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%
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