WWF Monday Night Raw Results
May 20, 1996 (Taped April 29)
Sioux City, Iowa (Civic Auditorium)
Commentary: Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler
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: Last night at Madison Square Garden, the WWF superstars performed for a sold-out crowd. Sunny played kiss and tell. We’ll find out all about it tonight.
Video: The Raw intro video plays.
Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler welcome us to the show. McMahon says that Sunny kissed the Tag Team Championship goodbye.
Non-Title Match
Million Dollar Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin w/ “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase vs. “Wildman” Marc Mero w/ Sable
Referee: Tim White
They circle the ring before locking up. They tussle against the ropes for position. They soon break and back away from each other. Austin applies a waistlock, so Mero does a standing switch. Austin fights out and wrenches his arm. Mero lets out a primal growl and turns the wrench onto Austin. Austin quickly hits a drop toehold, but Mero quickly fights back with a hammerlock. Austin fights up and elbows him in the cheek. Austin punches Mero and hits the ropes, but Mero hits a drop toehold before applying a front facelock. Mero then transitions into a hammerlock. Mero transitions to an arm wrench, but Austin whips him off. Mero ducks a clothesline and hits a running crossbody block for a two-count. Mero quickly catches Austin with an arm drag. Mero applies an armbar, but Austin fights up and whips Mero off. Austin catches him in the jaw with a back elbow before clubbing his back. They start to brawl before Austin grabs a side headlock. Mero whips him off, but Austin shoulder tackles him. Austin hits the ropes, but Mero drops down and soon hits a pair of hip tosses, followed by a dropkick.
Austin rolls out of the ring to recover. Mero charges for a plancha, but Austin moves. Mero puts the brakes on and lands on the apron. Mero then flips back into the ring. Austin paces at ringside before getting back into the ring. Austin kicks him in the midsection and clubs his back. Mero reverses a whip into the corner and charges, but Austin flapjacks him onto the top turnbuckle. Austin grabs Mero and chokes him on the middle rope. Austin hits the ropes and avalanches him onto the ropes for a two-count. Mero fights back, but Austin cuts him off with a right hand. Austin rocks him with some punches, but Mero punches him back. Austin quickly grabs him and pulls him through the ropes to the floor.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Austin attempts a suplex into the ring from the apron, but Mero lands on his feet. Mero hits him with an O’Connor roll for a two-count. Austin quickly pops up and hits a clothesline. Austin pulls him up to his feet and connects with a snapmare. Austin goes to the middle rope and dives off with a forearm to the chest. 1… 2… Mero barely kicks out. Austin applies a rear chin lock. Austin cinches it in, but Mero soon begins to fight up. Mero elbows him in the midsection to get out, but Austin kicks him in the midsection. Mero reverses a whip and applies a sleeper hold, but Austin counters out with a sit-out jawbreaker, stunning Mero! Austin covers for a near fall.
Austin hits a snapmare and knees Mero twice in the spine for a two-count. Austin goes back to the rear chin lock. Mero fights up and elbows out. They start trading right hands with Mero coming out on top. Mero hits the ropes and hits a shoulder tackle. Mero goes back into the ropes and hits a head-scissor takeover. Mero hits a running knee to the face and goes to the top rope for a double ax handle. 1… 2… Austin kicks out. Austin pops up and stumbles to the corner. Mero goes to the second rope and starts the ten punches. Austin shoves him off, but Mero clotheslines him down for a two-count. Mero hits the ropes, but DiBiase trips him. The referee was checking on Austin and didn’t see it. Austin quickly attacks Mero from behind and hits a scoop slam.
Austin heads to the top rope, but Savio Vega runs down and starts to whip Austin with a strap! The referee throws the match out.
Winner by Disqualification: Million Dollar Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Austin and DiBiase quickly retreat up the aisleway. Mero takes exception with Vega costing him the match.
Mike’s Thoughts: You can tell these guys had some history together because they matched up just fine in this. In WCW, “Stunning” Steve Austin and Johnny B. Badd were rivals for the WCW United States Championship for part of 1994. A solid pro wrestling match. Austin unwittingly debuted a Stone Cold Stunner here, but it wasn’t a finish. It was a counter to the sleeper hold. Austin’s finisher at this point is still the Million Dollar Dream, but it won’t be long before we start seeing the Stone Cold Stunner added to his arsenal. For my money, it’s still one of the greatest finishing maneuvers in wrestling history. That and the RKO/Diamond Cutter. It can be hit on any opponent of any size at any time. Both Austin and Mero have big matches at the PPV on Sunday, so it’s no surprise to see a DQ finish here.
Video: We see footage of the damage left over by the Iraqi aggression five years ago in Kuwait. Ahmed Johnson was lifted by the spirit of those people and won a 16-man single-elimination tournament to capture the Kuwaiti International Tournament. McMahon growls, “Let freedom ring!”
The WWF King of the Ring Tournament kicks off next week! Ahmed Johnson will battle Vader in a First Round Match next week on Raw. Also, in a First Round Match, Goldust will battle The Ultimate Warrior.
Video: Yesterday in New York, The Ultimate Warrior signed copies of his comic book.
Savio Vega is still in the ring. He’ll be in action against The 1-2-3 Kid, who is accompanied to the ring by “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. This match is next.
-Commercial Break-
Savio Vega vs. The 1-2-3 Kid w/ “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
Referee: Jack Doan
The bell rings, and they circle the ring before locking up. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase joins the commentary. He is holding a chauffeur’s hat, which is what Savio Vega will be wearing when he loses to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin this Sunday at In Your House.
In the ring, Vega is wrenching Kid’s arm. Kid forearms him in the face several times and sends him into the ropes. Kid drops down and goes for a hip toss, but Vega turns it on him. Vega dropkicks Kid down. Vega grabs Kid and bounces him off the top turnbuckle. Vega has him in the corner and sends him over the top rope with a wheel kick. Vega chops him at ringside and gets him in the ring for a dropkick. 1… 2… Kid kicks out. Vega applies a rear chin lock. Kid’s bottom lip is bleeding. Kid fights up, so Vega chops him down and goes back to the rear chin lock. Vega bounces him off the top turnbuckle as he fights up. Vega connects with a snapmare and puts the rear chin lock back on.
DiBiase stands up from the commentary table and twirls the chauffeur’s hat in his hand. DiBiase calls him, “Chauffeur Boy.” Vega releases the Kid and yells at DiBiase. Vega turns into a spin kick from The 1-2-3 Kid. Kid stomps away at him. Kid gets him in the corner and kicks away at him before hitting a spin kick to the jaw. Kid sends Vega into the opposite turnbuckle and hits a running dropkick. Kid goes to the top rope and hits a big diving splash for a near fall. Kid continues to kick away at Vega and hits the ropes for a running big boot. Kid hits a big splash for a two-count. Kid applies a neck vice.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Vega is still trapped in the neck vice. Kid elbows him in the chest, but Vega fights up and punches out. Vega takes him down with a headbutt and tries for an elbow drop, but Kid moves. Kid hits a running leg drop for a two-count. Kid gets Vega in the corner and strikes away at him. Vega starts to shake off the offense and hits a running forearm. Kid pops up and chops him. Vega falls onto the middle rope, so Kid chokes him. Kid sends Vega into the corner and charges, but Vega spin kicks him down for a near fall.
Kid reverses a whip, but Vega ducks a clothesline and hits a Sambo suplex for a two-count. Vega sends Kid into the ropes for a back-body drop. Vega sends him back into the ropes, but he lowers his head and eats a kick. Kid spin kicks him down and heads to the top rope. Kid dives for a splash, but Vega moves. Vega hits a scary-looking inverted crucifix pin for the win. DiBiase screams, “NO!”
Winner by Pinfall: Savio Vega
After the match, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin attacks Vega from behind. Austin sends him into the ropes, but Vega ducks a clothesline. Vega punches away at Austin until Kid spin kicks him in the back of the head. Austin and Kid double-team Kid before DiBiase hands Austin the Caribbean Strap. Austin ties Vega’s arms together and sits him up as DiBiase puts the chauffeur’s hat on him. The Million Dollar Corporation laughs before Austin releases him and stomps him some more. The Million Dollar Corporation stands tall in the ring.
Mike’s Thoughts: Not a bad match at all with Savio Vega and The 1-2-3 Kid. Both guys were throwing around some really stiff kicks. After the interference in the last match, you had to figure Steve Austin would get involved here. He didn’t until the end. The Million Dollar Corporation sure does lose a lot. A few weeks back, WCW ran something on their hotline to tease that Ted DiBiase would be leaving the WWF for WCW. He’s still being featured on TV, but they have to have that floating around in the back of their minds at the booking meetings. With all the losses the Corporation is incurring, it seems they’re getting ready to wrap it up. And as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin continues to improve his new character, he’s quickly moving beyond anything the Million Dollar Corporation could do for him.
Also, sadly, this is The 1-2-3 Kid’s final WWF match (for a while at least). This show was taped on April 29. The next night at the WWF Superstars tapings, he showed up in no condition to perform. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be in a drug rehabilitation center, the beginning of a long, troubled streak for him. This is why he wasn’t part of the Curtain Call, which took place the night before this show aired. He was already off the road at that point and wouldn’t return.
Kid/X-Pac/Sean Waltman was already getting out of control around this time. Scott Hall told a story long ago about The Kliq’s partying days, where he kept tapping on the Kid because he thought he was dead. When the Kid woke up, he apparently kept going. We’re very lucky that he’s still with us. He’ll be showing up in WCW later in this year and will be a huge part of the Attitude Era in the years to come. His demons will still come into play later in life, but as I said, mercifully, he’s on the right track now and is living a good life.
Video: Highlights are shown from the WWF Live Event at Madison Square Garden last night. Before the WWF Tag Team Championship match, Henry O. Godwinn and Hillbilly Jim were looking for Phinneas I. Godwinn. They found him in a locker room with Sunny. It’s unclear what she was doing with him. During the Tag Title match, Sunny continued to try to distract Phinneas. Phinneas eventually grabbed her and kissed her. Phinneas then hit Skip with a Slop Drop to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. The Godwinns celebrated the win big time in Madison Square Garden, even picking up Referee Earl Hebner for a dance.
This Sunday, on the In Your House Free for All, the Godwinns will defend the WWF Tag Team Championship against the Smoking Gunns.
Paul Bearer Interview
Jim Ross is with Paul Bearer in the aisleway of the Sioux City Civic Auditorium. The gold casket for Goldust is behind them. Ross said the WWF Intercontinental Championship will be decided this Sunday in Casket Match rules when the Undertaker faces Goldust. Is the Undertaker ready for this Sunday? Bearer says, “Oh yes, Mr. Ross, there’s a very fine line, and Goldust has crossed that line. It’s time for him to face the Grim Reaper. And to answer your question, Oh Yes, he’s ready!”
Ross asks to speak to the Undertaker. Bearer asks if he’s like to speak to him right now. The casket opens, and Undertaker is lying in it. Undertaker says this is Goldust’s future. He’ll be sealing his fate in this casket. Mankind shows up and slams the lid shut! Mankind ties a rope around the casket to trap Undertaker inside. WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust and Marlena show up behind Mankind and keep Bearer back. Mankind ties the casket shut and waddles to the back.
Ross tries to untie the casket, but Mankind returns with a long metal pipe and pounds it with it. Mankind puts huge dents in the casket before tipping it over. Mankind continues to beat on the casket before WWF officials run out. Mankind threatens them with the pipe and keeps hitting the casket before walking off. The WWF officials pull the casket back up and wheel it to the back.
Mike’s Thoughts: They are not being subtle about Mankind interfering in this Sunday’s Casket Match whatsoever. I haven’t seen the match in YEARS, but I’m curious to see if the crowd is quiet during the action as they wait for the interference. Still, this was a pretty cool segment. At a WrestleMania Axxess years ago, they had a collection of caskets used by the Undertaker. One of them was Goldust’s and had all the dents in it. Now I know where they came from. Pretty cool.
-Commercial Break-
Replay: Footage is shown of Mankind’s attack on the casket with the Undertaker trapped inside.
Jim Cornette is in the ring with The British Bulldog and Diana Hart-Smith. Cornette says WWF Champion Shawn Michaels was supposed to be on commentary for this match, but his attorney, Clarence Mason, has a restraining order to prevent that “no good deviant” Michaels from coming within 100 yards of Diana before this Sunday.
WWF President Gorilla Monsoon walks down to the ring. Monsoon takes the restraining order from Mason. Cornette says it’s legitimate and legal, done in a court of law, not George of the Jungle. Cornette calls Monsoon “Mr. Baboon.” Monsoon speaks with Howard Finkel. Finkel says WWF President Gorilla Monsoon has confirmed this is a valid restraining order and will comply with it in the following manner: Mr. Monsoon has ordered that Diana Smith leave the ringside area immediately! Cornette flips out. Diana is not happy.
WWF Champion Shawn Michaels heads to the ring as Gorilla Monsoon and Clarence Mason escort Diana Smith to the back. Michaels looks over at her as he heads down the aisleway. HBK sits down at commentary for the next match.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts heads to the ring to compete against “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith in tonight’s main event.
-Commercial Break-
The British Bulldog w/ Jim Cornette vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Referee: Earl Hebner
They lock up as we come back from the break, and Bulldog wrenches his arm. Roberts hits an arm drag to get out of the hold. They circle the ring before Roberts wrenches his arm. Bulldog whips him off and goes for a hip toss, but Roberts turns it on him. Roberts knees him in the face and knocks him out of the ring. Cornette speaks with Bulldog at ringside. A “DDT” chant fires up. Bulldog gets in the ring and looks over at the referee. They lock up, and Bulldog powers Roberts to the corner before punching away at his midsection. Bulldog clubs his back and bounces him off the top turnbuckle twice. Bulldog stomps Roberts before pointing at HBK on commentary. Bulldog punches away at Roberts. Roberts fights back and elbows Bulldog in the face.
Roberts whips Bulldog to the opposite corner and charges, but Bulldog knees him in the face. Bulldog punches Roberts down and begins to attack his knee. Bulldog wrenches Roberts’ knee. Roberts’ shoulders are on the mat, so the referee counts for a two-count. Bulldog continues to attack the leg. Roberts leans over and grabs Bulldog’s face. Roberts rolls Bulldog over and does some axe kicks to his face. Bulldog gets up and takes Roberts down before attacking the knee against the ropes. Bulldog screams over at HBK. Roberts pulls himself to the corner, so Bulldog goes outside and slings Roberts’ injured leg against the ring post. Bulldog gets in the ring and taunts the crowd. Bulldog tries to whip Roberts across the ring, but he collapses. Bulldog continues attacking the leg. HBK and Jerry Lawler are really going at it on commentary.
Roberts eventually fights out of the hold and starts punching back at Bulldog. Roberts hits a short-arm clothesline and hobbles around the ring. Roberts signals for a DDT. Roberts hooks the head, but Bulldog attacks the injured knee to take him back down. Bulldog grabs Roberts and applies a single-leg crab. Roberts claws toward the corner and grabs the canvas bag, but Bulldog pulls him away. Lawler drops a bombshell that Michaels posed for Playgirl magazine’s October issue. HBK admits to it and says it was innocent. It was something he agreed to a while ago and was fulfilling an obligation.
Roberts fights back again, but Bulldog strikes him down. Roberts grabs the canvas bag, but Bulldog drags him across the ring. Bulldog attacks the leg and looks at Michaels. Roberts rolls Bulldog up for a near fall. Bulldog immediately pops up and attacks Roberts before putting a single-leg crab back on. Bulldog lets go and shouts at Michaels. Bulldog turns into a punch from Roberts, but he quickly collapses to the mat.
Diana Smith walks down to the ringside.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Diana is yelling at Shawn Michaels. Diana throws a drink in Michaels’ face. Michaels says he wouldn’t hit a woman and punches Cornette down. Bulldog comes off the apron to attack Michaels… and the show comes to an end.
No Contest
Mike’s Thoughts: Well, that was an awful, terrible, boring match. After all the misery of watching these two slog through this, there wasn’t even a finish. There’s actually a reason why the show ended the way it did… because Jake “The Snake” Roberts actually won this match. Yes, it was by count-out, but someone on the booking team thought it was a good idea for the British Bulldog to lose a match to an out-of-shape Jake Roberts the week Bulldog is heading into a WWF Championship match against Shawn Michaels on pay-per-view. Luckily, they thought better of it and edited the match so that it ended with ambiguity. Unfortunately, we had to watch the majority of it.
Honestly, this whole “Shawn Michaels is a womanizer” storyline is super goofy. They’re trying to make it into something worth watching, but we’ve seen Bulldog in title matches before. Other than the matches against Bret Hart, he’s been a disappointment. Hopefully, he can have a great match with Shawn Michaels, but the fact that I barely remember any matches with these two is not a good sign.
And the storyline, at this point, is quickly falling apart. Last week, they promised another video featuring that mystery lady in silhouette who was featured before, but it was dropped. The storyline was supposed to end with it being revealed that Diana Smith was the one who actually came onto Shawn Michaels, was rebuffed, and wound up making up the story, but neither she nor Davey Boy Smith was comfortable with that portrayal of her, so they have no clue how they’re ending this. I’m not sure how it could end any other way without making Shawn Michaels look bad, so I wonder if they’re completely dropping the womanizer aspect pretty soon.
In any event, this was one of those shows where you can tell they were deep into a LONG taping and just trying to get to the end. Many of these performers were already in their second or third featured event. If they’re going to compete with WCW, which is moving to two hours next week, they’ve got to come up with a better plan than putting a month’s worth of shows in a can at a time.
Quick Match Results
— Million Dollar Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin def. “Wildman” Marc Mero via DQ in a Non-Title Match
— Savio Vega def. The 1-2-3 Kid
— The British Bulldog vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts went to a No Contest
Mike’s Wrap-up: What We Learned from Raw
What’s there to really say that I didn’t say in the recap already? This was one of those shows where you can really feel the strain of the WWF’s current system. There are still some very strong pieces in place, particularly Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Mankind, and even emerging names like Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Marc Mero, but the overall product continues to feel wildly inconsistent from segment to segment.
Some things genuinely feel fresh and forward-thinking. Other parts feel tired, overlong, and stuck in old habits. The company is clearly searching for its next identity in real time, and not every experiment is working.
More than anything, this episode feels like a company trying to hold itself together during a major transition. Diesel and Razor Ramon are gone from television, WCW Nitro is expanding to two hours next week, and the WWF is still relying on marathon taping sessions that leave some shows feeling completely exhausted by the end.
I guess the only positive thing I can say about the marathon tapings is that they forced the WWF to stay on a storyline and not worry about whether it was working. If it wasn’t working, they wouldn’t know until after the taping, but there’s four weeks’ worth of stuff, so they wouldn’t change it. Toward the end, Vince McMahon was dropping and starting new storylines weekly, so I guess it’s nice that it forced them to go with what they’ve got. Unfortunately, they’re extremely limited in what they’ve got.
However, that didn’t affect the ratings because the WWF continued to steamroll WCW. Granted, many of these weren’t technically head-to-head matches because of preemptions on TNT, but a wins a win!
WWF Raw (USA Network, taped): 3.1 (Record: 17-14-2)
WCW Nitro (TNT, live): 2.3 (Record: 14-17-2)
Winner: WWF Raw (7-week streak)
Now, because of the taping being done at the end of April, you wouldn’t know from watching that something HUGE happened the night before it aired. Somehow, the legendary Curtain Call turned 30 recently. Let’s dive into it because it’s truly a catalyst for some monumental things to come.
History Corner: The Curtain Call
Sunday, May 19, 1996, may be one of the more important days in the history of professional wrestling, certainly for the Monday Night War. On that day, the World Wrestling Federation hosted a House Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This wasn’t just any House Show on the schedule (and there were a TON at this time). This was going to be the final WWF appearance of Scott Hall as Razor Ramon and Kevin Nash as Diesel, whose contracts ended right after this show. This was their final obligation to the WWF before heading to rival World Championship Wrestling.
As has been detailed before in this series, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were part of a legendary backstage political power known as The Kliq, which also included WWF Champion Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and The 1-2-3 Kid. As the event got closer, knowing this would most likely be one of the final times this group would ever be together in their professional careers, they wanted to do something to mark the occasion and have some closure with the WWF fans. They decided to end the show in the ring together. They say they ran it by Vince McMahon, which he agreed to, but he didn’t know the extent to which they’d go.
Earlier in the show, Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Razor Ramon. As the crowd chanted, “Please don’t go,” he pointed to Vince McMahon, who was watching behind the curtain, and made a money motion to him. McMahon said nothing, so Ramon picked up the microphone and said, “Say goodbye to the Bad Guy.” After that, his microphone was cut off.
In the main event, WWF Champion Shawn Michaels defended his title against Diesel in a Steel Cage Match, which Michaels won by leaving through the door. After the match, something unprecedented began to happen. The internet was still largely in its infancy at this point, so not everyone knew that Diesel and Ramon were leaving the company. There were many smart fans in MSG who knew, but there was a large portion who didn’t. Razor Ramon made his way to the ring and entered the cage, high-fiving Michaels.
Then, Michaels revived his heated rival Diesel, and they embraced. Before long, Hunter Hearst Helmsley was in the ring. The Kliq, to the amazement of the crowd in Madison Square Garden, engaged in a group hug before raising their arms in victory. The Kliq was saying goodbye.
Whereas we know EVERYTHING there is to know about the wrestling business these days (perhaps a little too much), this was a humongous deal back in 1996. Back in 1996, kayfabe still mattered a great deal. Protecting the business and keeping heels and faces apart in public were paramount as a professional wrestler. On this night, those lines were irreparably crossed and broken, sending a ripple effect throughout the professional wrestling industry. This is still a touchy subject with some of the old-school wrestlers and performers from this era. Many felt like The Kliq was spitting in the face of everyone in the business and the World Wrestling Federation.
The fallout from the Curtain Call was probably the most important outcome of the entire incident. With Hall and Nash gone and Shawn Michaels positioned as the face of the company as the WWF Champion, there was only one person who could actually be punished coming out of this: Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
After being chewed out by Vince McMahon for participating in the so-called Curtain Call, he told Helmsley that he was going to “eat s**t and like the taste of it.”
Helmsley, who had clearly been on the rise, suddenly found himself losing frequently on television. A favorite to win the King of the Ring tournament, that plan was quickly scrapped. Instead, the tournament victory went to another rising star, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who would cut a biblically legendary promo that changed wrestling history.
Had the Curtain Call not happened, would Austin still have become the biggest star in the industry? Maybe. But this moment unquestionably accelerated the process.
It’s amazing. One unscripted moment helped accelerate the end of one era and the beginning of another.
Email – mike@wrestleview.com
X – @MikeTedescoWV
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Part of Wrestleview’s Monday Night War: 30 Years Later series, with weekly Raw and Nitro recaps every Thursday.