WWF Monday Night Raw Results
October 23, 1995
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada (Keystone Centre)
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 In Your House, Diesel and Bret “Hitman” Hart got into a massive brawl at the end of the show.
Bertha Faye will defend her WWF Women’s Championship against Alundra Blayze tonight. We’ll also have a No. 1 Contender’s Battle Royal with the winner competing for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. We’ll get up to speed on the medical condition of Shawn Michaels, who was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Title to Dean Douglas. Douglas then immediately lost it to Razor Ramon.
Video: The Battle atop the WWF Headquarters Raw intro is shown.
Video: Earlier today, Sid cut a promo about the Battle Royal. Only one super predator can win the Battle Royal. That man is the Master and Ruler of the World. Marty Jannetty was then shown. He says he’ll be the winner of the Battle Royal and will see Razor Ramon next week.
No. 1 Contender’s 20-Man Battle Royal
Participants: Aldo Montoya, Bam Bam Bigelow, Barry Horowitz, Bob Holly, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, “Make a Difference” Fatu, Hakushi, Henry O. Godwinn, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS, Jean-Pierre Lafitte, “The Supreme Fighting Machine” Kama, King Kong Bundy, Marty Jannetty, Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette, Rad Radford, Savio Vega, Sid, Skip, and The 1-2-3 Kid
Referees: Earl Hebner and Jack Doan
The bell rings to start the match. Almost immediately, several wrestlers team up to eliminate King Kong Bundy. Fatu takes it to Sid. Savio Vega tries to eliminate Kama, but Kama pokes him in the eyes. Skip holds Marty Jannetty up, and Rad Radford punches away at him. Skip then sends Montoya over the top rope to eliminate him. Bam Bam Bigelow pushes Helmsley over the top rope, but he lands on the apron. Bigelow holds Hart up for Vega to tee off on. Fatu and Vega get Hart on the top rope and nearly eliminate him, but he hangs on. On the other side of the ring, Sid sends Holly over the top rope for the elimination. Hart attacks Hakushi, but he fights back. Hakushi and Godwinn double-team Hart. Sid big boots Droese over the top rope. Skip soon sends Hakushi over the top rope. Horowitz and Skip go at it. Fatu was eliminated by Kama, but the cameras initially missed it. Skip charges at Horowitz, but Horowitz hits him with a back body drop over the top rope.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, the field is noticeably thinner. During the break, Yankem and Lafitte eliminated Godwinn. Rad Radford and Kama were also sent out. Some eliminations that weren’t shown on replay are Barry Horowitz, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and The 1-2-3 Kid.
Back to live action, Sid sends Yankem over the top rope with a back body drop. Lafitte saves Hart from being eliminated. Sid big boots Jannetty down. Hart lifts Jannetty, but Jannetty slides off and rolls him up for some reason. Bigelow takes it to Sid and sends him over the top rope with a shoulder tackle. Vega takes Lafitte down with a running back elbow.
WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon is shown watching the match backstage. Bigelow and Vega send Lafitte into the ropes for a double-team clothesline.
-Commercial Break-
We’re back live from Brandon, Manitoba. We’re left with four men in the ring: Savio Vega, Jean-Pierre Lafitte, Marty Jannetty, and Owen Hart. Lafitte takes it to Vega as Jannetty applies a sleeper hold to Hart. Hart lifts Jannetty and tries to eliminate him, but Jannetty pushes off the ropes to take Hart down. Jannetty gets Hart in the corner and punches away at him. Vega hits Lafitte with a DDT. Jannetty shoves Hart over the top rope, but Hart lands on the apron. Hart chop blocks Vega before he can eliminate Lafitte. Vega responds with an enzuigiri on Hart. Lafitte nearly eliminates Vega, but he slides back into the ring. Hart attacks Vega and goes for a rolling heel kick, but Vega avoids it. Vega then hits a rolling heel kick. Vega attacks Jannetty and sends him over the top rope, but Jannetty skins the cat, applies a head-scissor, and pulls him over the top rope for the elimination! Jannetty pulls himself into the ring and eliminates Lafitte with a back body drop!
It’s down to Owen Hart and Marty Jannetty. Jannetty sends Hart into the ropes. Hart tries to roll up the ropes, but he doesn’t go over. Jannetty tries to clothesline him over the top rope, but Hart doesn’t go over. A second attempt sends Hart over, but he lands on the apron. Jannetty tries to punch him off, but Hart holds onto the ropes precariously. Hart knocks him back by snapping him off the top rope. Hart gets in the ring and hits an enzuigiri. Hart tries to eliminate him, but Jannetty pushes off the ropes to take Hart down. Jannetty grabs a waistlock, so Hart runs around and slings Jannetty through the ropes, not over them. Hart thinks he’s won, but one has to go over the top rope to be eliminated. The referees say Jannetty hasn’t been eliminated.
Jim Cornette tries to hit Jannetty with his tennis racket, but Jannetty takes it and chases him. The British Bulldog comes to ringside and runs over Jannetty before bouncing him off the steel steps. Bulldog rolls Jannetty into the ring. Hart attacks him. Jannetty reverses a whip, but Hart takes him down. Jannetty fights back and hits the ropes, but Hart sidesteps him and sends him over the top rope!
Winner: Owen Hart
Owen Hart will face Razor Ramon for the WWF Intercontinental Championship next week on Raw!
Mike’s Thoughts: A typical Battle Royal match for this time period. A whole lot of nothing happening until the end. I’m amazed that they had twenty people on the roster to collect in one ring. The first parts were pretty blah, with not much excitement. The production was pretty poor, with basically just one wide shot of the ring to see what’s happening. It’s amazing when you watch how a Battle Royal is produced in the current day. It might feel a little more produced, but that allows the cameras to be right where you need them to be and brings some order to the chaos. Much better for the viewing audience.
That said, the last moments of the match were quite good, particularly when it was down to just Marty Jannetty and Owen Hart. Some really great action that would fit in anywhere today. They were doing stuff that many on the roster weren’t doing. Owen Hart was so damn good, and Jannetty, when he could keep his demons at bay, was spectacular.
Promotional consideration is paid for by WrestleMania: The Arcade Game.
-Commercial Break-
Replay: The British Bulldog ran down and attacked Marty Jannetty moments before the end of the match.
Jerry “The King” Lawler is at ringside with Owen Hart and Jim Cornette. Lawler says Hart’s “Jurassic Park” parents have to be so proud. This is the true King of Harts. Next week on Raw, he’ll get his shot at Razor Ramon and the WWF Intercontinental Title. Hart says he beat the best the WWF has to offer and is the cream of the crop. Next week, we’ll find out who the real Bad Guy is. Hart will beat him and take the Intercontinental Title because he is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
Diesel will defend the WWF Championship against Bret “Hitman” Hart at Survivor Series.
Video: Last night at In Your House 4, Bret “Hitman” Hart was on commentary for the Diesel vs. The British Bulldog WWF Championship match. At one point, Hart was trying to help Diesel up, but Diesel shoved him back. At the end of the match, Bulldog slapped Hart unprovoked, prompting Hart to attack him and resulting in a disqualification. Diesel and Hart then brawled to close the show.
WWF Survivor Series Slam Jam
Dok Hendrix is in his merchandise pit, looking giddy. Hendrix puts over the Bret Hart vs. Diesel match for the WWF Championship. He then talks about the Wild Card Survivor Series match made by the fan-friendly Interim WWF President, Gorilla Monsoon. Shawn Michaels will team with his former bodyguard, Sycho Sid, The British Bulldog, and Ahmed Johnson to take on Dean Douglas, Yokozuna, Owen Hart, and WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon. Hendrix then asks what’s going on.
We go into the Keystone Centre to see Bob Backlund walking around the crowd as he attempts to campaign for a presidential race.
Back to Hendrix, he talks about the Wild Card pairings. Hendrix then wonders about Ahmed Johnson. All we know is that he’s big and bad.
Video: Ahmed Johnson is shown. Johnson tells Shawn Michaels not to sweat it because he’s got his back. If Sid and the British Bulldog try to turn on them, he’ll show them the true meaning of medieval.
We go back to see Bob Backlund still walking around the crowd.
Tonight’s main event will see Bertha Faye defend the WWF Women’s Championship against Alundra Blayze.
-Commercial Break-
Avatar makes his WWF debut. He comes to the ring unmasked, but then he puts his mask on and undergoes a metamorphosis by making some arm thrusts.
Avatar vs. Brian Walsh
Referee: Tim White
They lock up, and Avatar does a single-leg takedown. Walsh gets to the ropes and kips up. Avatar wrenches the arm. They go back and forth, countering arm wrenches. Walsh sends him into the ropes, drops down and leapfrogs him, and drops down, but Avatar leaps over him. Avatar goes for a superkick, but he totally whiffs. Avatar then punches him off the apron. Avatar goes to the top rope and loses his balance. Avatar then redirects and hits a plancha, a move Vince McMahon calls “most unusual.” Avatar gets him in the ring and goes for a moonsault, but Walsh moves. Walsh hits a pair of clotheslines before putting him in the corner. They are not on the same page at all. Avatar puts the brakes on a whip and turns him inside out with a clothesline. Avatar sends him into the ropes and hits a backbreaker. Avatar connects with a standing moonsault before standing up and doing a splash for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Avatar
Avatar removes his mask and is back to his regular old self.
Mike’s Thoughts: What a horrible debut for a horrible character. Al Snow, who played Avatar, must have been feeling the butterflies because he was off on a ton of stuff. From losing his balance to the long delay in the corner as they tried to get on the same page, this was brutal. The character was dead on arrival, and a botch-filled debut match pretty much did it in immediately. In fact, this is the only time Al Snow appears as Avatar in Raw history. The only other television appearances for the character were two episodes of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, losing to Sycho Sid and The 1-2-3 Kid as he teamed with Aldo Montoya (another loser character), and a losing effort against Isaac Yankem. Who booked this crap?
Barry Didinsky shills merchandise
“The Mayor of Merchandise” Barry Didinsky is with the life-sized cardboard cutouts of Shawn Michaels and Bret “Hitman” Hart. For $25 each, you can have them in your home. If you call tonight, they’ll throw in a WWF classic videotape at home. Imagine Bret Hart at your dinner table!
Mike’s Thoughts: What a winner you’d look like if you had a Bret Hart cardboard cutout sitting at your dinner table. Don’t even bother attempting to have normal human interactions with anyone, family, friend, or lover, if that happens. Barry Didinsky… probably a WWF figure best left in the scrap pile of history, but if you were ever curious about him (because his time on Raw is quickly coming to an end), here’s a great WrestleCrap article on him.
Backstage Segment
Alundra Blayze is warming up backstage. She’ll face Bertha Faye for the WWF Women’s Championship next.
-Commercial Break-
WWF Raw is brought to you by Milton Bradley’s Karate Fighters.
Next week, Razor Ramon will defend the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Owen Hart. Jerry “The King” Lawler says Owen Hart can bring pride back to his family. Vince McMahon is confused. Lawler says Bret Hart has been a disgrace. McMahon says we’ll also hear from Shawn Michaels after being stripped of the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Lawler tries to hold back his laughter.
Video: Goldust will make his broadcast television premiere against Savio Vega next week.
WWF Women’s Champion Bertha Faye makes her way to the ring with Harvey Wippleman. She skips around as Wippleman happily watches on. Faye then kisses ring announcer Manny Garcia, which angers Wippleman.
Video: At SummerSlam in August, Bertha Faye defeated Alundra Blayze with a sit-out powerbomb to win the WWF Women’s Championship.
Alundra Blayze makes her entrance to the ring.
-Commercial Break-
WWF Women’s Championship
Bertha Faye (c) w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Alundra Blayze
Referee: Jimmy Korderas
The bell rings, and Bertha Faye skips around a bit. Harvey Wippleman slaps Alunda Blayse on the back of her ankles. Faye attacks her and sends her into the ropes for an avalanche. Faye presses Blayze over her head and slams her down before blowing some kisses. Faye connects with a scoop slam followed by a pair of leg drops for a one-count. Faye pulls Blayze up and hits a throat thrust before raking her face on the top rope. Faye hits a few body thrusts in the corner before sending her into the ropes. Blayze counters a powerbomb with a roll-up for a two-count. Faye quickly clotheslines her down and sends her into the ropes. Blayze attempts a sunset flip, but Faye sits on her chest for a near fall. Faye sets up for a Tiger Driver, but Blayze fights it. Faye swats her down and slings her to the mat. Faye bounces her off the top turnbuckle and hits a snapmare before kicking her in the back. Faye clubs the back. Blayze tries to fight back, but Faye punches her down. Faye pulls her up and pulls her into an avalanche.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Blayze has Faye in a Boston Crab. Blayze releases the hold and drops an elbow, but Faye quickly takes her down. During the commercial break, Faye hit a sit-out powerbomb, the move she used to beat Blayze at SummerSlam, but Blayze kicked out. Back to live action, Faye whips her into the corner, but Blayze rolls up the turnbuckles and lands on the apron. Blayze strikes her before bouncing her face off the top turnbuckle a few times. Blayze grabs the hands and comes off the top rope with a wristlock takeover. Blayze follows up with a hip toss, followed by an elbow to the chest. Blayze goes to the second rope for a missile dropkick to pick up a two-count.
Blayze sends her into the ropes for a spin kick. Blayze rakes the face with her boots before picking up a two-count. Blayze jams the neck before punching her in the face. Blayze kicks her in the chest and clubs the spine. Blayze sends her into the ropes and hits some running hair pulls for a one-count. Jerry Lawler says everyone in the trailer park is watching this with great interest. Blayze hits a snapmare and jams the neck again. Blayze sets up for a Powerbomb, but Faye fights it. Lawler says you’ll have to call for a crane to lift her. Faye gets out with a back body drop before following up with a scoop slam. Faye slowly makes her way to the second rope, but Blayze takes her down with a handstand head-scissor takeover. Harvey Wippleman gets on the apron. Blayze swings at him, but he ducks. Wippleman grabs Blayze by the hair and holds her. Faye charges but hits Wippleman when Blayze moves! Blayze hits a bridging German Suplex for the win!
Winner by Pinfall and new WWF Women’s Champion: Alundra Blayze
Bertha Faye is furious with Harvey Wippleman and chases him backstage. Alundra Blayze celebrates with the WWF Women’s Championship.
Mike’s Thoughts: It always shocks me whenever a women’s match pops up around this time. It’s clear almost no thought was being put into it. Bertha Faye won the title at SummerSlam in August, yet this October 23 match was her first televised appearance and title defense. What was the point? The reality is there just wasn’t much of a division to speak of. Outside of Blayze, Bertha, and occasional guest stars flown in from Japan, there was no roster depth. With little investment from the company, the matches rarely felt important.
That’s the real shame here, because the match itself was actually a solid effort from both women. Unfortunately, the crowd sat on their hands, sensing how little the company cared about the division, which robbed the moment of any energy.
There is an interesting note about this title match. This will be the last WWF Women’s Title match (though not the last women’s match) on Raw until September 1998. It also marks one of Alundra Blayze’s final appearances in the company. Within two months, her relationship with the WWF would sour so much that she would head to WCW and dump the title in the trash can in one of the most memorable moments of the Monday Night War. This ultimately led the WWF to abandon the division altogether for a few years. I bet Roy Nemer can’t wait to get to that moment!
This was also the second and final Raw match of Bertha Faye’s career. A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she had great success in Japan and WWC as Monster Ripper before spending most of 1995 as Bertha Faye, the trailer park lover of Harvey Wippleman. She sadly passed away at the too-young age of 40 from a heart attack, most likely brought on by complications from diabetes. The Bertha Faye character was a rough way for such a talented wrestler to be remembered, but fans who saw her earlier work know how good she really was. May she rest in peace.
Coming up next, Jim Ross will speak with “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.
-Commercial Break-
Next week, Goldust will make his broadcast television debut against Savio Vega. The WWF Intercontinental Championship will also be on the line when Razor Ramon defends against Owen Hart.
Jim Ross interviews Shawn Michaels
A battered and bruised Shawn Michaels is shown sitting down. Jim Ross says HBK was mentally ready to step into the ring last night, but WWF officials and medical personnel would not allow him to compete. How did it feel to forfeit the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Dean Douglas? HBK says JR has known him since he broke into the sport. He wouldn’t claim to be the toughest or most popular, but as far as work ethic, there aren’t a lot of guys who have worked harder to get where he’s at. HBK earned that Intercontinental Championship for a third time. There’s not a lot of shame in getting beaten up by nine guys in Syracuse. That sort of thing just happens to him. But having to walk out and give someone who he thinks is overrated and undeserving his title, the title he worked day and night since he was twelve years old to get, was the hardest thing he’s done in his life.
JR says bad luck seems to follow him. At Survivor Series, he’s involved in a Wild Card match. HBK will team with a relative unknown in Ahmed Johnson, but he’ll also team with Sycho Sid and The British Bulldog. When can fans of the World Wrestling Federation expect to see him in the ring? HBK says “bad luck” seems to be his middle name. They might as well team him with his buddies in Syracuse. HBK has tests on Wednesday that he hopes to pass with flying colors. They have to check out his brain, which he says has never been that great. HBK hopes to be back in a week. He’s always been a pain in the derriere of the World Wrestling Federation. He has two choices: sit at home and cry, or come out and be a pain. He’s all cried out.
Back to commentary, Jerry Lawler is pretending to cry. Vince McMahon says Shawn Michaels will be back soon and pushes the matches for next week’s Raw. The show closes.
Mike’s Thoughts: The angle with Shawn Michaels forfeiting his WWF Intercontinental Championship the night before at In Your House was so well done that it’s hard to sit here and say anything should be changed about it. Michaels definitely looked beat up, but he looked even worse the next night on Raw. They should have had him go out to the ring the night before, looking like he did on this Raw, because he looked really rough.
This was a solid interview that gave us a glimpse of where the WWF was headed, with Shawn being positioned as the emotional centerpiece of the company. But how did we get here? Let’s go back to October 13, 1995.
History Corner: The Night That Changed Shawn Michaels’ Career
It really was fair to say that Friday, the 13th of October, was a day of nightmares for the WWF. They were coming to grips with the fact that The Undertaker was going to miss a month of bookings due to a fractured eye socket. Also, Vince McMahon’s recently hired top executive, who was supposed to take the reins on the creative side and free McMahon up to do the corporate stuff, “Cowboy” Bill Watts, had just up and quit the WWF.
But the biggest story from that day happened in Syracuse, New York. On October 13, 1995, just ten days before this episode of Raw aired, Shawn Michaels’ career (and perhaps his life) nearly ended. After a WWF House Show in Binghampton, New York, Michaels went to a bar in Syracuse, the site of their next House Show, with Davey Boy Smith and The 1-2-3 Kid. As was typical of the time, Michaels got obliterated drinking alcohol. The wrestlers called for a taxi, but they were all booked up. The bouncer at the bar offered to have his girlfriend drive them back.
For reasons that I’ve never seen made clear, at least eight servicemen (no one knows for sure, but they did all have crewcuts) followed the wrestlers outside. Allegedly, they were mad at the bouncer’s girlfriend, but who knows for sure? Michaels was already in the front seat and had passed out. They pulled the unconscious Michaels out of the car and beat him within an inch of his life with no chance to defend himself. They smashed his face into the car, leaving him with a laceration of the right eyelid and cheek, two black eyes, swelling, and blood coming from the ears and right eye. They also left him with a gnarly concussion. He truly was lucky to escape with his life, given the circumstances.
This would actually set off a chain of events that I believe would ultimately be the keys to solidifying him as a certified main eventer and launching his career into the stratosphere. The plan was probably always Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII, but without this unfortunate real-life event, I’m not sure that moment would have become as huge as it did. Rather than leaning into more gimmicks or their old tacky tricks for trying to book a super babyface, the WWF leaned into reality.
The angle the night before at In Your House and the interview tonight were the first steps in painting him not just as a flashy showman, but a sympathetic figure all fans could rally behind. A few weeks from now, they’ll go a step further with the infamous “collapse” angle. Suddenly, he’s not the cocky Heartbreak Kid anymore. He’s a wounded underdog, vulnerable and courageous as he attempts to get his life back. This allowed all fans to connect with him in a way they hadn’t before.
Looking back, this may have changed the course of his career for the better. Sympathy for his real-life injuries was seamlessly tied with the kayfabe narrative the WWF was crafting, setting the stage for his Royal Rumble comeback and the “Boyhood Dream” storyline that would culminate at WrestleMania XII. What could have ended in tragedy instead positioned him as the company’s next top babyface.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that if not for that night in Syracuse, Shawn Michaels’ path to becoming the guy in 1996 might have looked very different.
Quick Match Results
— Owen Hart won a No. 1 Contender’s 20-Man Battle Royal
— Avatar def. Brian Walsh
— Alundra Blayze def. Bertha Faye (c) to win the WWF Women’s Championship
Mike’s Wrap-Up: What We Learned from Raw
Coming off one of the worst PPV events in WWF history, we have only the second live head-to-head match-up between Raw and Nitro. The show once again lacked star power. The injuries to The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels have exposed how dangerously thin the roster is at this point.
After the PPV ended, Vince McMahon walked away from the commentary table shouting, “Terrible, f***ing terrible” at Diesel, so you’d think they’d have some grand idea to try to refocus everything. Granted, there’s only so much you can do on a one-hour show, but it’s like they didn’t care at all. The Battle Royal was what it was, but it went a little too long. Yes, a few moments were good at the end, but it was rough getting there. Not even sure why King Kong Bundy dusted off the tights to get in there.
Then they hit us with the debut of Al Snow/Avatar, which was nothing short of a pure disaster. That will be the one and only appearance of that character. With Karate Fighters selling well, WWF thought, “Why not put one in the ring?” Oops.
The main event contained some decent wrestling, but absolutely no one cared about the Women’s Division at this point. Even a title change on free TV isn’t enough to generate the interest needed. The live crowd was restless throughout the show, except for some short bursts in the Battle Royal and the Women’s Title match.
WWF may have stumbled (what else is new?), but Nitro wasn’t exactly on fire either, though it does contain a glimpse of the dreaded Yeti.
Even with a bad PPV hangover, Raw should have had a ratings bump. Neither show was awesome, so who won the night?
— WWF Raw (USA Network, live): 2.2 (Record: 3-2-2)
— WCW Nitro (TNT, live): 2.6 (Record: 2-3-2)
Winner: WCW Nitro
Even though WCW is ramping up on the goofiness with the Giant and Yeti stuff, you can’t fight star power. WCW has it, and the WWF doesn’t. WWF is airing a Battle Royal featuring the likes of Kama and Aldo Montoya, and WCW is giving you Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Lex Luger, and Sting. That kind of star power gap is exactly why the WWF was about to fall way behind in this war.
The War for Monday Night – October 23, 1995
(TL;DR version)
Fresh off one of the worst PPVs in WWF history, Raw limped into its second live head-to-head battle with Nitro. With Undertaker and Shawn Michaels sidelined, the lack of star power was glaring. Instead, fans got a lame Battle Royal, the disastrous debut of Avatar, and a Women’s title change that the crowd barely reacted to.
Nitro wasn’t exactly delivering classics, either, but it still had Hogan, Savage, Sting, and Luger, plus the infamous debut of the Yeti. At the end of the night, star power won out with Nitro winning the ratings battle.
This was the first real sign of what the coming months would hold. WCW’s live energy and star-driven roster were gaining momentum and starting to pull ahead, while the WWF’s thin talent pool left them scrambling.
For the full Nitro side of the night (and yes, the Yeti), check out Roy Nemer’s recap!
Did you miss In Your House 4: Great White North? Check it out here!
Did you miss last week’s Raw? Check it out here!
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.