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Jesse Ewiak

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Oops, life got in the way for a bit there. Anyway, here's Superstars, RAW from last week, and Superstars. Will post RAW tomorrow, hell or high water.

 

October 1st, 1995 – WWF Superstars Recap – Posted on rec.sport.pro-wrestling

 

Ross & Hendrix still on commentary. Not the best team, but they get through things all right. There's still some chemistry from their WCW days together, but Hayes is so neutered, he's barely entertaining.

 

Steve Austin made a local jobber submit to the Eminence Front (Standing Figure Four) in a little under four minutes, thoroughly dominating the guy. After the match, DiBiase took the mic and talked about how Austin was the future of wrestling and soon enough, he'd hold all the gold in the WWF.

 

Quick recap video of Diesel & Bam Bam's heel turn, then video of Diesel's promo the next night on RAW. Official announcement of the new #1 contender being announced on RAW, along with more promotion for HBK vs. Bam Bam at Devil's Night.

 

Next up, The Nasty Boys took out local talent in a few minutes with the Pit Stop, then beat on the jobbers some more before the newly formed team of Stone McCready and Havok rushed to the ring to stop the attack.

 

After commercials, we cut to a video of the official brackets for the WWF Tag Team Tournament. They had awesome graphics - I'll do my best to write it out for ya'.

 

Yoko & Sid

Rougeau & Orndorff Winners

Savage & Crush

 

Nasty Boys

Mixtape

 

Doink & Fatu

IRS & Tatanka Winners

The Steiner Brothers

 

The Smoking Gunns

Smooth Operators

 

 

So, a ten team tournament with a few random thrown together teams. Well, WWF, you did lose almost all of your crappy teams that were already here, so I'll let it slide this team. Ross put over that the tournament will start on RAW with the Gunns taking on the Smooth Operators.

 

We get a repeat of the Hector Garza hype videos, only now with the announcement he'll be debuting at Devil's Night. Then, we replay the Jake Roberts sit down from RAW.

 

Back to actual action, Randy Savage runs over Ray Lloyd, the new Brooklyn Brawler in about five minutes with the Flying Elbow. Pretty much a squash. After the squash, Savage takes the mic and promises that he's going to rocket back to the top of the WWF.

 

Finally, in the 'main event', Psycho Sid pins Doink the Clown in about eight minutes with the Power Bomb after DiBiase distracted Doink long enough for Sid to nail him from behind, then dominate the closing moments of the match. After the bell had rung, we got another Power Bomb from Sid.

 

Final Verdict – This is still a watchable B-Show. Barely. But it's slowly sliding down into irrelevance if you're already watching RAW. Hopefully, the tag tourney gets some matches on here that actually matter.

 

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WWF Monday Night RAW – October 3rd, 1995

Taped September 26th, 1995

 

For the first time in a while, Monday Night RAW began with a match as we had the beginning of the WWF World Tag Team Tournament, as in an opening round contest, Doink & Fatu faced off against The Million Dollar Corporation team of IRS & Tatanka.. Early on, it looked like the Clown Prince of the WWF and the latest in the Samoan lineage of talent in the WWF would use quick tags and big moves to pick up the big win and move on to the quarterfinals, but one quick trip from The Million Dollar man allowed the rulerbreakers to regain the advantage. There was more back 'n' forth action, but the damage was done, as Tatanka pinned Doink with the Renegade Drop in a little over seven minutes to advance on to take on The Steiner Brothers in the Quarter Finals.

 

IRS & Tatanka defeated Doink the Clown & Fatu – (Tatanka p. Doink – 7:23)

 

After the match as The Million Dollar Corporation celebrated their victory, we went backstage where Dok Hendrix stood with The Macho Man and Crush. Savage explained that he'd been impressed with how Crush had changed since returning to the WWF and went to Gorilla Monsoon and offered himself up as partner for the big Hawaiian. He said that he and Crush had some big battles, but time heals most wounds, oooh yeah, and that together, they'd be the cream that rises to the stop, starting on Superstars.

 

Next up, Ahmed Johnson defeated a local wrestling quite easily, pinning him with the Pearl River Plunge in a little over three minutes. However, the real fireworks came after the match, when Ahmed challenged Ted DiBiase to bring out any member of the Million Dollar Corporation to take him on during Superstars this week!

 

Ahmed Johnson pinned Local Talent in 3:05.

After that, we had Gorilla Monsoon come out to make an official announcement about the next WWF Pay Per View, Devil's Night. He announced that due to how the match ended and the fact that Diesel had outed him as the man who masterminded the attack that he had no choice but to give the WWE Championship match to Razor Ramon! That got a round of cheers from the crowd and it looked like Monsoon's work was done, but the crowd was shocked to see The Gangsta's come in from the crowd and face off against the WWF President. Security came down to ringside, but Monsoon waved them off.

From there, New Jack of the Gangstas' asked Monsoon why they, newly signed talents were being blackballed from the WWF World Tag Team Title Tournament. Monsoon explained that they had a spot in the tourney, but their actions last week led Monsoon to 'X' them out of the tournament. That did not make either Gangsta happy, as they claimed this was just part of the long bias the WWF has had against black wrestlers. New Jack said, “Gorilla, men like you laughed all the way to the bank when Vinny Mac took over, but what did the new boss do? Throw away men like Atlas & Johnson, make JYD into a cartoon, and make sure no real powerful black men got a shot in the WWF. 'Dis is continuing today. That's why we're not leaving this ring until we get put in the tournament.'

Monsoon shrugged that off and said whether or not The Gangstas like it, every wrestler in the WWF had an equal oppurtunity. Look at Ahmed Johnson! New Jack snorted and said, 'Uncle Tom cracka butt kisser.' Gorilla responded, 'well, he had a match tonight. You weren't even here. This may work down in Smoky Mountain, but this is the WWF. So, let's make a deal. I'll find you suitable competition at Devil's Night if you agree to leave the ring.”

New Jack & Mustafa conferred, then said they didn't like it how they “had to work twice as hard as two white men like Cracka Crush & The Not So Macho Man to get a chance”, but they'll take it. Gorilla nodded, the went to leave when New Jack grabbed MONSOON, PICKED HIM UP FOR A MOMENT, THEN PUT HIM BACK DOWN. As the crowd buzzed with Monsoon confused, New Jack took the mic, “just remember, that was a gift, Monsoon. Next time, I won't be puttin ya' down so nicely” then left the ring with his partner.

Up next after that interesting segment and a video hyping up the debuting Hector Garza, Ray Lloyd was in the ring, trying to get on the winning track in the World Wrestling Federation. However, it looked like any chance of that ended when Steve Austin came out to the ring. Austin, with Ted DiBiase dominated Lloyd, before making him submit to the Eminence Front in a little under four minutes. After the match, Austin kept the hold on as DiBiase ranted how Austin, not Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, The Steiners, or even Diesel was the future of the WWF.

Steve Austin SUB Ray Lloyd with the Eminence Front in 3:52.

 

Before the main event, there was a short interview with The Steiner Brothers, who said they were afraid of no team and they'd prove it by beating IRS & Tatanka in the Quarter Finals, no matter who they brought with them, even Austin.

In the main event match of the evening, the Smooth Operators of Bonanno and Hughes faced off former WWF Tag Team Champions, The Smoking Gunns. in a Quarter Final match in the WWF World Tag Team Tournament. The Gunns obviously had the experience advantage teaming together, but with Rick Rude at ringside, the newcomers to the World Wrestling Federation were able to keep The Gunns from getting into a groove. In addition, quick impressive power moves allowed both Operators to be effective in the ring. Near the end of the match, Billy Gunn had hit a big time DDT, but Rude put Mister Hughes' foot on the ropes. Billy then went to argue with the former I-C Champ, but that allowed Hughes to nail Billy from behind and not too long after, the Smooth Operator's were hitting their finishing maneuver of the Clean Sheet to pick up the upset victory in this Quarter Final bout.

The Smooth Operators d. The Smoking Gunns – (Bonanno p. Billy Gunn – 10:03)

To close the show, Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow came out to the ring. After Bam Bam promised he'd take out Shawn Michaels and become I-C Champion since “Shawn, you may be the Heartbreak Kid, but I'm a Man who will kill your boyhood dream,” Diesel took the mic and after taking a shot at Vinny Mac and 'Old Man Roderick' at ringside, he told the fans that they could dream that Razor Ramon was going to end his reign at In Your House, but he was bigger, stronger, and most importantly, sexy, so everybody, including the Corporate Suits would be very unhappy the night after Devil's Night.

However, as Diesel continued to talk, the crowd cheered as Razor Ramon came down to ringside, alone. Diesel smiled big and motioned for Razor to come down. What Diesel & Bam Bam didn't notice as they were watching Razor is Shawn Michaels coming down through the crowd, sneaking in the ring, then DRILLING BAM BAM IN THE HEAD WITH SWEET CHIN MUSIC FROM BEHIND.

Bam Bam fell through the ropes to the outside while Razor rushed in the ring after Diesel as the WWF Champion went after his former employer and friend. It was a short-time two-on-one advantage on Big Daddy Cool before Bam Bam slid back in the ring and went after Michaels. While Bigelow sent Michaels into the corner, Razor & Diesel brawled over the top rope to the ringside area. As WWF Officials came down to ringside, Razor had the advantage and was trying to set Diesel up for a Razor's Edge through the Spanish Announce Table, but various referees and corporate suits stopped Ramon before he could pick Diesel up.

RAW ended with all four men involved in the singles title matches being separated from each other.

 


October 8th, 1995 – WWF Superstars Recap – Posted on rec.sport.pro-wrestling

Ross & Hendrix hype up the big matches today, including Ahmed taking on a random member of the Corporation and of course, Crush & Savage taking on Rougeau & Orndorff in the main event today. Woohoo, actual matches that count!

But to start off, we get an interesting opener as Havok Hogue & Stone McCready, also known as Mixtape make their official WWF Debut as team, easily running over some jobbers in about three minutes with what they're calling the Crossover Hit which involves the former Ice Train hitting a big Avalanche Splash in the corner, tagging McCready nee Van Hammer in who hits a Double Leg Slam to pick up the pinfall win. Pretty inoffensive.

Next up, we get another Hector Garza video, then another recap of the Robert's interview from two weeks ago on RAW. It's almost like they ran out of time last week and had to cut the 2nd part of this interview.

In the ring, Ahmed Johnson was standing in the ring, calling the Million Dollar Corporation out. After a minute, Ted DiBiase came out, said that Ahmed had to start from the bottom, but the bottom in the Corporation was very impressive as IRS came out. In the ring, we had a very simple match as Rotundo basically walked Ahmed through the match, then allowed Johnson to hit some power moves, then the Pearl River Plunge to pick up the pin in about six minutes. After the match, Ahmed screamed 'YOU'RE GOING DOWN' at DiBiase as he looked worried while helping IRS to the back.

After some commercials, recaps, and a Slam Jam Report hyping up Devil's Night, it was time for more action as Earthquake came out and destroyed a poor soul in two minutes. He just hit a regular powerslam and got the pinfall. 'Quake then went for a big Earthquake Splash, but this time, Crush _ AND _ Randy Savage stopped him from attacking.

This set up the main event, where Jacques Rougeau teamed up with teamed up with Paul Orndorff, who came out in separate entrances to face off against Savage & Crush, who were already in the ring. The actual match boiled down to largely three matches – an all right match whenever Savage was facing off against Rougeau or Orndorff were in the ring, a long long kinda crappy match after Crush got the hot tag, then a wacky finish where Fatu came out just long enough to make Orndorff get down from the apron and argue with him, which allowed Savage to make a comeback and hit the Flying Elbow on Rougeau for the win, which Orndorff almost got the save. Decent little 12 minute match.

 

Verdict – Actual angle advancement! A good main event! Probably going to be crap again next week, but hey, they're still trying. Mostly.

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WWF Monday Night RAW

LIVE from Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

October 10th, 1995 - 10,600 (9,300 paid)

 

 

Vincent K. McMahon, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, and Jerry 'The King' Lawler welcome us to Monday Night Raw, live from the birthplace of the World Wrestling Federation – Madison Square Garden! After going over the card tonight, Piper & Lawler get into an argument over the main event tonight, where Piper insults Yokozuna and Sid as 'two dumb mongrels' and Lawler calls Crush & Savage a 'a jailbird and a psych who should be in jail.'

 

The familiar music of Doink the Clown comes over the arena and the crowd cheers the Clown Prince of the World Wrestling Federation. Those cheers turn largely to boos as Bam Bam Bigelow's music hits, coming down that aisle with the WWF Champion Diesel. However, Lawler is quick to note a few black gloved fans getting high gives from Big Daddy Cool. As Bigelow gets in the ring, Diesel heads over to the announcers table, grabbing a chair from the ringkeeper, sitting down beside McMahon and clapping him on the shoulder.

 

Doink the Clown vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - As Diesel joins the three man booth at ringside, Bam Bam and Doink circle each other. While Bigelow powers Doink in the corner, Diesel makes a crack about being stuck in a booth with “a fake crown, a fake hip, and a fake hairpiece” while Bam Bam goes to work on the Clown Prince of the World Wrestling Federation. After a few kicks, punches, and shots in the corner, Bigelow drags Doink into the middle of the ring, heaves Doink up, then drops him with a huge Press Slam on Doink in the middle of the ring, but the big man from New Jersey goes up top too soon and as a result, Doink is able to get up and make Bigelow fall to the mat with a mighty crash. From there, Doink hits a quick knee drop and elbow drop on Bigelow before locking him in a camel clutch style maneuver. Bigelow powers out of the hold after a minute or so, tossing Doink down to the mat with an electric chair style slam, but rushes too quickly into the corner and Doink slowly gets up, hitting a few forearms and kicks on Bigelow in the corner. Doink sends Bam Bam into the corner with an Irish Whip, but Bigelow reverses it and sends Doink into the corner then crushes him with an AVALANCHE SPLASH! Doink slumps down in the corner and Bigelow goes to town on him with punches and kicks in the corner until the referee pulls him away, admonishing The Beast from the East. After snarling at the ref, Bigelow picks Doink up by his green hair, but the Clown has one last flurry for Bigelow, hitting him with several knees and elbows, but it's too little, too late as Bigelow reverses a suplex with a low kick, drills Doink with a big vertical suplex, then goes up top and picks up the pin after the Flying Headbutt!

 

Bam Bam Bigelow p. Doink – (7:09 – Flying Headbutt)

 

After the match, Diesel rolls in the ring with his new partner and play to a big heel reaction with some soft mixed in cheers, largely male.

 

 

###Oh Shawn...###

 

 

'Sexy Boy' turns the MSG crowd around entirely to cheers as the current Intercontinental Champion comes down the ring with the belt on his shoulder, clapping hands before rolling in the ring and standing across from his opponent at In Your House and his former running buddy.

 

Shawn Michaels then takes the mic and says, “Sorry, guys. You didn't quite kill this hound dog, which means you made one big mistake. Ya' see, Kev, I'll get to you later. After all, Razor gets the first shot to take a piece out of you and he'll have no problems doing that at In Your House.”

 

To cheers, Shawn then continued, “But, Bigelow, I want to talk to you. Here's the truth, big man. I know why you did this. After all, at the end of the day, where ever you've gone, whether it's here at the pinnacle of the business, over in Japan, or even down there where the Canadians ran off too, you've never been the big dog. You've been an underachiever. You've shown up, got lots of promotion from whomever is making the matches, then you've gone out there and....CHOKED!”

 

Big pop for that, as Bam Bam looks to go after Michaels, but Diesel holds him back. “That's right, stay on your leash. After all, at the grandest stage of them all – Wrestlemania. In your biggest match ever against an NFL Legend. You choked. You made all of us look like idiots by getting pinned by some damn football player coming in for a big payday.”

 

Mixed pop for that. After all, LT is LT in New York. Michaels then continued, “so yeah, I admit it. You guys got me. Hoodwinked me. Took out Razor, then KO'd me from behind. All that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee. Because the day after, when I woke up, I admit, it was not the best day of my life. I had bruises. I had pulled muscles. I needed a long long bath in some ice cold water. However, here's the thing Bam Bam – I was still The Heartbreak Kid. I was still The Showstopper. I was still the World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Champion!”

 

Another pop as Michaels finished, “so come to In Your House. Because when the night ends, it'll just be another choke job by Bam Bam Bigelow.”

 

Michaels then tossed the mic to Bigelow who said, “you ran your mouth a lot, Shawn. But, you're still across the ring from the Baddest Things Running in the WWF, so what makes you think you're going to make it to In Your House?”

 

Michaels simply shrugged as a voice boomed over the PA to a gigantic pop, “Hey Yo!”

 

The camera shifted to see Razor Ramon coming down through the crowd with a mic in his hand. As Diesel and Bigelow turned around, Ramon hopped the barrier, nodded to the announcers at ringside, then got in the ring.

 

After a stand off of about a second, Ramon pointed at Diesel, then said to a pop, “calm your overgrown puppy down, champ.”

 

Diesel responded, “Razor, you want to do this? Let's do this. I took you out before, I can do it again.”

 

Ramon shot back, “but this time, I'm standing in front of you. So, I'll actually see you coming, big man.”

 

Diesel simply shrugged and said, “never said I was a role model. I did what I had to do to show the World Wrestling Federation who I truly was. It was just business, pal.”

 

“Didn't feel like business when I was knocked out on the floor, Diesel. But that doesn't matter, mang. What matters is in thirteen days at In Your House, all your whining, complaining, and [bLEEP]in' about being held down by the corporate suits will end, because you'll be looking up at the lights and I'll be the next World Wrestling Federation Champion!”

 

“We'll see, Razor. I mean, after all, can you really trust the guy who threw you off a ladder and who you threw off a ladder just a few weeks back? Yeah, I'm a mean nasty T-Rex, but I'm upfront about it. I shed my scales, Ramon. Can you say the same about your partner?”

 

That got an oooh from the MSG crowd, which brought Michaels to say, “this isn't Psychology 101 in Tennessee, Kev. Razor and I beat the hell out of each other, but it now means we respect each other. I thought you and I had come to the same conclusion, but the truth is, you were always scared of that little voice in the back of your head that said, everybody WWF fan out there really wanted The Heartbreak Kid with that big shiny belt!”

 

Another pop as Ramon then said, “hell, maybe Shawn and I can main event Wrestlemania in another Ladder Match after I kick your tail at In Your House!”

 

There was another tense standoff before Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow exited the ring, the WWF Champion raising his fist while Bam Bam made the title belt motions.

 

 

COMMERCIALS

 

 

Coming back from commercials, we get part three of the long form interview of Jim Ross with Jake 'The Snake' Roberts. They go over Robert's early career in the World Wrestling Federation, his rising popularity, and the problems that came along with it, including the drinking and drugs. Roberts explains that the only thing that mattered more than getting high from drugs or drink was the high from the crowd when he came out in the ring, but even then, that eventually burnt out. Roberts and Ross then continued, quickly covering a “disastrous trip down South” with another organization, reclaiming some of his career in Mexico, only for Roberts to say, “then I screwed it all up again.” The Snake finished by saying, “only when I was lowest did I finally see the light.”

 

After that, we has a backstage interview with the entire Million Dollar Corporation, including The Million Dollar Man, Psycho Sid, Yokozuna (w/ both WWF Tag Title Belts), Irwin R. Schyster, Tatanka, and Steve Austin. DiBiase ranted about The Steiners, saying they're overhyped and on Superstars this week, they'll fall to IRS & Tatanka, then he began to talk about Crush & Savage, before Sid interrupted saying, “I am the Master and Ruler of the World – Machoooo Man, you will feel the thunder and what real savagery is tonight!”

 

Before finishing off, Austin came in, talking about he was so above the rest of the World Wrestling Federation “outside present company” and that he was getting tired of the “low class trash” he'd been facing off so far in the WWF.

 

Coming back from that, there was a quick recap of Mixtape facing off against The Nasty Boys on RAW, then there was quick inset promos of both teams with McCready saying, “Nasty Boys, you want to get funky with the future of the WWF, then let's get down and dirty with some chunky chords and nasty beats, brother!”

 

Mixtape vs. The Nasty BoysWWF World Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter Finals - McMahon went over the accomplishments of The Nasty Boy in the World Wrestling Federation prior to their leaving for “competition in regional promotions around the country”, then hyped up McCready and Hogue as two young guns looking to rise to the top of the WWF. Right from the bell, The Nasty Boys matched their name as they went right after the rocker and the rapper with clubbering blows before the referee could get things calmed down. Once the actual match started, Sags was in the ring with McCready and hit a neckbreaker and sidewalk slam right after the other to show off to the crowd here before throwing McCready into the corner and nailing him with a big clothesline in the corner. Sags then went to climb the ropes and continue the beatdown, but the big man from Los Angeles tossed one half of the former WWF Tag Champs down to the mat, then drilled him with a big discus-style lariat (called the 'RCA 45' by McMahon), then the man known as Van Hammer to WCW audiences picked Sags up and hit him with a big ole' belly to back suplex. Both men were slow to get up, but McCready got a pop from the audience by drilling Sags in the stomach, then dropping him with a big hair-aided faceslam right to the mat. McCready then turned around and tagged in Havok Hogue, who went out to the ring apron and somersaulted in the ring with a senton, landing on Sags! ONE! TWO! KNOBBS MAKES THE SAVE AND CONTINUES TO BEATDOWN HAVOK HOGUE!

 

That made McCready come in the ring and things quickly broke down, but in the melee, Sags hit a low blow on Hogue, then impressively hurked Hogue up into a pumphandle slam. With McCready back on his side of the ring, Sags tagged in Knobbs. The Nasty Boys then grabbed Hogue and drilled him with a Double DDT, then Knobbs came off the ropes with a nasty elbow to the throat. From there, the big man went to work on Hogue, stomping and kicking him in the corner as the fans booed. While Knobbs played to the crowd, Hogue tried to crawl over to his own corner, but Knobbs saw that and pulled Sags back over to the middle of the ring before tagging Sags back in. After placing Havok in the corner and nailing with a quick kick to the gut, Knobbs grabbed his partner and sent him to the corner for their assisted splash – NO! HAVOK GOT OUT OF THE WAY! Knobbs goes over to help his partner, but Hogue ducks the attack and Knobbs goes right over the top rope. Van Hammer then quickly came in, nailed Sags with the double leg slam, then Hogue came off the top rope with a Senton Splash, which McMahon called Destiny on the Radio to pick up the slight upset win!

 

Mixtape d. The Nasty Boys - (7:03 - Senton Splash)

 

After the match, Mixtape played to the fans before McMahon threw it to tape of this weeks Superstars, showing Crush and Randy Savage winning their tag team match _ _and_ Fatu distracting Orndorff near the end of the match. We're then sent to the backstage area where Paul Orndorff is shown, dressed in a very nice suit where he rants and raves for a little bit, before officially challenging Fatu for In Your House!

COMMERCIALS

 

 

Coming back from commercials, we're shown the same Hector Garza video from the last few weeks, ending with the announcement that Garza will appear at In Your House. After that, we cut to the ringside area where McMahon says there's a situation outside. We cut LIVE, outside of Madison Square Garden where we see The Gangsta's, trying to get inside the arena with their whole posse, but security stopping them from entering.

 

Gorilla Monsoon comes outside and tells The Gangsta's that part of the agreement they signed with the WWF was that they would make their debut at In Your House, but not before hand. Everybody outside boos that decision, begin to chant, “LET THEM IN” for a moment before New Jack calms them down saying, “look, Monsoon isn't the problem here. We all know the honky that's really making the decisions around here. So, Gorilla, we'll be at Devil's Night. Just remember, and tell you massa' that mofos like us cause all the destruction during Devil's Night. Call Detroit and axe them about Gangstas like us.”

 

Coming back from that, McMahon looks very uncomfortable while Lawler jokes, “told ya' nothing good comes from Smoky Mountain, McMahon.” Vinny Mac no sells that joke, then sends it to ringside for the main event of the evening. Psycho Sid and Yokozuna come out first, with Yoko still holding the WWF Tag Team Titles. McMahon notes that all members of the Corporation, aside from DiBiase who holds a managers license have been banned from ringside. Then, for the 1st time in nearly two years, Randy Savage comes back to Madison Square Garden and he gets an absolutely enormous reaction from the WWF faithful.

 

As both teams face off, McMahon tells us that after this commercial break, you'll see the entire main event.

 

 

COMMERCIALS

 

 

Randy Savage & Crush vs. Yokozuna & Psycho Sid w/ Ted DiBiase – WWF World Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter Finals - The bell finally rung with Crush and Psycho Sid in the ring and the two behemots went right to work on each other, trading punches, forearms, and more punches with Sid gaining the advantage, pushing Crush in the corner, before raising his big boot to choke the Hawaiian in the corner. Of course, this was near The Macho Man, so the former WWF Champion was having none of it, rushing over, throwing Sid's boot down to the mat to the cheers of the crowd and some admonishing from the referee. Psycho Sid glowered at Savage while The Million Dollar Man complained at ringside, then the big man continued his assault on Crush, only the slight distraction from Savage allowed Crush to block Sid's attack and go after him with several big shots, then sending Sid into the ropes and hitting him with a big shoulderblock, causing him to drop to the mat. Crush then went to pick Sid up from the mat, but as he went for a big slam, Psycho Sid shifted his weight, then hit the big Hawaiian with a surprise headbutt, sending him back to the ropes. That allowed Sid to drop Crush with a boot, then tag in Yokozuna to the boos of the crowd.

 

With Crush down, Yoko did what he does best – slow things down. To the boos of the crowd, Yokozuna slapped on a nerve hold on Crush, keeping the big man from Kona trapped down on the mat where it doesn't matter how big you are. Savage implored his partner to power out, hyping up the crowd with claps and other crowd pleasing antics as Crush tried to stay conscious and power out of the hold. Fighting off the hold, Crush slowly got back to a vertical base, then elbowed the former WWF Champion several times in the elbow, almost breaking free. Sensing the momentum shifting, Yoko tried to clamp on a headlock, but Crush fought out of it, sent Yoko to the ropes, then as the 600 pounder slowly came off the ropes, nailed him with a huge Flying Shoulderblock that sent both men to the mat!

 

Crush was the first man up and to the cheers of the crowd tagged in The Macho Man who came in a house of fire, running straight over and knocking Sid down to the floor with a big forearm, then turning around and nailing Yoko with several right hands as he got back to his feet. Stumbling back, Yoko was trapped in the corner, which allowed Savage to climb the ropes and to nail Yokozuna with big right hands as the crowd counted along with The Macho Man to '10', then Savage hit one last one as he dropped down to the mat as if to add an exclamation point. However, at this point, The Million Dollar Man jumped to the ring apron to complain about Savage's closed punches. Savage came over to jaw with DiBiase, but that gave Yokozuna enough time to recover, come over and drill Savage from behind, then lock him and send him down to the mat with a vicious BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX!

 

Yokozuna raised his arms to the crowd and yelled 'BANZAI' and from the corner and ran – BIG LEGDROP! NOBODY WAS HOME! Savage barely rolled away and both men were down in the middle of the ring as the referee began his count. As the referee reached 'five', Savage began to stir, slowly getting up to his knees and using the ropes while Yokozuna also sat up. Unfortunately for The Macho Man, Yokozuna was much closer to his partner and was able to tag in Psycho Sid before Savage got close to Crush. With the goofy scary smile that embodies Psycho Sid, the big man from West Memphis went to work, kneeing, forearming, and punching Savage against the ropes before Irish Whipping Savage, then drilling him with a massive big boot.

 

As the crowd booed, Sid picked a limp Savage up, rose his arms to the crowd and went for the Powerbomb – but Savage dead weighted him. Sid nailed with several forearms again, but again – Savage dead weighted him. A third time – Sid went to pick Savage up, but this time, Crush rushed in and nailed Sid from behind to the cheers of the crowd. Sid turned around and went after Crush while the referee tried to break things up. As that went on and both men traded shots in the corner on the ringside apron, Savage rolled to the outside to get some rest.

 

As he stood on the outside, the crowd roared as Yokozuna stalked him from behind, but as the former WWF Champion rushed at Savage near the barrier – SAVAGE MOVED! YOKO ATE THE BARRIER! Back inside the ring, the referee has lost control of Sid & Crush and both men are actually brawling in the ring. Sid is going after Crush in the corner, Savage rolls in and nails Sid from behind. Lawler complains in the announcers booth about The Macho Man acting like he's above the rules and is shot down by Piper saying, “I think between you, me, and Savage, we've all tossed out the rulebook more than a few times, brother.” Crush is recovering inside the ring as Savage tosses Sid to the outside sloppily and because he's a crazy ass mofo, Savage scales to the top turnbuckle – FLYING AXEHANDLE TO THE FLOOR ON SID!

 

Both men are down on the mat while the referee checks on Crush who is trying to get up. As he does that, DiBiase complains again to the referee, but while that's happening, the crowd buzzes as EARTHQUAKE COMES SAUNTERING DOWN TO RINGSIDE! Savage is using the ringside barrier to keep himself standing, but 'Quake grabs him. POWERSLAM ON THE RINGSIDE FLOOR BY EARTHQUAKE! WHAT THE HELL?!?

 

Earthquake grabs Sid and gently tosses him back inside the ring. At that moment, The Million Dollar Man drops down to the ring floor again and the referee begins his count as 'Quake backs away to the entrance area. With relative ease as Crush is held back from going outside by the referee, his count reaches ten and the match is over.

 

Yokozuna & Sid Vicious CO Crush & Randy Savage – (12:55 – Count Out)

 

As the bell rings, Crush finally goes outside to help his fallen partner, only for Yokozuna to meet him and also toss him into the barrier! The crowd boos as The Million Dollar Man cackles at ringside, then pulls out a bundle of bills and hands them over to Earthquake. All of the sudden, the boos from the crowd turn to some cheers as Mixtape runs out from the back, going right after Yokozuna on the outside of the ring with Havok Hogue and Stone McCready dropping the former WWF Champion with a double clothesline, then getting in the ring and going after both 'Quake and Sid.

 

It's an absolute brawl, but the numbers turn against Mixtape when Tatanka, Irwin R. Schyster, and Steve Austin come down to ringside, stomp on Crush and Savage a little more on the ringside floor, then come in, and go after both members of Mixtape. The newly former tag team tries to fight, but it's a number game.

 

Just when it looks like The Million Dollar Corporation is going to end things early, the crowd rises again as Ahmed Johnson rushes down to ringside, slides in the ring, and goes crazy on The Corporation! Right hand for Irwin, big boot for Austin, elbow for Tatanka, clothesline for Sid sends him to the outside. Another big slam on Tatanka, Yokozuna rolls in – BODYSLAM ON YOKOZUNA!

 

But again, it's a 5-on-3 situation and the heels eventually regroup and go after Ahmed and begin to attack him. Sid has Ahmed in position for a powerbomb when -

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE

 

 

 

 

LIGHTS

 

 

 

 

GO

OUT!

BONG!

BONG!


BONG!

 

 

 

 


BONG!


BONG!

PURPLE LIGHTS COME BACK ON PURPLE TO REVEAL -

 

 

 

Taker-Mask.jpg

 

 

 

 

STANDING IN THE RING!

 

 

The heels scatter, leaving Tatanka and IRS all alone – BIG RIGHT HAND ON TATANKA SENDS HIM FLYING! CHOKE SLAM ON IRS!

 

MONDAY NIGHT RAW ENDS WITH AHMED, THE UNDERTAKER, RANDY SAVAGE, AND CRUSH STANDING TALL!

 

 

 

TITAN SPORTS - COPYRIGHT 1995

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WWF Superstars Recap – October 15th, 1995 – Posted on rec.sport.pro-wrestling

 

- So, it's Saturday afternoon and RAW was actually pretty good. Sure, the matches themselves were painfully advantage, but at least they aren't the overlong pointless matches we're seeing on Nitro. Anyway Jim Ross and Dok Hendrix open things up this week, talking about the return of The Undertaker.

 

- The Smoking Gunns defeated Local Talent in a little over two minutes. Total and complete squash. Bart Gunn is painfully boring even in short matches, but Billy is kind of athletic. We get an inset promo from The Gunns promising that even though they got upset by The Smooth Operators, they'd be back in the hunt sooner than you think.

 

- Next up, a recap of the end of RAW, then a post-RAW promo w/ DiBiase explaining that he'd “incentivized” Earthquake to take out Savage and that at IYH, there'd be an all-MDC final. Yeah, dream on, Teddy.

 

- After that, we get the same ole' Hector Garza promo, we're back to the ring and Jacques Rougeau absolutely runs over Ray Lloyd in a little over three minutes, making him submit to the Quebec Crab. After the match, Rougeau takes the mic and says that he's tired of all of these “young punks” thinking they can just come to the WWF without paying their dues and that he was challenging Hector Garza to show up at Devil's Night and meet a real Canadian hero.

We get a quick recap of the Fatu/Orndorff feud, then a backstage promo where Fatu accepts the challenge from Orndorff, saying that “Paul, it's not 1985 anymore. It's time for you to step aside for a New Generation!”

 

- After that, it's Slam Jam time as Dok hypes up the World and I-C title matches while also plugging the other matches on the card. Along with the hype, we get a quick promo from Razor Ramon saying that Diesel Power will run out at Devil's Night.

 

- Finally, in a pretty long main event of around 13 or 14 minutes, The Steiner Brothers unsurprisingly advance to the Semi-Finals at the PPV by defeating IRS & Tatanka when Rick hit the bulldog from the top on IRS. Fun little match that was actually pretty awesome when Rick & IRS went old school with some mat wrestling early, but aside from that, wasn't that much to look at.

 

- Final Verdict – Watch the tag match, but you can ignore everything else.

 

 

House Show Results

October 11th - Glen Falls, NY - (1,500)

Steve Austin defeated Ray Lloyd

The Gangstas defeated The Smoking Gunns

Mixtape & Ahmed Johnson defeated The Nasty Boys & Ray Lloyd

Paul Orndorff & Jacques Rougeau defeated Fatu & Doink when Rougeau pinned Doink after hitting him with the 'shock stick.'

Earthquake defeated Randy Savage by DQ when Savage nailed him with the ring bell.

Yokozuna, Psycho Sid, and IRS defeated The Steiners Brothers & Crush when Sid pinned Crush.

Razor Ramon & Shawn Michaels defeated Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow when Ramon pinned Bigelow.

 

October 12th - Rochester, NY - (1,800)

Jacques Rougeau defeated Ray Lloyd

Ahmed Johnson defeated Jerry Sags

The Smooth Operators defeated Fatu & Doink

Randy Savage defeated Paul Orndorff

Yokozuna & Psycho Sid defeated The Smoking Gunns

The Undertaker defeated Tatanka

Steve Austin & IRS drew The Steiner Brothers in a double countout

Shawn Michaels © defeated Earthquake by CO when Savage nailed him with a ring bell

Diesel © defeated Crush

 

October 13th - Binghamton, NY - (1,600)

Steve Austin defeated Doink

The Smoking Gunns defeated IRS & Tatanka

Fatu defeated Jacques Rougeau

Mixtape & The Steiner Brothers defeated The Smooth Operators & The Nasty Boys when Scott Steiner pinned Jerry Sags.

Randy Savage defeated Paul Orndorff

The Undertaker & Ahmed Johnson defeated Psycho Sid & Yokozuna by DQ

Earthquake defeated Crush by DQ when Savage attacked 'Quake from behind

Razor Ramon & Shawn Michael © defeated Diesel © & Bam Bam Bigelow when Michaels pinned Diesel.

 

October 14th, 1995 - Syracuse, NY - (1,500)

Mixtape d. Orndorff & Rougeau

Smooth Operators d. Smoking Gunns

Nasty Boys d. Fatu & Doink

In an elimination match, The Undertaker, Crush, Ahmed Johnson, and The Steiner Brothers defeated IRS, Tatanka, Steve Austin, Yokozuna, and Psycho Sid

- 'Taker pinned IRS

- Yoko pinned Rick Steiner

- Scott Steiner pinned Tatanka

- Steve Austin was eliminated when he hit Crush with a chair

- Psycho Sid pinned Crush

- The Undertaker and Psycho Sid fought to a DCO

- Yokozuna defeated Scott Steiner

- Ahmed Johnson defeated Yokozuna

 

Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels ©, and Razor Ramon defeated Diesel ©, Earthquake, and Bam Bam Bigelow when Ramon pinned Bigelow.

 

October 15th, 1995 - Utica, NY - (1,400)

Steve Austin defeated Ray Lloyd

Psycho Sid & Yokozuna defeated The Smoking Gunns

Fatu & Doink drew IRS & Tatanka when The Gangstas attacked both teams

Paul Orndorff & The Smooth Operators d. Ahmed Johnson & Mixtape when Bonanno pinned Havok Hogue.

The Undertaker defeated Jacques Rougeau

Razor Ramon & Randy Savage defeated Bam Bam Bigelow & Earthquake when Ramon pinned Bigelow.

Shawn Michaels © defeated Tatanka

Diesel © defeated Crush

 

 

 

OBSERVER NEWS & NOTES

- With the collapse of OVW, the WWF picked up three new signings. Charles Wright will be returning after being given his release after Summerslam while Miss Texas and Konnan have both been brought in. It's highly expected that Konnan will be given a strong push out of the gate as along with Garza, the WWF is looking toward the Hispanic market as a way to rebuilt themselves.

- Did you notice that most of the mic work on RAW was mostly between the three Clique members while Bigelow was left in the cold? Makes you think, right?

- Earthquake (John Tenta) was originally brought in to be part of the tag team tournament, but when Fred Ottman refused to sign w/ the WWF, things were shifted to bring 'Quake in as a heavy to take on Savage. Savage is comfortable working with Tenta from their earlier runs in the WWF and this quickie feud will link Savage back to the rest of the WWF roster once he gets back his sea legs.

- RAW ratings remain stronger than expected, as it looks like WCW going to two hours and not having Hogan, Bret, or Sting on their main TV shows is helping RAW stay strong, especially as they've reverted to booking RAW as a wild 'n' wooly show ala Mid-South or even Memphis in a way.

- While the final word stays w/ Vince McMahon, it's known that Bill Watts, Vincent Russo (Editor of the WWF Magazine), and Randy Savage all have strong voices within the current product.

- Current wrestlers have been prickly about a lack of TV time with the expanded roster. There are still rumors of RAW going two hours in the New Year, but so far, it's just that – rumors.

 

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RAW Retro Review for 10/17/1995

Posted on WrestleStuff.com

 

It's the last week before In Your House and boy, the WWF is really trying hard to set up their Pay Per View and make us care about it.

 

After Ross, Lawler, and Piper open up the show, we immediately go to the ring where short term jobber Ray Lloyd is waiting in the ring as 'Sexy Boy' hits as the I-C Champ comes out to the cheers of the crowd as even if it's New York, Diesel had a pretty effective heel turn.

 

Shawn Michaels pinned Ray Lloyd in 2:03 with the Superkick. This was a pretty effective squash as Lloyd got in a few martial arts kicks, but it was largely a showcase for Michaels to hit his Slingshot Suplex, kip up, Flying Elbow, and Sweet Chin Music.

 

After the match, Michaels take the mic, takes a few shots at Bam Bam's size, his failures in the WWF, calling out Diesel and telling him that once “Razor takes the belt off you, I'll give you a little Sweet Chin Music before sending you to the trash.”

 

We then get the final Jake Roberts interview segment, which focus on Roberts then brand new very deep Christian faith. Yup, we all knew how this ends up, but it's nice to see the beginning. Roberts then brings out his new snake, Revelations and says that his goal in the WWF will be to bring the word of God to the evildoers in the promotion...trust him.

 

Coming back from commercials, we're in the parking lot as WWF Officials are surrounding Gorilla Monsoon, who is looking at his car (a very nice Cadillac because of course, that's what mobbed up Gorilla would drive) has been defaced by tomatoes, toilet paper, and has been spray painted with the words 'By Any Means Necessary' on the roof of the car. Obviously, it's the Gangstas' doing.

 

Next up, we get a quick insert promo by Mixtape, where Hogue cuts a very bad rap, even by 1995 standards, then McCready says he's ready to rock the WWF as all four teams come out for their tag team tournament preview.

 

Smooth Operators, Psycho Sid, and Yokozuna defeated The Steiner Brothers and Mixtape in 8:33 when Hughes pinned McCready with the Spinning Side Slam after Rick Rude drilled Hughes with the butt of a chair as the match descended into chaos. After the match, WWF officials broke up all four teams, but then it spilled out of control and various jobbers, The Smoking Gunns, and Fatu also had to come out to completely break things up. That's one way to build up a tag team tournament.

 

After another commercial, we come back to a Undertaker promo with Paul Bearer, deep in the bowels of the arena. 'Taker cuts a promo on DiBiase, pointing out that The Million Dollar Man may bathe in riches now, but death comes for even the most powerful and most filled with avarice. He finishes by saying that even though it may be Devil's Night, at In Your House, the entirety of the Million Dollar Corporation will Rest in Peace. It's the Undertaker still in Old School 'Taker mode, but pretty effective for what you can get.

 

Then, in the ring, Diesel pinned Doink the Clown in 6:04 with the Jackknife Powerbomb. Pretty much a squash as you'd expect six days before the Pay Per View, with the only real interesting spot being Doink trying to put the Stump Puller on Diesel only for the WWF Champion to power out of the hold and swing almost right into a Snake Eyes.

 

After the match though was the final sell job for Devil's Night, as Roddy Piper entered the ring to interview both Diesel and Razor Ramon before the Pay Per View. It was a Piper's Pit without the branding (maybe they forgot the sign in Stamford), as Piper layed into Diesel for turning his back on his best buddies, but Nash gave as good as he got, telling Piper he was last decades news and that without his 'other Canadian buddies', he was where he belonged – the announcers booth and he better not forget it. Ramon stepped in, told Diesel not to worry about a Rowdy Scot, but instead worry about a “pissed off guy on the Razor's Edge.” From there, Razor called out Diesel for coming up on Shawn's coattails and how Diesel was still jealous that even while he was champ, “people still cared more about what me and H-B-K were doing with the I-C belt, brother.” Diesel shot back with a, “I don't need ladders to get the crowd on their feet, chico.” It almost dissipated into a brawl, but Piper stood in between both men, even though it was obvious he was favoring Ramon.

 

Coming back from the final commercial, Randy Savage came out, paced in the ring, and called out Earthquake. Savage said that he's already talked to Monsoon and that at Devil's Night, 'Quake had better invested his payoff from the Million Dollar Corporation wisely, because he was going to need to pay some doctors bills once Savage was done with him. To quote Savage, “Earthquake brother, I've never been a big man, but I've taken down giants, fought off entire dungeons, and battled with the strongest arms in the worlds. So, ohhhhh yeahhh, I'll throw down with you on the whole Richter Scale jack - dig it!” Honestly, kind of a medicore Savage promo, but what can you do with Earthquake in 1995?

 

Finally, in the main event, Irwin R. Schyster & Tatanka defeated Ahmed Johnson & Crush in 5:10 when Tatanka pinned Crush after DiBiase nailed the big Hawaiian with a chair to the back after an Irish Whip while the referee was distracted by Steve Austin coming down to ringside. A total mess of a match, thanks to Ahmed & Crush's lack of skill and the general blandness of the heel team. The most entertaining part of the match was Austin jawing with the referee while DiBiase went after Crush.

 

To end the show, The Undertaker came down to the entrance way to stare down the heels while McMahon, Piper, and Lawler hyped up In Your House.

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The Wrestling Observer – October 30th, 1995

 

WWF IN YOUR HOUSE : DEVIL'S NIGHT

 

Thumbs Up – 109 – (37.9%)

Thumbs Down – 103 – (35.8%)

In the Middle – 75 – (26.3%)

 

BEST MATCH POLL

Diesel vs. Ramon – 89

Michaels vs. Bigelow – 81

Fatu vs. Orndorff – 13

Six-Man Tag – 4

 

WORST MATCH POLL

Yokozuna & Sid vs. Mixtape – 159

Randy Savage vs. Earthquake – 9

 

Based on phone calls and fax messages to the Observer as of Tuesday, 10/24.

 

In the brave new world in the World Wrestling Federation after the exodus of the Hart Family and the restructuring of large portions of the major wrestling promotions, there are positives and negatives to look at for Vince McMahon. On the one hand, more and more, backstage power is coalescing around the group of Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall, who form the core group of three of the few acts in the current day company that draw any money. In addition, while there's been a recent influx of new talent, much of it is unknown to the current audience and with only an hour of prime time TV per week (even though that's rumored to change), little time to build these new stars, especially with having to compete against WCW's offering every week.

 

On the other hand, the actual in ring action at the top of the card is possibly it's ever been and with the recent addition of wrestlers such as Steve Austin, Hector Garza, Konnan, The Gangstas, and such, the roster is fresher than it's been in years as even if the audience doesn't know these new wrestlers yet, they at least don't have the stink of the last few years of low drawing houses on them either. Plus, with the return of Savage to the company, the WWF now has a major star they can offer to the mainstream press that they actually remember. In addition, the ratings for RAW, despite the two hour assault they're facing weekly, has stood up stronger than expected.

 

For the actual Pay Per View, Devil's Night drew well, drawing an audience of 9,879 with some papering at the Winnipeg Arena, but nothing too heavy. There was some news about a small chunk of fans wanting refunds due to the Hart Family leaving the company, but for the most part, the audience seemed receptive to the idea of new wrestlers, even if the heat wasn't the strongest.

 

In the Free-For-All match, Hector Garza made his debut in the WWF, defeating Jacques Rougeau in 9:25 with a La Majistral cradle after hitting a twisting moonsault on Rougeau. Garza made his entrance in a tear away suit with three women who were dressed in evening gown after Rougeau had called him out in the ring while Hendrix and McMahon shilled the show. Garza's a talented young star and Rougeau's an effective heel, so while there was some slight hinks with communication, both workers came across well. ** ½

 

After the match, Garza danced with the women ringside while the announcers did their final sell job for the Pay Per View.

 

1. The Steiner Brothers defeated The Smooth Operators in 10:11 to advance to the finals of the WWF Tag Team Title Tournament. Outside of Savage and Ramon, the Steiners were the strongest babyfaces on the show. The match itself was solid, but nothing out of the ordinary as The Steiners were saving their big spots for the finals and neither Bogner or Hughes are out of this world talented. The biggest spot of the match was when Scott blocked a choke slam attempt by Bogner, then hit him with an Exploder-type suplex for a near fall. Finisher was Rick hitting the top rope bulldog on Hughes for the win after Scott did a Frankensteiner in the middle of the ring. ** ¼

 

2. Yokozuna & Psycho Sid defeated Mixtape in 7:56 to advance to the finals of the WWF Tag Team Title Tournament. A pretty terrible match that only drifted up to acceptable for a few OK power spots between Yokozuna and Hogue. DiBiase distracted McCready, but it was largely a clean pin as Sid hit him with a Powerbomb. 1/2*

 

3. Fatu pinned Paul Orndorff in 10:34 with the top rope splash after Jake Roberts hit Orndorff with a DDT. Hot beginning to the match as Fatu attacked Orndorff in the aisle way while Orndorff was walking down the aisle with his blond companion of the week (who also came down earlier with Garza). Fatu is a solid worker, so he was able to keep up with Orndorff in the early going, but as soon as Orndorff decided to slow things down in the middle, they lost the crowd. They got them back for a bit when Fatu backdropped Orndorff out of a piledriver attempt. Finish was after a ref bump, Orndorff hit Fatu low, then hit the Piledriver, but Jake Roberts came down to the ring, spun Orndorff around and nailed him with a DDT. Fatu then went up top and hit the big splash to pick up the win. Solid match, but weird to job Orndorff out when all indications that they're planning Roberts-Orndorff to be a solid upper midcard feud. ** ¾

 

4. Randy Savage pinned Earthquake in 9:43 with the Flying Elbow Drop. They tried to build up Tenta up strong on the Superstars show before the PPV by having him squash three guys in a row, but the WWF crowd still largely remembers him as a midcarder in the The Faces of Fear stable. Savage tried though, selling Earthquake strong in the initial moments of the match by letting him largely no-sell Savage's first flurry, then collapsed when he went for a body slam. Slow, but effective power offense from Earthquake led to him going for the big splash in the corner, but Savage getting out of the way, hitting the Flying Axehandle, but failing again for the body slam. Earthquake then hit the big powerslam and went for his running splash, but Savage rolled away, went up top and hit the Flying Elbow to pick up the pin. **

 

The Gangstas debut never happened as Gorilla Monsoon came out with The Smoking Gunns as bodyguards, with Monsoon explaining that due to the actions of The Gangstas last week, while he couldn't fire them due to various clauses in their contract, he could simply not let them wrestle. However, as Monsoon said that, The Gangstas came through the crowd and went after The Gunns, before road agents, referees, and a few other wrestlers (including Doink, Ray Lloyd, and Mixtape) pulled The Gangstas off The Gunns. While they were dragged to the back, both members of The Gangstas screamed 'ATTICA'. Unsurprisingly, the Canadian crowd didn't get it.

 

5. The Undertaker, Ahmed Johnson, and Crush defeated Tatakna, IRS, and Steve Austin in 13:03. A hot, solidly worker match in the beginning when both Rotundo and Austin were in the ring with 'Taker, with both guys taking solid bumps to make him look strong, but the match quickly slogged when either Ahmed (who is still pretty terrible in the ring) and Crush were inside at all. Long heat segment with Crush attempting to sell for all three men at various points, even though Austin tried to make it entertaining by jawing with the babyface team while IRS had Crush locked in an abdominal stretch, which still isn't over, since it's not 1975. Hot tag to Ahmed got barely a noticable pop, but things picked up when the match devolved into a Pier Six brawl at the end. Finish was The Undertaker sliding in after sending IRS into the ring barrier, picking Tatanka up and pinning him after the Tombstone while Ahmed and Austin brawled in the aisle. ** 1/2, almost entirely for the finish and the opening minute or two.

 

Right after the bell rang, Austin attacked The Undertaker from behind, going after him, only to get freaked out by 'Taker sitting up (leading to an actual good line from McMahon - “Not exactly what The Hottest Free Agent is used to with his former employers.”) Not sure if this is leading to an Austin-Undertaker program, but that should be build too, not tossed away when Austin still needs to be built.

 

6. Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Shawn Michaels in 13:39 to win the IC title. Michaels largely sold the back the entire match, only hitting a brief flurry of offense right at the beginning of the match which ended when on the outside, Bigelow caught him going for a flying cross body and slammed him into the metal post multiple times in the powerslam position. From there, it was basically Bigelow hitting a series of power moves and trying to make Michaels submit to a cobra clutch, a bearhug, and even a Canadian-style backbreaker. The finish of the match was cool, as Bigelow ducked under an attempt at Sweet Chin Music by Michaels, hit a powerbomb, then the Flying Headbutt to pick up the pin. If not for Diesel being Bigelow's new running buddy on screen, the chances of this being a largely clean win (minus the back injury) would be near zero. *** ¼.

 

Before the next match, Ross got up from the announcers booth and interviewed Konnan, sitting at ringside. Konnan cut a promo on Michaels, saying that while it was impressive Michaels had won a few ladder matches, Konnan had been selling out soccer stadiums (OK, sure) in front of thousands while getting no respect from the American audience who'd “rather cheer a Chippendale's stripper than a real hero.” This led Michaels, still recovering from his loss to roll out and confront Konnan, but it ended with Michaels pushing Konnan back into his chair, then Michaels heading toward the back.

 

7. The Steiner Brothers defeated Yokozuna & Psycho Sid in 9:59 to win the WWF Tag Titles. Almost the entire match was building to either Rick or Scott hitting big power spots by Yokozuan, with intermittent run ins and bursts of offense from Sid. Obviously, somebody figured out that Sid taking suplex spots would not go well, and let Yoko, who even nearing 600 pounds is still a good bumper take the brunt of the match. Most impressive spots was Scott powering out of a nerve hold from Yoko and hitting a massive belly-to-back suplex, and both brothers locking Yokozuna in and somehow hitting a vertical suplex on him. Finish was Rick Steiner hitting the bulldog off the 2nd rope after Yoko had missed the big leg and Rick hit five Steinerlines in a row. * ¼

 

8. Diesel and Razor Ramon went to a DDQ in 14:19 in a match for the WWF title. It's utterly obvious that different people have different rules. Chairs, tables, the steps, and even the title belt were all involved in a chaotic main event that began with Ramon calling out Diesel for a 'real fight' and ending with both men crashing through the Spanish Announcer's Table even after the bell had rung. In between, it was largely punches and kicks between both men, with Diesel gaining the advantage early by exposing the turnbuckle and hitting the Snake Eyes, but Ramon fighting back by blocking the Jackknife, hitting his own version of a Snake Eyes (only on the top rope) and getting a near fall off a bg side suplex. After a ref bump, the plunder got involved and when the ref woke up, he saw Ramon & Diesel battling with chairs and the steps and called the match off. ***

 

 

 

 

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RAW Retro Review for 10/23/1995

Posted on WrestleStuff.com

 

It's the night after In Your House in beautiful Brandon, Manitoba, and we've got Survivor Series to build up too. The Terrible Trio start off things by showing off pictures of the Pay Per View (because we've got replays to sell), then saying that WWF President Gorilla Monsoon has promised to announce the main event for Survivor Series before the end of the evening.

 

Quick cut to Monsoon leaving Diesel & Bigelow's locker room and heading toward Shawn & Razor's with officials in tow.

 

Back in the ring, Hector Garza makes his RAW debut, pinning Ray Lloyd in about two minutes with the Twisting Moonsault. Garza still has his dancing women here, then cuts a kinda cringy promo saying that he wants to show the WWF fans how great lucha is.

 

Another cut to Monsoon now leaving the babyface locker room, with Razor yelling some unintelligible at the crew before they head back toward the other side of the arena.

 

Meanwhile, we're in the backstage area with the entire Million Dollar Corporation. DiBiase explains away the stables losses last night, saying that 'Taker wasn't the legal men and that the Steiners had obviously cheated to have the strength to life Yokozuna last night. OK, both of those things are believable but in kayfabe, let's focus on the former, not so much the latter. Anyway, DiBiase says that Sid & Yoko will take back the tag belts soon enough, but that Austin has something to say to a Dead Man. Then, Austin takes the mic and challenges 'Taker for next week – on Halloween! Spooky!

 

Coming back from commercial, we hear some raised voices in Bigelow & Diesel's locker room, then Monsoon and officials leaving once again. This time, Diesel is yelling at Monsoon, calling him a 'McMahon stooge' and saying 'you aren't going to job me out of the title via a backdoor.'

 

Then, it's in-ring time as Ahmed Johnson faces off against and defeats [/b]Jacques Rougeau[/b] in about four minutes with the Pearl River Plunge. Not exactly a wrestling heavy show so far. The Corporation comes out to face off against Ahmed, but this time, The Steiners with their WWF Title Belts come down to join Ahmed in the ring!

 

After that, there's a quick backstage promo with Paul Orndoff, who's really pissed at one Jake Roberts and Orndorff calls him out for a match next week as well. Hey, it's build. The modern day company could do with some of that, at least recently.

 

Next up, The Smooth Operators get back on the winning side, defeating The Smoking Gunns in 8:31 when The Gangstas ran in from the crowd, drilling Bart (I think) with a Vcfreakin'R in the back of the head, allowing Bonnano to hit the Clean Sheet to pick up another win over the Gunns. The Gangstas quickly escaped through the crowd before security could get their hands on them.

 

We get a quick highlight video of Konnan – strikingly, light on the in-ring action but a big focus on how he's a big time star, including his appearances on Mexican TV and his entrances in big arenas as the crowd goes nuts over him.

 

Another cut to backstage, where Monsoon has now left Razor & Shawn's locker room, and is leaving with some seemingly signed documents.

 

In the main event of the evening (at least in the ring), Randy Savage pinned Psycho Sid by DQ in about nine minutes when The Corporation ran in for the DQ. Crappy match, kind of a crappy finish, but the aftermath was OK as The Steiners, Ahmed, and Crush all ran down for the save – Survivor Series match much?

 

In the final segment of the evening, Monsoon after a long prologue, announced the main event for WWF Survivor Series – A Triple Jeopardy Tag Team match between the teams of Shawn Michaels & Razor Ramon and Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow. Basically, how it works is this -

 

- If either Diesel or Bigelow get pinned, they lose their belt.

- If Michaels gets pinned, he can't challenge for either title as long as either Diesel or Bigelow hold it.

- If Razor gets pinned, he leaves the WWF until the day after Wrestlemania.

 

Show ends with McMahon, Piper, and Lawler all going crazy over the possibilities.

 

 

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...While they were dragged to the back, both members of The Gangstas screamed 'ATTICA'. Unsurprisingly, the Canadian crowd didn't get it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somewhat ironically: I am Canadian... and just before reading this I had been reading the New York Times and New Yorker articles on ‘Blood in the Water’ by Heather Ann Thompson, a book looking back at the Attica prison riots and their aftermath.

 

That reference, and the crazy timing of it, utterly blew my mind. Admittedly, in 1995 I probably would have thought it was a 'Dog Day Afternoon' quote.

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