WWF Monday Night Raw
September 11, 1995 (Taped August 28, 1995)
Canton, Ohio (Canton Civic Center)
Commentators: Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler
Results by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
“The World Wrestling Federation… for over 50 years, the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.” The WWF video leads us into the show.
Vince McMahon talks about the Ladder Match with Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon at WWF SummerSlam. Michael emerged victorious in this event, which is available on Coliseum Video. Tonight, Shawn Michaels will defend the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Sid. Razor Ramon will also battle The British Bulldog, who attacked WWF Champion Diesel three weeks ago. McMahon says the new fall season of Monday Night Raw is so good that Cal Ripken Jr. might even call in sick to watch.
Mike’s Thoughts: You’ve got to love the pop culture references the WWF would sprinkle into their shows around this time to show that they’re up to the times. Cal Ripken Jr. had just recently on September 6 surpassed Lou Gehrig’s incredible consecutive streak in baseball with 2,131 consecutive games. What a time to be alive. I remember that game well.
Video: A new video kicks off the show with WWF Superstars dancing and fighting on top of Titan Towers. This is the debut of that super classic Raw intro with the ring on the roof of Titan Towers and all the superstars of the day brawling.
Mike’s Thoughts: The debut of a classic Raw opener!
Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler welcome us to the show. Lawler says the world will come crashing down on Shawn Michaels with Sid. Jim Cornette will be bringing a “pooper scooper” for Razor Ramon.
Razor Ramon makes his entrance. As he makes his way to the ring, replays are shown of him punching out Dean Douglas at SummerSlam.
Razor Ramon vs. The British Bulldog w/ Jim Cornette
Referee: Tim White
The British Bulldog is showing off his brand-new short hair. Lawler commends Bulldog on getting rid of his long hair and says that Razor Ramon’s hair is so greasy and oily that when he gets in the car, his oil light comes on.
The bell rings, and Ramon walks over to Cornette to flick his toothpick in his face. Cornette is not happy. They lock up, and Ramon wrenches the arm before hitting some shoulders. Bulldog twists and flips out of the arm wrench before applying a side headlock. Ramon whips him off and shoulder blocks him down. Ramon then clotheslines him out of the ring and celebrates. Bulldog is not happy and talks strategy with Cornette. Bulldog gets back in the ring, holding his lower back. They lock up, and Ramon wrenches the arm again. Ramon applies an overhead wristlock before applying a hammerlock. Ramon takes him down and applies an arm bar before slapping him on the back of the head. Bulldog fights up and reverses a whip to the corner. Bulldog whips him hard into the opposite corner before hitting a delayed vertical suplex. Bulldog shouts at the crowd. Bulldog forearms him in the lower back before pushing him into the ropes for another forearm. Bulldog sends him into the ropes, but Ramon comes back with a right hand. Ramon sends him into the ropes, but Bulldog counters with a facebuster. Bulldog clotheslines him for a two-count. Bulldog pulls Ramon up to his feet and presses him over his head before slamming him down. Bulldog poses as we go to a commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Bulldog slam Ramon for a near fall. Bulldog sets up for a powerslam, but Ramon grabs the ropes and pushes himself down onto Bulldog for a two-count. Bulldog connects with a scoop slam and goes to the top rope. Ramon pops up to his feet and punches Bulldog before slamming him off the top rope. Ramon flattens Bulldog with a nasty right hand. Ramon lifts Bulldog up and hits a fallaway slam for a near fall. Ramon punches and kicks Bulldog before accidentally whipping him into the referee. Ramon goes for the Razor’s Edge and connects! Ramon covers, but the referee is down.
Dean Douglas runs down in a white shirt and jeans. Douglas goes to the top rope and hits Ramon with a flying knee to the back. The 1-2-3 Kid runs in, but Douglas immediately hits him with a front suplex on the top rope and punches him to the floor. Douglas jogs off to the back. Bulldog scoops Ramon up and hits a Running Powerslam. The 1-2-3 Kid goes to the top rope and dives, but Bulldog moves. The Kid splashes Ramon instead! The referee calls for the bell.
Winner by Disqualification: The British Bulldog
Bulldog clotheslines Kid down and presses him down onto the top rope. Jim Cornette gets a few licks on them both as well.
Mike’s Thoughts: Not a bad match at all with Razor Ramon and The British Bulldog. Hard to think that both guys are gone. It was stiff and well wrestled. The ending was good to start the breakup of Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid. Bulldog winning by DQ makes sense even though the 1-2-3 Kid wound up hitting Ramon. Bulldog was the intended target, so he gets the DQ win. I like it when wrestling makes sense.
-Commercial Break-
Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid have it out
Vince McMahon is in the ring with Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid. Lawler, on commentary, calls them two losers. McMahon mentions that Ramon will be facing Dean Douglas at In Your House. The 1-2-3 Kid also faced Dean Douglas last week on WWF Superstars. It’s really hard to understand what McMahon is saying with Lawler talking over him throughout the entire segment. McMahon says the 1-2-3 Kid cost Ramon his match and suggests Dean Douglas believes he has the superior intellect. 1-2-3 Kid accuses Ramon of costing him a match last week. The Kid says he didn’t cost Ramon a match. Ramon always treats him like a little kid and doesn’t give him any respect. No one took him seriously when he beat Ramon the first time, so he’ll beat him again next week.
Ramon looks surprised by what the Kid has said. McMahon says Ramon has watched his back. The Kid says if beating him is what it’ll take for him to get some respect, then he will beat him next week. The Kid walks off. McMahon asks how Ramon is going to react to that. Ramon says anything can happen in the WWF. He made history at SummerSlam with a Ladder Match that they will talk about forever. The British Bulldog was out here making a lot of waves. Dean Douglas, some bookworm, wants to take The Bad Guy to school. On top of all that, his little buddy, the 1-2-3 Kid, who he made famous, wants a piece of Razor Ramon one more time. Ramon says, “Well, chico, if you want it, if they want it, if YOU want it, then you got it!” The crowd cheers.
Mike’s Thoughts: This was a pretty insufferable segment with a heel Jerry Lawler interjecting and talking over the audio at every given opportunity. It was so hard to understand what exactly McMahon was saying, as well as Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid. Kid was definitely nervous cutting his promo, trying to sound tough and get the angle going. It sounded like he had marbles in his mouth at times. Still, he got through it. I’d rather listen to a bunch of promos like this than the majority of the scripted ones today.
-Commercial Break-
Video: A promo airs. WWF Tag Team Champions Yokozuna and Owen Hart will battle Men on a Mission next week on Raw.
Tag Team Match
The Brooklyn Brawler and Rad Radford vs. The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn)
Referee: Jack Doan
Dean Douglas will be on America Online tomorrow night to answer questions.
Brawler and Radford attack The Smoking Gunns at the sound of the bell. They quickly make a comeback and dropkick them. Billy hits a big neckbreaker and poses. Billy wrenches the arm and tags Bart in. Bart kicks Brawler, but he misses a roundhouse. Radford grabs him at the ropes, and Brawler takes him down. Brawler tags Radford in and punches away at Bart. Radford hits a neckbreaker before hitting a running elbow drop. Brawler tags in and goes to the top rope, but Bart flips him down to the canvas. Billy tags in and does some punches before diving onto Radford. They double-team Brawler and Radford. The Smoking Gunns hit Brawler with the Sidewinder for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: The Smoking Gunns
Mike’s Thoughts: Just an enhancement match for The Smoking Gunns, who were really losing steam as an act by this point.
Video: A vignette for Goldust airs. Goldust is fully dressed in gold. He quotes a line from “Night of the Living Dead” from 1968. There are evil, dark ghouls that walk in the darkness. They call themselves the Creatures of the Night, blanketed in purple and black. Their spirits hypnotically walk the earth. They follow the footsteps of their leader, The Undertaker. Gold sheds no darkness. Gold only sheds light. The black, evil cloud that hovers over the World Wrestling Federation will soon be sent to the heavens, never to be heard from again, courtesy of Goldust.
Mike’s Thoughts: Solid vignette for Goldust. Great tease for him going after The Undertaker. Early on, they didn’t really play up that the character was androgynous or anything like that. This definitely did the job in getting me excited to see that confrontation.
Shawn Michaels will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Sid later tonight.
-Commercial Break-
Monday Night Raw is sponsored by Levi’s and Skittles.
Replay: Replays are shown of Dr. Isaac Yankem and Jerry “The King” Lawler attacking Bret “Hitman” Hart at SummerSlam.
Scott Taylor vs. Dr. Isaac Yankem D.D.S.
Referee: Mike Chioda
The bell rings, and Yankem quickly clubs Taylor down in the corner. Yankem shoves him hard to the corner and hits a chokeslam. Yankem chokes Taylor on the middle rope and hits a scoop slam. Yankem drops some elbows and applies a hangman’s choke before tossing him aside. Yankem press slams him down onto the top rope. Yankem hits a DDT, which he calls the DDS, for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Dr. Isaac Yankem D.D.S.
Mike’s Thoughts: It’s kind of incredible to actually see the good doctor in action. It always feels like a fever dream when I think that Kane used to be Dr. Isaac Yankem… and that this character even existed at all… and that the character feuded with Bret Hart at SummerSlam. WWF in 1995 was really something. Also, Scott Taylor would become Scotty 2 Hotty.
In Your House Rundown
Todd Pettengill talks about the card for In Your House coming on September 24, 1995. The Triple Header Match with WWF Champion Diesel and WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs. WWF Tag Team Champions Yokozuna and Owen Hart must have a winner.
In the Canton Civic Center, Sid makes his way to the ring with Ted DiBiase.
Barry Didinsky, the Mayor of Merchandise, is shilling some hideous Shawn Michaels cap and heart-shaped glasses. If you buy both, you get a free Lawrence Taylor poster.
Mike’s Thoughts: Whenever I’m feeling bad about life and thinking the world is against me, I’ll forever be comforted to know that I’m not Barry Didinsky in 1995 shilling some of the ugliest merchandise that could ever be conceived of.
WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels says he’ll be closing the chapter on Sid tonight. It starts and ends with him. Michaels walks by a ladder and shudders.
-Commercial Break-
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Sid w/ Ted DiBiase vs. Shawn Michaels (c)
Referee: Earl Hebner
The bell rings, and they circle the ring. They lock up, and Sid powers Michaels to the corner before pretending to give a clean break. Michaels ducks a right hand and jabs away at him. Sid reverses a whip to the corner and drops down when Michaels leaps to the second rope. Michaels fakes him out and hits a diving sunset flip, but Sid doesn’t go down. Sid misses a right hand, and Michaels connects with a dropkick. Michaels then takes him down with a diving clothesline before punching him out of the ring. Sid is upset, so Ted DiBiase comes up to calm the big man down.
Sid gets in the ring, and Michaels applies a side headlock. Sid whips him off and absorbs a shoulder tackle from Michaels. Sid sends Michaels over the top rope and poses with his back to him, but he doesn’t notice that Michaels skinned the cat and dropkicks him out of the ring. Sid angrily paces around ringside again. Sid gets in the ring and applies a side headlock. Michaels struggles to get out of the hold before whipping him off. Michaels leaps at him, but Sid catches him and drops him down. Sid puts Michaels in the corner and punches him in the midsection. Sid chokes him in the corner and punches him in the midsection. Sid then whips Michaels hard into the corner, laying him on the top rope. Sid kicks him to the apron and then to the floor. Sid follows Michaels out of the ring and drops him on the apron. Sid gets in the ring and distracts the referee as Ted DiBiase attacks Michaels. Sid is looking for a count-out, even though the title cannot change hands that way. Michaels gets in at 8.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Michaels punching out of a bearhug. Michaels hits the ropes, but Sid kicks him in the midsection and hits a headlock takeover. Michaels grapevines the head, but Sid kips up and hits a chokeslam. Sid poses in the corner and tells the officiant to prepare the belt. Sid sets up for his Powerbomb, but Michaels counters out with a back body drop. Michaels punches Sid back, but Sid reverses a whip. Michaels hits a flying forearm and drops down to punch away at him. Michaels boots him in the face and goes to the top rope for a cross-body block. Michaels picks up a near fall. Sid kicks him in the midsection and sends him into the ropes, but Michaels ducks a clothesline. Michaels kicks him in the midsection and hits Sweet Chin Music. Michaels hits a second Sweet Chin Music and picks up the win.
Winner by Pinfall and still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels
Jerry Lawler laments that he just can’t stand Shawn Michaels. Michaels does a striptease in the ring and pulls his tights down quite low. Michaels then stops and poses.
Mike’s Thoughts: That’s about as good a match from Sid as you’ll ever find. Shawn Michaels was turning into a master around this time, making anyone he worked with look amazing. It was a good way to kick off HBK’s Intercontinental Championship run (which would be cut short by the legendary bar brawl he’d get into a month later), and a great way for him to pick up steam as he’s clearly being positioned to go into the main event. Though I must say, I could’ve done without the weird striptease at the end. Kind of gross.
-Commercial Break-
An In Your House commercial airs.
Backstage Segment
WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels celebrates with WWF Champion Diesel backstage. Doc Hendrix comes up and asks about the Triple Header Match. All three titles are on the line. If Owen Hart or Yokozuna pinned either of them, the person pinning them would get the title. Michaels says he’s trying to right the wrongs in his life, starting with reuniting with his big buddy Diesel. Now he’s got the Intercontinental Championship back and avenged the most horrific loss of his career at WrestleMania X by winning the Ladder Match at SummerSlam. Now, he finally put down Psycho Sid with some chin music. It’s time for them to move on to bigger and better things. The Triple Header at In Your House is where they’ll start.
Diesel says they’re not just Two Dudes with Attitudes. They’re Two Chaps with All the Straps.
Video: Next week on Raw, WWF Tag Team Champions Yokozuna and Owen Hart will face Men on a Mission. We’ll also see Razor Ramon battle the 1-2-3 Kid. They show actual clips from the show that was taped for the next week.
Quick Match Results
— The British Bulldog def. Razor Ramon via DQ
— The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) def. The Brooklyn Brawler and Rad Radford
— Dr. Isaac Yankem D.D.S. def. Scott Taylor
— Shawn Michaels def. Sid to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Mike’s Wrap-Up: What We Learned from Raw
Welcome to what is basically the true kick-off of the Monday Night War! Last week’s first episode of WCW Monday Nitro ran unopposed because Raw was traditionally preempted for the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Well, the Monday Night War for Monday Night Raw started off pretty milquetoast, in my view. This show was taped on August 28, 1995, a common move for the WWF at this time. This is a week before the debut of WCW Nitro, and they even had Lex Luger wrestle at the taping. In a match I’m supposing would have aired on either this Raw or next week’s, Luger teamed with Undertaker and Shawn Michaels to defeat Men on a Mission and Sid. That match would never wind up airing. I wonder if it’s ever seen the light of day. While the thought of an unaired Men on a Mission match doesn’t exactly thrill me, I’d just love to see it from a historic perspective.
However, once Lex Luger walked out in the Mall of America on the debut of WCW Nitro, the only thing the WWF did was scrub any mention of his name from the broadcast.
On this show, it’s clear they’re positioning Shawn Michaels as their future. Diesel is the WWF Champion, well into his year-long run with the title, but his momentum is slipping. WWF is relying on taped episodes and predictable storyline flow.
Despite being taped on August 28 and having ample time to edit it to answer back, the WWF chose not to do much aside from the aforementioned scrubbing of Lex Luger’s name and likeness from the broadcast. If you watched this show, you wouldn’t even know that anything was happening on another channel. While the WWF was playing it safe on commentary and keeping their sterile presentation, Eric Bischoff was on the other channel, on a live show, spoiling the results of this entire Raw and ripping up the playbook. Luger actually fought Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship on the rival show (see Roy’s awesome recap for more on that!).
Still, last week’s WCW Nitro debut was an opening salvo that happened unopposed from Raw. This week is truly week one of the Monday Night War… so who won the first head-to-head match-up?
— Raw (USA Network, taped): 2.5
— WCW Nitro (TNT, live): 2.4
Winner: WWF Raw
The first true battle of the Monday Night War goes to WWF Raw, but just barely. This was a strong early signal that WCW’s live, aggressive presentation, where anything can happen (such as Lex Luger walking out onto the show unannounced when everyone thought he was a WWF guy) was catching the attention of viewers. WCW was one week into their experiment and nearly toppled the two-year-old Raw.
The War for Monday Night – September 11, 1995
This was the week it all truly began.
WWF aired a safe, taped show from two weeks prior, quietly erasing Lex Luger and pushing Shawn Michaels to the forefront, though that was always the plan. Diesel was still the WWF Champion, but the buzz was seriously slipping.
Meanwhile, Nitro fired on all cylinders: Lex Luger vs. Hulk Hogan for the WCW Title, live chaos, Sabu was on the show (I totally forgot he was in WCW for a short time), and Eric Bischoff spoiling Raw results in real time.
Despite the creative gap and the live, chaotic feel of the WCW show vs. the WWF’s sterile presentation, the WWF barely eked out WCW 2.5 to 2.4. Not a blowout by any means. WCW was right on their heels in week one, and it’s a warning shot to the WWF: WCW wasn’t just competition… they were a legitimate threat.
Catch Roy Nemer’s Nitro recap for a deeper dive into the mayhem on TNT.
Next week, the battle continues.
Email – mike@wrestleview.com
X – @MikeTedescoWV
Thanks for reading!
Part of Wrestleview’s Monday Night War: 30 Years Later series, with weekly Raw and Nitro recaps every Thursday.