forlan Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 OOC: It is widely regarded by many that 1995 was an awful time for the WWF with a lack of new big talent pushing the current main eventers and a lot of overblown cartoon gimmicks on the undercard. Many disagreed that it was a lack of talent however and felt it was just people not getting the right pushes and some terrible booking decisions throughout 1995 like Lawrence Taylor going over Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania and Mabel winning the King of the Ring and getting a monster push. The main champion Diesel was stuck in pointless feuds and got stale before eventually losing the title back to Bret Hart, who himself had been stuck feuding with all sorts of Pirates, Dentists and the like in the midcard. Injuries had blighted Shawn Michaels’ year after a promising start winning the Royal Rumble and main eventing WrestleMania XI leaving a lack of star power on the undercard. Late into 1995 there were some bright sparks heading into 1996 including the emergence of the bizarre Goldust character which pushed the boundaries for the time and also the blue blood Hunter Hearst Helmsley who looked like a big star in the making. Also the first three Raws up until the Rumble will mostly be very similar to real life it’ll be the Rumble and beyond that i put my own stamp on it as the card was set etc. already so no way to really alter except i’ve changed some of the rumble participants. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter 1995 Round up Edition Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- So here we are, another year over and to call it a vintage year would be a lie, a very poor showing by the World Wrestling Federation has opened the door for Ted Turner’s boys from the south to really try and get on top of the wrestling mountain with star power on their loaded roster including Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Ric Flair among others. We will now take a special look back at the year 1995 and the developments within the WWF at this time beginning at the start of the year with the “Royal Rumble”. The 1995 Royal Rumble extravaganza was a solid beginning to a year which had so much promise after a solid 1994. The PPV opened up with Jeff Jarrett capturing the Intercontinental Title from Razor Ramon thanks to help from his manager The Roadie before moving on to a solid if unspectacular match between IRS and The Undertaker forwarding the storyline between him and the Million Dollar Corporation. Then we had the world title match as Diesel defended against Bret Hart in a match which ended a draw after numerous superstars interfered and was not that well received by the crowd. Then we saw the final of the tag team title tournament as 123 Kid and Bob Holly defeated Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow of the Million Dollar Corporation (only to lose the titles the next night on Monday Night Raw to the Smoking Gunns) in another solid match which also saw Bam Bam get into an altercation with Lawrence Taylor to build their match further down the line. We then got to see arguably the best Royal Rumble match to date as Shawn Michaels outlasted 29 other men to book his spot in the main event at WrestleMania XI despite being the first person entered into the contest. The next PPV to come up was WrestleMania XI itself and sadly is regarded by many as the worst WrestleMania of all time. A poor undercard including King Kong Bundy vs. The Undertaker and The Allied Powers against Jacob and Eli Blu was briefly lit up by a less than ten minute “I Quit” match between Bret Hart and Bob Backlund ending their long feud. There was also a measure of confusion and disappointment that Shawn Michaels’ match for the title against Diesel was bumped in favour of using Bigelow against Taylor as the main event of the evening. To be fair neither match was particularly terrible but the event would have been better suited if the title match were to have gone on last. The promotion then moved on to begin their “In Your House” PPV’s which were numbered beginning the first in May. These were solid shows although are certainly regarded as ‘B’ PPV’s compared to the big ones. The broadcast had six matches and was opened with a fantastic match between Bret Hart and Hakushi although on a popularity level the two were total polar opposites and everyone knew there would only be one winner. A rather poor card then followed including Mabel squashing Adam Bomb in under two minutes in a KOTR qualifier and Jerry Lawler defeating Bret Hart before Diesel defeated Sid by DQ to end the first PPV of this kind. It was then back to what would be classified as the big PPV’s although this was regarded as an aberration as the 1995 version of King of the Ring would be better left forgotten. The first round of the tournament had some good workers in including Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Yokozuna although none of the three passed through the first round in one of the strangest booking decisions of the year. The tournament was eventually won by Mabel as he defeated Savio Vega in the final on a night where the live crowd had to watch four matches from Vega in one night. The non-tournament matches were no better as Bret Hart ended his feud with Jerry Lawler defeating him in a “Kiss my Foot” match as well as World Champion Diesel teaming with Bam Bam Bigelow to defeat Sid and Tatanka in the main event. After the non-event of the KOTR it was then time for the second In Your House and again a poor PPV performance by the WWF. Matches such as Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry Godwinn and The Roadie vs. 123 Kid were the order of the day culminating in the event ending with Diesel defeating Sid in a Lumberjack match. The only real bright point of the PPV was Shawn Michaels defeating Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship although many felt this was a step back for Shawn after facing Diesel for the World Title at WrestleMania. Next up was SummerSlam and despite a few blips this event turned out to be one of the best events of the year for the promotion. The undercard stole the show with solid matches that saw Hakushi go over 123 Kid and The Undertaker go over Kama in a casket match. The worst match of the night was the main event as Diesel bested King Mabel in a match no one really wanted to see go on after the previous match where Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon tore down the house in a 25 minute ladder match which saw Michaels retain his Intercontinental belt. The promotion then ran a double whammy In Your House with 3 and 4 on consecutive months and both events being saved by solid main events as 3 saw Diesel and Shawn Michaels win the tag team titles to go with their Intercontinental and World belts respectively against Yokozuna and Davey Boy Smith. 4 then saw Diesel lose to British Bulldog by DQ in the main event although it was best remembered for Shawn Michaels having to give up the belt due to injury sustained outside of the ring. Next up for the promotion was the Survivor Series which never fails to disappoint and certainly showed itself as possibly the best show the promotion ran this year. A solid undercard was then followed by a fantastic double main event as a unique wild card match saw enemies and friends on the same side before Bret Hart finally ended the reign of Diesel with the world title in a fantastic main event to the show. After a fantastic showing at the last PPV the promotion ended the year with another solid PPV “In Your House 5” which was headlined by Bret Hart defending the title against his brother in law Davey Boy Smith in a solid showing by both men and boasting an undercard including a great tag team opener. So after a mixed bag of a year it will be interesting to see how the promotion moves on into 1996 with WCW nipping at their heels. Here is a full look at the 1995 PPV results. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Royal Rumble - Sun Dome; Tampa, FL 1/22/1995 - Intercontinental Title: Jeff Jarrett won the title from Razor Ramon - The Undertaker pinned IRS - WWF Title: Champion Diesel & Bret Hart wrestled to a draw - Tag Team Title Tournament Final: The Kid & Bob Holly beat Bam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka to win the vacant title, after the match Bam Bam Bigelow shoved Lawrence Taylor. - Shawn Michaels wins the Royal Rumble last eliminating Davey Boy Smith WrestleMania XI - Hartford Civic Center; Hartford, CT 4/2/1995 - Lex Luger & Davey Boy Smith beat Eli & Jacob Blu - Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon beat champ Jeff Jarrett by DQ - The Undertaker beat King Kong Bundy - Tag Team Titles: Owen Hart & Yokozuna won the titles from The Smoking Gunns - I Quit Match: Bret Hart forced Bob Backlund to submit. Roddy Piper was the guest referee. - WWF Title: Champion Diesel pinned Shawn Michaels - Lawrence Taylor beat Bam Bam Bigelow In Your House 1 - Onondaga County War Memorial; Syracuse, NY 5/14/1995 - Bret Hart pinned Hakushi - Handicap Match: Razor Ramon beat Jeff Jarrett & The Roadie - King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Mabel pinned Adam Bomb - Tag Team Title: Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna beat The Smoking Gunns - Jerry Lawler beat Bret Hart - WWF Title: Sid beat Champion Diesel by DQ King of The Ring - CoreStates Spectrum; Philadelphia, PA 6/25/1995 - King of the Ring Qualifying Match to replace injured Razor Ramon: Savio Vega pinned IRS - Quarterfinals: Savio Vega beat Yokozuna via count out - Quarterfinals: The Roadie beat Bob Holly - Quarterfinals: Shawn Michaels & Kama wrestled to a 15 minute time limit draw - Quarterfinals: Mabel pinned The Undertaker - Semi-final: Savio Vega beat The Roadie - Kiss my foot match: Bret Hart beat Jerry Lawler - Final: Mabel beat Savio Vega - WWF Champ Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow beat Sid & Tatanka In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks - Municipal Auditorium; Nashville, TN 7/23/1995 - The Roadie pinned The Kid - Men on a Mission beat Razor Ramon & Savio Vega - Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Henry Godwinn - Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels pinned Jeff Jarrett to win the title - Tag Team Title: Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna beat Lex Luger & The British Bulldog - WWF Title Lumberjack Match: Champion Diesel beat Sid SummerSlam - Civic Arena; Pittsburgh, PA 8/27/1995 - Hakushi beat The Kid - Hunter Hearst Helmsley beat Bob Holly - The Smoking Gunns beat The Blu Brothers - Barry Horowitz beat Skip - Women's Title: Bertha Faye beat Alundra Blayze to win the title - Casket Match: Undertaker beat Kama - Bret Hart beat Isaac Yankem by DQ - Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: Champion Shawn Michaels beat Razor Ramon - WWF Title: Champion Diesel beat Mabel In Your House 3 - Civic Center; Saginaw, MI 9/24/1995 - Savio Vega beat Waylon Mercy - Sid beat Henry Godwinn - Davey Boy Smith beat Bam Bam Bigelow - Dean Douglas beat Razor Ramon - Bret Hart beat Jean-Pierre Lafitte by submission - All WWF Title on the Line: Diesel & Shawn Michaels won the Tag Team Titles beating Yokozuna & Davey Boy Smith In Your House 4 - Winnipeg Arena; Winnipeg, Manitoba 10/22/1995 - Hunter Hearst Helmsley beat Phatu - Tag Team Title: Champions The Smoking Gunns beat Razor Ramon & The Kid - Goldust beat Marty Jannetty - Intercontinental Title: Dean Douglas is awarded the title via forfeit when Shawn Michaels is unable to fight - Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon beat Dean Douglas to win the title - WWF Title: Davey Boy Smith beat champion Diesel by DQ Survivor Series - U.S. Air Arena; Landover, MD 11/19/1995 - Skip, Tom Pritchard, Rad Radford & The Kid beat Barry Horowitz, Hakushi, Bob Holly, & Marty Jannetty - Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Lioness Asuka, & Tomoko Watanabe beat Alundra Blayze, Sakie Hasegawa, Chapparita Asari, & Kyoko Inoue - Goldust beat Bam Bam Bigelow - The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Henry Godwinn, & Phatu beat Mabel, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem & Hunter Hearst Helmsley - Davey Boy Smith, Sid, Ahmed Johnson, & Shawn Michaels beat Razor Ramon, Dean Douglas, Owen Hart & Yokozuna - WWF Title: Bret Hart beat Diesel to win the title In Your House 5 - Hershey Park Arena; Hershey, PA 12/17/1995 - Razor Ramon & Marty Jannetty beat The Kid & Sid - Ahmed Johnson beat Buddy Landell - Arkansas Hog Pen Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley beat Henry Godwinn - Owen Hart beat Diesel by DQ - Casket Match: Undertaker beat King Mabel - WWF Title: Champion Bret Hart beat Davey Boy Smith ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So that is the state of the WWF, now we leave you with a special look at the rest of the world. Wrestling Observer Awards for 1995 Wrestler of the Year – Mitsuharu Misawa Best Babyface – Perro Aguayo Best Heel – Masahiro Chono Most Outstanding Wrestler – Manami Toyota Manager of the Year – Jim Cornette Feud of the Year – Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (ECW) Tag Team of the Year – Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi Most Improved – Johnny B. Badd Best on Interviews – Cactus Jack Most Charismatic – Shawn Michaels Best Technical Wrestler – Chris Benoit Best Brawler – Cactus Jack Best Flying Wrestler – Rey Mysterio Most Overrated – Hulk Hogan Most Underrated – Skip Promotion of the Year – New Japan Pro Wrestling Best Weekly Television Show – ECW Hardcore TV Match of the Year – Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue – AJW May 7th Rookie of the Year – Perro Aguayo Jr. Best Television Announcer – Joey Styles (ECW) Worst Television Announcer – Gorilla Monsoon (WWF) Best Major Show – Weekly Pro Wrestling Show (Various Companies) Worst Major Wrestling Show – WCW Uncensored Best Wrestling Manoeuvre – Rey Mysterio Jr. (West Coast Pop) Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic - Gene Okerlund's 900 hotline advertisements (WCW) Worst Television Show – WCW Saturday Night Worst Worked Match of the Year – Sting vs. Tony Palmate (NJPW Battle 7) Worst Feud of the Year – Hulk Hogan vs. Dungeon of Doom (WCW) Worst Promotion of the Year – World Championship Wrestling Best Booker – Paul Heyman (ECW) Promoter of the Year – Riki Choshu (NJPW) Best Gimmick – Disco Inferno (WCW-Disco Dancer) Worst Gimmick – Goldust (WWF-Perverse Hollywood Critic) Readers’ Favourite Wrestler – Manami Toyota Readers’ Least Favourite Wrestler – Hulk Hogan Worst Wrestler – The Renegade Worst Tag Team – Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck Worst Manager – Mr. Fuji Most Embarrassing Wrestler – Hulk Hogan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Also worth noting is a recently done independent article on the top 30 wrestlers at the moment. 1. Shawn Michaels 2. Ric Flair 3. Bret Hart 4. Owen Hart 5. El Hijo Del Santo 6. Mitsuharu Misawa 7. Randy Savage 8. Curt Hennig 9. Toshiaki Kawada 10. Jushin Thunder Lyger 11. Keiji Mutoh 12. Scott Hall 13. Eddie Guerrero 14. Chris Benoit 15. Shinya Hashimoto 16. Brian Pillman 17. Hulk Hogan 18. Kenta Kobashi 19. Sting 20. Dean Malenko 21. Terry Funk 22. The Undertaker 23. Masahiro Chono 24. Manami Toyota 25. Dr. Wagner Jr. 26. Negro Casas 27. Akira Hokuto 28. Genichiro Tenryu 29. Steve Austin 30. Vader -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now talking about in terms of in the game Franchise Players – Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Razor Ramon, Diesel Next Big Things – None Hot Prospects – Phatu, Skip, Justin Bradshaw, Hakushi, Savio Vega Talk the Talk – Shawn Michaels, Roddy Piper, Razor Ramon, Diesel, Jake Roberts Show Stoppers – Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, The Ringmaster Ring Generals – Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, The Ringmaster Who’s Hot –Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Razor Ramon Who’s Not – Jerry Lawler, Bob Holly, Bushwhacker Butch, Justin Bradshaw, Buddy Landell Time Decline – Bushwhacker Butch, Roddy Piper, Bob Backlund, Jerry Lawler, Diesel -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF Roster 1996 Main Eventers Bret “The Hitman” Hart – Face – World Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Champion “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel – Face “The Heart Break Kid” Shawn Michaels – Face – Managed by Jose Lothario – Currently out due to concussion suffered by Owen Hart (Kayfabe) “Psycho” Sid Vicious – Heel – Managed by Ted DiBiase The Undertaker – Face – Managed by Paul Bearer Upper Midcarders “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson - Face British Bulldog – Heel – Managed by Jim Cornette “The Bizarre One” Goldust – Heel “Double J” Jeff Jarrett – Heel “The King of Harts” Owen Hart – Heel – Managed by Jim Cornette “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon – Face – World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Champion Yokozuna – Heel – Managed by Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji Midcarders 1-2-3 Kid – Heel – Managed by Ted DiBiase Bart Gunn – Face – World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champion Billy Gunn – Face – World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champion Henry O. Godwinn - Face Hunter Hearst Helmsley – Heel “The King” Jerry Lawler – Heel King Mabel – Heel – Managed by Sir Mo Marty Jannetty – Face Savio Vega - Face Tatanka - Heel The Ringmaster – Heel – Managed by Ted DiBiase – Yet to Debut Lower Midcarders Bob Backlund – Heel Bob Holly – Face Duke “The Dumpster” Droese – Face “The Modern Day Kamikaze” Hakushi - Face Isaac Yankem – Heel Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw - Heel Phatu – Face Openers “The Portuguese Man o War” Aldo Montoya - Face Avatar – Face Barry Horowitz - Face “Nature Boy” Buddy Landell – Heel Rad Radford - Heel Skip – Heel – Managed by Sunny Sir Mo – Heel Zip – Heel – Managed by Sunny Enhancement Talent Brooklyn Brawler – Heel Semi-Active Workers Bushwhacker Butch – Face Bushwhacker Luke – Face – Sometimes a Road Agent too “Mr Perfect” Curt Hennig – Heel – Currently injured with back problems and working in a commentary role Jake “The Snake” Roberts – Face “Rowdy” Roddy Piper – Face Other Personnel Brother Love- Occasional Appearances Carlos Cabrera – Spanish Announcer Dave Hebner - Referee Dok Hendrix – Announcer Earl Hebner – Referee Gerald Brisco – Road Agent Gorilla Monsoon – President (On-Air) Hillbilly Jim – Occasional Appearances Howard Finkel – Ring Announcer Hugo Savinovich – Spanish Announcer Jack Doan - Referee Jim Cornette – Manager Jim Korderas - Referee Jim Ross - Announcer Jose Lothario – Manager Linda McMahon – Off Air Personality Mike Chioda - Referee Mr. Fuji – Manager Pat Patterson – Road Agent Paul Bearer – Manager Sunny – Manager Ted DiBiase – Manager Tim White – Referee Todd Pettengill – Interviewer Vince McMahon – Announcer Vince Russo – Booker Tag Teams The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) w/Sunny The Bushwhackers (Luke and Butch) Owen Hart and Yokozuna w/Jim Cornette The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart) Stables Camp Cornette (British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Yokozuna) w/Jim Cornette Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid, Sid Vicious and soon The Ringmaster) w/Ted DiBiase Television Shows WWF Monday Night Raw - 1 Hour – Taped on Tuesdays (Aired on Mondays) WWF Superstars – 1 Hour – Taped on Thursdays (Aired on Sundays) Current Storylines Bret Hart and The Undertaker set to face off at Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight Title Goldust feuding with Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Title after Goldust debuted in late 1995 and began stalking and sending messages and gifts to Razor. Shawn Michaels and Diesel parting ways leading to a friendly rivalry Diesel wanting to get a rematch against Bret Hart for the title The Ringmaster soon to debut Ahmed Johnson feuding with Jeff Jarrett after Jarrett attacked him during an interview at the tail end of 1995 Owen hart recently put Shawn Michaels on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time There is still tension between Razor Ramon and 1-2-3 Kid after Kid turned on Razor last year -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Card for Royal Rumble 1996 Sunday Week 3 January 1996 Selland Arena, Fresno, California Live on Pay per View Main Event Match WWF World Heavyweight Title Bret “The Hitman” Hart © defends against The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer 30 Man Over the Tope Rope Royal Rumble Match WWF Intercontinental Title “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon© defends against “The Bizarre One” Goldust Grudge Match “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett Card Subject to Change -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter January Week 1 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News With just three weeks of television before the big Royal Rumble PPV the rumblings going around the wrestling business are that the promotion is still undecided as to who will come out on top on the biggest stage of them all. There are many possibilities as to who could win it with a stacked card of 30 performers in the match and a vast range of possibilities in regards to a feud going on to WrestleMania XII. The final rumoured match that will be added to the Royal Rumble card is the Smoking Gunns defending the tag team titles against the Bodydonnas although nothing is confirmed as of yet. One interesting piece of news coming out of the company is that they are looking to take on a new feeder league to nurture the workers of the future. No word yet on whether this will be a new promotion or whether it will be an existing promotion that enters into an agreement with the promotion. They currently feel there is a lot of talent available that whilst not yet ready to become main roster members are worth tying down to the company for the future. Speaking of signings the rumblings around are that the promotion is possibly looking into signing some more stars for the main roster and possibly fleshing out the tag team division some more with some established teams. Also with some key roster members’ contracts coming up and WCW sniffing around they are looking to tie them to longer contracts, two of the main stars are Razor Ramon and Diesel with both seen by WCW as a massive way of elevating their status if they could capture them. Other news coming out of the company is that the current plan is to run an “In Your House” pay per view every month that there is not one of the big five pay per views. This is seen by the company as a good way of elevating feuds and making sure people do not lose interest in a feud during the months between the big shows. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
forlan Posted April 6, 2011 Author Posted April 6, 2011 WWF Presents Monday Night Raw Monday Week 1 January 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler The show opens up with a video package informing us that since this is the first day of January, it would see the first ever Raw Bowl. The video is littered with cliché American football terms and announces that tonight four teams will participate in the first ever Raw Bowl. It also announces that tonight we will see the “Nacho Man”, “The Huckster”, “Scheme Gene” and “Billionaire Ted”. We then cut to Lawler and McMahon introducing us and announcing it is time for “kick off” with the ring decked out like an American football field, cheerleaders are jumping near the entrance way while a marching band is playing in the stands and they even have a Raw Bowl queen. (C+) The announcers then informed us that for the Raw Bowl the rules are that there is a team in each corner, each team has one timeout that can be used at any time, any man can be tagged in at any time even if he's not their partner and once tagged in a wrestler must come into physical contact with the other man in the ring before he can tag out. A team is eliminated when one member is pinned, submits, is DQ'ed or counted out of the ring and the last team remaining will receive the Lombardi Trophy. All of the teams enter wearing American football jerseys and when Razor and Savio Vega come down Razor is handed some flowers on behalf of Goldust to which he promptly shoots the messenger by beating up the usher who handed them to him. Match One The Raw Bowl Elimination Tag Non-Title Match The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon & Savio Vega vs. “The King of Harts” Owen Hart & Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) vs. 1-2-3 Kid and “Psycho” Sid Vicious (w/Ted DiBiase) A solid match between these four teams saw lots of frantic action with referee Earl Hebner at times struggling to keep a measure of control over the contest. The first team to be eliminated was Razor and Savio when Razor seemed in control of 1-2-3 Kid only for DiBiase to distract the ref allowing Sid to come in and cheap shot him and Kid to get the cover. Shortly after this Billy Gunn managed to get a pinfall on Owen Hart after Yokozuna accidentally Banzai dropped his tag team partner leaving us down to the corporation and the Smoking Gunns. The two teams put on a solid effort until Razor returned as Kid was on the top turnbuckle and pushed him off onto Sid allowing Billy to roll him up and give the first ever Raw Bowl to the Smoking Gunns. Winners in 17:43 – The Smoking Gunns (B-) Next up we had Vince McMahon inform us that next week Shawn Michaels would be conducting a press conference live on Monday Night Raw about his future whilst Lawler speculated he would announce retirement. (B) We then got a special chance to see the Hog Pen match from IYH5 between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Henry Godwinn which was won by the blue blooded one. (D) We then continue the American football theme by cutting to Dok Hendrix with the Wrigley’s half-time report as he runs down the card for the Royal Rumble before moving to Jim Ross speaking to Diesel about his match. Diesel cuts a generic short promo that he is going to beat up King Mabel. (C+) A short skit commercial on “Nacho Man” then airs. Match Two “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel vs. King Mabel w/Sir Mo One of the shortest matches in history here as Mabel is absolutely buried and pinned with one Big Boot. Winner in 0:08 – Diesel (C-) After the match Diesel then proceeds to deliver his patented JackKnife Powerbomb to Sir Mo. He then cuts an interview saying that if no one is going to give him his rematch for the world title then he will just have to win the Royal Rumble and destroy everyone in the process. Diesel then leaves arm in arm with the Raw Bowl Queen. (B) We then cut to the locker room where Bart and Billy Gunn are celebrating their win with Ahmed Johnson among others. Brooklyn Brawler then comes in and presents them with the Lombardi Trophy with his face on (in-joke since his real name is Steve Lombardi) which they proceed to break before beating up Brawler too. (C-) Vince McMahon then comes back from a commercial break by announcing some of the competitors for the Royal Rumble match. Thus far we have Diesel (the first man to sign up), Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Savio Vega, King Mabel, Barry Horowitz, Yokozuna, and Tatanka. Vince McMahon then announces that next week we will see Jeff Jarrett take on Hakushi, Shawn Michaels’ press conference and another chance to see Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog from In Your House 5. The show then finishes with a skit involving “Billionaire Ted”, “Nacho Man” and “The Huckster”. The scene is a boardroom conference table. Billionaire Ted tells his two biggest stars that they need more action so both of them are shown clips of WWF stars doing various moves whilst being asked if they can do those moves. “The Huckster” says at his age, his feet never leave the ground, while “Nacho Man” says he's never done it before, and he's not about to start. “Billionaire Ted” then asks what they can do and they both stand up and pose, with “The Huckster” then collapsing in mid-pose. A voiceover then says "The WWF New Generation - On top of the hill... not over it!" (C+) Overall Show Rating – C- (Based on no hot storylines since game started without any preset) WWF Superstars Results: Ahmed Johnson over Zip (C-), Owen Hart/Yokozuna over Aldo Montoya/Avatar (D), Goldust over Barry Horowitz ©, Jake Roberts over Tatanka (C+). Overall Show Rating - C ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter January Week 2 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News The Raw Bowl match itself was deemed to have been a success but as of press time the company is not planning on making the match type any sort of annual tradition. After mentioning last week that the plan was for the Bodydonnas to get a title shot it is felt after the good chemistry shown in the Raw Bowl match a programme between the Smoking Gunns and the Million Dollar Corporation may be a better choice. In giving the big boot to King Mabel on Monday Night Raw Diesel suffered a broken toe although it is not said to be anything serious enough to keep him from competing or to need any time off. In regards to the Royal Rumble there have been some interesting negotiations with former stars of the company about participating in the match and maybe even beyond. After mentioning last week that the promotion was looking into some sort of feeder camp sources inform us that they have teamed up with Bert Prentice to open “Championship Wrestling Florida” based in the Florida area. Among those who are reporting to the promotion are a mixture of fresh new talent and both male and female workers. Some notable names include both Ron Simmons and Carl Oulette possibly to train others or possibly working off ring rust as well as independent names Steve Corino, Alex Porteau and Sean Casey among a 25 strong roster of workers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
forlan Posted April 6, 2011 Author Posted April 6, 2011 WWF Presents Monday Night Raw Monday Week 2 January 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler The show opens up with McMahon and Lawler informing us we are not far away from the Royal Rumble and would have some special announcements regarding competitors later in the show. (C+) Match One “Double J” Jeff Jarrett vs. “The Modern Day Kamikaze” Hakushi A fairly short match to showcase Jarrett for the first time since his return at the previous IYH5 show. Hakushi managed to get a fair amount of offence in but Jarrett eventually picked up the submission win with a Figure 4 Leg lock. Winner in 5:37 – Jeff Jarrett (D+) We then cut to the back for the “Slam Jam Report” with Jim Ross about the Royal Rumble as Ross announces some new competitors for the matchup. He makes the announcement of a one night only return for the Honky Tonk Man, Jake Roberts, Jerry Lawler, Phatu, Isaac Yankem, Henry O. Godwinn, Marty Jannetty, Skip and a returning Bam Bam Bigelow taking the field to 17. Ross then announces that there will be a special announcement regarding the show later today from Vince McMahon. (D+) Match Two “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. Rad Radford Squash match here with Ahmed just destroying Radford before landing the Pearl River Plunge. Winner in 1:30 – Ahmed Johnson (D-) After the match Jeff Jarrett storms the ring with a guitar in hand and attempts to nail Johnson with it but Ahmed ducks and the guitar flies off the ring post and shatters as Jeff makes a hasty retreat. (D) We then get a segment with Brother Love in the ring with Ted DiBiase as he announces his year long search for a new million dollar champion is over before bringing out The Ringmaster. The Ringmaster then announces he has been entered into the Royal Rumble and will be going on to dominate the promotion. (C-) Match Three “The Bizarre One” Goldust vs. “The Portuguese Man o War” Aldo Montoya An extended squash here as Montoya did not really get much big offence in and allowed Goldust all of his signature spots before he finished off the match with his patented Curtain Call. Winner in 2:15 – Goldust (D+) We then get another “Slam Jam Report” with Jim Ross focusing on the press conference of Shawn Michaels. Shawn mentions that the doctors told him it would be in his best interests if he never wrestled again after Owen Hart’s kick gave him a severe concussion but he has never been one to listen to doctors and instead he will be a part of the Royal Rumble match itself and after winning it last year he is hungry to again win it but go one better and win the title at WrestleMania XII. (B) After a commercial break we come back to the opinions of the announcers on the announcement just made by Shawn Michaels. Lawler proclaims that Michaels has made the worst decision of his career whilst McMahon bigs up the spirit and heart of Michaels. (B) We then get to see Bret Hart against British Bulldog for the title from IYH5 with Bret bleeding buckets but coming out on top. (B) This is followed by an interview with The Undertaker and Paul Bearer where he claims Bret Hart was a glorious champion but his creatures of the night have spoken and he intends to deliver the belt to them. (B+) Vince then says that as promised he has an announcement for the Royal Rumble. He announces that Crush will be making his return to the World Wrestling Federation as we cut to a video of Crush with a long black hair riding a motorbike before taking off his helmet and claiming he has served his time and now he is coming back for what he deserves, the world title. (D+) Before we finish up, Vince and Lawler announce that on next week's Raw which will be the go home show before Royal Rumble, the Undertaker will battle Isaac Yankem, the Ringmaster will be in action, and Marty Jannetty will face Owen Hart. Finally we have another “Billionaire Ted” segment where Ted asks about a new slogan for his wrasslin' show. One guy suggests, "How about Uncut, Uncensored, and Uncooked?" but Ted says they've stolen that already. Another guy asks "How about a takeoff on 'Unbelievable.' Like... 'We're Not Believable'?" but Ted says now's not the time to start telling the truth. Other suggestions include "This is where the Good Old' Boys Play?" or "This is where the Old Boys Play?", which offends “the Huckster”. “Nacho Man” says "How about 'This is where the Big Boys play?" Ted likes it, feeling that it's just dishonest enough to work. “Nacho Man” then asks what if they have to take a steroid test but “the Huckster” reminds him they're not in the WWF anymore. A voiceover then says "The New WWF Generation - There's nothing old or artificial here!" (D) Overall show Rating – C- WWF Superstars Results: 1-2-3 Kid and Sid Vicious over Smoking Gunns (C-), Bob Holly over Buddy Landell (E+), Owen Hart over Hakushi (C+) Overall show Rating – C- ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter January Week 3 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News As we are only one week of television away from the Royal Rumble the PPV is shaping up nicely with this week’s Monday Night Raw making announcements taking the total announced workers up to 20 leaving only ten slots open. We have been informed of a former tag team ready to take up two of those spots; an announcement is expected on this week’s broadcast. Speaking of tag teams this week on Superstars the Million Dollar Corporation defeated the Smoking Gunns in a non-title match with many predicting this will lead to the two teams facing off at the PPV although nothing is set in stone yet. There is said to be some heat on Buddy Landell after a poor showing on Superstars against Bob Holly. Many feel his time with the company is very much on thin ice. The only other news for this week is that the new feeder promotion is expected to run their first monthly show next week; we will certainly keep you updated on that. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
forlan Posted April 6, 2011 Author Posted April 6, 2011 WWF Presents Monday Night Raw Monday Week 3 January 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler The show opens with the announcers informing us that we are a mere six days away from the Royal Rumble extravaganza and running down the card for this packed episode of Monday Night Raw. Vince then announces that we will hear from Goldust later on this evening although rumour has it Razor is also on route to the arena. (C+) Match One “The King of Harts” Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette vs. Marty Jannetty A solid opener to the show although with the way Jannetty is these days it was obvious there would only be one winner. Owen eventually took the win when he countered a pin attempt by Marty into a bridging pin for the three count. Winner in 5:32 – Owen Hart (C+) The show then cuts to Todd Pettengill as he announces that he has a special video for the people. The video is of former tag team champions Rick and Scott Steiner and they announce that they are coming back for the Royal Rumble match and when all is said and done they will be left to fight it out as the final two with one of them going on to fight for the title. Pettengill then announces the final 8 workers in the match as Bob Backlund, Bob Holly, Duke Droese, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Justin Bradshaw, Zip, Aldo Montoya and Avatar. He then announces a special thirty minute preview show on the prevue channel before the show where the participants will be drawing their numbers for the Royal Rumble although two of them will draw blanks representing 1 and 30 and then have a match to determine who gets to be number 30. (D+) Match Two The Ringmaster w/Ted DiBiase vs. Barry Horowitz A squash match here for Ringmaster’s first match in the promotion as he quickly put Horowitz away for the Million Dollar Dream. Winner in 4:36 – The Ringmaster (C-) A small hype video on what it would mean to Shawn Michaels to be the World Heavyweight Champion is then shown as he promises to win the Royal Rumble. © Match Three Non-Title The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) w/Sunny A short match here as the Gunns got prepared for their match at the PPV with a solid win. Skip and Zip got limited offence before Zip ended up falling to The Sidewinder. During the match it was announced on commentary that The Smoking Gunns would defend their titles against the Million Dollar Corporation at the Royal Rumble. Winners in 6:52 – The Smoking Gunns (D+) We now go to another “Billionaire Ted” segment with this time around Ted wanting to buy the WWF after he's bought himself a network, a World Series, and a library of classic movies, some of which he's colorized. Ted also asks "Why isn't Ted's Wrasslin' as good as the WWF?" One guy says the WWF has better athletes and all they've got are "the disloyal, greedy, has-beens from the 80's." “The Huckster” asks "Who are you calling a has-been, brother." “Scheme Gene” says "You can't blame a guy for trying to con...err, make a buck!" “Nacho Man” adds "Who are you calling disloyal? Besides, I started in the 70's!" “The Huckster” flashes him a thumbs up. Ted tells them to buy him some of those WWF Generation Superstars. A voiceover says "The WWF New Generation - It's not for sale!" Goldust then cuts a promo in the ring with Vince McMahon as McMahon asks him if he really has feelings for Razor or whether it is all a ploy to get inside his head. Goldust squirms out of it with some sexual innuendo at McMahon causing the interviewer to get flustered in the end. (B-) Match Four The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer vs. Isaac Yankem Not the best match here as the two just did not seem to click very well together and had a rather awkward bout. The match itself seemed longer than it was before Undertaker put him away with a Tombstone to keep momentum heading into his title match at the Royal Rumble. Winner in 8:30 – The Undertaker © Vince McMahon then announces that next week on Monday Night Raw we will see Bret Hart take on Goldust as cameras cut to the back to find that Razor ha caught up with Goldust. The two men brawl all over the backstage area before spilling out into the snow as Goldust manages to escape in a car and McMahon goes wild on commentary about what Razor will do on Sunday. (B) Overall Show Rating – C- WWF Superstars Results: The Bodydonnas over Aldo Montoya and Barry Horowitz (D+), Justin Bradshaw over Hakushi (D), The Ringmaster over Bob Holly © Overall Show Rating – C- ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter January Week 3 1996 (part 2) Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News So with all of the build up out of the way we have the final card for Royal Rumble 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.hoffco-inc.com/wwe/ppv/ppv/img/logo-rr96.jpg Royal Rumble 1996 Sunday Week 3 January 1996 Selland Arena, Fresno, California Live on Pay per View Main Event Match WWF World Heavyweight Title Bret “The Hitman” Hart © defends against The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer 30 Man Over the Tope Rope Royal Rumble Match for the right to face the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XII (Participants: “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, “The King of Harts” Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Savio Vega, King Mabel, Barry Horowitz, Yokozuna, “Native American” Tatanka, Honky Tonk Man, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Phatu, Isaac Yankem, Henry O. Godwinn, Marty Jannetty, Skip, “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow, The Ringmaster, “The Heart Break Kid” Shawn Michaels, Crush, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Bob Backlund, Bob Holly, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw, Zip, Avatar and “The Portuguese Man o War” Aldo Montoya) WWF Intercontinental Title “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon© defends against “The Bizarre One” Goldust WWF World Tag Team Titles The Smoking Gunns© defend against The Million Dollar Corporation (“Psycho” Sid Vicious and 1-2-3 Kid) w/Ted DiBiase Grudge Match “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett Card Subject to Change (Predictions Welcome) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In other news after a cease and desist letter from Turner Broadcasting the decision has been made to stop the skits poking fun at the WCW guys. Speaking of WCW it is evident Vince has realised they are actually competition and we hear in coming weeks Monday Night Raw will become a much more star studded and competitive show, which is evident in the announcement of Bret Hart vs. Goldust next week. The companies new feeder promotion Championship Wrestling Florida ran its first show using a mixture of talent that have been signed to developmental deals and other hired by Bert Prentice to fill up the card and possibly earn a roster spot. The results were as follows:- Steve Corino over A-Train for the National Title Sean Casey and Cham Pain over Kidman and Chaz for the Tag Team Titles Ekmo over David Jericho Alex Porteau over Billy Black Raven over CW Anderson for the World Title Other Promotions WCW continued their good recent run as they ran “Clash of the Champions XXXII” the results were as follows:- Harlem Heat over The Sullivans to retain the World Tag Team Titles Alex Wright over Sgt. Craig Pittman Dick Slater over Chris Kanyon Barbarian, Hugh Morris and The Giant over Jim Duggan, Bobby Eaton and DDP One Man Gang over Marcus Bagwell to retain the United States Title Squire David Taylor over Ice Train The Zodiac over Dave Finlay Big Bubba Rogers over Brian Knobbs Hulk Hogan over Shark Sting over Brian Pillman Road Warriors over Benoit and Malenko Ric Flair over Randy Savage to retain the World Title Despite the notable number of older names on the card the star power along managed to garner massive ticket sales and PPV buy rates for this one. In other brief WCW news they recently tied down Brian Pillman to a new deal despite interest from the WWF.
legendkiller13 Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 Good to see you putting up a new dynasty forlan. I really enjoyed this time in wrestling and cant wait to see how you recreate history. Main Event Match WWF World Heavyweight Title Bret “The Hitman” Hart © defends against The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer 30 Man Over the Tope Rope Royal Rumble Match for the right to face the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XII (Participants: “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, “The King of Harts” Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Savio Vega, King Mabel, Barry Horowitz, Yokozuna, “Native American” Tatanka, Honky Tonk Man, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Phatu, Isaac Yankem, Henry O. Godwinn, Marty Jannetty, Skip, “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow, The Ringmaster, “The Heart Break Kid” Shawn Michaels, Crush, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Bob Backlund, Bob Holly, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw, Zip, Avatar and “The Portuguese Man o War” Aldo Montoya) WWF Intercontinental Title “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon© defends against “The Bizarre One” Goldust WWF World Tag Team Titles The Smoking Gunns© defend against The Million Dollar Corporation (“Psycho” Sid Vicious and 1-2-3 Kid) w/Ted DiBiase Grudge Match “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett
Powerful_Fox Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 Very easy to read mate. Looking forward to seeing what you do to it coming off of the royal rumble.
forlan Posted April 8, 2011 Author Posted April 8, 2011 Special Royal Rumble Preview Show Host: Todd Pettengill Announcers: Dok Hendrix and Jerry Lawler The special half hour preview show opens up with footage of the thoughts of all of the competitors involved in the Royal Rumble as well as videos highlighting all the rest of the matches and the stories behind them. © Pre-Show Match One “The Modern Day Kamikaze” Hakushi vs. “Nature Boy” Buddy Landell A solid little match with two people not involved in the main card which saw the announcers mostly talking about other things until Hakushi picked up the win with the Praying Power Bomb. Winner in 7:25 – Hakushi (D-) After the match we then got a backstage segment showing how some of the workers picked their numbers for the Royal Rumble before Todd Pettengill announced that the two people who drew blanks were Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Aldo Montoya. (C-) Pre-Show Match Two To Determine Numbers 1 and 30 in the Royal Rumble “The Portuguese Man o War” Aldo Montoya vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley A solid match to end the pre-show with both men getting a few near falls before ultimately Montoya fell to the Pedigree to ensure Helmsley was the final entrant in tonight’s Royal Rumble. Winner in 6:55 – Hunter Hearst Helmsley (D+) http://www.hoffco-inc.com/wwe/ppv/ppv/img/logo-rr96.jpg WWF Presents Royal Rumble 1996 Sunday Week 3 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Mr. Perfect We are welcomed to the show with the same video package that started the pre-show as the announcers than inform us that we will immediately be going to the back where Ahmed Johnson is standing by with Dok Hendrix. Ahmed talks about what he is going to do to Jeff Jarrett during the match and mentions he will end what Jarrett started. (D+) Match One Grudge Match “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett A good match to begin the show with Ahmed showing his clear power advantage over the smaller Jarrett and Jeff using a variety of underhanded tactics to try and claw his way back into the match. Ultimately Ahmed picked up the win in the end cleanly by utilising a stiff Spinebuster followed by the Pearl River Plunge for the three count. Winner in 12:52 – Ahmed Johnson © After the match Ahmed celebrates as Jeff scurries to the back out of sight knowing that the better man was victorious. (B-) We then cut to the back as Todd Pettengill is standing by with Shawn Michaels. Michaels talks about how last year he fulfilled his destiny of winning the Royal Rumble but didn’t fulfil the final part by winning the World Title. He announces that he guarantees to his fans that he will walk out of tonight as the winner of the Royal Rumble 1996 before going on to WrestleMania XII and defeating the champion whoever it may be. (A) Match Two WWF World Tag Team Titles The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) © vs., The Million Dollar Corporation (“Psycho” Sid Vicious and 1-2-3 Kid) w/Ted DiBiase A short tag team match here which did its job of entertaining the crowd in a rather stale tag team division with Billy Gunn playing the face in peril for a vast majority of the match before tagging in Bart who began cleaning house only to find big Sid to be a lot tougher than the kid. In the end whilst Bart was brawling with Sid he was caught in the back of the head with a spinning kick from 1-2-3 Kid sending him into a waiting Chokeslam from Sid as we had new tag team champions crowned. Winners and NEW WWF World Tag Team Champions in 8:43 – The Million Dollar Corporation © After the match DiBiase celebrated with his team as Jim Ross leapt from the announce table to grab a word with them. DiBiase announced this was only the start of a new reign of dominance from the Million Dollar Corporation and tonight the icing on the cake would be a Royal Rumble win for the ringmaster because “Everyone has a price”. (B-) Todd Pettengill then conducts an interview backstage with Owen Hart as he announces he will do what his brother never could and that is win the Royal Rumble. Owen talks about how Bret could only tie for winning the rumble with Luger in 1994 and was never man enough to win it on his own. He then guarantees that by the end of WrestleMania XII he will be the World Champion and he hopes that it is indeed Bret that he beats at the grandest stage of them all. (B) Match Three WWF Intercontinental Title “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon© vs. “The Bizarre One” Goldust A fantastic match here as both men really gave it their all with the majority of the early going being Goldust playing on his sexuality to draw Razor out of his comfort zone until Razor just began to beat the absolute tar out of him. Razor was in control until a corner clothesline mix up ended up with referee Tim White being knocked out so when Razor landed his patented Razor’s Edge finisher there was no one to count the pin. As Razor tried to revive the referee out ran 1-2-3 Kid to nail him with a spinning kick before Goldust landed the Curtain Call for the victory and our second title change of the night. Winner and NEW WWF Intercontinental Champion in 13:39 – Goldust © As Goldust celebrated and Razor gathered his thoughts on his knees in the ring 1-2-3 Kid stood with a big smile on his face knowing he had got one over on his long time rival. Dok Hendrix then is standing by with WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart asking the champion if he is worried that all titles have changed hands tonight so far as he heads into his match against The Undertaker. Hart talks about how he has overcome the odds all of his life and tonight will be no different; he says The Undertaker may be an unstoppable phenom but he is “The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be”. (A) Vince McMahon then informs us that before that match we will have the 1996 Royal Rumble match, handing over to Howard Finkel for the announcements. Howard announces that two men start, every two minutes somebody else comes in and in order to be eliminated both feet have to touch the floor. He then goes on to say that there are no friends, only foes and it is every man for themselves and the winner will go on to face the champion whomever they may be at WrestleMania XII. He then announces that as we know from earlier number one will be Aldo Montoya as he makes his way down to the ring before Howard announces number two as Zip from the Bodydonnas as he makes his way down accompanied by Sunny as the match officially begins. Match Four Royal Rumble 1996 To determine who will face the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XII The two men begin the match with a short exchange of moves before Montoya gains the upper hand and is trying to tip Zip over the top rope only to receive a rake in the eyes. The clock then counts down as we have entrant number three as Marty Jannetty who comes down like a house of fire and starts laying out both men before attempting to throw both over and failing before a kick from Zip gives him the upper hand over Jannetty whilst Montoya is down. As Jannetty and Zip are fighting fighter number four the British Bulldog enters the fray accompanied by Jim Cornette and immediately clotheslines Jannetty and Zip before picking up Aldo Montoya and drilling him with his patented Running Powerslam. Bulldog then runs full force at Jannetty for a clothesline as Marty moves and Bulldog narrowly avoids eliminating himself as once again the countdown clock begins and we have another entrant. This time entrant number five is the returning Scott Steiner as he runs down and immediately gives us our first elimination as he sends Zip flying over the top rope. Still a house of fire he then attempts to eliminate the Bulldog but is unsuccessful as participant six comes down and is a welcome help for the British Bulldog in the form of Camp Cornette team mate Yokozuna. Yokozuna comes down and immediately sends Montoya over the top rope with a savate kick before hurling Jannetty over the top rope as well. This left Steiner with Yokozuna and Bulldog as he hoped entrant number seven would be of some help to him but no such luck as the next entrant was the evil dentist himself Isaac Yankem. Yankem came to the ring and immediately joined his fellow heels in the beat down of Steiner as Scott to his credit managed to hold on until entrant number eight turned out to be the big man himself Diesel. There was then a spell of no eliminations as the ring began to fill up with the entrances of Henry O. Godwinn, Justin Bradshaw, Honky Tonk Man and Bob Holly. With the ring quite full it was then time for the entrance of Jake Roberts and whilst he was coming down to the ring Diesel took on a big flurry eliminating Bradshaw, Godwinn and Yankem in a quick succession whilst Bulldog and Yokozuna eliminated Scott Steiner and Bob Holly. Once Jake entered the ring it was only him, Diesel, Honky, Bulldog and Yokozuna in the ring as the two baby faces joined forces in almost a handicap battle until the sides were evened as Jake sent Honky out with a massive clothesline. Another spell of no eliminations happened as we got the entrances of Phatu, King Mabel, The Ringmaster, Barry Horowitz, Jerry Lawler and Duke Droese before it was once again time for a Diesel flurry as he eliminated Horowitz, Droese, Phatu and then Jake Roberts. As number twenty emerged as the returning Bam Bam Bigelow the British Bulldog had been in the match for pushing 35 minutes and was beginning to wane before he took a tumble to the outside thanks to a Diesel big boot, although it was only through the middle rope, he took a bad fall and possibly looked out cold. Number twenty one saw the entrance of Owen Hart as he made an immediate impact by helping the rest of the ring eliminate Camp Cornette stable member Yokozuna proving the every man for himself phrase is true in this match before everyone then ganged up on Mabel eliminating the big man. We next saw the entrance of the returning Rick Steiner followed by Skip, Bob Backlund and then a returning Crush as he ran down and somehow was immediately eliminated by Diesel after the big man sidestepped a running charge. We then saw Savio Vega, Avatar and Tatanka enter the fray before the crowd came unglued for the number twenty nine, hot favourite Shawn Michaels. The Heart Break Kid then stormed the ring and starting eliminating people left right and centre as we saw him get rid of Rick Steiner, Avatar, Bob Backlund, Skip and Jerry Lawler in quick succession before turning around and sending out former tag team partner Diesel with a big Sweet Chin Music that caught him off guard. Next up we saw the entrance of the final man in the match Hunter Hearst Helmsley was we saw British Bulldog stirring and getting back into the ring whilst inside the ring Bam Bam Bigelow and Savio Vega fell over the ropes together. Owen Hart and the British Bulldog then combined to eliminate Tatanka before the latter was eliminated by Shawn Michaels to end his almost one hour in the ring. This gave us our final four in the match of Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Owen Hart and The Ringmaster as Ted DiBiase handed some money to The Ringmaster and he offered it to Owen Hart to join forces as the two eliminated Helmsley only for Owen to turn on Ringmaster and then send him over the top giving us our final two men. As Shawn and Owen slugged it out the latter caught the former flush with an enziguri to the head bringing back memories of the concussion as the fans assumed it was over. Owen then attempted to throw over Michaels and thought he had but HBK skinned the cat grabbing Owen’s head with his legs and dragging him over the top to win the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row. Winner of the 1996 Royal Rumble in 72:12 – Shawn Michaels (B-) As Michaels celebrated in the ring he was blindsided with a sickening chairshot from Owen Hart to the back of the head as Owen just stood over HBK shouting “It should have been me” before referees managed to usher him away and get EMT’s to HBK to help him out as we cut to a video package for the main event. (B) Main Event Match WWF World Heavyweight Title Bret “The Hitman” Hart© vs. The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer A fantastic match here with the crowd split down the middle in their support for the two warriors as both gave their all with many near falls. A title change looked on the cards when Undertaker had Bret up on his shoulders positioning him for the Tombstone but he managed to wriggle out of it and almost take the win himself with a backslide. The end of the match came when Bret applied the Sharpshooter to The Undertaker but out from the back came Diesel with a Big Boot to the back of Bret’s head to cause the disqualification. Winner of the match by disqualification and STILL WWF World Heavyweight Champion in 13:24 – Bret Hart (B-) As Diesel picked up Bret and drilled him with the JackKnife Powerbomb he was then taken out by The Undertaker who ran off the big man as we then cut to the ring and a winded Bret Hart held his title aloft as the show ended with Vince claiming that Diesel had “snapped” (B) Quick Results Ahmed Johnson over Jeff Jarrett Million Dollar Corporation over The Smoking Gunns for the WWF World Tag Team Titles Goldust over Razor Ramon for the WWF Intercontinental Title Shawn Michaels won the 1996 Royal Rumble Bret Hart over The Undertaker via DQ to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Title Overall Show Rating: C+ Rumble Facts Order of Entry 1 Aldo Montoya 2 Zip 3 Marty Jannetty 4 British Bulldog 5 Scott Steiner 6 Yokozuna 7 Isaac Yankem 8 Diesel 9 Henry O. Godwinn 10 Justin Bradshaw 11 Honky Tonk Man 12 Bob Holly 13 Jake Roberts 14 Phatu 15 King Mabel 16 The Ringmaster 17 Barry Horowitz 18 Jerry Lawler 19 Duke Droese 20 Bam Bam Bigelow 21 Owen Hart 22 Rick Steiner 23 Skip 24 Bob Backlund 25 Crush 26 Savio Vega 27 Avatar 28 Tatanka 29 Shawn Michaels 30 Hunter Hearst Helmsley Order of Elimination 1 Zip by Scott Steiner 2 Aldo Montoya by Yokozuna 3 Marty Jannetty by Yokozuna 4 Justin Bradshaw by Diesel 5 Henry O. Godwinn by Diesel 6 Isaac Yankem by Diesel 7 Scott Steiner by Yokozuna and British Bulldog 8 Bob Holly by Yokozuna and British Bulldog 9 Honky Tonk Man by Jake Roberts 10 Barry Horowitz by Diesel 11 Duke Droese by Diesel 12 Phatu by Diesel 13 Jake Roberts by Diesel 14 Yokozuna by various 15 King Mabel by various 16 Crush by Diesel 17 Rick Steiner by Shawn Michaels 18 Avatar by Shawn Michaels 19 Bob Backlund by Shawn Michaels 20 Jerry Lawler by Shawn Michaels 21 Skip by Shawn Michaels 22 Diesel by Shawn Michaels 23 Savio Vega by Bam Bam Bigelow 24 Bam Bam Bigelow by Savio Vega 25 Tatanka by Owen Hart and British Bulldog 26 British Bulldog by Shawn Michaels 27 Hunter Hearst Helmsley by Owen Hart and The Ringmaster 28 The Ringmaster by Owen Hart 29 Owen Hart by Shawn Michaels Longest time in the ring - British Bulldog (57:35) Shortest time in the ring - Crush (24 seconds) Most Eliminations - Diesel and Shawn Michaels (8 Each)
forlan Posted April 10, 2011 Author Posted April 10, 2011 WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 4 January 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler We are opened to Monday Night Raw with some still images of the events of last night’s epic Royal Rumble match as Vince tells us that as of this moment there is no word on the condition of Shawn Michaels. He was taken to hospital last night and we hope to hear from him next week. Whilst they are still talking they are cut off by the music of Diesel as the big man makes his way down to the ring. After getting in the ring he takes the microphone and goes on to say that McMahon was right on commentary last night....he has snapped. The reason he has snapped is the total lack of respect given to him by Gorilla Monsoon and the rest of the WWF management team, he explains he feels that he should have had a title shot not someone like The Undertaker who does not deserve it. He goes on to call out Bret Hart to settle this thing once and for all tonight leading to the champion making his way down to the outside of the ring. Bret tells Diesel as much as he would love to face off with him right now tonight he is pencilled in to face Goldust in the main event. He then mentions that he is aware that there is a Pay per View coming up in a few weeks, the sixth version of the In Your House shows. Bret mentions he wants this settled once and for all and wants to defend against Diesel at this event and after okaying it with Monsoon the match is officially signed. Bret goes on to say that in the past there has been a lot of interference in the matches between the two of them and thus he has asked that to avoid this at the show the match be held in the confines of the steel cage. Bret’s music then hits as he leaves leaving Diesel shocked in the ring. (B+) Match One “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. “The Beast from the East” Bam Bigelow A solid match with the announcers mentioning that Ahmed sent Jeff Jarrett packing with his tail between his legs last night but Bam Bam will be a different proposition in this one. The two men gave on a good match before it spilled to the outside and Bigelow sent Ahmed head first into the steel steps before sliding back in the ring for the count out victory. Winner by count out in 8:43 – Bam Bam Bigelow © After the match Bigelow sent Johnson into the steps once more before leaving with a big smile on his face. Next up Vince informed us they were about to show us some footage from after the Royal Rumble with Dok Hendrix and The Steiner Brothers. As we cut to the footage in the locker room the two brothers are talking about how great it was to compete in the Royal Rumble match although they are primarily a tag team and they want to show that. Scott announces they want to be the first team to take on the new tag team champions and they await a decision from Ted DiBiase’s men. (C-) Match Two “The King of Harts” Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts As Owen began the match Vince talked about how his act against Shawn Michaels last night was despicable and he deserves everything Jake gives to him tonight. To be fair from this comment there was a quite long portion of just Jake dishing out the hurt until he went for the DDT and Cornette distracted the referee as Owen took a carefully placed tennis racquet and nailed Jake across the back with it. It was then a case of locking on the Sharpshooter as Jake had no choice but to submit. Winner in 9:03 – Owen Hart (B-) After the match was over Owen Hart got on the microphone and talked about how winning the Royal Rumble was his destiny and how Shawn Michaels should not have been in the match at all. Owen then went on to say that for so long he has been overlooked for title shots because people hold him in the shadow of his brother and it is for this fact he has to earn shots and winning the Royal Rumble was his chance. Owen then announces that he took Michaels out as he knew he was the main threat but he just would not stay down so last night he had to take matters on for himself and end Michaels’ career with that sick chair shot to the head. He goes on to say that since Michaels clearly cannot compete then it is only fair that as runner up he earn the title shot. Just then Interim-President Gorilla Monsoon comes down to the ring and tells Owen that if Shawn Michaels does not return before In Your House 6 then Owen will get the chance to earn the title shot against an opponent of Monsoon’s choosing leaving Owen seething in the ring and Cornette livid. (B) Vince McMahon then announces it is now time for our main event non-title match between new Intercontinental champion Goldust and the World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart. Match Three Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. “The Bizarre One” Goldust A great way to end the show as Goldust showed he is one for the future and hung with Bret for the majority of the contest and even got a few near falls where the crowd thought it was over. In the end the Hitman had just too much for Goldust and managed to put him away with the Sharpshooter. Winner in 8:54 – Bret Hart (B) As Hart was celebrating out of nowhere came Diesel as he laid out Bret with a big boot before going outside and grabbing a chair which he laid down and planted Bret with a JackKnife Powerbomb on top of it. Diesel and Goldust then began continuing the assault until Razor Ramon made the save and ran them off. After this Vince announced that before we go he had word that next week’s main event will see Razor and Bret take on Diesel and Goldust in a tag team contest plus we hope to hear from Shawn Michaels (B) Overall Show Rating (B-) WWF Superstars Results: Crush over Aldo Montoya (D+), Bodydonnas over Jannetty/Hakushi (D), 1-2-3 Kid over Avatar (D+), The Ringmaster over Rick Steiner © Overall Show Rating (C-) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter January Week 4 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News After a great Royal Rumble and fantastic last Monday Night Raw of the month things seem to be looking up for the promotion. First off some news coming out of the big Royal Rumble from this past Sunday starting with the fact that the Ahmed and Jarrett feud now seems to be over with plans to push Ahmed into a feud with Bam Bam Bigelow. It is evident that Ahmed is not the best worker in the ring but management did not take kindly to Jarrett moaning about this on a regular basis and as such at the moment Jarrett is working down in the developmental territory for the near future with Royal Rumble being his last main roster appearance for a while. The Razor and Goldust feud as was evidenced the following night on Monday Night Raw is indeed not over although current plans suggest blowing off Razor’s long term feud with 1-2-3 Kid at In Your House 6. The Royal Rumble match itself was deemed a success with British Bulldog in particular standing out as putting in a good performance being the longest worker in the ring acting as the glue holding it together. Many were wondering why Crush was brought back and eliminated so quickly, sources within the company have revealed that Crush turned up very late and slightly intoxicated and the decision was made to get him in and out as quick as possible to avoid any long term damage to his image. Crush has been fined and told he is on thin ice and for the time being is expected to work house shows and Superstars matches until he is deemed fit for the main roster. Another worker who was seemingly in hot water was Jake Roberts who did not do much of note in the match. Roberts turned up late to the event and only just had time to get his gear on for the match, like Crush he has been fined and due to his recent good behaviour will not be punished any further we hear. Latest plans for the In Your House 6 show are to have Diesel and Bret Hart main eventing in a cage match as well as a strong undercard to lead stories in to the big WrestleMania XII event at the end of March. Moving on to Monday Night Raw and as of this moment the company is very tight lipped on the status of Shawn Michaels with many speculating he came back too soon from injury and will be on the shelf for a short while whilst others think he will still be main eventing at WrestleMania XII. In other company news there has been a consensus that the roster is filled with quite a few workers that do not currently deserve a spot so the company quietly released the following workers from their contracts this week after the Royal Rumble:- Buddy Landell, Duke Droese, Phatu and Sir Mo. Those workers were felt surplus to requirements whilst the following workers were felt worth keeping around and sent to the development to improve on their skills or get into shape: - Avatar, Isaac Yankem and King Mabel. In one final piece of news the company recently re-hired Dan Spivey to work as one of the road agent team. Spivey worked the rumble and laid out the Goldust and Razor Ramon match which was well received by the management team.
Powerful_Fox Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 Strong RAW, enjoying what you are doing with Diesel and Owen. Really liking the W.O. Newsletters too, they are adding a great extra dimension to it.
forlan Posted April 11, 2011 Author Posted April 11, 2011 WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 1 February 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler We are welcomed to the show as Vince announces that we are a mere three weeks away from “In Your House 6 – Caged” as Bret Hart and Diesel will main event the card in a steel cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Lawler then mentions that both men will be involved in our tag team main event. Vince also announces that Gorilla Monsoon has promised word on Shawn Michaels tonight and his status both mentally and physically after the attack by Owen Hart. (B) Match One Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Bob Holly A very very short almost squash like match here as Helmsley put Holly away quite quickly with a Pedigree. Winner in 2:50 – Hunter Hearst Helmsley (D+) After the match the announcers informed us that after an impressive win over Jeff Jarrett at Royal Rumble Ahmed Johnson has earned the right to be the first challenger for Goldust’s Intercontinental Title and will face off with him in three weeks at IYH. Match Two “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Savio Vega A good solid competitive match here as both men had their chances to win what was a very open contest until very similar to last week Bigelow on the outside rammed Vega head first into the steel steps before taking the count-out victory. Winner by count out in 7:54 – Bam Bam Bigelow © After the contest Bigelow wasn’t done and he once again rammed Savio Vega into the steps before leaving again like last week with a maniacal grin on his face. Next up we got Vince McMahon in the ring with Ted DiBiase who was accompanied by the Million Dollar Corporation of The Ringmaster, 1-2-3 Kid and Sid Vicious. DiBiase was there to address the Steiner Brothers after their comments recently, he talked about how they were once a big team but now they have to start at the bottom and cannot just come in for a title shot and expect one straight away. DiBiase announces that Gorilla Monsoon has made on last match between 1-2-3 Kid and Razor Ramon at IYH and as such one half of the champions will be busy but ultimately he is a fair man and will give them the opportunity to earn a shot at the tag team titles. The only condition is that they have to win at IYH in a handicap match against Sid Vicious, The Ringmaster and a new member of the Million Dollar Corporation that will be announced on the night. (C-) After this we cut to Gorilla Monsoon who is on location at the hospital where Shawn Michaels will speak to the fans right here tonight. Monsoon walks through into a hospital side ward where Michaels is in a hospital bed with his head heavily bandaged up as he begins to speak. He talks about how the world title can do strange things to people and he has been there but Owen Hart has just gone too far in his quest for glory and it is not something that cannot go unpunished. He talks about how Monsoon announced that if he could not get back soon he would lose the WrestleMania XII place he earned last Sunday and how he understands the position of Monsoon but the doctors cannot give an estimate on when he can come back. Monsoon chimes in and says that unfortunately Shawn Michaels will have to be stripped of his number one contendership for the title if this is the case and Owen Hart will face off against an as of yet undetermined opponent for the right to face the champion at WrestleMania come IYH. With the tears welling up in his eyes Michaels brings the camera in close and says he doesn’t know if he will ever be back but if there is a chance in hell he will be back for IYH then he will quite gladly fight Owen putting his contendership on the line if need be as he just want s piece of the King of Harts. (B-) Match Three The British Bulldog w/Jim Cornette vs. Marty Jannetty A good match here with Bulldog getting in a lot of power offence whilst Marty tried to use his quickness to overcome the size advantage. In the end though Bulldog was just too much for him and managed to finish him off with the Running Powerslam. Winner in 8:12 – The British Bulldog After this Owen Hart was in the back with Dok Hendrix and Dok asked about what just went down at the hospital with Gorilla Monsoon. Owen just brushes it off and mentions that whether he goes through Michaels or whether he goes through anyone else, he knows that come WrestleMania he will be wrestling for the World title. (B-) Match Four Bret “The Hitman” Hart and “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon vs. “The Bizarre One” Goldust and “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel A lot of boos for Diesel in this one after his action of late but these did not seem to deter the big man as all four men turned it up a notch to put on a great TV main event here. The finish was certainly a bizarre one as Bret and Goldust were fighting on the outside and Diesel was about to JackKnife Razor until the lights started flashing before going off for a split second and coming back on with Diesel out cold on the ground easy for Razor to pin him for the three count. Winners in 9:57 – Bret Hart and Razor Ramon Razor and Hart posed for the crowd as the announcers speculated on what just happened to Diesel when suddenly The Undertaker appeared on the video wall and in a brief statement said that what Diesel did at the Royal Rumble will not go unpunished before the video faded. (B) Overall Show Rating (C+) WWF Superstars Results: Crush over Hakushi (C-), Smoking Gunns and Marty Jannetty over Bodydonnas and Jerry Lawler (C-), Henry O. Godwinn over The Ringmaster (C-) Overall Show Rating © ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter February Week 1 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News Jose Lothario who has recently been working as a manager for Shawn Michaels has announced that he is soon to retire from the wrestling business altogether as soon as the end of this month. It remains to be seen whether this will be used in any sort of angle or whether Lothario will slip away quietly. As of this moment In Your House is shaping up to be a great card with a solid cage main event. In the coming weeks we will see the rest of the card coming together to make a solid card building nicely towards WrestleMania XII where we have heard rumours the main event will be something unprecedented in the WWF until this point. Bob Holly is rubbing people up the wrong way coming out and complaining about a lack of push to friends and generally trying to use backstage politics but falling on deaf ears. This was evidenced when he was virtually squashed by Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Helmsley on the other hand is held in very high regard and could soon be expecting a push with the company. Ron Simmons is currently working off the ring rust but strong rumours are abound that he may soon be making an appearance on the main roster whilst there are also a couple of females that are impressing down in development and could get chances to become managers. Word has it that coming off In Your House there are strong negotiations in regards to extending Monday Night Raw from 1 hour to 1 and a half hours to accommodate more stars. There is a possibility of two hours on the horizon but the company feels the logical step at the moment is 90 minutes. Other News Antonio Inoki has finally decided to hang up his wrestling boots for good and will have a special New Japan retirement show before moving on to working more behind the scenes. A one off show was ran this week showcasing some of the current unemployed workers and was headlined by a very well received tag team math pitting King Kong Bundy and Terry Gordy against Samu and Kamala.
forlan Posted April 13, 2011 Author Posted April 13, 2011 OOC Note: A double Raw whammy leading up to IYH WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 2 February 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect Vince welcomes us to the show and announces that he will be accompanied by Mr. Perfect tonight since Jerry Lawler is wrestling on the show later on against Ahmed Johnson. McMahon says first Owen Hart has requested some time in the ring for something special in his own words. Owen comes down to the ring along with Jim Cornette, Yokozuna and British Bulldog. Owen talks about how maybe in recent weeks his actions have been unacceptable and tonight he is going to put that right. He mentions that as he knows Shawn Michaels is still in the hospital he is calling out a man he knows is there and that is close to the heart of Michaels, Jose Lothario. Lothario makes his way to the ring quite cautiously until Cornette holds the ropes open for him to enter. Owen begins to mention how Lothario must think Owen has done the wrong thing recently and he knows that himself and would like to apologise. Owen mentions that the things he has done are wrong because they....aren’t enough before then Bulldog clotheslines Lothario from behind and Yokozuna drops a big leg on his head. Owen then locks in the Sharpshooter whilst having an intense look on his face shouting into the camera “are you watching Michaels?”. When Lothario is nearly passed out Owen releases the hold and instructs Bulldog and Yokozuna to hold Lothario whilst Owen goes and grabs the ring bell. Owen then nails Lothario in the head busting his head wide open before getting on the floor and raising up his bloody face to camera as Vince talks about how this is a disgrace and has never happened in the WWF before. (B) After coming back from a commercial break we are informed that later tonight Owen and Bulldog will be punished as they face off in a tag team contest against Ahmed Johnson and Razor Ramon. Match One “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry O. Godwinn A good brawling match between the two men here with Godwinn taking the momentum from his shock win over the Ringmaster on Superstars. In the end though the big beast was too much for Godwinn as he put him away with his patented Diving Headbutt from the top turnbuckle. Winner in 7:06 – Bam Bam Bigelow (C+) After the match Bigelow adds insult to injury by continuing his recent trend and throwing Godwinn head first into the steel steps. Bam Bam then walked off with a massive smile on his face seemingly at a job well done. Match Two Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Bob Holly In a rematch from last week Holly managed to get more offence in than previously but still fell short of defeating the rising star as he was put away for the three count with a Pedigree. Winner in 6:14 – Hunter Hearst Helmsley (D+) We then cut to Todd Pettengill in the back conducting an interview with the Million Dollar Corporation ahead of a singles match between Sid and Scott Steiner that is up next. A pretty generic promo ends when Hunter Hearst Helmsley walks by after his match and DiBiase excuses himself and goes scurrying after him. (B-) Match Three “Psycho” Sid Vicious w/Ted DiBiase vs. Scott Steiner w/Rick Steiner A solid little match here with the story of the match being Sid using his size and power to his advantage as well as some help from the sidelines from Ted DiBiase until it backfired and whilst DiBiase distracted the referee Rick Steiner nailed a top rope bulldog on Sid before Scott got the quick pin as the referee turned around. Winner in 6:23 – Scott Steiner © A hype video is then shown for the steel cage match between Bret Hart and Diesel detailing their storied feud up to this point to promote the In Your House PPV. (B) Match Four Camp Cornette (British Bulldog and “King of Harts” Owen Hart) w/Jim Cornette vs. “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon and “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson A great tag team match to end this week’s Monday Night Raw as both teams gave their all with Razor playing the face in peril for a long period before getting the hot tag to Ahmed Johnson who exploded and began cleaning house until out from the back came Bam Bam Bigelow to attack Ahmed before a melee of workers hit the ring both face and heel and the referee threw the match out. Winner in 10:31 – Draw (Double Disqualification) (C+) As the melee was going on out came interim president Gorilla Monsoon and he announced that next week on the last Monday Night Raw before In Your House we will see a 5 on 5 match to main event the show with Owen Hart, Bam Bam Bigelow, British Bulldog, Yokozuna and Goldust against Bret Hart, Ahmed Johnson, Razor Ramon, Jake Roberts and Henry O Godwinn. (B) Overall Show Rating © WWF Superstars Results: The Smoking Gunns over Justin Bradshaw and Rad Radford (D+), The Ringmaster over Aldo Montoya (C-), Tatanka over Hakushi (D) Overall Show Rating (D) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter February Week 2 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News The first piece of news this week is that the promotion has now signed a deal that will see Monday Night Raw air on Galavision from the beginning of March. The move to target the Mexican audience will see the show air on a Saturday evening slot around seven. This is seen as a major move at branching out and we hear from various sources that attempts to expand to Japan were turned down by a number of TV stations. This past week’s Monday Night Raw was the last company appearance of Jose Lothario, with him retiring from the business the company used this to further the Owen Hart and Shawn Michaels feud. An interesting titbit from this match is that whilst the idea was pitched for Lothario to bleed to give an edgier feel to the product it was ultimately the man himself that decided to bleed as much as he did. Lothario felt this would instil a bigger hatred by the crowd in Owen Hart and make an eventual match with Michaels that much more intense. The company has high hopes for the 5 on 5 match that headlines the go home Monday Night Raw before In Your House. People like Henry O Godwinn being in the match is seen as a show of faith by the company with many predicting a push if he impresses here. Other News World Championship Wrestling continue to nip at the heels of the World Wrestling Federation and this week ran their annual Superbrawl show with a good attendance and PPV buy rate, here are the results:- American Males over State Patrol The Barbarian over Joey Maggs Mark Starr over Mr. JL Big Train Bart over Chris Kanyon DDP over The Shark Harlem Heat over The Sullivans to retain the tag titles Lord Steven Regal over Scott Norton Brian Knobbs over Dave Finlay Brian Pillman over Jim Duggan to retain the TV title Earl Robert Eaton over One Man Gang to win the US title Road Warriors over Benoit and Malenko Ric Flair over Sting to retain the World title WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 3 February 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon Jerry Lawler and Mr. Perfect We are welcomed to the show by our special three man announce team as they hype the fantastic main event match as well as the card for IYH including speculating who will be facing Owen Hart or if Shawn Michaels will be fit enough to face him himself. They also update the viewers on the condition of Jose Lothario whom they say will never set foot in a squared circle again. Match One 1-2-3 Kid w/Ted DiBiase vs. Savio Vega In a match to build up to the upcoming blow off of the feud between the kid and Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid managed here to get the advantage over Razor’s long term friend before putting him away with a spinning heel kick. Winner in 5:52 – 1-2-3 Kid (D) We then get a video package of a panther running through the woods as a voiceover says “We will stop oppression, we will stop victimisation, we will make it right” as the panther jumps at the camera and screen fades to black with the words coming soon. © As the announcers speculate on what exactly that video could mean Vince announces that starting from next Monday the show will be moving to being 90 minutes but not only that it will start airing LIVE. Match Two “The Modern Day Kamikaze” Hakushi vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley A short match here as once again Helmsley was looking strong with the majority of the offence in the match before putting away Hakushi with his patented Pedigree finisher. Winner in 8:11 – Hunter Hearst Helmsley (D) As Helmsley goes to leave the ring we hear the familiar music of the Million Dollar Corporation as out comes Ted DiBiase to the ringside area grabbing a microphone. DiBiase has a bag full of money and asks Helmsley whether he has considered his offer from last week. Without hesitation Helmsley grabs the bag and hugs DiBiase as Ted then announces that Helmsley is the newest member of the corporation and will be the third man at IYH. © Match Three Camp Cornette (“The King of Harts” Owen Hart, British Bulldog and Yokozuna), “The Bizarre One” Goldust and “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart, “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon, “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Henry O Godwinn A fantastic contest here as the last show before the PPV certainly served its purpose in hyping up the major matches for that event as every one of them were showcased. We were also informed during the match that Henry Godwinn had requested a rematch with Bam Bam Bigelow and will get one at IYH to round out the card. The match itself eventually broke down with people fighting everywhere and eventually a huge pop from the crowd came as Owen Hart was alone in the ring and turned around to a Sweet Chin Music as Shawn Michaels had come out from the crowd. Owen’s brother Bret then got in the ring and locked on the Sharpshooter for the victory for the babyface team. Winners in 19:23 - Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Ahmed Johnson, Jake Roberts and Henry O Godwinn(B-) To end the show Shawn Michaels told Owen Hart he was ready for him at In Your House but the big question was after what Owen has done then would Owen be ready for the Heartbreak Kid? (B) Overall Show Rating © WWF Superstars Results: Crush over Butch Miller (D-), Goldust over Bart Gunn (D), Savio Vega over Bob Backlund © Overall Show Rating (D) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter February Week 3 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News As announced this week on Monday Night Raw the promotion has managed to secure an extra thirty minutes on the Monday Night Raw slot as well as moving back to promoting the show live. This is seen to be to combat the WCW as feeling amongst the backstage workers is that with WCW knowing the WWF cards in advance they know exactly what to book to upstage it. There has been a tag team match added late on to the IYH card which will see The Smoking Gunns face Camp Cornette. This is seen as a last minute addition to fill time on the card although it gives these workers a chance to show they should have been on the main show. The next thing for the WWF is the IYH PPV here is the full card for the show:- http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/7871/iyh1.jpg WWF In Your House 6: Caged Sunday Week 3 February 1996 Live on Pay Per View Main Event Steel Cage Match WWF World Heavyweight Title Bret “The Hitman” Hart © defends against “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel Grudge Match Winner Goes on WrestleMania XII to face the World Heavyweight Champion “The King of Harts” Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette vs. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels One Last Time 1-2-3 Kid w/Ted DiBiase vs. “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon WWF Intercontinental Title “The Bizarre One” Goldust© defends against “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson Handicap Match: If The Steiner Brothers win they get a shot at the WWF Tag Team Titles The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) vs. The Million Dollar Corporation (Hunter Hearst Helmsley, The Ringmaster and “Psycho” Sid Vicious w/Ted DiBiase Special Rematch “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry O Godwinn The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. Camp Cornette (British Bulldog and Yokozuna) w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji Card Subject to Change (Predictions Welcome)
forlan Posted April 14, 2011 Author Posted April 14, 2011 http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/7871/iyh1.jpg WWF In Your House: Caged Sunday Week 3 February 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler We are welcomed to the show by Vince as he runs through the card for this action packed evening as well as plugging the big Monday Night Raw 90 minutes tomorrow night live. Match One The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. Camp Cornette (British Bulldog and Yokozuna) w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji A solid opening match here with both teams putting on an impressive showing, Yokozuna visibly was not in the match for very long and due to his sheer size seemed to be struggling out there at times. Bulldog however continued his recent fantastic spell and ended up getting the win for his team with a running Powerslam on Bart Gunn after a miscommunication between the team. Winner in 11:26 – Camp Cornette (C-) After the match Billy and Bart got into a bit of a shoving match but seemed to calm down and walked to the back together although Lawler on commentary was trying to point out he saw one of them attempt to sucker punch the other. A video was then shown of the recent match between Bam Bam Bigelow and Henry O Godwinn in which Bam Bam rammed Henry into the steps like he has done recently to most opponents with his new mean streak. Match Two Special Rematch “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry O Godwinn A good little match here that was never going to steal the show but did just enough to keep the fans entertained. The early going was all about Godwinn trying to get a measure of revenge on Bigelow for the previous attack and for the most part succeeding until the big beast took the upper hand and started beating down the hog farmer. Bigelow picked up the win after landing a big scoop slam and ascending the turnbuckles to connect with a big Diving Headbutt. Winner in 7:23 – Bam Bam Bigelow © After the match Bigelow got a sadistic look in his eye and hurled Godwinn to the outside before ramming him head first into the steps. Bigelow then signalled for one more as Vince screamed that he was trying to end a man’s career until Ahmed Johnson ran down to make the save and run off the big man before medics attended to Godwinn. (C-) Match Three Handicap Match: If The Steiner Brothers win they get a shot at the WWF Tag Team Titles The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) vs. The Million Dollar Corporation (Hunter Hearst Helmsley, The Ringmaster and “Psycho” Sid Vicious w/Ted DiBiase A good match here with the crowd really behind the Steiner Brothers as the corporation attempted to isolate Scott as the face in peril with some frequent tags working him over. This worked for the majority until Rick got into the ring and began to clean house as only the dog faced gremlin can with big clotheslines and scoop slams galore. Eventually the numbers game took its toll and all five men ended up in the ring at once until the referee was accidentally taken out by Sid on his way to tumbling out of the ring. As Ted DiBiase got involved Rick Steiner chased him off leaving Scott alone in a two on one situation with The Ringmaster and Helmsley. Helmsley grabbed a hold of Scott in a full nelson style whilst Ringmaster got the Million Dollar Belt that he carries around and went to clock Scott only for him to wriggle free and Helmsley take the shot to the face before Scott rolled up Ringmaster for the win for the Steiners. Winners in 10:58 – The Steiner Brothers (C+) After the match as Rick and Scott hotfooted it to the back celebrating Helmsley and Ringmaster began arguing and pushing and shoving until Ted DiBiase got in the middle trying to separate them leading to The Ringmaster walking off alone leaving DiBiase, Sid and Helmsley in the ring © We then cut to the backstage area as Todd Pettengill was standing by with Goldust. The Bizarre one cut a promo about how tonight Ahmed Johnson has stuck his nose in where it doesn’t belong and took his eyes off of Goldust. He goes on to say that no one should take their eyes off him and tonight Ahmed when all is said and done will “never forget the name of ohhhhhh......Goldust”. (B-) Match Four WWF Intercontinental Title “The Bizarre One” Goldust© defends against “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson A great match here with both of these members of the new generation delivering big style as Johnson controlled much of the match with his power advantage and Goldust used his weird antics to try and get into the mind of Ahmed with suggestive poses and counter holds. Ahmed seemed to be in control of the contest when out of nowhere came Bam Bam Bigelow on to the apron distracting him as Goldust picked him up from behind and planted Ahmed with a Curtain Call to retain the gold. Winner in 9:47 and still WWF Intercontinental Champion- Goldust (C-) After the contest was over Bam Bam got into the ring and he and Goldust began laying a beating on to Ahmed as Bigelow was screaming in his face that he should not have got involved in his business. After a short while Razor Ramon came out from the back to clean house and make the save running off both men. © As Ahmed Johnson left with Razor’s match due next he was blindsided by 1-2-3 Kid who ran down to official start their match. Match Five One Last Time 1-2-3 Kid vs. “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon Ted DiBiase was conspicuous by his absence in this one presumably trying to repair the damage from earlier in the night as the kid looked like he could have done with him out there. Razor was throwing the ****y youngster from pillar to post and gaining a huge measure of revenge on him with 1-2-3 Kid only getting in a very small amount of offence before succumbing to the Razor’s edge. Winner in 8:32 – Razor Ramon (C+) We then get a video package of a panther running through the woods just like we got on Monday Night Raw but this time with voiceover stating “If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything” and “We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” Before we see the panther jump at the camera and screen fade to black with the words coming soon. © The announcers then briefly speculate about what the video could mean with none of them really having a clue and then we go to Howard Finkel to announce our semi-main event. Match Six Grudge Match Winner Goes on WrestleMania XII to face the World Heavyweight Champion “The King of Harts” Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette vs. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels The crowd was electric for this one as the two men both went at it right from the start in what turned out to possibly be the match of the night as both men gave it their all in an attempt to face the champion at WrestleMania XII. Owen controlled a lot of the early going trying to work over the head of Michaels and exploit that injury until Michaels landed a dropkick that sent Owen to the outside. Michaels followed him to the outside and both men began brawling on the outside as Earl Hebner continued his count before reaching a ten count and declaring the match a draw. Winner in 10:32 – Draw (Double Count Out) As the fans were in a stunned disbelief we saw interim president Gorilla Monsoon appear on the video wall. Gorilla said that the fans had paid good money to see a winner in this match and tonight they were going to get one and to make sure that happened this match was now no holds barred. As Gorilla finished his speech Owen nailed Michaels in the back with a steel chair before sitting on top of him and punching away until he opened up a cut on the head of the Heartbreak Kid. This seemed to disorientate Michaels as he seemed unable to even get to his feet very well with Owen sensing an opportunity. Owen tried everything he could to put away Michaels but he just would not stay down for the three count and was just taking beating after beating before Owen got a chair and levelled him right on the top of the head with it. Owen knew it was over and covered again but somehow Shawn kicked out right at the last second frustrating Owen even more as he lifted Michaels up for one last move only for somehow Michaels to turn it into a German Suplex. With Shawn unable to keep his own shoulders off the mat due to his punishment he had taken the referee had no choice but to count down both men’s shoulders for the three count. Winner in 23:45 – Draw (Double Pin) (B-) As Michaels lay there bleeding profusely Owen took a chance and locked in the Sharpshooter refusing to break it with referees and agents trying desperately to pull him off until Monsoon came on screen and said that if Owen did not release the hold he would be fired to which Owen immediately released the hold. Monsoon went on to say that after what happened tonight he will announce a decision regarding who will face the champion tomorrow on Monday Night Raw. © We then cut to the back as Bret Hart is standing by with Dok Hendrix and announces in a short promo that tonight he will end the feud with Diesel once and for all and will walk out of the cage still the WWF World Heavyweight Champion. (B+) We then immediately cross to Todd Pettengill who is standing by with the big man Diesel. Diesel mentions all of the previous matches between him and Bret Hart and how the whole feud has been fairly even up to this point but tonight Diesel will end it by walking out the champion. He then has special words for The Undertaker saying that his voodoo does not scare him and parlour tricks like what he pulled on Monday Night Raw are for clowns at kids parties. (B+) Main Event Steel Cage Match WWF World Heavyweight Title Bret “The Hitman” Hart © defends against “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel A great match here to end the night as both men entered the cage and gave it their absolute all with the crowd still a bit split despite Diesel leaning more towards the heel side recently. Diesel definitely looked to put the match to bed early with his size advantage whilst Bret tried to use his speed to his advantage. Rather surprisingly for a cage match there was not exactly much utilisation of the cage itself as a weapon, more there as a symbol of keeping people out from interfering after what had happened in previous matches between the two. Bret was seemingly in the upper hand but could not keep Diesel down enough to escape the cage before the big man rallied back with a couple of big boots before landing the JackKnife Powerbomb on the Hitman. Just as Diesel intended walking out of the cage the lights went out and three bolts of lightning hit the ramp. When the light came back on Diesel was out cold placed in a coffin in the middle of the cage looking like he wasn’t even breathing whilst Bret (still knocked out) was laid down on the outside of the cage prompting the referees to declare the Hitman the winner. Winner in 14:01 and still WWF World Heavyweight Champion – Bret Hart (B) Just before the show ended The Undertaker appeared on the video wall and asked Diesel if this was a parlour trick or if this was some kind of game or voodoo gimmick, going on to say that he is the dead man and Diesel must understand that and before WrestleMania XII is said and done “Diesel will Rest in Peace”. (B) Quick Results Camp Cornette over The Smoking Gunns Bam Bam Bigelow over Henry O Godwinn Steiner Brothers over The Million Dollar Corporation Goldust over Ahmed Johnson to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title Razor Ramon over 1-2-3 Kid Owen Hart DREW Shawn Michaels Bret Hart over Diesel to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Title Overall Show Rating :C+ ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter February Week 3 1996 (Part Two) Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News All signs coming off the In Your House: Caged PPV are good leading in to the biggest PPV of the year on Sunday night Week 4 March WrestleMania XII. The show itself featured great action and storyline progression from top to bottom. With the decision to be made tomorrow live on Monday Night Raw as to who will be the number one contender for WrestleMania for the world title there is much speculation including the possibility of a rematch tomorrow night on the show although at this point that is just a rumour. One match that is confirmed for Monday Night Raw tomorrow is based on the events from IYH and will see a special tag team contest as Goldust teams up with Bam Bam Bigelow to face off with Razor Ramon and Ahmed Johnson in what should be a solid match between four men seemingly close to breaking in the main event scene over the coming year. Going back to the Shawn and Owen match the promotion certainly pushed the boundaries in the match as Shawn was bleeding profusely and some speculating that the blade job he did went a bit wrong and he cut deeper than anticipated. Whether it was intentional or not it certainly gripped the crowd and the new edgier WWF product could be gaining an edge over the star powered WCW. Another part of IYH that was praised was the ending to show with many wondering how Diesel managed to look like he wasn’t breathing in the coffin in the centre of the cage. In fact Diesel was not in there at all and escaped out of the ring during the darkness with Bret Hart slotting himself under the ring until the show ended. Inside of the coffin was a very good replica model of Diesel that the company spent a lot of money on that was so good that no one could tell the difference from the angle it was shot, looking like Diesel was not breathing and had been killed almost by The Undertaker. Finally with WrestleMania on the horizon we hear there may be a storyline in the works for veteran Roddy Piper. The Rowdy one is slated to be returning on the 90 minute Monday Night Raw with his show Piper’s Pit. Other News In other news the developmental camp Championship Wrestling Florida ran their monthly show to much success, here are the results:- Christian and A-Train over Dominion and Modest Billy Kidman over Flash Flanagan King Mabel over Perry Saturn Raven over Avatar to retain the World title
Powerful_Fox Posted April 15, 2011 Posted April 15, 2011 It's interesting to see what you are doing with Owen and HBK, good to see Owen getting a good push and another possible WM main event. Also looking forward to seeing who the 'panther' in the videos is. Still loving the W.O articles you are doing too, they are really interesting. Hope Ahmed flogs Bam Bam though ha. On a side note from this, what is your thinking behind Henry Godwinn ha? Is he just putting on decent matches so getting a deserved push or have you got plans for him? Keep it up mate.
forlan Posted April 17, 2011 Author Posted April 17, 2011 WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 4 February 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler We are welcome live to a jam packed ninety minute edition of Monday Night Raw as Vince McMahon announces that tonight on a packed card we will see Shawn Michaels go one on one with The British Bulldog as well as a decision made regarding the number one contender for the world title and the return of Piper’s Pit with special guest Jake Roberts. Match One Crush vs. Henry O Godwinn A short match here as Crush made his return to Monday Night Raw and certainly impressed as he put away Godwinn. Godwinn has been impressing lately but fell victim to a heart punch for the three count. Winner in 4:54 – Crush (D) We then got another vignette of a panther running through the woods with a voiceover stating “The revolution has always been in the hands of the young. The young always inherit the revolution” and “We have two evils to fight, capitalism and racism. We must destroy both racism and capitalism” before the panther once again jumps at the camera and we get the words coming soon. (C+) Match Two The Million Dollar Corporation (The Ringmaster, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. 1-2-3 Kid and “Psycho” Sid Vicious) w/Ted DiBiase vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) and The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) A good match here with the corporation seemingly putting their differences from last night behind them and working over Bart Gunn for long periods of the match. The cracks once again started to show as the match wore on though and The Ringmaster was at odds with just about everyone before he picked up the million dollar title and clocked Helmsley in the face with it before leaving. This left Helmsley as prey and Scott Steiner picked up the victory with a Frankensteiner. Winners in 11:18 – The Steiner Brothers and The Smoking Gunns. (C-) As the babyfaces celebrated DiBiase was trying to calm people down and was seemingly losing control of the corporation as 1-2-3 Kid and Sid left with DiBiase eventually leaving the ring with Helmsley. As we come back from a commercial break we see the corporation catching up with Ringmaster backstage as he pushes past them and leaves the arena, which leaves Ted DiBiase furious. (D) We then cut to the ring where Roddy Piper is introduced for the return of Piper’s Pit before his guest is then introduced as Jake Roberts. The whole segment is Piper and Roberts generally reminiscing about the old days and briefly touching on how Jake has turned around his life since his battle with alcoholism. As they are in mid-flow and unfamiliar music begins to play and out walks a woman who has never been seen before in the promotion. She introduces herself as Ebony and informs the crowd she is speaking on behalf of the Black Panther. Ebony talks about how the panther has seen over the years as people like Piper and Roberts have been among those that have held down the other ethnic minorities of the promotion like the Junkyard Dog, Bad News Brown and Koko B. Ware. She talks about how where panther came from he had the honour and the distinction of being the first ever black world heavyweight champion and how he plans to come in and put right the fact that the white man has been holding down everyone else for too long in the WWF. Ebony then leaves as we go to commercials. © We come back from commercials to see Shawn Michaels standing by with Dok Hendrix as they first discuss Michaels’ match with Bulldog in tonight’s main event before moving on to the events of last night. Michaels talks about how much it took to pull out that final move on Owen but he just did not have the strength left to keep his own shoulders off the mat, he then goes on to say he would love a rematch with Owen to see who gets the shot. After this Hendrix mentions that we are going straight to the office of interim president Gorilla Monsoon as he will announce what will happen with Michaels and Owen. (C+) Gorilla Monsoon is sat upright in his chair with a serious expression on his face and begins to speak. He talks about how despite what Owen Hart has done he saw last night just how much getting the title shot means to him and feels it is only right that Owen gets the title shot at WrestleMania XII. As the crowd boos we are informed by Monsoon that he is not finished as Shawn Michaels also showed how much he wants the title shot and will get a title shot at WrestleMania XII. Monsoon cites when Lex Luger and Bret Hart shared the Royal Rumble in 1994 and had separate matches against Yokozuna at WrestleMania X before saying that although this was a good idea he was about to do something unprecedented in the World Wrestling Federation. Monsoon announces for the first time ever at WrestleMania XII we will see three men in one match for the World Heavyweight Title. It will be Bret Hart defending against Owen Hart and Shawn Michaels in a three way elimination match with the winner walking out the champion. (B-) Match Three “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow and “The Bizarre One” Goldust vs. “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson and “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon A great tag match here with all four men showing why they are getting the attention they have been getting as of late and entertaining the crowd to no end. This could quite easily have been the main event on another night and had long periods of the heel team isolating Razor until he managed a hot tag to Ahmed and then the match broke down. In the chaos Ahmed got rammed hard into the steel steps by Bam Bam Bigelow whilst inside of the ring Razor set up Goldust for the Razor’s Edge only for Bigelow to chop block out his leg and Goldust to fall on top for the three count and the massive win. Winner in 10:44 – Bam Bam Bigelow and Goldust After the match Goldust stood seductively over Razor and let out a big “ohhhh.....Goldust!” as the announcers mentioned there will be hell to pay from that. As we return from the commercial break we are greeted to the unforgettable theme music of Diesel as the big man looks angry making his way down to the ring. Diesel gets on the microphone and talks about how The Undertaker has now gone too far and needs to be stopped. Before he can finish his promo however the lights go out and the music of the man himself plays as some druids wheel down a casket and leave it at the side of the ring clearly freaking out Diesel. Diesel eventually plucks up the courage to go over to the casket and opens it up to find nothing inside as he just begins to laugh. The lights then go out for a brief second and when they come back on The Undertaker is standing behind Diesel but when the big man turns around feeling a presence they go out again and he is gone. Diesel is left looking perplexed as the announcers build up the awesome supernatural abilities of The Undertaker (B+) Match Four “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels vs. The British Bulldog w/Jim Cornette and Owen Hart A fantastic way to end out the first 90 minute episode of Monday Night Raw with this fantastic match between two workers that certainly are no strangers to each other. The match was marred somewhat by the constant berating of Michaels from Owen Hart throughout the whole contest until eventually HBK put away the Bulldog with his patented Sweet Chin Music. Winner in 11:49 – Shawn Michaels (B-) After the match was over Owen got in the ring and he and Davey boy began working over Michaels until the save came from the unlikeliest of sources when Bret Hart hit the ring and cleared away Camp Cornette. As Bret helped Shawn to his feet he asked for the microphone and challenged that next week on this programme himself and Shawn take on Owen and Bulldog in a tag team main event. The announcers then speculated on whether Michaels and Bret could keep on the same page next week as we faded to black. Overall Show Rating (C+) WWF Superstars Results: Justin Bradshaw over Bob Holly (D), Bodydonnas over Smoking Gunns (C-), Scott Steiner over 1-2-3 Kid ©, The Undertaker over Bob Backlund (B-) Overall Show Rating (C+) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter February Week 4 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News As we are one month exactly away from WrestleMania XII the big announcement of the three way main event has seemingly gone down very well with the wrestling community. Promotions like ECW have been doing them for a while but now the WWF wants to get in on it and what better way than to put arguably their three best workers technically together in the main event of the biggest show of the year for the main belt. The debuting Ebony was played by Jacqueline Moore AKA Miss Texas. She has been working for a while in various areas and worked for the developmental territory CWF before being deemed ready enough to be brought up to the main roster as manager of the new black panther character. Speaking of the character it now seems fairly obvious as to who is portraying it after the comments on Monday Night Raw from Ebony. It seems the edgy attitude is continuing as with the quotes from Malcolm X and Huey Newton in the vignettes it seems Ron Simmons will be playing some sort of heel black equality fighter, possibly even with racist undertones. Yokozuna has been used sparingly recently as the promotion is unhappy with his weight as of late. He has been informed that unless he sorts it out then his position as a member of the roster and indeed the promotion will be under threat. It seems Crush is out of the dog house after the events of the Royal Rumble as we saw him defeat Henry Godwinn this week on Monday Night Raw. It will be interesting to see what happens with Godwinn as he was seemingly getting something of a push in recent weeks with his mini feud against Bigelow. Tentative plans for WrestleMania XII have Diesel vs. The Undertaker and Goldust vs. Razor Ramon pencilled in as would be expected from recent events that have gone down. Finally Zip of the Bodydonnas (Tom Prichard) sustained a broken toe on Superstars that will keep him out of action for a couple of weeks it is anticipated. Monday Night Raw Preview In a new section we look ahead to what is planned for Monday Night Raw and this week we will see the following. Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Tatanka Special Main Event: Camp Cornette (British Bulldog and Owen Hart) vs. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels Plus: The Ringmaster has requested some time to speak on recent events Plus much much more (Card Subject to Change)
forlan Posted April 19, 2011 Author Posted April 19, 2011 WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 1 March 1996 Announcers: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler We are introduced to Monday Night Raw by Jim Ross as he announces Vince McMahon cannot be here today because of illness but will be back next week but for tonight it will be Ross alongside Lawler on commentary. Match One Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. “The Native American” Tatanka Tatanka showed in this match just how much he has fallen from grace in recent months and was virtually a jobber in this one before falling to the DDT. Winner in 7:48 – Jake Roberts © After the match as Jake Roberts was celebrating out came Ebony as she took Jake’s attention allowing Ron Simmons to show his face for the first time in panther pattern tights and level Roberts from behind before getting a chair and placing it on the ankle of Roberts before hitting it with another chair attempting to break his ankle. Simmons gave the Black Power salute as Ebony stood alongside him and the show went to a commercial with EMT’s rushing to help Jake. (C-) We come back from the commercials with The Ringmaster inside of the ring. He talks about how all of his career he has wanted into the big leagues and when Ted DiBiase gave him an offer he knew it was the way in. He went on to say that once he was in he knew that working with DiBiase would only get him so far and the hiring of Hunter Hearst Helmsley as the new crown jewel of the corporation was the last straw. He said that The Ringmaster was his name given to him by DiBiase and from now on he would be known as Steve Austin and Steve Austin is planning on showing why he belongs here by kicking some ass on the Million Dollar Corporation...starting tonight. © We then cut to the back where Diesel was with Todd Pettengill talking about facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania XII. Diesel talked about how Taker has been playing mind games with him with all of his caskets and magic tricks and the like but that does not scare someone that is over 7 feet tall. Diesel goes on to say that it is for the precise reason of showing he is not scared that he is challenging Taker to make the match at WrestleMania XII a casket match. (B) Match Two “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow vs. “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon A good match here as both men continued their impressive runs as of late and pushed each other to the limit. Bam Bam had a long spell in control using various tactics until Razor was seemingly taking control until Goldust appeared on the outside of the ring. After a big fallaway slam Razor went to the edge of the ring to jaw jack with Goldust until the bizarre one opened his hands wide and blew some sort of gold substance from them right into the eyes of Razor, temporarily blinding him and allowing Bigelow to take the win with a roll up. Winner in 8:23 – Bam Bam Bigelow © As Goldust and Bigelow went to leave ring announcer Howard Finkel managed to put some water in Razor’s eyes to restore his sight and immediately the bad guy got on the microphone. Razor said that he was sick and tired of Goldust getting in on his business with his weird ways and there was only one place to settle this. Razor said that at WrestleMania XII he wants a shot at winning back the WWF Intercontinental Title and he is willing to put his career in the WWF on the line. Razor says that if he doesn’t win the match then he will leave the WWF forever. © The announce team then puts over the fact that next week on the show Ron Simmons will be explaining his actions as he and Ebony will be the guests on Piper’s Pit. © We then come back to the ring to hear that the Million Dollar Corporation will take on Steve Austin teaming with The Steiner Brothers next. Match Three The Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid, “Psycho” Sid Vicious and Hunter Hearst Helmsley) vs. Steve Austin and The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) A solid albeit short six man tag team contest here as the whole of the match was centred around Austin trying to get his hands on the corporation before finally all hell broke loose and this turned into a massive brawl. In the end somehow Helmsley managed to utilise some brass knuckle dusters he had been handed by DiBiase to lay Austin out cold for the win for the corporation. Winners in 9:22 – The Million Dollar Corporation (C+) After the match Ted DiBiase and Helmsley left to the back as quick as possible unbeknownst to Sid and the Kid who were fighting with the Steiner Brothers until Austin made it a three on two and the tag team champions took a beatdown as once again DiBiase had left 1-2-3 in the lurch just like at IYH. © We then go to a special report with Dok Hendrix updating people on the current status of WrestleMania XII. Hendrix announces that next week we will have a decision from The Undertaker on Diesel’s casket match request but for now the card stands as follows. WWF World Heavyweight Title Three Way Elimination Match Bret “The Hitman” Hart© defends against “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels and “The King of Harts” Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette Grudge Match “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel vs. The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer WWF Intercontinental Title/If Razor loses he is gone from the WWF “The Bizarre One” Goldust© defends against “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon WWF Tag Team Titles The Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid and “Psycho” Sid Vicious) w/Ted DiBiase © defend against The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) Grudge Match “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow Plus more to be announced very soon says Hendrix and implores everyone to tune into Monday Night Raw every week to find out more. (C+) Match Four Camp Cornette (British Bulldog and “King of Harts” Owen Hart) w/Jim Cornette vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels A great main event to end the show as all four men cemented their status as four of the best in the promotion with a stellar performance. A lot of the build up was how well Bret and Shawn would work as a team only weeks away from fighting against one another but a joint hatred for Camp Cornette allowed them to flourish as a team. In the end when all was said and done the babyfaces did indeed take the win as Bret managed to put away Bulldog with the Sharpshooter for the submission victory. Winners in 15:25 – Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels (B+) After the match as Bret and Shawn were celebrating in the ring Camp Cornette bit a hasty retreat before the fans got a massive shock when Bret turned around straight into a Sweet Chin Music. Shawn Michaels then gave a shrug of the shoulders as if to say “What did you expect?” as the show finished. (B) Overall Show Rating (C+) WWF Superstars Results: Owen Hart over Barry Horowitz ©, Bodydonnas over Mart Jannetty/Hakushi (D+), Bam Bam Bigelow over Savio Vega © Overall Show Rating (C-) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter March Week 1 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News With just three weeks of TV left up until WrestleMania XII the card is shaping up quite nicely and despite criticism in the past for a lack of stars on the roster it is anticipated that this could turn out to be one of the better ones for a while. Many people were baffled by the decision of Razor Ramon to put his career on the line in his match against Goldust at the show. Many insiders who are aware of the interest from WCW see this as possibly being a way to write him out of the promotion although word is that nothing is signed and sealed with either promotion. Kevin “Diesel” Nash is also interesting WCW and it will be interesting to see what develops from that after some of the awful things he had to put up with in the promotion first time round. Many people believe that the lure of more money will be enough for the big man to jump ship but again it is very much a watch this space moment. This week’s Superstars saw the early return from injury of Zip as he showed no ill effects and the Bodydonnas picked up another win on the B show. In signing news there is rumours going around that a WCW talent is heavily in negotiations with the WWF although much in the same way as Diesel/Razor nothing is iron clad either way yet. Monday Night Raw Preview This week on Monday Night Raw a packed night is planned as The Undertaker will give his response to Diesel’s challenge as well as Ron Simmons and Ebony appearing on Piper’s Pit. In addition to this Goldust will be looking to keep his Intercontinental Title in the lead in to WrestleMania XII s he defends it against long time friend of Razor Ramon, Savio Vega. Plus much more as Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart will both be in the house.
forlan Posted April 22, 2011 Author Posted April 22, 2011 WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 2 March 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler We are introduced by a three man Monday Night Raw announce team this week as they announce that tonight things are going to heat up with a while host of stars on show. Match One Steve Austin vs. 1-2-3 Kid w/Ted DiBiase A fantastic opener here as Austin’s feud with the MDC continued and he put on a great show opener with the kid. Austin had come down still with the Million Dollar Belt in his possession and midway through the match Hunter Hearst Helmsley came down and tried to steal it but got taken out by Austin who then laid out DiBiase as well. Despite all of this interference Austin picked up the win with his stunner manoeuvre after a well fought contest. Winner in 7:51 – Steve Austin (C+) After the match was done Austin said that if DiBiase wants his belt back he will have to take it from his cold dead hands. A verbal exchange occurs between Austin and DiBiase before Austin declares he wants a match with Helmsley so DiBiase says that he can have the match at WrestleMania XII under two conditions. The first condition is that the Million Dollar Title will be on the line and the other is that the match will only take place if next week on Monday Night Raw Austin can defeat Sid Vicious in a one on one match. (D+) We then come back from a commercial with Diesel in the ring as he tells The Undertaker it is decision time on his challenge from last week to face him a casket match. Diesel talks about how he is sick and tired of all the mind games and wants a straight answer. The dong of Undertaker’s music hits and the noise of lightning hits the arena before on the video wall is the scene of a graveyard before the familiar shrieking voice of Paul Bearer is heard. Bearer talks about how in the past the casket match has made sure people have changed forever, never to be the same again. The camera then pans around the graveyard and we see gravestones, “Kamala 1992”, “Yokozuna 1994”, “Kama 1995” and “King Mabel 1995” before we go back to Paul Bearer. Bearer talks about how all of these men have fallen in the casket match but for Diesel they want something more than that, they want to bury him alive. Paul Bearer lays down the challenge to Diesel of a WrestleMania XII Buried Alive match before we cut to The Undertaker as he tells Diesel he will “Rest in Peace”. Before the video ends the camera pans to one more gravestone that says “Rest in Peace: Diesel 1996”. Back in the ring Diesel is just shell shocked but manages to somehow accept the challenge as the announcers then speculate on exactly what is the buried alive match. (B) We then get a video package of Marc Mero punching a few punching bags and going hold for hold on a mat with some unknown trainer looking person. We are then told that coming soon will be “The Fighter” Marc Mero (D+) Match Two WWF Intercontinental Title “The Bizarre One” Goldust© defends against Savio Vega A solid match here as Goldust played mind games with Razor Ramon ahead of their match at WrestleMania XII by toying with one of his best friends. A short match that ended when Goldust put away Savio with the Curtain Call to retain his title. Winner and still WWF Intercontinental Champion in 7:10 – Goldust © After the match was over Goldust was not finished as he got a can of gold spray paint and began spraying his name on to Savio’s back to make sure he would never forget the name Goldust until Razor hit the ring and ran him off before pointing up to a banner advertising WrestleMania XII and looking Goldust in the eye who was retreating up the entrance. (C+) We come back from a commercial break to see the ring set up for Piper’s Pit as the man himself comes out to a raucous applause from the crowd. Piper then introduces his guest Ron Simmons with Ebony but to his surprise it is only Ebony that makes her way to the ring so Piper begins to just talk to her. He talks about how his good friend Jake Roberts will be out for a few months the doctors say after what Ron Simmons did to him and to be honest he wants to know why he did it, what prompted him. Ebony told Piper it was just like they have previously mentioned, people like Jake Roberts held down those who were a different colour or ethnicity for too long but now he won’t have the chance to as the Black Panther has put him in his place. Ebony goes on to say that Roddy Piper is no different, in fact he is even worse, blacking up half of his face in a feud with Bad News Brown and smashing a coconut over the head of Jimmy Snuka. Ebony said that as far as they were concerned he was very much a racist to which Piper took offence and grabbed Ebony only for Ron Simmons to come out of nowhere and smash a coconut over the head of Piper before he and Ebony gave the black power salute and we went to commercial. (B-) We then cut to Todd Pettengill standing by with Bret Hart inside of the ring as he holds the WWF World title over his shoulder and begins to talk about last week. Bret says that in some ways he understands why Shawn did it, after all they have never been friends and most likely never will be, however it was a very cowardly move to catch him unaware. Bret says he wants this to be put right so with the permission of Gorilla Monsoon he is challenging Shawn to step into the ring with him right now. “Sexy Boy” hits and out comes Shawn Michaels and it looks like we are having a cracker of a main event. (B) Match Three Non-Title Match Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels Both men went at it from the get go after what happened last week and the fans were treated to a PPV quality match between the two as they traded holds and counter holds before each gaining a spell on control. It looked like Bret was going to take the win when he managed to lock Shawn in the Sharpshooter only for Owen Hart to hit the ring and clothesline him sending him out of the ring before picking up Shawn Michaels and dropping him with a big reverse pile driver spiking him on his head. Winner – Draw (No Contest due to Owen Hart’s interference) (B-) Owen was not done as he went to the outside and hurled Bret into the guard rail before grabbing the WWF World Heavyweight Title and raising it aloft on the top turnbuckle whilst looking over to the WrestleMania XII banner as the show ended. (B) Overall Show Rating © WWF Superstars Results: Justin Bradshaw over Bart Gunn (D+), Crush over Barry Horowitz (D+), Yokozuna over Hakushi (D), The Bodydonnas over The Steiner Brothers (C+) Overall Show Rating (C-) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter March Week 2 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News As we now just have two weeks of television left the hot storylines are rolling on in to the biggest event of the year WrestleMania XII. The ending of Monday Night Raw put over Owen Hart as a credible contender in the main event as he put both of his opponents down and stood tall holding aloft the promotion’s biggest title. The promo aired for the impending debut of Marc Mero who played the role of Johnny B. Badd in WCW. The role he will be portraying in the WWF seems to be a very different one as he looks to be playing the gimmick of a legitimate fighter, almost like you would find in the UFC for example. Talking of the UFC an interesting note was that the trainer in the Mero video was none other than Ken Shamrock a former UFC champion and one of the most well known MMA stars of the world. Shamrock is currently training for the transition to wrestling in the CWF feeder territory. The main event of WWF Superstars saw the Steiner Brothers suffer a crushing defeat to the Bodydonnas thanks to interference from the Million Dollar Corporation. Monday Night Raw Preview A jam packed edition of Monday Night Raw will see the three people involved in the main event for WrestleMania XII picking each other’s poison. Owen Hart will pick an opponent for his brother Bret, Bret will pick and opponent for Shawn Michaels and Shawn will pick an opponent for Owen. In addition to this we hear Roddy Piper has something to say and also we will have the Steve Austin vs. Sid Vicious match.
forlan Posted April 27, 2011 Author Posted April 27, 2011 OOC: Bunched the last two Monday Night Raws before WrestleMania in together and the next post after this will be a full preview of the show replacing the Observer for this week only. Also the strange ratings on the second Raw are because I held it in Canada so workers weren’t as over. WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 3 March 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler Our three man announce team welcome us to show informing us that there is only two weeks until the WrestleMania XII extravaganza. Match One If Steve Austin wins he gets a match with Hunter Hearst Helmsley at WrestleMania XII Steve Austin vs. “Psycho” Sid Vicious w/ Ted DiBiase, 1-2-3 Kid and Hunter Hearst Helmsley The odds were certainly against Austin in this one as the whole dog and pony show was out for the Million Dollar Corporation. The match involved a lot of Helmsley sending Austin to the outside for some cheap shots until clearly the locker room had seen enough and out ran The Steiner Brothers as they took out Helmsley and 1-2-3 Kid. This also got the referee distracted and DiBiase slipped in a chair for Sid but Austin got it and levelled the big man sending him to the outside and despite DiBiase’s best efforts the big man was counted out. Winner in 7:34 – Steve Austin © After the match was over Austin got on the microphone and talked about how the Million Dollar Corporation is falling apart and deserves putting out of its misery. Austin then said that since he is putting something on the line at WrestleMania XII then they have to as well so Gorilla Monsoon has informed him that if he wins the Million Dollar Corporation will be forced to disband. © We then cut to another video for Marc Mero as he is seen fighting hold for hold with Ken Shamrock in some sort of training montage before a voiceover announces he will appear in two weeks. (D+) We then cut to the ring where Roddy Piper is in there looking all business and announces that he grew up in a society where he was ostracised for being different, a Scotsman growing up in Canada. The last thing he would be is bigoted or racist and Simmons has gone too far with what he did last week and it is time his black power movement was stopped before it even starts. Piper goes on to challenge Simmons to have his first match in the promotion against him at WrestleMania XII and he will show him just what the rowdy one is all about. (B-) After a commercial break we then hear the music of WWF World Heavyweight champion Bret Hart as he makes his way down to the ring. As Bret waits in the ring we get Owen Hart appear on the video wall to announce who he has picked as Bret’s opponent tonight. Owen says he thought about picking himself but he will wait until WrestleMania XII to put his brother in his place so he has chosen someone that can just beat down the Hitman and that is Bam Bam Bigelow. (B-) Match Two Non-Title Pick Your Poison Match #1 Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow A solid match here as Bigelow more than held his own in the ring with the better technical wrestler. Hitman tried throughout the match to use his quickness to his advantage as he was clearly the underdog in the power and strength stakes. Every now and then Bigelow would get a spell where he just beat down the Hitman until the referee Earl Hebner was accidentally sandwiched in the corner on a big splash attempt and out ran Owen Hart as Bret was trying to put the Sharpshooter on Bigelow. Owen and Bret began going toe to toe until Bigelow slipped outside and got a chair just as Bret threw Owen to the outside. It seemed as though Bigelow was going to clock Bret with it but just as he drew back Ahmed Johnson hit the ring and whipped the chair out of his hand and levelled the big man with it. Ahmed then revived the referee and made sure that Owen did not get in the ring as Bret applied the Sharpshooter for the victory. Winner in 11:40 – Bret Hart (B-) After a commercial break we come back to Owen Hart stood in the ring as Shawn Michaels announces on the video wall that for Owen Hart he has chosen a true test of his ability. Shawn talks about how he has chosen a man he has had many battles with and has great respect for Razor Ramon. (B-) Match Three Pick Your Poison Match #2 “The King of Harts” Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette vs. “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon Another great match here on what was turning out to be one of the best episodes of Monday Night Raw in a long time as both men put on a stellar performance and Owen certainly showed why he is the future of the promotion. Owen had a good spell of working over Razor until Ramon took the control of the match and looked like setting Owen up for the Razor’s Edge until Goldust appeared on the entrance distracting Razor just long enough for Owen to roll him up with the tights for the win. Winner in 11:42 – Owen Hart (B-) We then had a commercial break with an advertisement for WrestleMania XII on PPV before coming back to Shawn Michaels in the ring ready for his opponent to be announced. Bret Hart comes on the video wall and talks about how he wasn’t sure who to choose and deliberated for a long time but has chosen the best person to weaken Shawn both physically and psychologically and that is his own best friend Diesel. (B+) Match Four Pick Your Poison Match #3 “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels vs. “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel A fantastic main event to the show repeating last year’s WrestleMania match as these two men put on a good albeit short match with Shawn using his quickness and agility to keep one step ahead of the big man before as Diesel and Shawn were fighting out ran Owen Hart. Owen Hart saw Shawn land the Sweet Chin Music on Diesel but as he was about to get the victory Owen pulled out the referee and whilst he was jaw jacking with him the crowd looked on in shock as Bret Hart came into the ring from the other side and delivered a hellacious chair shot to the head of Shawn busting his head wide open. Bret then went around and began brawling with his brother as the referee got back into the ring and saw Diesel pick up a prone Michaels and deliver the JackKnife Powerbomb for the win. Winner in 10:18 – Diesel (B) With Shawn laid prone in the ring Diesel contemplates whether to pick him up or maybe inflict more pain but as the lights begin to flicker he ends up choosing to just high tail it out of there as the show ends with Shawn laid out on the ring and agents breaking up a brawl between the Hart brothers (B) Overall Show Rating (B-) WWF Superstars Results: Crush over Bob Holly (D-), Justin Bradshaw over Billy Gunn (D-), Ahmed Johnson over British Bulldog (D+) Overall Show Rating (D) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter March Week 3 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News With only one week of television left before WrestleMania XII the card has nicely taken shape with most expecting Ron Simmons to accept Roddy Piper’s challenge next week in some way. Also this week Bret Hart gained a measure of revenge on Shawn Michaels for the Sweet Chin Music two weeks prior by pitting him against his best friend Diesel and then costing him the match with a vicious shot to the head with a chair. This week saw Jim Ross and Paul Bearer both sign long term deals with the company although as of yet there is still no news on the contract statuses of Razor Ramon and Diesel as interest is there from the WCW side with lots of money going around. An interesting note is that Justin Bradshaw has recently defeated both Smoking Gunns in impressive victories over the last two episodes of Superstars. Many feel this could be part of a possible push for the Texan in the future. The promotions developmental territory CWF held their latest monthly show this week with the following results:- Brandi Alexander over Terri Power Steve Corino over Billy Kidman to retain CWF National Title CW Anderson defeated Adam Flash King Mabel defeated Isaac Yankem Raven defeated Avatar to retain CWF Heavyweight Title Other Promotions WCW held their annual Uncensored PPV this month and it seems to have been well received by their fans with a solid main event, the results were as followed:- Loch Ness over Kurasawa One Man Gang over Chris Kanyon Kevin Sullivan over Marcus Bagwell Brian Knobbs over Big Bubba Rogers Jim Duggan over Shark Harlem Heat over Chris Benoit and Eddy Guerrero to retain the WCW Tag Team Titles Jerry Sags over Dean Malenko The Giant over Sting Earl Robert Eaton over Brian Pillman to retain the WCW US Title Lex Luger over Diamond Dallas Page Arn Anderson over Road Warrior Animal Ric Flair over Road Warrior Hawk to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Title Monday Night Raw Preview After the events of the past week the main event has been announced for the go home show before WrestleMania XII and will see Owen Hart team up with Bam Bam Bigelow to take on Ahmed Johnson and Bret Hart. Also we will hear from Ron Simmons on whether he accepts the challenge of Roddy Piper for a match at the grandest stage of them all. Gorilla Monsoon has also declared that unless it is in official action of a match sanctioned by himself none of the competitors from WrestleMania XII are allowed to lay a finger on one another or they will be off WrestleMania and will be suspended. All of this plus British Bulldog and Shawn Michaels will both be in singles action. WWF Monday Night Raw Monday Week 4 March 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler We are welcomed to the show by the announcers as they reiterate Monsoon’s words on what would happen to anyone who lays a hand on an opponent from the upcoming WrestleMania XII unless in an official match. Match One Crush vs. “The Portuguese Man o War” Aldo Montoya A short match to open up this week’s show with Crush picking up the win with a Chokeslam in a very short match. Winner in 3:39 – Crush (E) We then cut to another video promoting the debut of “The Fighter” Marc Mero, this time he is seen once again training with Shamrock before a woman comes into the picture and tells us that they will be here next week. (D) As we come back from a break we get Ebony in the ring as she announces that the Black Panther cannot be here tonight but he has a message for Roddy Piper. Ebony states that he accepts the challenge and will make his in ring debut at WrestleMania XII but he wants a special stipulation and that stipulation is that it will be a “Shine my Shoes” match with the winner getting their shoes shined by the other person. Ebony says this is payback for the suppression of the black man in wrestling by people like Piper. © Match Two The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner), Steve Austin and “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon vs. The Million Dollar Corporation (Hunter Hearst Helmsley, “Psycho” Sid Vicious and 1-2-3 Kid) and Justin Bradshaw w/Ted DiBiase A solid eight man tag match here as feuds for WrestleMania XII were merged together and DiBiase enlisted the help of Bradshaw as a one night member of the corporation. The match itself went on for just over ten minutes with both sides getting their fair share of the action before Razor got the pin over the 1-2-3 Kid with his patented Razor’s Edge. Winners in 12:10 – The Steiner Brothers, Steve Austin and Razor Ramon (D+) Match Three The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer vs. British Bulldog w/Jim Cornette A great match here that would even have been good enough to be on the mania card as Bulldog gave it his all in the match but with the Undertaker on his game ahead of facing off with Diesel there was no stopping him. Eventually Bulldog was put away with the Tombstone Piledriver for the three count as Undertaker kept his momentum heading into WrestleMania XII. Winner in 11:17 – The Undertaker © After the match to send a message to Diesel ahead of this Sunday Undertaker proceeded to have his druids bring down a casket before placing British Bulldog into it and closing the lid before the show went to commercial. (B-) Match Four Non-Title Match “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels vs. “The Bizarre One” Goldust Another great match with both men looking for a decisive win ahead of this Sunday. The match itself saw Goldust have long periods in control as Michaels was playing the plucky face in peril but eventually the inevitable happened and despite Goldust looking strong the man who will be vying for the World title this weekend picked up the win with a Sweet Chin Music. Winner in 10:57 – Shawn Michaels (C+) Match Five “The King of Harts” Owen Hart and “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow w/Jim Cornette vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart and “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson A great main event here and another match that combined rivalries ahead of WrestleMania XII with Hart and Ahmed both having revenge on their minds after recent events. The match itself was not as long as many might have thought it would be as Ahmed and Bigelow began brawling off to the back leaving just the two Hart brothers with Owen eventually picking up the massive win over his brother with a rollup holding the tights. Winners in 11:56 – Owen Hart and Bam Bam Bigelow (B-) As Bret sat bewildered in the ring Owen was hightailing it out of the arena whilst motioning around his waist that the belt would be his as the show came to a close. Overall Show Rating © WWF Superstars was replaced with a recap show heading into WrestleMania XII this week.
forlan Posted April 27, 2011 Author Posted April 27, 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer PPV Preview Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.thejohnreport.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Feb27Pic3.jpg WWF WrestleMania XII Sunday Week 4 March 1996 Live on Pay Per View WWF World Heavyweight Title Three Way Elimination Match Bret "The Hitman" Hart© defends against "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and "The King of Harts" Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette When Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble very few people expected Owen Hart to act the way he did by attacking and trying to end the career of the much loved superstar. This was however what the self proclaimed King of Harts did and after a bloody war in which no winner could be declared an unprecedented three way main event for the WWF World Heavyweight Title was made. Both of these men have storied pasts with Bret Hart and are also hell bent on taking home the title. The main question is whether or not the Hitman can once again defy the odds and walk out still holding aloft the title. Buried Alive Match "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel vs. The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer In late 1995 Diesel and The Undertaker began a feud based around Diesel’s obsession with winning the world title from Bret Hart. Fast forward to Royal Rumble 1996 and Diesel cost Undertaker the title in his match with Hart and since that point the rivalry has heated up. At In Your House 6: Caged The Undertaker used his supernatural powers to make sure Diesel did not win the title in the steel cage match and ever since then the deadman has been using his powers to constantly one-up Diesel. This came to a head when Diesel challenged him to a casket match only for Undertaker to turn it into the first ever Buried Alive match. It remains to be seen whether both of these men even walk out of WrestleMania. WWF Intercontinental Title/If Razor loses he is gone from the WWF "The Bizarre One" Goldust© defends against "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon Ever since Goldust came into the World Wrestling Federation he had his sights on gaining the WWF Intercontinental Title from Razor Ramon and played many mind games on the way to achieving this at Royal Rumble recently. Since then the feud has been far from over and Razor is now willing to put his career in the WWF on the line if he doesn’t win the match. Grudge Match/Ron Simmons' in ring debut Shine My Shoes Match "Black Panther" Ron Simmons w/Ebony vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper When the vignettes were playing week on week for Black Panther little was known about the man behind the videos except for his message of wanting to rid the world of oppression and prejudice with quotes from Malcolm X as well as other leaders of the Black Power movements. Eventually we heard from his valet Ebony that it was the older generation of wrestlers that he was feeling had held down the minority races he had the problem with and we saw this come to a head when he put down Jake Roberts for an as of yet undetermined period. This riled up Roddy Piper and he challenged Simmons to a match which will be the in ring debut of the Black Panther himself. Million Dollar Title If Helmsley loses the Million Dollar Corporation will be forced to disband Steve Austin © defends against Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Ted DiBiase The Ringmaster was the jewel in DiBiase’s crown but got jealous when DiBiase began courting the attentions of Hunter Hearst Helmsley to improve the Million Dollar Corporation. All of this came to a head with him revealing himself to be just Steve Austin and wanting to rid the WWF of the Million Dollar Corporation. At the conclusion of this match the Million Dollar title will either be back in the possession of Ted DiBiase or the Million Dollar Corporation will be no more. WWF Tag Team Titles The Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid and "Psycho" Sid Vicious) w/Ted DiBiase © defend against The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) After Kid and Sid won the tag team titles at Royal Rumble they were challenged by the Steiner Brothers and after making the brothers jump through proverbial hoops they will finally get the chance here at WrestleMania. Grudge Match "The Pearl River Powerhouse" Ahmed Johnson vs. "The Beast from the East" Bam Bam Bigelow After Bam Bam Bigelow returned at the Royal Rumble we saw a meaner streak instilled in him as he would repeatedly ram opponents into the steel steps attempting to seriously hurt them. His first victim was Ahmed Johnson and after a few more people had fell to that fate Ahmed came back for revenge and thus we have this match that should settle the score between the two powerhouses. Card Subject to Change ...
legendkiller13 Posted April 28, 2011 Posted April 28, 2011 WWF World Heavyweight Title Three Way Elimination Match Bret "The Hitman" Hart© defends against "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and "The King of Harts" Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette Buried Alive Match "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel vs. The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer WWF Intercontinental Title/If Razor loses he is gone from the WWF "The Bizarre One" Goldust© defends against "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon Grudge Match/Ron Simmons' in ring debut Shine My Shoes Match "Black Panther" Ron Simmons w/Ebony vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper Million Dollar Title If Helmsley loses the Million Dollar Corporation will be forced to disband Steve Austin © defends against Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Ted DiBiase WWF Tag Team Titles The Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid and "Psycho" Sid Vicious) w/Ted DiBiase © defend against The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) Grudge Match "The Pearl River Powerhouse" Ahmed Johnson vs. "The Beast from the East" Bam Bam Bigelow
forlan Posted May 1, 2011 Author Posted May 1, 2011 http://www.thejohnreport.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Feb27Pic3.jpg WWF WrestleMania XII Sunday Week 4 March 1996 Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Curt Hennig <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cSryjOmyV9I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> We are welcomed with the familiar WrestleMania music and our three man announce team running down a packed card for this extravaganza as the camera pans around the arena including a much wider than normal entrance area. We are then informed that the first match of the night will be the big grudge match between Ahmed Johnson and Bam Bam Bigelow. <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/trBkRA4h7LM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Ahmed Johnson’s music hits and the crowd begins to cheer and go wild as the big man walks out of the entrance setup only for him to be blindsided by Bigelow as this match starts on the ramp. Match One Grudge Match “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow A great match to begin the pay per view as they originally brawled around the entrance with Bigelow attempting to throw Ahmed off the stage onto debris below only to be foiled by the big powerhouse. Once the action got into the ring it was a very even affair with both men being put over as legitimate threats to one another. In the end it was a massive slam on the big man by Ahmed followed by a couple of clotheslines and then a massive Pearl River Plunge that got him the clean win to seemingly put the feud between the two to bed. Winner in 9:46 – Ahmed Johnson (C+) After the match Ahmed was celebrating in the ring when the music of Sunny hit the PA system and out came the WWF’s favourite lady. As she got into the ring Ahmed looked perplexed as she took the microphone and announced that she is on the lookout for more talent and is offering him a chance to walk on the sunnier side of life. Ahmed immediately turned down the offer as the Bodydonnas hit the ring to defend Sunny’s honour but were both dispatched by the big powerhouse as he left to a raucous applause. (C+) We then cut to the back with Dok Hendrix as he was standing by with the challengers for the WWF World Tag Team Titles, the Steiner Brothers. Rick and Scott talked about how they came back at the Royal Rumble to win the tag team titles and a now on the grandest stage of them all there will be no stopping them. (C-) Match Two WWF Tag Team Titles The Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid and "Psycho" Sid Vicious) w/Ted DiBiase © defend against The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) Arguably the worst match of the night here as neither side really seemed to be on their game and the fans were happy to see the finish. A lot of the match was centred around the storytelling of Scott Steiner playing the face in peril until Rick got in on the action and cleaned house. This was not enough for the brothers however as a distraction from Ted DiBiase led to Rick being nailed with a spinning kick to the back of the head from an illegal 1-2-3 Kid before succumbing to the Chokeslam for the win. Winners and still WWF Tag Team Champions in 10:44 – The Million Dollar Corporation © We then went backstage with Todd Pettengill as he was standing by with the Million Dollar champion Steve Austin as he talked about his recent tribulations with the Million Dollar Corporation and promised to end them once and for all tonight. © Match Three Million Dollar Title If Helmsley loses the Million Dollar Corporation will be forced to disband Steve Austin © defends against Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Ted DiBiase A great match here that showed a lot of intensity between the two men as you could tell from the passion he was showing that Austin really wanted to end the MDC for good. To his credit Helmsley also put in possibly his best performance since joining the company and this great match had the crowd on the edge of their seats. In the end the match looked like it was about to finish as Austin was in control but out ran 1-2-3 Kid on to the apron to distract the champion and the referee allowing Ted DiBiase to hand a chain to Hunter which he levelled Austin with before getting the cheap win to bring the title back to the MDC. Winner in 12:46 and NEW Million Dollar Champion – Hunter Hearst Helmsley (C+) As Austin lay prone on the ground there was a throwback to Ted DiBiase’s past as he handed Hunter a 100 dollar bill which he proceeded to stuff into the mouth of an unconscious Austin before laughing and leaving with the rest of the MDC. (B-) We then cut to a video package highlighting the emergence of Ron Simmons and how he took out Jake Roberts and then levelled Roddy Piper on Monday Night Raw © Match Four Grudge Match/Ron Simmons' in ring debut Shine My Shoes Match "Black Panther" Ron Simmons w/Ebony vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper The first chance for the fans to see Simmons in action here and he didn’t disappoint as he put on a great match with the veteran Piper that was definitely the match of the night so far. The match itself was just an all out brawl as you would expect from these two men that went all in and around the ringside area including Piper hurling Simmons into the front row on more than one occasion as he took the fight to the Black Panther. In the end the match did finish when Piper was seemingly in control until Ebony got herself involved leading to Piper taking his eye off the ball and allowing Simmons to plant him with a big jumping Piledriver for the three count. Winner in 11:50 – Ron Simmons (B) After the match ended Simmons picked up Piper and delivered a second Piledriver before shouting that tomorrow night on Monday Night Raw he would be shining Simmons’ shoes. © We then cut backstage to Todd Pettengill with Razor Ramon as he talks about how tonight it is make or break for the bad guy and if he loses he will quite happily walk away from the promotion and admit Goldust is the better man. He talks about how tonight is not about the mind games from Goldust it is about Razor getting back what is rightfully his. (B) Match Five WWF Intercontinental Title/If Razor loses he is gone from the WWF "The Bizarre One" Goldust© defends against "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon A fantastic match here between the two men that could on any other night have been the match of the night quite easily with both men showing their main event pedigree. The match itself was fought mainly inside of the ring with Razor just taking out all his frustrations and anger from the past couple of months on the bizarre one beating him from pillar to post until he fell victim to a poke in the eye. From this point Goldust then showed how much of a mean streak he has and beat Razor around in a similar way before hitting his patented Curtain Call for a very long two count as many people thought it was the end of Razor’s WWF career. The match finish itself came just before the twenty minute mark as Razor was in control and ready to pick up Goldust for the Razor’s Edge only to receive a low blow from Goldust. As the referee went to reprimand and warn Goldust he kicked Hebner right in the groin leaving the referee with no choice but to disqualify him. Winner in 19:24 by Disqualification – Razor Ramon (As a result STILL WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust) (B-) As Goldust got out of the ringside area as quick as he could with his title Razor got up to his feet in disbelief as McMahon mentioned on commentary that since Razor didn’t lose tonight he isn’t gone from the company but he still also isn’t the champion either. We then got a video package highlighting the history between Diesel and The Undertaker before we cut to the ringside area which had a side part near the entrance set up with a mock grave and a pile of dirt it was now time for the buried alive match. <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/O0jCNn54MSk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The familiar music of Diesel then played and the fans find out why the entrance was so wide as he drives out in a front portion of a haulage truck before getting out and giving his well known fist in the air salute before surveying the graveside area and a walking to the ring. (B) <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JDkrrKoXlZY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The lights then go out with just a slight faded purple tint to the arena as the familiar dong of the music of The Undertaker hits followed by a bolt of lightning that connects directly with the truck driven down by Diesel bursting it into flames in quite a spectacle. <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YRQolxi49bI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> An unfamiliar music then plays that has a much more sinister tone to it as a casket begins rising out of the gravesite before opening to reveal The Undertaker kitted out in a new attire which is leather style tight trousers with chain bits with a heavy looking chain style black vest and a long cape like attire with a hood. The dead man walks down to the ring as the lights come back on and he pulls back the hood before lightning comes out of every turnbuckle terrifying Diesel. (B+) Match Six Buried Alive Match "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel vs. The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer As the match began The Undertaker just stood opposite Diesel in the ring with an icy stare before the big man uncharacteristically ran at Taker attempting a big boot only for a duck to occur and Taker to start laying in the big rights and lefts. The match itself was an all out brawl between the two as both men put it all on the line on the biggest stage of them all to end this feud once and for all with Undertaker even chokeslamming Diesel through the Spanish announce table midway through the match. Diesel was to gain some measure of control and got revenge on Taker when he picked up the dead man and drilled him with his patented JackKnife Powerbomb right through the main announce table as debris flew everywhere and three man announce team went crazy. Diesel then pointed up towards the grave site and began dragging a limp and lifeless undertaker up to it before signalling for one more. As he stood over the grave Diesel lifted The Undertaker high into the air and smashed him down into it with his patented JackKnife Powerbomb before signalling that he was going to scoop the dirt on and end the match. Just then Diesel noticed Paul Bearer out of the corner of his eye and insinuated that he was also going to be put into the grave before levelling the innocent manager with a right hand and beginning to drag him towards the grave, however once Diesel got there an arm raised from inside the grave and grabbed him by the throat dragging him deep down into the pit of hell below. As the camera people struggled to try and get a view of what was going on in there everyone saw The Undertaker rise from the grave looking almost like he was levitating before beginning to scoop dirt into the grave as it filled up and the bell rang to signal our winner. Winner in 16:10 – The Undertaker (B) As the grave is filled The Undertaker then stands over it as a now recovered Paul Bearer lifts the urn aloft and lightning bolts strike all around them. (B) <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DXZ5S92dUd8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> We are then informed it is time for our main event of the evening as the music of Owen Hart hits the PA system and the King of Harts himself walks down to the ring jaw jacking with the crowd alongside his manager Jim Cornette. (B-) As Owen’s music is still playing we cut to the back where Todd Pettengill is standing by with Shawn Michaels. Michaels talks about how it has forever been his dream to win the title in the main event of WrestleMania and after winning two Royal Rumbles it is now time for him to fulfil his destiny. Todd then wishes him luck as we go to the ringside area again. <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7w1mq6rAfMM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The music of Shawn Michaels hits and after a little pause to get the crowd pumped out from the back comes the Heart Break Kid himself as a load of fireworks go off and confetti falls from the ceiling and commentators talk about how this year could be his time. (A) <iframe width="30" height="30" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/g67Zf3FYtPo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The familiar music of the WWF World Heavyweight Champion then hits and out walks Bret Hart looking a lot calmer than you would expect someone to be going into such an unpredictable match. The Hitman then goes over to his family at ringside and hugs every one of them before going and giving his shades to a handicapped child and then finally entering the ring as the main event of the evening is set to begin. (B+) Main Event WWF World Heavyweight Title Three Way Elimination Match Bret "The Hitman" Hart© defends against "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and "The King of Harts" Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette A fantastic way to end a great WrestleMania here as all three men brought their A game to this one and every single one of them had spells during the match that showed they deserve to be there and deserve to be World Champion. The match was fought with a rule of all three men in the ring at any one time which due to his unfamiliarity of the type of match sometimes flabbergasted the official Earl Hebner. There was almost a shock very early on in the contest with the champion almost being eliminated kicking at after a very long two count following an inverted Piledriver from his brother that spiked him on his head. At around the eighteen minute mark of the match we got our first person eliminated as Owen threw his brother to the outside of the ring only to turn around into a vicious Sweet Chin Music from Shawn Michaels that eliminated him from the contest. After this point it was a one on one contest that everyone has wanted to see as Bret and Shawn both gave their absolute all and left nothing in the back as both pulled all of their signature moves out. When all was said and done and both men had barely any energy left Shawn looked like achieving his dream as he geared up for the Sweet Chin Music only for Bret to catch his foot, sweep the leg and lock in a Sharpshooter. After a lengthy spell of refusing to quit Shawn then eventually did quit and Bret retained after a fantastic contest. Winner and STILL WWF World Heavyweight Champion in 30:19 – Bret Hart (B+) As the match ended an exhausted Bret rose to his feet and gladly accepted his title from the referee before Shawn got up and looked over a few times at Bret before being the bigger man and raising his hand. The PPV ended with Bret holding aloft the title and confetti coming down from the ceiling as the commentators cried about what an amazing night we had just seen. (B) Overall Show Rating (B) ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter March Week 4 1996 Written and edited by Dave Meltzer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF News Lots of news off the back of a fantastic WrestleMania XII which surprisingly saw zero titles change hands. The match of the night was definitely the main event and after the match the whole locker room gave all three men a standing ovation to show their appreciation. There was also a lot of adulation from the workers for Kevin “Diesel” Nash as he completed his last night with the company after agreeing to rejoin the WCW. The rumour at the moment is that Nash will be reprising his role as Vinnie Vegas and has not ruled out a possible return some years down the line to the WWF. The Buried Alive match itself was very well received and came off very well on the PPV itself and it remains to be seen where The Undertaker goes from here after winning such a massive feud. Another worker that was recently in contract talks Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall decided to sign a multi-year deal with the company although there is a rumour that he will be taking a couple of months off soon to heal up from some niggling injuries allowing Goldust to move into another feud for now. Sources inform us that current plans see Bret Hart moving into a feud with Camp Cornette and in particular his brother Owen Hart as it is felt that the two can put on some great matches together. An interesting note is about this June’s King of the Ring PPV, strong rumours are that there will soon be a new tournament format announced for it so watch this space. Monday Night Raw Preview In the follow up show to WrestleMania XII we will see the debut of “The Fighter” Marc Mero as well as Roddy Piper is scheduled to shine the shoes of Ron Simmons. In addition to this WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart will be in the house and in action.
forlan Posted May 5, 2011 Author Posted May 5, 2011 <p><span style="color:#FF0000;">WWF Monday Night Raw</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Monday Week 1 April 1996</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler </span></p><p> </p><p> Our three man announce team welcome us to show informing us of the events of last night’s WrestleMania XII extravaganza before informing us that In Your House 7 will be in just a few weeks time on Sunday Week 4 April.</p><p> </p><p> We then cut to the ring where Gorilla Monsoon is ready to make a special announcement. Monsoon announces that in June we will see the King of the Ring PPV where the king of 1996 will be crowned. Monsoon talks about how he has changed the format for this year and qualifying starts now, twelve men will have a chance to be the KOTR for 1996, two groups of six all fighting out 15 minute time limit matches, 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. Monsoon announces that qualifying starts tonight with three matches per week on Monday Night Raw leading to the top two in each group progressing to compete in the four man KOTR tournament finals at the PPV. </p><p> </p><p> Gorilla then leaves us with the two groups:-</p><p> </p><p> <em>Group A</em></p><p><em> Hunter Hearst Helmsley</em></p><p><em> “The Fighter” Marc Mero</em></p><p><em> Henry O. Godwinn</em></p><p><em> Crush</em></p><p><em> Justin Bradshaw</em></p><p><em> Savio Vega</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Group B</em></p><p><em> “Black Panther” Ron Simmons</em></p><p><em> “The Modern Day Kamikaze” Hakushi</em></p><p><em> Marty Jannetty</em></p><p><em> 1-2-3 Kid</em></p><p><em> Steve Austin</em></p><p><em> British Bulldog</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match One</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner)</span></p><p> This was a solid way to open up the show with the Steiners wanting to get back on track after losing at WrestleMania in their title shot. The Gunns were also looking to build momentum and get back into the title scene but in the end a miscommunication between Billy and Bart led to Scott pinning Billy with a Frankensteiner.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winners in 9:27 – The Steiner Brothers ©</span></p><p> </p><p> After the match Billy and Bart began arguing but seemed to patch things up and left together before Scott Steiner cut a promo saying that last night Sid and the kid beat them but they want revenge and they want it at In Your House. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(C-)</span></p><p> </p><p> Next up we cut to a commercial before coming back to Ron Simmons in the ring alongside a big chair with some boot polish and cloth. Simmons alongside Ebony calls out Roddy Piper as the music of the rowdy one hit the PA system and he makes his way to the ring.</p><p> </p><p> Piper begins to shine the shoes of Simmons as he sits there with a look of glee and satisfaction on his face until Piper cracks him across the head with polish and proceeds to throw him into the chair and then out of the ring.</p><p> </p><p> Piper then grabs Ebony and adds to the embarrassment by spanking her in the middle of the ring before letting her go as she bails to the outside alongside Simmons. Piper then proceeds to talk about how Simmons accuses him of holding down the black man but he is no better as he is trying to embarrass the white man, Piper calls Simmons a racist and challenges him to a rematch at In Your House. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(C+)</span></p><p> </p><p> We are then informed that Marc Mero’s debut will start off this year’s King of the Ring tournament. Mero makes his way down to the ring accompanied by Ava Mero as we are informed it is his wife. Mero is kitted out in MMA style shorts with taped fists and a shorter cut of hair than when he was in WCW.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Two</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group A Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> “The Fighter” Marc Mero w/Ava Mero vs. Crush</span></p><p> A solid match here to open up the proceedings on this new format of KOTR with Mero pulling out a lot of ground work and submissions playing up the whole fighter gimmick. In contrast Crush was just trying to beat down Mero with hard shots to the ribs and back leaving some notable bruises on the torso of the newcomer.</p><p> In the end Mero managed to gain the upper hand and after a back Suplex he headed up to the top rope and connected with a big Shooting Star Press much to the crowds shock given his gimmick.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 9:29 – Marc Mero (D+)</span></p><p> </p><p> We then cut backstage to Razor Ramon backstage with Dok Hendrix as he talks about how he won last night but did not get what he wanted so he wants one last shot at the belt against Goldust at...before he can finish he is blindsided by Bam Bam Bigelow who proceeds to beat him up and then throw Razor through a plate glass window. <span style="color:#FF0000;">©</span></p><p> </p><p> We then go to Gorilla Monsoon’s office as he announces that after recent good performances inside of the ring Ahmed Johnson will get a shot at In Your House for Goldust’s WWF Intercontinental Title. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(C+)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Three</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group B Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> “The Modern Day Kamikaze” Hakushi vs. 1-2-3 Kid w/Ted DiBiase</span></p><p> A great match between two of the best young high flying wrestlers arguably in the world today and surprisingly fought totally even without any interference or shenanigans. </p><p> Both men put all they could into the match to try and get off on the right foot but in the end after a catch as catch can sequence between the two 1-2-3 managed to get the pinfall out of nowhere with a small package.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 10:11 – 1-2-3 Kid (D+)</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> </span></p><p> We go backstage next to Owen Hart standing by with Todd Pettengill as he talks about last night at WrestleMania and how Shawn Michaels just can’t stop getting in his business. Owen says he had Bret where he wanted him but Shawn caught him off guard and ruined his WrestleMania title dream.</p><p> </p><p> Owen then goes on to say that he also isn’t finished with Bret as his brother never defeated him, he defeated Michaels after Michaels cheated him out of it.</p><p> </p><p> Owen then somehow comes to a strange conclusion in the interview that he is the rightful champion as Bret did not pin him. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B-)</span></p><p> </p><p> We cut straight to Gorilla Monsoon’s office as he announces Owen can try and back up his words as tonight in our main event he will take on his brother in non-title action. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Four</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group B Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> British Bulldog w/Jim Cornette vs. Steve Austin</span></p><p> Before Austin could even get to the ring in this one he got blindsided by Hunter Hearst Helmsley who obviously wasn’t finished from last night. Helmsley threw Austin into the guard rail numerous times before leaving him in a mess at the top of the ramp.</p><p> Austin managed to drag himself down into the ring to start the match and for a short while on adrenaline alone had the upper hand but soon the pre-match attack started to take its toll and when Bulldog connected with the Running Powerslam everyone knew it was over.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 9:58 – British Bulldog ©</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Five</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Non-Title Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. “The King of Hart” Owen Hart w/Jim Cornette</span></p><p> A fantastic main event to the show here as despite being involved in the gruelling main event last night both men didn’t hold back in a fantastic technical match with about equal offence from the two, putting Owen over as legitimately on a par with his brother.</p><p> After a while Bret somehow managed to get into a position to lock on the Sharpshooter only to be blindsided by Owen’s Camp Cornette stable mate British Bulldog closely followed by Yokozuna as they began beating down on the champion until a save from an unlikely source as Shawn Michaels ran down to help as the referee called the match a DQ.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 15:27 by Disqualification – Bret Hart (B-)</span></p><p> </p><p> As the brawl ensued Camp Cornette took the upper hand with their man advantage until the lights went out and help for the babyfaces came in the form of The Undertaker as he cleaned house.</p><p> </p><p> After Camp Cornette were thrown from the ring the babyfaces stood tall with Bret and Taker embracing whilst Michaels gave something of a stare of The Undertaker as the commentary team announced that the word just in was the six men have been signed as a six man tag for the main event of IYH and the show faded to black. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B)</span></p><p> </p><p><strong> Overall Show Rating ©</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WWF Superstars Results</strong>: Savio Vega over Steve Corino (D-), Justin Bradshaw over Aldo Montoya (D)</p><p> <strong>Overall Show Rating (D)</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="30892" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p>------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> <strong>The Wrestling Observer Newsletter</strong></p><p><strong> April Week 1 1996</strong></p><p><strong> Written and edited by Dave Meltzer</strong></p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> <strong>WWF News</strong></p><p> </p><p> The new format of the King of the Ring was officially announced this week on Monday Night Raw and has generally gone down well both backstage and with the fans. Inspired by many Japanese tournaments the block system will give everyone more of reason to care about the undercard for the next couple of months until the tournament itself.</p><p> </p><p> The attack on Razor Ramon by Bam Bam Bigelow is a way of writing him out as previously mentioned to recover from some nagging injuries he currently has, it is expected he will return sometime around In Your House 8.</p><p> </p><p> Dissention was once again shown between the losing Smoking Gunns, no word yet on where this is going although it only usually leads to one thing when this sort of thing happens in the wrestling world.</p><p> </p><p> This week on Superstars developmental talent Steve Corino was beaten in the opener he is one of a few workers the company is high on at the moment from CWF including Alex Porteau.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Monday Night Raw Preview</strong></p><p> </p><p> This week on Monday Night Raw we will see a fantastic main event that will pit Shawn Michaels against Yokozuna as well as seeing three matches from the KOTR tournament as Justin Bradshaw takes on Henry Godwinn, Ron Simmons takes on Marty Jannetty and Hunter Hearst Helmsley takes on Savio Vega.</p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote>
KJFTW Posted May 8, 2011 Posted May 8, 2011 I must say I loved your Wrestlemania sir! Keep doing what your doing, and I'll keep up the reading!
forlan Posted May 9, 2011 Author Posted May 9, 2011 <p><span style="color:#FF0000;">WWF Monday Night Raw</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Monday Week 2 April 1996</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler</span></p><p> </p><p> We are welcomed by the three announcers until the music of Shawn Michaels hits the PA system and out comes HBK to open up the show. He talks about last week and how tonight against Yokozuna he is going to get his revenge <span style="color:#FF0000;">(C+)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match One</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group A Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Justin Bradshaw vs. Henry O. Godwinn</span></p><p> A solid if unspectacular match to begin the show today with both workers doing their best to warm up the crowd. The impressiveness of Bradshaw in recent weeks was once again showing through and justifying the praise he has been getting for his matches on Superstars. Bradshaw eventually took the win when he took off the head of Godwinn with a massive lariat to amass two points to his cause.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 9:21 – Justin Bradshaw (C-)</span></p><p> </p><p> After the match the music of Sunny hit and she came down to the ring and just like recently when she offered Ahmed Johnson her services offered them to Bradshaw but just like the previous time he turned her down. Bradshaw said that he could think of some things she could do for him but one thing he didn’t need was a manager before walking off.</p><p> </p><p> An irate Sunny then got on the microphone and announced that clearly no one in the WWF valued her services so she will go out and get someone that she will reveal to the world at In Your House 7. <span style="color:#FF0000;">©</span></p><p> </p><p> We then go backstage to what looks like a boiler room with Goldust lying across a lounger and Bam Bam Bigelow crouched in front of him. Goldust is running his fingers across the top of the bald head of Bigelow in a loving manner before Bam Bam begins to speak.</p><p> </p><p> Bigelow talks about how last week he took out Razor Ramon to prevent him from gaining a rematch at the WWF Intercontinental title currently held by Goldust and he will do the same to Ahmed Johnson if he gets in the way. He then goes on to say that sometimes alliances are formed in the most strange of places and this is one of them.</p><p> </p><p> Goldust then chimes in and talks about how he wasted his time on a failure like the bad guy when he had his big bad monster right here all along.</p><p> </p><p> Bigelow then chimes in and says “We are big, we are bad and we are...” then Goldust chimes in with “Bizarre” before giving out a big “Goldussssst” <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B-)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Two</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group B Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> “Black Panther” Ron Simmons w/Ebony vs. Marty Jannetty</span></p><p> A fairly one sided match here as Simmons was clearly sending a message to Piper by way of Jannetty and just pummelled the hell out of him before picking up the win with a big Jumping Piledriver.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 6:44 – Ron Simmons ©</span></p><p> </p><p> After the match Simmons gets on the microphone and talks about Piper’s challenge from last week and says if Piper wants to embarrass Ebony and Simmons in the ring then the favour has to be returned so if Piper wants to fight him at IYH then he will have to put something on the line and follow through.</p><p> </p><p> Piper’s music then hits and out he comes before going back and forth with Simmons on the microphone until the two settle on a stipulation that whoever loses will have to be the chauffer of the other for a day.</p><p> </p><p> Simmons closes by saying that if he is a racist as Piper says then god help Piper if he ends up being his chauffer before giving the black power salute. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(C+) </span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Three</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. Camp Cornette (“King of Harts” Owen Hart and British Bulldog) w/Jim Cornette</span></p><p> Once again there were some dissentions teased between Billy and Bart as the two clearly were not on the same page in this match and Camp Cornette took full advantage of it. Mid-way through the match they did get some semblance of tag team order until Bart accidentally knocked Billy off the apron leading to him falling victim to a Running Powerslam from British Bulldog.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winners in 7:49 – Camp Cornette ©</span></p><p> </p><p> We then go to Todd Pettengill with a special report on In Your House 7: Six Man Mayhem announcing that after recent events there will be a rematch for the tag team titles under elimination rules with Rick and Scott Steiner taking on Sid Vicious and 1-2-3 Kid.</p><p> </p><p> Todd then runs down the full card as of so far with two weeks to go until the event</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;">Main Event</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Camp Cornette (British Bulldog, Yokozuna and "King of Harts" Owen Hart) w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Bret "The Hitman" Hart, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> WWF Intercontinental Title</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> "The Bizarre One" Goldust© defends against "The Pearl River Powerhouse" Ahmed Johnson</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Loser must be the winner’s chauffeur for a day</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> “Black Panther” Ron Simmons w/Ebony vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> WWF Tag Team Titles</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Elimination Rules</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid and “Psycho” Sid Vicious) © w/Ted DiBiase defend against The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span>Todd then mentions that Steve Austin has challenged Hunter Hearst Helmsley for the event too but there has as of yet been no response from the Helmsley camp. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B-)</span></p><p> </p><p> Dok Hendrix is then standing by with Savio Vega as he talks about his upcoming King of the Ring match with Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He also talks about how his good friend Razor Ramon has been put on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time and it is all down to Bam Bam Bigelow and he is challenging Bigelow to step in the ring with him at IYH.<span style="color:#FF0000;"> (D+)</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> </span></p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Four</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group A Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Ted DiBiase vs. Savio Vega</span></p><p> Another good match in the KOTR group stages here as Savio looked impressive but kept getting distracted by Ted DiBiase allowing Helmsley to keep taking control of the contest for the large majority.</p><p> At one point Savio was sent to the outside and out ran Bam Bam Bigelow clearly incensed by the comments before the match from Savio and started beating on him which prompted Steve Austin to run out and start on Helmsley rendering this match a no contest draw.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 6:52 – No Contest (Both men get one point each for a draw) (C-)</span></p><p> </p><p> After the match as officials separated them an irate Helmsley clearly in the heat of the moment shouted to Austin that he accepted the challenge and Austin could name the stipulation.</p><p> </p><p> We then were informed by Vince McMahon that in our main event next week we would see The Undertaker teaming with Bret Hart to take on Owen Hart and British Bulldog <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B-)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Five</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels vs. Yokozuna w/Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette</span></p><p> A solid main event here although Yokozuna seems to be getting increasingly larger and it did hamper his movement somewhat in the ring making Shawn have to virtually control the whole of the contest’s pacing.</p><p> At one point Owen Hart and British Bulldog attempted to interject but The Undertaker appeared on the entrance and prevented them from getting anywhere near allowing Michaels to pick up the clean win with a Sweet Chin Music.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 12:22 – Shawn Michaels ©</span></p><p> </p><p> After the match as Camp Cornette went off to lick their wounds HBK celebrated in the ring and once again gave something of an icy stare to The Undertaker. This time the commentary team picked up on it and mentioned that Michaels clearly seems to have a problem with his partner for IYH. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B)</span></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Overall Show Rating (C-)</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WWF Superstars Results</strong>: Hakushi over Steve Corino (F+), KOTR Group B: 1-2-3 Kid over Marty Jannetty (C-), KOTR Group A: Crush over Henry O Godwinn (D+)</p><p> <strong>Overall Show Rating (D)</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="30892" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div style="text-align:center;"><div>------------------------------------------------------------------<p> <strong>The Wrestling Observer Newsletter</strong></p><p><strong> April Week 2 1996</strong></p><p><strong> Written and edited by Dave Meltzer</strong></p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong>WWF News</strong></p><p> </p><p> With only two weeks left of television until In Your House 7 the card is shaping up very nicely, not least with the tease of Sunny announcing her newest client on the show and everyone waiting to see who it is.</p><p> </p><p> Once again there was some dissention teased between the Smoking Gunns it will be interesting to see where this goes and which of the two will be kept on top if they indeed do part ways.</p><p> </p><p> The King of the Ring tournament carried on this week on both Monday Night Raw and Superstars. As of this moment there are no plans for any KOTR matches on either of the In Your House PPV events before the KOTR event itself allowing other feuds to develop as well.</p><p> </p><p> Another interesting thing developing is the Shawn Michaels and Undertaker situation as Michaels clearly seems to be having some kind of problem with The Undertaker and keeps staring him down. This angle is very much a case of watch this space to see what will happen next.</p><p> </p><p> In contract news Ahmed Johnson is expected to sign a new multiyear contract with the company whilst there was quiet releases this week for both Tatanka and Bob Holly with both men no longer in the long term plans of the company.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Monday Night Raw Preview</strong></p><p> </p><p> This week on the penultimate episode of Monday Night Raw we will see a fantastic main event pitting Owen Hart and British Bulldog against The Undertaker and Bret Hart. In addition to this fantastic main event we will see two King of the Ring Qualifying matches as Ron Simmons takes on Steve Austin and Marc Mero takes on Justin Bradshaw. </p><p> </p><p> Also Austin will announce his stipulation for the match against Hunter Hearst Helmsley at In Your House 7</p><p>.</p></div></div><div></div></blockquote></div><p></p>
forlan Posted May 17, 2011 Author Posted May 17, 2011 <p><span style="color:#FF0000;">WWF Monday Night Raw</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Monday Week 3 April 1996</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler</span></p><p> </p><p> We are welcomed by the three man announce team as they announce that we are only a short while away from In Your House 7 and have a stacked card tonight culminating in a fantastic main event seeing The Undertaker and Bret Hart taking on Camp Cornette. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match One</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group A Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> “The Fighter” Marc Mero w/Ava Mero vs. Justin Bradshaw</span></p><p> A fantastic match here to open the show as Mero continued his winning ways since his debut against a very tough opponent in Bradshaw who himself has looked impressive in recent weeks. In the end Mero took the big win when he connected with a Shooting Star Press.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 8:01 – Marc Mero ©</span></p><p> </p><p> We then cut to the back as Todd Pettengill is standing by with the Smoking Gunns. Billy and Bart talk about how recently they have been having some problems staying on the same page as one another but tonight that changes when they get back to winning ways against Big, Bad and Bizarre. <span style="color:#FF0000;"> (C-)</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Two</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. Big, Bad and Bizarre (“The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow and “The Bizarre One” Goldust)</span></p><p> A good little match here as once again Billy and Bart did not look like they were on the same page as one another and Goldust and Bigelow took advantage of this with some good work as a team before Goldust got the pinfall over Bart with his patented Curtain Call.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winners in 8:15 – Big, Bad and Bizarre ©</span></p><p> </p><p> We then get the music of Steve Austin as he comes down to the ring ahead of his KOTR match getting on the microphone in the process.</p><p> </p><p> Austin talks about what happened last week and tells the crowd he has decided the stipulation for his match with Helmsley at IYH and it will be a Texas Bull rope match. Austin then says now that is out of the way get Ron Simmons out here. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(D+)</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Match Three</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> King of the Ring Group B Match</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Steve Austin vs. “Black Panther” Ron Simmons w/Ebony</span></p><p> The biggest test so far for the as of yet undefeated Ron Simmons as he and Austin put on a PPV quality match to entertain the viewers of Monday Night Raw. The match was a very close affair until out from the back came Helmsley with none other than a Texas Bull rope in his hand clocking Austin with the bell on it behind the referees back allowing him to fall victim to a big Jumping Piledriver from Simmons for the win.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 12:32 – Ron Simmons (C+)</span></p><p> </p><p> We then get informed on commentary that Gorilla Monsoon has ruled that in preparation for the PPV next week’s Monday Night Raw will have a tag team contest pitting Steve Austin and Roddy Piper against Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Ron Simmons. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(C+)</span></p><p> </p><p> We then go to Dok Hendrix with a special report on In Your House 7: Six Man Mayhem with only next week’s Monday Night Raw standing in the way of the event. Hendrix announces that Sunny has confirmed her new superstar is laying out an open challenge to anyone that wants a fight at the PPV. He then runs down the full card including the recently added match between Savio Vega and Bam Bam Bigelow after Bigelow accepted Savio’s challenge:-</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;">Main Event</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Camp Cornette (British Bulldog, Yokozuna and "King of Harts" Owen Hart) w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Bret "The Hitman" Hart, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> WWF Intercontinental Title</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> "The Bizarre One" Goldust© defends against "The Pearl River Powerhouse" Ahmed Johnson</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Loser must be the winner's chauffeur for a day</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> "Black Panther" Ron Simmons w/Ebony vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Texas Bull rope Match</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Steve Austin vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Ted DiBiase</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Grudge Match</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Savio Vega vs. “The Beast from the East” Bam Bam Bigelow</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> WWF Tag Team Titles</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Elimination Rules</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Million Dollar Corporation (1-2-3 Kid and "Psycho" Sid Vicious) © w/Ted DiBiase defend against The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Open Challenge</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:8px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"> Sunny’s new superstar vs. anyone who cares to step up to the plate</span></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">(C-)</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> </span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> </span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Match Four</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> “The Pearl River Powerhouse” Ahmed Johnson vs. 1-2-3 Kid w/Ted DiBiase</span></p><p> A solid match here to showcase Ahmed’s power and put him over as a threat before he faces off with Goldust at the PPV as he made short work of the kid before pinning him with his patented Pearl River Plunge.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winner in 7:55 – Ahmed Johnson ©</span></p><p> </p><p> After the match was over Ahmed had a few words for Goldust announcing that now that Goldust is aligned with Bigelow he has gone to Monsoon and made sure that if Bigelow interferes in the match he will be fired so it is a fair one on one contest. <span style="color:#FF0000;">©</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Match Five</span></p><p><span style="color:#FF0000;"> Camp Cornette (“King of Harts” Owen Hart and British Bulldog) w/Jim Cornette vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart and The Undertaker</span></p><p> A fantastic main event here that acted almost as a teaser for the big six man main event at the upcoming PPV as all four men delivered big time and entertained the crowd. A lot of the match consisted of Bret playing the face in peril as we all know how good he can be at that and then getting the big tag to Undertaker as he cleaned house for a long period.</p><p> It looked like the babyfaces were going to win until Yokozuna appeared and distracted Bret and he was rolled up by his brother Owen for the win.</p><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;">Winners in 18:02 – Camp Cornette (B)</span></p><p> </p><p> After the match Camp Cornette beat down on Hart and Taker as the numbers game prevailed with no help coming from Shawn Michaels as he presumably was not in the building tonight as the show ended with Camp Cornette standing tall. <span style="color:#FF0000;">(B)</span></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Overall Show Rating ©</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WWF Superstars Results</strong>: KOTR Group B: British Bulldog over Hakushi (C-), The Steiner Brothers over Steve Corino and Rad Radford (D+), KOTR Group A: Hunter Hearst Helmsley over Henry O Godwinn ©</p><p> <strong>Overall Show Rating (D+)</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="30892" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p>------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> <strong>The Wrestling Observer Newsletter</strong></p><p><strong> April Week 3 1996</strong></p><p><strong> Written and edited by Dave Meltzer</strong></p><p> --------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p><strong> WWF News</strong></p><p> </p><p> With only one round of television left before the big In Your House 7 pay per view it seems like the card for the show is fully rounded out with rumours of only one more match being added to it.</p><p> </p><p> Once again some strange behaviours from Shawn Michaels as he didn’t appear to aid his team mates on Monday Night Raw. After recent events in which he seemed to have some problem with The Undertaker it will be interesting to see where the whole Michaels storyline goes from here.</p><p> </p><p> Another storyline that is developing nicely is the one with the Smoking Gunns; rumour has it there will be something involving them at the PPV although nothing is concrete on that yet.</p><p> </p><p> Management is high on Steve Corino and in particular his charisma and internal thoughts are of a possible manager role for Corino whilst he hones his skills in dark matches and the like.</p><p> </p><p> With the King of the Ring Tournament in full swing we can now have a look at the latest standings in the groups after a couple of weeks.</p><p> </p><p> <em>(Brackets denote amount of fights complete)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Group A</strong></p><p> <em>Marc Mero (2) 4pts</em></p><p><em> Hunter Hearst Helmsley (2) 3pts</em></p><p><em> Crush (2) 2pts</em></p><p><em> Justin Bradshaw (2) 2pts</em></p><p><em> Savio Vega (1) 1pt</em></p><p><em> Henry O Godwinn (3) 0pts</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Group B</strong></p><p> <em>Ron Simmons (2) 4pts</em></p><p><em> 1-2-3 Kid (2) 4pts</em></p><p><em> British Bulldog (2) 4pts</em></p><p><em> Hakushi (2) 0pts</em></p><p><em> Steve Austin (2) 0pts</em></p><p><em> Marty Jannetty (2) 0pts</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Monday Night Raw Preview</strong></p><p> </p><p> This week on the final episode of Monday Night Raw before the PPV we will see Steve Austin and Roddy Piper team up against Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Ron Simmons. In addition to this we will have some King of the Ring qualifying matches and also Billy and Bart Gunn will address the recent problems in their tag team relationship.</p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote>
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