skip over the top rope and in comes Zip again. The distraction fails and Ahmed hits Skip with a spinebuster and then a Pearl River Plunge for the victory. They tried to make this more interesting than you would expect but at the end of the day, it was a squash. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get a Warrior University commercial. What a joke. The list of graduates who had successful careers is endless. 

Duke Droese vs. Vader

Duke actually gets to knock Vader down with a clothesline and then hits a crossbody that sends both of them over the top rope and into a commercial break. During the break, Vader chucks Duke into the steps and then hits a big splash in the middle of the ring. Cornette is on commentary for this match by the way. For some reason, we get a rest hold spot that lasts way longer than you would expect. I completely thought this would be over in 90 seconds or so. Duke fights out of it and hits a dropkick. It's all for nothing, as Vader hits a slam and a Vader Bomb for the victory. This was way longer than it needed to be. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's time for an interview with Undertaker in the ring. He's here to hype up the upcoming casket match at In Your House. They have the gold casket out with Goldust's star on it. After some Paul Bearer hamming it up, out comes Goldust. If you needed a reminder of how tall Goldust is, he's almost right up there with Taker. Goldust takes both of Taker's hands and Taker just kind of lets him until he uses it to force him to the ground. Out comes Mankind and he attacks Taker and gives him the Mandible Claw. I remember just thinking all of this booking was just so strange. Goldust just had a meaningless feud with Ultimate Warrior and then gets thrown into a casket match with Taker for some reason when Taker vs. Mankind was what made sense. While Taker is knocked out, Goldust straddles him and then Taker sits up and Goldust is out of there. 

Aldo Montoya vs. Justin Bradshaw

Was this a Superstars outtake? Bradshaw no sells most of Montoya's offense and then hits him with a slam. Uncle Zebekiah is now on commentary. I guess no one needs to manage tonight. Now this match gets a rest hold spot? What are we doing? Somehow this episode of Raw destroyed Nitro. Bradshaw hits a big boot and then a big clothesline with Zebekiah screaming for the win. Again, why would they not just have him destroy him in 90 seconds? After the match, they bring out the branding iron and give Aldo the true mark of a loser. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a video about Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm. They show a weird interview of Shawn and then show him being attacked by British Bulldog in the ocean. Shawn could have used this version of Davey when he got attacked in Syracuse. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Shawn Michaels

I'm guessing that this is the reason this episode is on Netflix? Shawn clotheslines Helmsley over the top and he's able to hang on so he can skin the cat. Shawn then comes over to Hunter's valet and then nails Hunter with a right hand. This aired 6 days before the infamous Curtain Call incident at MSG, so Trips was not being punished here. Hunter goes for a monkey flip but Shawn just stomps on his face. Helmsley ducks Shawn and he lands on the top rope and Shawn gets sent to the floor. Hunter hits him with the baseball slide while Jose Lothario reminds us that he's out there. Out comes Mr. Perfect to check things out. Hunter drops Shawn on the guardrail and we go to a commercial break. I will say that this is by far the best Hunter has looked to date, which I mean is no surprise. Most guys had their best matches either with Shawn or Bret. Hunter hammers away in the corner and hits a swinging neckbreaker for a 2 count. We get another commercial break and this time when we come back, we are in a rest hold. Shawn fights back and hits a slingshot and an inverted atomic drop. Shawn hits the top rope elbow drop, but Hutner kicks out at 2. Shawn counters a powerbomb into a hurricanrana but Hunter counters that into a pin attempt and almost steals the victory. Shawn starts tuning up the band and he does for the win. This was a good main event with a buddy doing the other one a solid and giving him a match with a lot of time. Mr. Perfect is shown walking to the back after the match. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Jim Ross is shown backstage with British Bulldog, Diana and Jim Cornette. He mentions that Shawn will be ringside during Bulldog's match with Jake Roberts next week. Bulldog says that Shawn better not be anywhere near Diana. He says that he's not afraid of snakes, but Roberts should be afraid of him. Lots of yelling here. 

This was the definition of a one match show. On an hour show, that's good enough for a solid watch, even if everything else was pretty much trash. 

Overall Rating: 58%

In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies Review

Sunday, April 28th, 1996
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha, Nebraska

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We get the usual good hype video for the show featuring that music that always gets me pumped up playing in the background. We then go to the In Your House CGI and it's a plane dropping bombs on Omaha. Hopefully they can still run the show there. We get some pyro as Vince McMahon screams us into the arena along with Jerry Lawler. 

British Bulldog vs. Jake Roberts Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs. Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson

They show some footage of a house show with Bulldog attacking Jake Roberts and then Jake brings out the snake and in a shocking turn of events, Bulldog is scared of snakes. They interview Jake backstage and Vince cuts him off in the middle of the promo like they are in some big rush. Jake comes out while Cornette and Mason are telling him that the contract shows the snake has to go to the back. Jake rips it up and brings out the snake. Everyone scrambles out except Cornette, who faints. Jake then carries the snake around his neck to the back. Now Jake brings out Ahmed. I guess we have a tag team match? What a weird way to start a pay per view. This feels very house show. Jake and Owen just start going at it and the bell rings. They show Diana in the crowd again. I wonder if she'll be more involved soon? Wink, wink. The match has been solid so far and the crowd is off to a hot start. Ahmed hits the big press slam on Owen and tags Jake back in. Jake runs into a boot and then Owen hits a dropkick. We are deep into the heat segment here and I really have to give the crowd credit; they are following along to all the cues. Owen gets on a sleeper hold but Jake counters out with a jawbreaker. The crowd is trying to get Jake over to Ahmed and he does. Bulldog is also in and he eats a spinebuster from Ahmed. Ahmed tags Jake back in for the DDT. He sets him up but in comes Owen. He lets go of Bulldog and hits a back body drop on Owen. They hit a double clothesline on him and Bulldog grabs Cornette's tennis racket. Owen grabs Ahmed out of the ring and Bulldog attacks Jake with the tennis racket to the knee. He puts on a leg submission hold and Jake gives up. That was kind of a weird ending but I have to say, I liked this way more than I remembered. This was nothing great, but it was a fun opening contest. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Marc Mero and 1-2-3 Kid are on the Superstar Line. They wrestled in the Free For All Match. 

Goldust vs. Ultimate Warrior

Oh boy, here we go. They show Goldust blowing gold sparkles into his face. Goldust is sporting a wrap on his knee. This is the debut of Goldust's bodyguard. Too bad it's Mantaur. Goldust and Marlena book it back to the locker room and Warrior starts smoking a cigar. The bodyguard is still out there and slowly walks to the back. Goldust and Marlena are in front of the prop house and Warrior pulls out Goldust's c hair and apparently that's enough to make them all really upset. Words can't describe how boring all of this is and I thought that at the time as a huge Warrior mark. The crowd then starts chanting a word that has not aged well and thankfully the announcers don't acknowledge it. Goldust grabs the mic and says that if the crowd doesn't keep quiet, he is going to go out there and kiss every single one of them. They of course keep chanting to make this all worse. Warrior gets Goldust in the ring by holding up his jacket and then even puts it on him. In all seriousness, I know there was an injury here or something like that but who in the world approved this? Warrior is smoking the cigar again and now Goldust wants Warrior to kiss his hand. Warrior burns it with the cigar instead and clotheslines him with him in the chair. Goldust limps to the back again and Warrior throws his chair out of the ring. They ring for the bell and we have a countout. Warrior then goes after Goldust's bodyguard and he reminds us how terrible of a wrestler he was. Warrior hits him with some clotheslines and then the leaping shoulder tackle. He rips of his shirt and jacket and hits a body slam and Warrior's music plays. This is 100% one of the worst things that WWF ever put on a pay-per-view up to this point and probably still is to this day. Horrendous and embarrassing. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

We go backstage to Dok and we see British Bulldog in the back all upset and Dok lets us know that it has something to do with Diana. 

Vader vs. Razor Ramon

I knew that Razor was leaving after this and was shocked that they put him on this card after not having him on WrestleMania. I will miss him on this timeline though. He's been one of the most entertaining performers by far of the last few years on here. Vader dominates the early going as you would expect here. After that last "match", it would have been nice to get this one off to a quicker start. Razor fights back and clotheslines Vader over the top to the floor. Vader tries to sneak up on Razor while Cornette is on the apron but it doesn't work. Vader does shift the momentum quickly though and hits a big splash for a 2 count. Vader hits a Vader Bomb but Razor kicks out, which is surprising. Vader goes for a suplex but it's blocked and Razor hits him with one for a 2 count. Vader runs into a boot in the corner and Razor hits a leaping bulldog from the second rope for a nearfall. Vader is on the second rope and Razor uses that as an opportunity to put Vader up for the Razor's Edge. He can't get him up and Vader just kind of falls on his back. Vader now goes all the way up top but Razor puts him on his shoulders and hits an electric chair. He goes for a Razor's Edge but Vader hits a back body drop and then sits on him and that's enough for the win. I really like these two guys and while this wasn't bad, this was disappointing. That ending left a lot to be desired as well. Dok walks up to Cornette and Vader to tell them that Vader will face Yokozuna at the next In Your House. Cornette says there is no way Yoko will be there because he's hurt. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We see Undertaker and Paul Bearer in the AOL chat room. Make sure you buy your collared shirt and hat package. Take your pick with Shawn Michaels, Undertaker or Ultimate Warrior. This features 100% embroidery. Only $39.95!

WWF Tag Team Championship
Body Donnas vs. Godwinns

After all of the stalling that has taken place tonight, they didn't even have time to show the Godwinn's entrance? The Body Donnas are quick with the illegal double team, so Hank hits a double clothesline. The Godwinns get in most of the offense until Skip lowers the top rope and Phineas falls hard on the mat and to the floor. The match breaks down so it's time for some shenanigans. We get some mule kicks from Phineas and then Henry starts to clean house. Sunny comes running out with a picture of herself to Phineas. Hillbilly Jim threatens to pour the slop bucket on her. The distraction allows for Zip to roll in the ring for the injured Skip. When Henry turns around, he hits a small package and picks up the victory to retain their titles. This was very much a TV match and much shorter than I expected. After the match, Henry puts the picture in the slop bucket and tries to cheer Phineas back up. 

Match Rating: **

We get a commercial for the next In Your House during Memorial Day weekend. Vader vs. Yokozuna, Marc Mero vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Savio Vega vs. Steve Austin and the WWF Championship will be defended. I bet that show goes well. Dok is now in the locker room with wood paneling to interview Mero and Sable. He says that Helmsley has entered the jungle. They show the ending of the Free For All match with Helmsley hitting the Pedigree on Mero. The first 2,500 people who send in their proof of purchase for the show tonight get 5 free minutes of long distance time!!!!

We get a lengthy hype video for this match before showing interviews from both competitors that aired during the Free For All. Diesel promises that he has something special for him tonight. 

No Holds Barred Match For The WWF Championship
Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels

They show Jose Lothario getting Shawn ready backstage during Diesel's entrance. They show Mad Dog Vachon in the crowd. They mention that his career was cut short due to an accident. It seems like that information could play a role later on. Shawn is very serious on his way down to the ring and goes right into the ring to get things going. Diesel is outside the ring and Shawn greets him with a baseball slide kick and then a top rope moonsault-ish. Shawn grabs Hugo's boot off his foot and hits Diesel with it off the top rope. Diesel sends Shawn into the corner and he does his usual bump and then uses a double ax handle to knock him off the apron and into the guardrail. Diesel slows things down and hits a leaping side suplex. Diesel starts taking the tape off his wrists and starts choking...Earl Hebner? He then steals his belt and starts whipping Shawn with it. He then wraps it around Shawn's neck. He then throws him over the top rope with the belt still wrapped around his neck. He then ties it to the second rope. He goes outside and throws Fink to the ground and steals the chair he is sitting on and hits Shawn in the back with it. Shawn is out of the belt but then gets hit again with the chair to the back. They do the spot where Diesel misses with the chair and hits himself in the head after it bounces off the rope. Shawn has the chair now but Diesel hits him with a low blow before he can use it. Diesel hits a huge back body drop but Shawn kicks out of the pin attempt. We're back outside the ring and Diesel hits a Jackknife on Shawn through the announce table. It should be noted that he did not move any of the monitors and he did not use the Spanish announce table. The table looks like it was made during the Lincoln administration. Shawn goes under the ring and grabs a fire extinguisher and surprises Diesel with it. Shawn takes advantage of him being blinded and hits him with a flying forearm. He grabs a chair and nails him with it. A funny note is that the chair has some of the audio equipment on it and it gets pulled into the ring even when he's swinging it. Diesel comes back and hits a big boot. He signals for the Jackknife and points out to someone in the crowd. He gets Shawn up, but he nails him with a flurry of right hands when he's up in the air. Shawn hits a top rope elbow drop and starts tuning up the band. Diesel catches the leg and hits a clothesline. Both men are back up on their feet and Diesel clotheslines Shawn over the top. He drops Shawn on the guardrail and then grabs Mad Dog Vachon by the throat. He throws him on the ground and rips off his artificial leg. Vince says it's the lowest thing he's ever seen in his life. Before he can use it, Shawn hits him with a low blow and then nails Diesel with the leg to the head. He tunes up the band and gets Sweet Chin Music for the victory to retain his title in a wild match. My friend let me borrow his recording of this the week after the show and I think I watched this match about 5 times before giving it back to him. This was something very different for the time by WWF standards and it was also non-stop action. Great main event. 

Match Rating: ****1/2

This one is a really tough show to rate. On one hand, you have one of the best main event matches up to this point in WWF history. On the other hand, you have the offensively terrible Warrior/Goldust "match", which is one of the worst things they have put on to this point. The rest of the show is very much an episode of Monday Night Raw. I guess the best way to slice it is to just put it right in the middle. 

Overall Rating: 50%

Monday Night Raw 4-8-96 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, April 8th, 1996
Orange Pavilion
San Bernardino, California

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Vince McMahon gets Mr. Perfect this week with Jerry Lawler taking on Shawn Michaels tonight. 

Yokozuna vs. Vader

Well, we're getting the match that we thought we were going to get at WrestleMania here on Raw. We get an awesome spot right at the start with Yoko hitting a Samoan drop on Vader. Yoko is gassed after that though and Vader hits him with a clothesline. Vince lets us know that we started early tonight and we will be for the upcoming weeks thanks to USA Network. It would be nice if I could watch all of those episodes and the other show that is the reason for that. Yoko comes back with a Rock Bottom and hits a big leg drop. Yoko is taking a page out of Vader's playbook just leveling him in the corner with right hands. He charges at Vader and Vader moves out of the way. Jim Cornette grabs Yoko's ankle and Vader bounces off the second rope onto the ankle and Yoko is screaming in agony. The ref calls for the bell and then Vader hits it a second and third time. It's announced as a ref stoppage and that Vader has won the match. I was down in Myrtle Beach on vacation with my cousins and we watched this live and the next spot got quite the reaction out of the family. They bring out the stretcher for Yoko but he is much too large to fit on that. So instead they bring out a forklift to wheel him away. They also put a temporary splint on. The match itself was fine for what it was, but the aftermath was fun. 

Match Rating: *

Vince is in the ring now and brings out the Ultimate Warrior. He cuts a very 1996 Warrior promo here. He's rambling on and out comes Goldust and Marlena. Goldust is talking about riding Warrior's back or something and Warrior calls him a freak. We get a rare curse word during this time that gets bleeped out as well. This was an absolutely awful segment. I remember being disappointed with it as a kid too. They had absolutely no plan for Warrior and really didn't have the roster for a guy like him. 

We see Yoko still on the forklift outside the arena and out comes Vader to attack him some more with a chair. I love Vader. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Duke Droese

Hunter gets the already in the ring treatment and Duke runs out to go after him. Duke hits a body sam and clotheslines Hunter over the top. They show the interaction between Mero, Sable and Hunter from last week. Hunter baits Duke into flying over the top rope and goes after him. He tosses the trash into the steel steps while Vince is bragging about the highest ratings ever on the Preview Channel. Keep in mind that the Preview Channel usually showed ads and not actual shows, so I'm not sure that's the flex he was hoping for. We get a commercial break during a Duke Droese match. Duke comes back with an atomic drop and a spinebuster. He goes for the Trash Compactor but Hunter counters out of it and hits the Pedigree for the victory. This was a pretty standard match here as they try to build Hunter back up. 

Match Rating: *3/4

They show Yokozuna finally getting into the ambulance. Now it's time for an arm wrestling match between British Bulldog and Ahmed Johnson. Owen hypes up how strong Bulldog is and they sit down at a table that looks like it's from 1983. Owen stops it because Ahmed is wearing too much oil and calls him a cheater. Ahmed takes Jack Doan's shirt and wipes his hands on him in an awkward spot. Couldn't they have had a towel brought out? Owen continues to stall the match and Doan threatens to have Owen thrown out. Owen says that Bulldog isn't ready yet and that's what gets him kicked out. They show Diana in the crowd. We finally get to the arm wrestling and it's a stalemate to start. They go back and forth and then Ahmed wins. How exciting. Ahmed celebrates and Bulldog hits Ahmed in the back with a chair. Bulldog folds up the table and sets it up in the corner. Bulldog hits him again with a chair a few times. Ahmed fights back but Bulldog is able reverse Ahmed into the table. It doesn't break, so he sets it up again and throws him into it again. Once again, it doesn't break so Bulldog chucks the table on Ahmed's back. He then lays the table on Ahmed's back and jumps on it as Vince keeps calling him a poor sport. Pot, meet kettle. 

Next week, Savio Vega takes on Goldust. Not that I'll be able to watch it, but it was a memorable one for me. 

Out comes Diesel and he's wearing a Shawn Michaels shirt. He joins the announce team and we go to commercial. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Shawn Michaels

Diesel says he's no longer part of the Kliq. We get aaaaaaa lot of stalling here. So much so that they even show the chairshot from the house show 2 weeks ago during the match. It's pretty rare when I'm not invested in a Shawn match and so far this is one of them. Diesel even makes a comment that feels like a jab by saying this is the greatest sports entertainment in the world right here. Shawn makes a comeback and hits is flying forearm. Shawn hits the top rope elbow drop but Shawn decides not to cover him and start talking to Diesel. Diesel tells him that he better go get his win. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music and picks up the win before staring down Diesel again. Diesel gets in the ring and they start brawling. Mr. Perfect distracts Shawn and Diesel hits him with a boot. Perfect throws Diesel the title belt and Diesel hits him in the face before dropping it on Shawn so he can pose over him. I have absolutely no recollection of this partnership with Perfect. This match was pretty disappointing, but it was just here to give the crowd a Shawn match. 

Match Rating: *

I really liked the Vader/Yoko stuff but other than that, this was a pretty flat episode coming off a legendary one. The next episode I get to watch is May 13th, so I guess it's onto In Your House I go. 

Overall Rating: 48%

Monday Night Raw 4-1-96 Review

Monday, April 1st, 1996
Orange Pavilion
San Bernardino, California

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We get a quick montage of WrestleMania XII before going over to Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler. Vince is so lame when talking about Shawn Michaels. It's finally time for the debut of Mankind.

Mankind vs. Bob Holly

It's apparent about 15 seconds in that WWF just got themselves a steal with the signing of Foley here. Holly does get a dropkick in and a little bit of a pop for it. Mankind ducks him and Holly falls to the floor. We get a tree of woe spot and Mankind starts pulling out more of his hair. He puts on the Mandible Claw and I have to say, I remember seeing this live as a kid and just being appalled by that as a finisher. In one squash match, we just witnessed the debut of a true superstar here. I also love that Mankind has different exit music than he does for his entrance theme.

Match Rating: **

They show still photos of the debut of Marc Mero's debut and the brawl with Hunter Hearst Helmsley. They then show that Sable is in attendance today. 

We get a commercial for the WrestleMania encore. We then get a video of a bunch of people saying how fun WrestleMania was. 

Isaac Yankem vs. Marc Mero

Back to back debuts to start the show here. Yankem is a poor choice of an opponent here and not just because he sucks. A dropkick by Mero sends Yankem over the top and then Mero hits a somersault dive. Mero hits a double ax handle from the top rope and gets a 2 count. Hunter is out now and sitting next to Sable. Mero hits a crucifix and gets a 2 count. Mero starts with some of those boxing style punches and then hits a top rope sunset flip for the victory. Sable is shown cheering for him while Hunter continues to talk to him. Mero comes over and Sable slaps Hunter. Mero carries Sable over the rail and leaves with Mero. This was another pretty good debut.

Match Rating: *1/2

Ultimate Warrior will be here on Raw next week. 

They show clips of the Body Donnas winning the titles during the Free For All. We will get a rematch at In Your House. 

Barry Horowitz & Aldo Montoya vs. Body Donnas

It's always a joy to see the well-established team of Montoya and Horowitz in action. Aldo hits a nice double move with a headscissors and headlock and the crowd goes absolutely silent. There's apparently something going on in the crowd too but it also may just be that they are looking for something to watch other than this match. Just for the record, I'm not picking on it. Aldo hits a crossbody from the second rope to the floor on Skip. He tags in Barry and he hits a high knee. He gets him into a pin but Sunny has the ref distracted and Zip breaks it up. Skip hits a German suplex into a bridge and gets a 2 count. Skip hits a top rope hurricanrana and Zip hits a splash off the top rope for the victory. This was a solid little match and by the end the crowd at least sort of cared. 

Match Rating: **1/4

After another WrestleMania encore commercial, they show Bob Backlund in the crowd. 

Don't forget to call the WWF Superstar Line to find out what happened in Bret Hart's locker room after losing the title. 

They show more fan reactions from WrestleMania. We go to Vince in the ring and he brings out the new WWF Champion, Shawn Michaels. He doesn't get as big of a reaction as I expected. Not to skip ahead, but that won't be the case going forward so it must just be a San Bernardino thing. Shawn says last night was the best night of his life. They move onto Diesel and they show that 2 weeks ago at a house show at Madison Square Garden that Diesel hit Shawn in the back with a chair. Shawn goes back to Bret and speaks highly of him. He wants everyone to know that he will wear this belt with the dignity that Bret wore it with. He says that he will send the Burger King back to White Castle next week on Raw and that he'll dance all over Diesel's face at In Your House. 

You can buy the WrestleMania XII limited edition ring mat plaque for only $49.95. 

Justin Bradshaw vs. Undertaker

Who would have thought that this would be a SummerSlam main event one day? Bradshaw sends Taker into the corner but runs into a boot. He hits Taker with a big power slam and a clothesline. We get a quick commercial break just as the match goes outside the ring. We see the Karate Fighter Slam of the Week and it's Goldust hitting Roddy Piper with his car. When we come back, Taker is fighting back but JBL catches him with a side suplex. Taker comes back with a leaping clothesline and hits the Tombstone. He goes for the cover, but in comes Mankind and he attacks Undertaker to cause the disqualification. He absolutely takes it to him, leaving Taker unconscious. The match was what it was, a setup for the Mankind attack.

Match Rating: *

We come back and they show a replay of the Mankind attack. Next week, Yokozuna will take on Vader and Ultimate Warrior will be here. Don't forget about Jerry Lawler vs. Shawn Michaels. 

This was truly one of the best episodes of Raw up until this point. They had one true mission and that was to make Mankind into a star in one night and they 100% succeeded. As a result, the Mero debut kind of felt less important especially since he was feuding with a guy who just got destroyed the night before. The tag match was also a fun few minutes. Thumbs up here. 

Overall Rating: 79%