WWF Monday Night Raw Results
April 8, 1996 (Taped April 1)
San Bernardino, California (Orange Pavilion)
Commentary: Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect
Results by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
“The World Wrestling Federation: for over fifty years, the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.” The WWF video leads us into the show.
Video: The Raw intro video plays.
Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect welcome us to the show. Tonight, we’ll have an interview with the Ultimate Warrior. We’ll also see an Arm Wrestling Match with Ahmed Johnson and the British Bulldog. Finally, WWF Champion Shawn Michaels will battle Jerry “The King” Lawler, which is why he isn’t on commentary tonight.
Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Vader w/ Jim Cornette
Referee: Tim White
The bell rings, and this long-awaited match is happening. The two big men approach each other in the center of the ring. Vader shoves Yokozuna, so Yokozuna shoves him back. Neither man moves. Vader rocks him with a right hand, so Yokozuna stumbles him with one. Yokozuna punches away at Vader and hits a Samoan Drop! Jim Cornette gets on the apron to distract Yokozuna. Vader clotheslines Yokozuna down.
Vince McMahon thanks the fans for joining the show earlier because they want to bring them more action. We’ll start three minutes early every week. Vader beats Yokozuna in the corner and taunts the crowd. The referee admonishes Vader. As he does, Jim Cornette jams the edge of his tennis racket into Yokozuna’s jaw. Vader pulls the giant Yokozuna up, but Yokozuna drops him with a Sambo Suplex. Yokozuna follows up with a leg drop. Mr. Fuji waves the American flag at ringside. Yokozuna punches away at Vader in the corner and backs up. Vader avoids an avalanche, and Yokozuna goes down. Yokozuna’s leg rests on the bottom rope, so Cornette holds it there. Vader then hits a Vader Bomb on Yokozuna’s suspended leg! Yokozuna screams in pain, and the referee calls for the bell!
Winner by Referee’s Decision: Vader
Jim Cornette gleefully gets in the ring and holds Yokozuna’s leg on the bottom rope again. Vader hits a second Vader Bomb on the injured leg. Yokozuna is in a lot of pain. Vader goes back to the second rope, gets the ropes shaking, and hits a third Vader Bomb on Yokozuna’s injured leg. Yokozuna rolls out of the ring and continues to scream.
WWF Officials run down. Gerald Brisco orders more help to be sent. EMTs come down with a stretcher, passing Vader, who poses in triumph.
Mike’s Thoughts: A short but strong match with a lot of heat. People clearly wanted to see these two guys go at it. It was supposed to happen at WrestleMania XII (which took place the day before this event was taped), but given how large and immobile Yokozuna had become, they couldn’t rely on him performing at the level they wanted. Plus, Vader was recovering from a shoulder issue as well. But here, in a four-minute match with a big angle done after, this was fine. Clearly, we’re going to get more of this.
The finish does two things. For one, it continues to establish Vader as this wild, unpredictable, heartless monster who gloats in destroying his opponents so badly that they have to go to the hospital, like Gorilla Monsoon and now Yokozuna. The second thing it does is give Yokozuna some much-needed time off. Yokozuna was well over 600 pounds by this point. Things were getting out of control for a guy who was only 29 years old at this point. WWF was sending him to a weight loss center so he could get back to performing as a slightly smaller big man. I’m not sure they were thinking this could lead to his ultimate demise, but a decision like this could also save his life. Unfortunately, this won’t be the last time we talk about Yokozuna’s weight impacting his life and career.
-Commercial Break-
Video: During the commercial break, a forklift had to be employed to remove the mammoth Yokozuna from the ringside.
Backstage Segment
The forklift is driving the seated Yokozuna, whose injured leg is held in a cardboard restraint, to an ambulance.
The Ultimate Warrior appears on Raw for the first time
Vince McMahon is in the ring and simply says, “He’s back.” The crowd comes to its feet and is clearly pumped. McMahon growls, “He is the Ullltimate Warrior,” and the place goes bananas. The Ultimate Warrior runs down to the ring to a MASSIVE ovation, shaking the ropes and running around the ring. This is the Ultimate Warrior’s first-ever appearance on Monday Night Raw.
McMahon asks where the Warrior has been for the last three years. Warrior says, “Those places where a man goes that are of any real importance, Vince McMahon, are not places you will ever find up on a map.” For a man to truly find himself, he has to go to one place we’re all entitled to go: deep in your mind. In the three and a half years he’s been absent, there’s one thing that would not die: the voices. The Spirit of the Warrior. The people spoke to him, and the crowd gets louder. They said one thing: they wanted Warrior badly. They wanted to live one more time in the Power of the Warrior!
The New WWF Generation Superstars will be coming at him. How will he fare against them? Warrior says all of the new challenges that come from the New Generation will be met with the Power of the Warrior.
WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust and Marlena head to the ring. Marlena is smoking a cigar. Goldust crawls on the mat and gets to his feet before doing his big inhale and chomp. Warrior snarls into the microphone. Goldust quotes a movie and says the “little Warrior” can come to his house, but nobody will be there. Perhaps they can play some games. Warrior can be Superman. Warrior pounds his chest. Goldust says he could climb on his back. They can take off and fly away into the sunset.
Warrior shouts, “Hold it right there, freak!” Whatever Goldust is trying to pull from the minds of those he screws with, and whatever they choose to do with what he dishes out. Warrior says, “Whatever you’re into, I don’t give a s**t!” The word is censored. Warrior pushes him back. If Goldust wants a full-length action-packed adventure, he’s got one for him: “Me kicking your ass from beginning to end!” Warrior clotheslines Goldust down and poses. Goldust stumbles and bumbles up the aisleway. They will meet for the Intercontinental Championship at In Your House!
Mike’s Thoughts: This was a really good angle. For starters, the Ultimate Warrior wasn’t as nonsensical in his promo as he normally is. It was still Warrior-esque, but you could kind of understand it. The good stuff was when Goldust came out with Marlena. The Warrior got much more edge than we’d seen him have up to this point, even shouting an expletive at him before knocking him down. This sets up their In Your House match well. Unfortunately, for reasons we’ll get into later, it turns into a complete disaster.
Regardless of what’s to come, this segment, coupled with a strong return match at WrestleMania XII, has the Warrior’s latest WWF run off to a great start.
A sad footnote to this appearance, his first appearance on Monday Night Raw: 18 years later to the day, the Ultimate Warrior would pass away from a heart attack at 54 years old, one day after his final appearance on Raw (and his first since July 1996). It was a sad conclusion to a triumphant weekend, during which he was welcomed back into WWE after nearly two decades of estrangement and inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I was one of the lucky people in attendance at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and WrestleMania XXX, getting to indirectly spend a part of the final Saturday and Sunday of the man’s life. RIP to the Ultimate Warrior, gone twelve years today.
Still to come, we’ll have an Arm Wrestling Match. We’ll also see WWF Champion Shawn Michaels taking on Jerry “The King” Lawler.
-Commercial Break-
Parking Lot Segment
Yokozuna is still being loaded into an ambulance on the forklift. All of a sudden, Vader runs over with Jim Cornette to smash Yokozuna’s injured leg with a steel chair! Vader lays into him as Yokozuna continues to scream in pain.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley is in the ring with a new escort. She helps take his entrance attire off and leaves the ring as Duke “The Dumpster” Droese charges to the ring.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Duke “The Dumpster” Droese
Referee: Earl Hebner
Helmsley immediately tries to clothesline him as he gets in the ring, but Droese ducks it and hits a back body drop. The bell rings to start the match. Droese connects with a clothesline before hitting a scoop slam. Helmsley scrambles to his feet, so Droese clotheslines him over the top rope. An intense Droese grabs Helmsley at ringside and slaps him in the face before bouncing his face off the ring steps.
Replay: Last week on Raw, Hunter Hearst Helmsley tried to drag Sable away, but she slapped him in the face and left with “Wildman” Marc Mero.
In the ring, Droese punches Helmsley before sending him hard into the opposite turnbuckle. Helmsley rolls up the turnbuckles and stumbles toward Droese, who presses him above his head and slams him down. Droese sizes him up and charges, but Helmsley pulls the top rope down to get him out of the ring. Helmsley goes to ringside and whips him hard into the ring steps. Helmsley gets in the ring and does a Blueblood Bow.
Video: “Wildman” Marc Mero says Hunter Hearst Helmsley caught him by surprise at WrestleMania. Mero calls him “silver spoon” and says the wild surprises start next week on Raw.
Helmsley comes off the top rope with a diving club to the spine for a two-count. Helmsley stomps Droese and kicks him in the ribs. Helmsley stomps away at Droese in the corner before the referee backs him up.
-Commercial Break-
Helmsley stands over Droese and kicks him in the midsection. Helmsley hooks the arms for a Pedigree, but Droese sweeps the feet and catapults him into the corner. Helmsley falls on his face. Droese hits an inverted atomic drop, followed by a traditional atomic drop, knocking Helmsley into the turnbuckles. Droese then drops him with a spinning spinebuster. Droese connects with a scoop powerslam. Droese shouts that it’s time to take out the trash. Droese sends Helmsley into the ropes, but Helmsley twists out of the Trash Compactor and hits a Pedigree for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Mike’s Thoughts: I kind of forgot that these two had a mini-feud that started at the Royal Rumble and wound up with a PPV match at February’s In Your House. This wasn’t a bad match, but you can tell that the crowd noise was added in post-production. The crowd was making a lot of noise, but when you looked at them, no one was reacting at all. Still, the goal was to give Hunter Hearst Helmsley some momentum following a quick loss to the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII. This was a successful match.
Replay: Last week on Raw, Mankind viciously attacked the Undertaker. Mankind hit Undertaker with a diving elbow off the apron before rendering him unconscious with a Mandible Claw.
The British Bulldog heads to the ring alongside Owen Hart. Diana Smith is shown at ringside. Bulldog will battle Ahmed Johnson in an Arm Wrestling Match next.
-Commercial Break-
Parking Lot Segment
Yokozuna is finally being loaded into an ambulance. He is still yelling in pain. The ambulance drives off with the mighty Yokozuna inside.
Arm Wrestling Match
The British Bulldog w/ Owen Hart vs. Ahmed Johnson
Referee: Jack Doan
Vince McMahon is in the ring. A simple folding table with two steel chairs is set up inside. Owen Hart shouts that the British Bulldog is the strongest man in the WWF. McMahon says this isn’t a bodybuilding contest. They sit down. Referee Jack Doan is going to make sure their elbows are down. Hart stops the proceedings and says Johnson is covered in oil and trying to cheat. He could slip and gain an unfair advantage. Johnson uses the referee’s shirt to wipe off the oil. Jack Doan warns Hart that he doesn’t want to hear from him anymore, or he’ll send him to the back.
They sit down, but Hart stops the contest again. Hart accuses him of having his arm too close. Johnson angrily gets up and grabs the steel chair, but the referee stops him. Doan warns Hart to be quiet. Bulldog and Johnson sit down and lock hands, but Hart stops them once again. Johnson angrily pops up to his feet, so the referee ejects Hart from the ring. Hart is irate. Referee Earl Hebner runs down to help. Hart says Bulldog should be the default winner. Hart reluctantly leaves the ring and goes to the back.
Johnson and Bulldog sit down and lock arms. Jack Doan tells them to start. They begin to arm wrestle. Bulldog is pushing Johnson’s arm down, but Johnson starts to make a comeback. Bulldog starts to push back, but Johnson lets out a primal scream and pins Bulldog’s arm down!
Winner: Ahmed Johnson
Diana Hart shakes her head in anger and disbelief.
Ahmed Johnson poses in victory, so Bulldog smashes him in the back with the steel chair. Bulldog leans the table in the corner and hits Johnson two more times on the back with the steel chair. Bulldog shouts, “This is what happens when you mess with the British Bulldog.” Johnson starts to fight back and clubs Bulldog’s back. Bulldog then reverses a whip into the table in the corner, which doesn’t break. There is a big smudge of baby oil on the table from where Johnson hit it.
Bulldog sets the table up and sends Johnson into it again, but it still doesn’t break. Bulldog takes the table and throws it on top of Johnson. Bulldog jumps onto it twice, still trying to break it, but he’s unsuccessful. There are some ECW fans in attendance chanting, “He’s hardcore.” WWF referees run down and back the Bulldog up. Bulldog pushes them off and throws the table onto Johnson again. Bulldog poses in the ring and leaves. Johnson is in a lot of pain as he gets to his feet.
Mike’s Thoughts: This was actually quite a bit of fun. Owen Hart was hilarious here as he kept stalling before eventually being sent to the back. As for the post-match attack, if Maffew of Botchamania hasn’t done a retrospective of this table spot, then he has to. This was classic “I AM THE TABLE!” WWF was starting to incorporate the table as a weapon more and more since Bret Hart first went through one at Survivor Series, but they haven’t mastered the recipe for one that breaks cleanly every time. They were using one of those hardcore folding tables that my parents had in the 1990s for backyard family parties. Those things were basically made of concrete masquerading as wood.
Video: At WrestleMania XII, Savio Vega lost to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Meanwhile, Goldust lost to “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in the Hollywood Backlot Brawl. Now, they have to move past those losses to face each other next week on Raw.
“Big Daddy Cool” Diesel heads to the commentary table for the next match.
-Commercial Break-
Raw is brought to us by Castrol GTX and, appropriately, Burger King.
Non-Title Match
Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. WWF Champion Shawn Michaels
Referee: Earl Hebner
Diesel isn’t happy that Shawn Michaels has invited so many “derelicts” into the Kliq. He thought he was part of it, but he doesn’t want anything to do with it anymore.
The match begins with a lot of stalling between Shawn Michaels and Jerry Lawler. Michaels looks over at Diesel before locking up with Lawler. Lawler backs him to the corner and talks a little trash. Michaels ducks a right hand and punches Lawler down. Lawler is furious. They lock up again, and Michaels backs Lawler to the corner before giving a clean break. HBK feigns going for a right hand, and Lawler cowardly drops down. Michaels then punches him in the face. Diesel says he’s going to take pleasure in destroying Shawn Michaels’ life.
Michaels lays in some jabs to Lawler and hits the ropes to punch him down. Michaels backs up and lies across the top turnbuckle, seemingly bored with Lawler and his tactics. Michaels goes to the ringside and runs around high-fiving some fans. Michaels gets in the ring, and they lock up. Lawler backs him against the ropes and goes for a punch, but Michaels ducks it, sends him into the ropes, and hits a back body drop. Michaels pulls on Lawler’s tights, and Lawler runs away, seemingly concealing a weapon.
Lawler signals for a test of strength while concealing a loaded fist. Lawler then knocks Michaels down to the mat with his loaded fist. Lawler puts the roll of pennies back in his tights and punches away at Michaels before choking him. Diesel gets up from commentary, but Vince McMahon shouts for him to be seated.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Lawler rocks the WWF Champion with a punch to the jaw. Lawler pulls Michaels over the apron and hits a running punch at ringside. Lawler signals for another and connects. Diesel wonders where the Kliq is now. Lawler gets in the ring and pulls Michaels in. Lawler hits his patented Piledriver and poses. Lawler then covers. 1… 2… Michaels kicks out.
Lawler pulls Michaels to his feet and knocks him to the mat with a right hand. Lawler heads to the top rope for a diving double ax handle, but Michaels punches him in the ribs. Michaels attacks Lawler in the corner before sending him to the opposite corner. Michaels hits a flying forearm and kips up. Michaels delivers a scoop slam and heads to the top rope. Michaels hits a flying elbow drop and goes to cover, but he gets to his feet. Michaels looks over at Diesel, who warns him that he doesn’t want any of him. Lawler gets up and loads up his fist, but Michaels sees him coming out of the corner of his eye and lights him up with Sweet Chin Music for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels challenges Diesel to get into the ring. Diesel slowly gets up at the commentary table and slowly removes his sunglasses and watch. Michaels attacks Diesel as he gets in the ring. They get into a brawl before Michaels rakes his eyes. Mr. Perfect gets on the apron, so Michaels chases him off. Diesel then big boots Michaels down. Perfect throws the WWF Championship to Diesel, who catches it and cracks Michaels in the skull with it. Diesel stands over Michaels and throws the WWF Championship onto him before posing.
Vince McMahon is disgusted as Mr. Perfect returns to commentary. Diesel shakes hands with Perfect as he retrieves his sunglasses and watch. Diesel saunters off to the back. Michaels is still unconscious in the ring.
Mike’s Thoughts: This was a really fun main event match with Shawn Michaels and Jerry “The King” Lawler. Lawler was a master at milking a reaction out of the crowd, using his personality to really irritate them into wanting to see him get his head taken off. What a performer. His work really should be studied. I wonder if people associate him more with commentary than his in-ring stuff at this point, but he was truly a brilliant guy in the ring.
The post-match brawl with Shawn Michaels and Diesel was well done. I was surprised to see Mr. Perfect get involved in this by helping Diesel, but I don’t seem to recall any payoff from that. I’ll be curious to see what they do with that going forward, if anything. Strong angle to close the show.
Quick Match Results
— Vader def. Yokozuna via Referee’s Decision
— Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Duke “The Dumpster” Droese
— Ahmed Johnson def. The British Bulldog in an Arm Wrestling Match
— WWF Champion Shawn Michaels def. Jerry “The King” Lawler (non-title)
Mike’s Wrap-Up: What We Learned from Raw
This was a tremendous episode of Raw, and more importantly, everything on it felt purposeful. Where last week’s show came off as a bit of a reset, this week felt like they were actively building toward something.
On the positive side, nearly every segment advanced something. We kicked it off with Vader vs. Yokozuna, which led to a big injury angle. Vader gets cemented as this wild, destructive force, not just beating Yokozuna, but taking him out in a way that writes him off television. The Ultimate Warrior’s return segment successfully kicked off an angle with Goldust for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. And the main event put over the Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel feud in a big way, building to a strong exit from the company for Diesel.
There’s also progress in the midcard. Hunter Hearst Helmsley got some momentum back following the WrestleMania squash, and Ahmed Johnson continues to be presented as this rising powerhouse.
As rough as things were for the company during this period, they were still capable of producing competent television every now and then. The WWF is actually starting to find its footing in terms of structure and direction, but it’s still trying to figure out what its top star should look like in 1996. Some pieces are clearly working or have a solid foundation that will allow them to flourish in the future. Others still feel like they belong to a different time.
The difference now is momentum. This show builds multiple angles heading into In Your House and gives the sense that things are actually moving forward. And with WCW off the air this week (I couldn’t find a reason why), this was a chance for the WWF to gain some ground. The question now is whether they can keep this level of focus and follow-through when the competition returns.
Speaking of momentum, this Raw, running unopposed, got by far its biggest rating since the Monday Night War began.
Raw Rating for April 8, 1996: 4.7
That’s some serious momentum. Speaking of WCW, despite the fact that they’re running unopposed, they started the show for the first time at 8:57 p.m. This was done because WCW Nitro was starting three minutes early to get people watching their show and hooking the audience so they wouldn’t switch to Raw. This move was done to counter that. WCW will be doing some other moves with timing in the coming months to continue trying to pick away at the WWF’s audience.
Email – mike@wrestleview.com
X – @MikeTedescoWV
WrestleMania XII | Last week’s Raw | Last week’s Nitro
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Part of Wrestleview’s Monday Night War: 30 Years Later series, with weekly Raw and Nitro recaps every Thursday.