Monday, November 18th, 1996
New Haven Coliseum
New Haven, Connecticut
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Steve Austin vs. Mankind
This was supposed to be Vader but has been changed to Mankind. They show Vader getting injured by Yokozuna. They are billing this as a tough man match. Mankind comes running out during Austin's entrance and attacks him and they start brawling. Officials are out to break up the brawl. What a great way to start the show. I have to say that I do not remember this. They finally get into the ring and we have ourselves a match. Austin is going after Mankind with an intensity that you really didn't see that often in WWF until this time. Austin launches Mankind into the rail and into the crowd. Back into the ring we go and Mankind is able to stuff his fingers down his mouth until Austin kicks him in the crotch and into the commercial break. Austin tries to suplex Mankind from the apron and to the floor, but it's blocked and Mankind suplexes him into the ring. They continue to brawl and then out comes the Executioner and we get a cop out DQ. Out comes Undertaker to make the save and the crowd is loving it. He gets rid of Mankind and Executioner but then Austin clotheslines Taker over the top. Taker comes back in the ring and Austin still plays heel and retreats to the back. This was a fun Raw match despite the pointless finish.
Match Rating: ***1/4
We get a Survivor Series replay commercial. They show a weird overhead camera angle while Vince is telling us that it's Ahmed Johnson walking through the crowd. Even when they show the crowd shot, you can't even see him, so I'm not sure how Vince can. Out comes Sunny and she grabs a mic to introduce a "dear friend of hers", Faarooq. He gets the rap intro from PG-13 that we saw at Survivor Series.
Faarooq vs. Savio Vega
Sunny joins the announce team here. Faarooq is mostly dominating and the crowd is pretty dead for all of this. Ahmed wearing a Survivor Series hat is kind of funny, though. Faarooq folds Savio up with a back suplex into the commercial and the fans are still sitting on their hands. Faarooq goes up to the top rope and Savio crotches him. He goes for a superplex and they both fall to the floor. Based on how quickly Faarooq is up and throwing Savio in the ring, I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen. Savio hits a spin kick but doesn't make the cover. He charges at Faarooq and lands outside the ring. PG-13 hits Savio with a 2x4 and throws him back in and Faarooq gets the win. Ahmed comes down and clears the ring to a good pop. The match wasn't very good though.
Match Rating: *
Ahmed grabs a mic and says something about getting Faarooq back before leading a chant of "You're going down!".
Now it's time for the Karate Fighters Holiday Tournament. It's Bob Backlund vs. Sunny. Sunny advances if you care.
They show Sid working out backstage before talking about the match last night and the situation with Jose Lothario. Jose refused medical attention and then Vince talks about how great of a champion Shawn Michaels was before bringing up some things that people maybe didn't like about him. Vince then says that Shawn may be a ladies' man, but he proved last night that he was a man's man. Ironically, the Rockers music hits as soon as Vince is done lecturing us.
Leif Cassidy & Bob Holly vs. Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon
Marty Jannetty must be fired again. Captain Lou Albano is out with the charisma-less team of Furnas and LaFon. During the match, they interview British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Clarence Mason. They let us know that last night was a fluke and they don't care about Survivor Series matches. This match actually gets a commercial break and you can imagine how many people probably switched over to Nitro and didn't come back. Holly misses with an elbow off the ropes, if you care. Furnas gets a hot tag and hits his dropkick and a hurricanrana. Bret will take on Owen next week on Raw. LaFon hits a variation of a German suplex for the victory and Vince warns us that they're going to be around for awhile. This was fine.
Match Rating: *1/2
They show Sid with JR backstage before showing another Survivor Series commercial.
Sid comes out to a good pop and then they try to sell us a piece of the ring rope from last night with a Sid photo for $59 plus $8 shipping. JR introduces Sid again in the ring and the crowd is loving it. Sid says he has great respect for Jose Lothario, but he put himself on the apron and that is what can happen when you put yourself in the game. He says that if Shawn wants a rematch, he's got it. He already beat him once and he'll beat him again. What a difference between 1996 Sid and 1995 Sid. JR moves it to Bret Hart and Sid that he was never going to wrestle again, but the fans brought him back and he'll be a fighting champion for him. He screws up and calls him "Britman" and then corrects it. He reminds us again that he is the master and the ruler of the world.
This started with a bang and then kind of existed. They just don't have the roster depth yet to give us an hour full of hot angles. That will change soon, but we're still in that transition period. With that being said, that's not to say that this was a bad show, it just felt pointless after the Austin/Mankind stuff.
Overall Rating: 52%
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