The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 07.10.95
Taped from Danville, PA
Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler
Sorry if I’m blowing through these too fast, but if they’re never going to update then I might as well just get through it and start on Nitro or something else.
Oh my, the stuff I come across while scoping out the Observers for the week of these shows:
“WWF is starting its own newsletter being put together by Vince Russo, who did a terrible newsletter of his own three years back which lasted all of a few issues.”
I don’t remember if that ever went anywhere, but Russo certainly did.
We get a very lengthy recap of the Sid-Diesel feud as Vince tries to somehow weave this thing into an actual storyline, again stressing how Sid is a coward who Diesel is trying to keep in the ring at IYH. Because Sid powerbombed him…once? Quite the feud.
The Roadie v. Jerry Flynn
The inexplicable Roadie push continues, although he would end up having a hell of a match with the Kid at IYH2. Flynn works the arm and puts him down with a sidekick, but a blind charge hits boot and Roadie drops some elbows and hooks a half-crab. Flynn escapes, but tries a leapfrog and gets slammed for the pin at 2:30.
Meanwhile, we recap Jarrett’s quest to be signed to a music contract, which goes badly. Kind of weird to recycle an old vignette like that. And then we get the Rip Taylor vignette, plus another “With My Baby Tonight” video. Were they really short of material from this taping or something? We’re 15 minutes into this show and literally 12 of them have been recaps or videos.
CARIBBEAN LEGEND SAVIO VEGA v. Mike Khoury
Oh my god, give it a rest with Savio Vega already. He’s got fire and spunk! And dancing. He pounds away on Khoury in the corner and smiles a lot, then puts him down with a back elbow and finishes with a ¾ nelson at 1:55.
Meanwhile, another reminder that they were totally at the Special Olympics because they care.
Sid is out for an interview with Vince, along with his lumberjacks.
Meanwhile, on the Action Zone, HOROWITZ WINS.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley v. Matt Hardy
10 years later and this match would take on an entirely different slant. Vince notes that “the internet chat lines” are burning up over King of the Ring and “we read you loud and clear”. That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard anyone in the WWF ever say about the internet, but considering the show did one of the lowest buyrates in history it wasn’t just the internet geeks who were complaining about it. He promises that the next PPV will be a “romp ‘em stomp ‘em” affair and would presumably not suck. Well, one match was a classic, the rest was not, but it was still a hell of a show and one that I enjoyed immensely at the time. Anyway, Hunter controls with a suplex and lots of bowing, but a blind charge misses and Matt tries a moonsault. That also misses and the Pedigree finishes at 3:00. Notable here: Vince off-handedly announces that Jack Tunney has finally retired as President of the WWF, which was one of the many, MANY, cutbacks that were occurring at this point.
In Your House Report with Todd, as we get MORE filler. I know this one is a necessarily evil, but this show has felt really thin thus far and it doesn’t help.
Tatanka & Henry Godwinn v. The Allied Powers
Luger slugs it out with Tatanka, but quickly gets caught in the heel corner as Henry’s Corporate tryout begins. The heels double-team Lex and we take a break, returning with Lex still getting beat on. Godwinn with a back elbow for two. Luger fights out of a chinlock and makes the hot tag to Bulldog, but he quickly gets cut off by a trip from Godwinn and Tatanka goes up. Bulldog slams him off for the pin at 7:48, however. Notable here is Vince suddenly going off on ECW by noting that WWF is wholesome self-regulated family entertainment, unlike “professional wrestling in general”, which presumably refers to the more violent ECW product that people were chanting for during his last PPV main event.
Meanwhile, Jerry Lawler hangs out with Isaac Yankem while he drills someone’s teeth.
Next week: Shawn Michaels v. IRS! Probably a bunch of other filler bullshit too judging by this taping thus far.
Was the bulldog heel turn and his main event push basically an FU to Luger for leaving wwf ?
ReplyDeleteThe heel turn came before Luger left, but the push was absolutely a message to him I think.
ReplyDeleteWas this LIGHTNING FOOT JERRY FLYNN
ReplyDeleteHmmm so if Luger didn't leave what was the plan? Luger and Nash vs Mabel and bulldog at the Sept Ppv and then a Luger vs bulldog feud into the rumble?
ReplyDeleteI always wondered if IYH2 was their way of apologising for KOTR as it turned out to be a pretty good show and we had Luger/Bulldog v Yoko/Owen match, which seemed they were saving for Summerslam.
ReplyDeleteWould have made sense given where the storyline was headed, but holy crap would that have been awful. Luger not only saved his career by jumping but he saved the fans the agony of watching bad matches that month on the houseshow circuit.
ReplyDeleteYeah I thought Luger should have turned heel and challenged nash. Bulldog never seemed to be over enough to justify his main event push in 95. I think the October ppv will show that
ReplyDeleteI'm making over $7k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life......
ReplyDeleteThis is what I do.....m0neygo0gle/2014/4/21......,,,..
Weird that Luger was Vince's prototypical wrestler and WCW used him better than he ever did. It's also weird that Torture Racking jobbers would get a guy over that much.
ReplyDeleteWether it was Flair or the nWo, baby face Luger was always better when he had a strong heel to chase and in WWE it was...Yokozuna.
I just thought of some fantasy booking which would have been pretty neat. The PPV after Summerslam sets up Diesel v Bulldog v Luger triple threat with the buildup being that Bulldog finally gets his comeuppance, but then it's all a ruse as Luger turns heel and wins the world title as Allied Powers become the main event heel tag team setting up a Allied Powers v Dudes With Attitude feud.
ReplyDeleteBulldog is pretty limited as a headliner as it seems the only people he could headline with are Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll look into that.
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about, it's not that crazy to think that they could have built Shawn up enough for him to be credible enough to drop the strap to Luger at 10.
ReplyDeleteThe Bottom Line: Total one-match show as the WWF was DEEP into the Bad Period and nearing bankruptcy. This was a one-match show all the way (Michaels v. Jarrett), and that match is probably not for all tastes, so I can’t really recommend the show at all unless you’re a Michaels completist like me. (I’m reasonably sure that match is on one of the million Michaels DVDs anyway.)
ReplyDeleteRecommendation to avoid.
This is your review of IYH2.
Wasn't Luger going to feud with Bulldog? I think before Luger left they would team up and Bulldog would walk out on him
ReplyDeleteToo soon for Shawn at that point, he wasn't quite ready.
ReplyDeleteLook into spamming 411mania instead, troll.
ReplyDeleteWell, Scott did pretty much point out that a one match show is better than a show that had zero good matches but yeah I guess he's mellowed since giving the dreaded "Recommendation to avoid" rating to IYH2.
ReplyDeleteNot at all, just do what Shawn was doing with the IC title with the World title. Shawn could have pulled it off in his sleep.
ReplyDeleteYou're talking to a bot.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like Hercules ever got over doing that.
ReplyDeletePretty significant difference between Herc and Luger in terms of talent and how over they were.
ReplyDeleteI definitely remember Bulldog calling Luger out in his first heel promo, so that seemed to be a plan.
ReplyDeleteRE: The Vince Russo newsletter. Wasn't that his old "Informer" column? I remember half of the stories referenced there wound up turning into future angles.
ReplyDeleteLook, I'm not gonna lie; I loved the Vic Venom sections of the Raw magazine. I didn't really have internet access in 1995, so it kind of gave me a small glimpse of behind the scenes happenings(I didn't know what the fuck an Observer was, so uh, sorry Hogan that went over my head).
ReplyDeleteI also pretty much discovered my dick, so Sunny and her photo shoot were my first imaginary girlfriend.
Waylon Mercy tagging with a robot would get me to start watching again.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that I rewatch these episodes and I still have an insane amount of good nostalgia wash over me. 93-95, I was 6, 7, and 8 and this was pretty much my introduction to wrestling. Being from upstate New York, it was a huge pro-WWF audience, and most of the kids I went to school with watched WWF. We would talk about stuff that happened at school the next day. A lot of us weren't able to stay up late and watch so there would usually only be one or two kids who were allowed to watch it. I had to wait until that night to watch, because my Dad always taped the show for me.
ReplyDeleteThe weekend syndicated shows are what I have the fondest memories of. Things like the Razor/Diesel title change in 94, with HBK and Diesel escaping the building afterward with the iC Title. Horrorwitz winning~! WAS HUGE for me as a young mark.
I was maybe a bigger WCW fan at this point though. WCW Saturday Night, WCW Pro, WCW Worldwide, and WCW Main Event were all MUST watches for me.
I actually subscribed to the Vic Venom newsletter back then, long before I knew what an "internet" was or who Dave Meltzer was. They were actual newsletters, not a magazine. There were only 2 or 3 that came out, then they just sent you the WWF magazine instead. I'm pretty sure I still have mine somewhere. It'd be interesting to read them from a "smart" and historical perspective.
ReplyDeleteWell, the same goes for Sid and Nash if you think about it...
ReplyDeleteI always liked Jack Tunney. He was always so... official. But it's kind of obsolete if you know that the one at the announce table is the owner...
ReplyDeleteWell, 123 Kid vs Roadie was actually pretty dope so I'd say it's more of a two match show. That finish with the second rope piledriver always blows my mind.
ReplyDeleteSavio sucks but who else is there to push? And did Bret just fall off the map? I don't remember him making an appearance on these things in a while.
ReplyDeleteI wish they would promise us great PPVs today after a previous one sucked. They should have promised the world after Battleground.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and Tunney only made his announcements once in a blue moon, and was dry enough and made enough unpopular decisions that he was the standard "General Manager" that EVERYONE hates in sports- look at the shit the heads of the NFL, NHL & MLB get these days. NONE of them are popular, and haven't been for years. Tunney was ideal for that role.
ReplyDeleteI found it kind of interesting that Tunney was a Toronto promoter given that cushy position out of respect & payment for selling out to Vince when their promotion was in tough times, and helping the WWF take over in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI thought IRS was done in one of the last rants???
ReplyDeleteA few recent PPVs needed the pokers warmed up for Kevin Dunn or Stephanie.
ReplyDeleteTunney made it seem real to me. Most people didn't know that Vince was the boss. I only knew because a wrestling magazine I read broke kayfabe, but for the first few years I thought he was just their main announcer... Same thing with Bischoff before the NWO angle.
ReplyDeleteWatching that DX episode was actually a good reminder to me how good the Shawn-led DX was (even though I hated them because I was a Bret mark) and how shitty and annoying the HHH-led DX was. I liked the Outlaws (even though I liked them better before they joined DX) and Chyna was fine, but my god did HHH and X-Pac suck.
ReplyDeleteThey did, they booked Cena vs. Brock at the next one.
ReplyDeleteJust because they announced a match for next week on Raw, doesn't mean it actually happened, even on taped shows.
ReplyDeleteANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE WWF!
The two qualifiers there cancel each other out. You ask what may have happened if he could have stayed healthy while acknowledging he was a drug addict.
ReplyDeleteI think pretty much everyone, Shawn included, agrees that if his back doesn't go boom at the 98 Rumble, he winds up dead from an overdose in the following few years.
Most of the comments here are so stupid it's hard to even formulate a response. Obviously the format of these episodes is to focus on one thing at a time, just like the Foley episode. No one is saying that Foley or DX are the only reasons the Attitude Era was awesome or WWE won the war, but they were both important parts of the overall product. I'm sure when the Austin/McMahon episode airs, they'll give the lion's share of the credit to that feud, just as they always do.
ReplyDeleteI think he said "last PPV match".
ReplyDeleteI liked him as the "Babyface Caribbean legend" to be honest. He was just fine as one of the first opponents for a new heel. But as a heel in the Nation and the Boriquas?? zzzzz....
ReplyDeleteIt's overreaction and misunderstanding the point theatre. Times a million because Triple H is involved.
ReplyDeleteI remembered being excited about the Allied Powers vs Yoko/Owen. Basically 4 main event caliber singles wrestlers fighting for the tag titles. I was quite shocked that Yoko/Owen basically won clean (at least as clean as heels can win a match).
ReplyDeleteI've not seen the show, but do I understand that the episode is focused on DX?
ReplyDeleteSo makes sense that they'd talk about DX?
WWE shouldn't even bother making these pieces, as it costs them money, and the only people watching them will dissect it and nitpick about a bunch of stuff anyway. Might as well just save money and focus on the PPVs and the archives.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, not often, I do understand why WWE holds us in such contempt.
ReplyDeleteThey definitely shouldn't bother making that garbage, because it's awful. I 10 agree.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't even gotten to the one year of the Monday Night Wars where Hunter actually was on top all year long, 2000. What are they gonna say for that episode? Hunter's massive cock crushed WCW with one thrust?
ReplyDeleteLook, if you watch an original documentary made by the wwe you got what you deserve. Anything that doesn't involve the actual wrestling match the wwe is completely terrible at.
ReplyDeleteI said I liked it at the time.
ReplyDeleteWe don't seem to agree for the same reasons at all, but... WE AGREE! I'LL TAKE IT!!
ReplyDeleteI went in expecting a typical WWE doc where they make it into a bigger deal than it was. I just wanted to see the old clips again. Lowered expectations made for an okay viewing experience.
ReplyDeleteI really want an LWO shirt now .
ReplyDeleteBut they should totally say that they suck and they lucked into everything, and they were totally inferior in every way!! WE WANT THE TRUTH, DAMN IT!!
ReplyDeleteFunny to read these now that we are in another age of cutbacks. Never really thought we'd see it again after the late 90s/early 2000s. Wrestling really seemed to have carved out a permanent niche. Well, it did, it was just not as big as I thought it would be.
ReplyDeleteI think it's different, the only reason why they're making cutbacks now is because of the Network being a new and risky project. Had it still been regular PPVs, Wrestlemania alone would have kept them in the profits for the year. Back then, they were actually losing tons of money, right?
ReplyDeleteIt probably is apples and oranges; they are more secure through public offerings, so the risk of totally going under is minimal.
ReplyDeleteThe boom period was such a fat and happy time, though. Never thought we'd hear about WWE making ANY decisions based on cost-saving.
They probably wouldn't be making cuts right now if it weren't for being a publicly traded company. Your investors see a lot of money being shoved into the network, and they want that money back quickly. That's what most of it should be attributed to.
ReplyDeleteYeah, as "bad" as times are for business, business is a hundred times better than it was in 1995. Just compare the average RAW attendance in 1995 to the average RAW attendance of 2014, or, heck, WrestleMania 11 to WrestleMania 30 attendance and viewers.
ReplyDeleteCarlito would reply to this comment "That's not cool".
ReplyDeleteStop giving the WWE script ideas.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone has a Russo newsletter. That sounds Wrestlcrap worthy.
ReplyDeleteYou mean in WWF, right? The original nWo was far more over than Shawn Michaels.
ReplyDeleteBecause Triple H. Him getting credit for anything makes fanboys cry foul.
ReplyDeleteWell, they don't do them by year... they do them by subject matter. So the nWo run runs from '96-'97, the DX one runs '97-'98, but the Foley one runs '96-'00.
ReplyDeleteI agree. If they were still a private company, they likely wouldn't be as concerned with a bad year due to a big investment like the network.
ReplyDeleteIts true they were doing well financially, but when the XFL flopped I don't recall a bunch of cuts on the wrestling side to make up for it.
Each Monday Night Wars episode focuses on one aspect of the Attitude Era at a time, so it's not surprising there's one about DX. There was one about Foley, there'll be one about Rock. Austin will obviously get his episode, but it's almost impossible to keep Austin to just a single hour. There could really just be a spinoff documentary series on how Austin changed the business. The Vince feud by itself could take up an entire show, or the feud against Bret, or his rivalries with The Rock and HHH. The hyperbole that WWE reserves for its stars, not just HHH or DX, is actually really understated when it comes to Austin. Entire careers, including Dwyane Johnson: Movie Star and Paul Levesque's rise to heir apparent, don't happen if Austin doesn't change the game.
ReplyDelete