WWF Raw Championship Friday Results
September 6, 1996 (Taped August 19)
Wheeling, West Virginia (Wheeling Civic Center)
Commentary: Kevin Kelly and Jim Ross
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: When you think of a great champion, Shawn Michaels naturally comes to mind. Strong, beloved, courageous, and unquestionably one of a kind. When you think of the quintessential champion, then Goldust is the antithesis. Vulgar, vicious, despised, a lunatic on the fringe of magnificence. Like Shawn Michaels, he exudes confidence and is a ring tactician. But his cherished battleground is his opponent’s fragile psyche, a war zone where insecurity leads to weakness and ego is shattered like a bone. Call him weak, repulsive, and psychotic. After tonight, we may have to call him “champion.”
Video: The Raw intro video plays.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley is in the ring with a beautiful escort. Helmsley will face Sycho Sid, who comes out to a huge ovation. Sid is fired up.
Video: Two weeks ago on WWF Superstars, Mr. Perfect came to the ringside and stole Hunter Hearst Helmsley’s escort. Later that weekend in Toronto, Perfect did it again.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament
First Round Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Sycho Sid
Referee: Jack Doan
The bell rings, and they lock up. Helmsley applies an overhead wristlock, but Sid shoves him off and out of the ring. Helmsley takes a moment before getting back in the ring. They lock up, and Helmsley hooks a side headlock. Sid whips him off and shoulder tackles him again. Helmsley quickly rolls out of the ring to avoid Sid again. Helmsley cautiously gets back in the ring and kicks Sid in his midsection. Sid quickly reverses a whip and big boots him down. Sid grabs the Connecticut Blueblood and puts him in the corner, kicking away at him. Sid sends him into the ropes, but he lowers his head, allowing Helmsley to hit a swinging neckbreaker. Helmsley gets to his feet and does a Blueblood Bow.
Helmsley drops a knee for a two-count. Helmsley angrily chokes Sid and drops another knee for a two-count. Sid’s kickout sends Helmsley flying. Helmsley punches Sid, but Sid absorbs the pain. Sid fires back with some right hands, taking him down. Sid sends Helmsley into the ropes for a massive chokeslam. The crowd is getting loud. Mr. Perfect makes his way to the ringside area. Sid hits a massive Powerbomb, makes the Sign of the Cross, and covers Helmsley for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Sycho Sid
Sycho Sid advances in the WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament and will face the winner of Savio Vega vs. Faarooq Asaad.
Mr. Perfect talks with Helmsley’s escort and leaves with her. As Helmsley regains consciousness in the ring, he looks over and sees that she’s gone. Helmsley is not happy.
Mike’s Thoughts: It’s been going on since the Curtain Call all the way back in May, the legendary incident that saw nearly all the long-term plans for Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 1996 go up in smoke. Since then, as Helmsley has stated in later interviews, he’s had to learn to “eat s**t and like the taste of it.” Helmsley has certainly done that in the months that have passed as he’s really done next to nothing. When he does wrestle, he’s likely losing that match. In the last month, Helmsley signed a multi-year deal with the company, so they’re still willing to invest in him. Now that he has the deal secured, he’s finally getting a storyline with Mr. Perfect, who keeps stealing his valets. We’ll see where this angle leads.
I know I’ve said it before, but WOW was Sycho Sid huge since coming back in July. The crowd loves him and eats up everything he does. Sid, to his credit, does a great job of playing to them.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament
First Round
Owen Hart def. The British Bulldog via CO
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. “Wildman” Marc Mero
Sycho Sid def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Savio Vega vs. Faarooq Asaad
Semifinals
Owen Hart vs. Winner of Austin vs. Mero
Sycho Sid vs. Winner of Vega vs. Asaad
Video: Ahmed Johnson doesn’t feel 100%, but he feels a little better. His physician, Dr. Joel A. Hackett, says he still has a little bleeding in the kidney, but it’s not as bad as when he first came in. Johnson says the fact that he came so close to dying and didn’t tells him that he’s supposed to be here and in the WWF. If God doesn’t want it, he wouldn’t have it. Dr. Hackett says there is a chance that Johnson could come back 100%. Johnson said he’s coming back.
Mike’s Thoughts: The situation with Ahmed Johnson was a really serious one. After emergency surgery in early August, he was readmitted to the hospital with more bleeding during SummerSlam. Now, just a few short weeks later, he’s on the road to recovery and getting back into the ring.
One name that jumps out in this video with the benefit of hindsight is Dr. Joel Hackett, who is presented here as Ahmed Johnson’s physician. Hackett’s name would later become tied to one of the darkest parts of late-1990s wrestling: the prescription painkiller culture that surrounded a lot of wrestlers during this period. Years later, reporting linked Hackett to prescriptions for several wrestlers, including Brian Pillman and Louie Spicolli.
This is not really the story of this segment, which is about Ahmed Johnson’s kidney injury, but seeing Hackett presented so matter-of-factly on WWF television is jarring now. It’s one of those small details that probably meant nothing to viewers in 1996 but takes on a much darker meaning with hindsight.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin heads to the ring. Jim Ross says he’ll break one of the biggest stories of his 20-year career tonight.
-Commercial Break-
Brian Pillman joins the commentary team. Pillman says he has a big surprise that will end a lot of frustration for journalists all over the world. Pillman has a scoop on the future of Bret Hart and will give it at In Your House.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament
First Round Match
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. “Wildman” Marc Mero w/ Sable
Referee: Mike Chioda
The bell rings, and they circle the ring before locking up. Mero backs Austin into the corner and gives a clean break. They lock up again, and Austin backs Mero into the corner. Austin mocks Mero’s taunt, so Mero shoves him down and celebrates. Mero goes for a lock-up, but Austin counters into a hammerlock. They do several standing switches before Austin backs him into the corner. Austin delivers a back elbow and punches him. Austin sends Mero into the ropes, but Mero catches him with a sunset flip for a two-count. Austin rolls him up for a two-count. Mero gets out of a slam and goes for a roll-up, but Austin holds the ropes. Mero dropkicks Austin down for a two-count, and Austin rolls out of the ring to recover.
Austin soon gets back into the ring and goes for a test of strength. Austin quickly stuns him with a kick and hits a headlock takeover. Mero grapevines the head, so Austin counters with a jackknife pin. Mero bridges up and hits a backslide pin for a two-count. Mero quickly follows up with an inside cradle for another two-count. Mero applies a front facelock, and Austin backs him into the corner.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Mero elbows out of a rear chin lock. Mero shoulder tackles him and hits the ropes. Mero ducks a clothesline, but Austin quickly catches him with a Stun Gun for a near fall. Austin hits a snapmare and goes for an elbow drop, but Mero moves. Austin quickly punches him and hits another snapmare before going to the second rope. Mero avoids a bombs away elbow.
Mero pulls himself up. Austin grabs him and goes to bounce him off the top turnbuckle, but Mero blocks it and bounces him. Mero sends him to the opposite corner and hits a running clothesline. Mero starts up the ten punches, but Austin slides away. Austin begs him off, so Mero kicks him. Mero sends him into the ropes for a back body drop. Mero heads to the top rope for a diving double ax handle for a near fall. Mero sends Austin into the ropes, kicks him in the midsection, and hits a knee lift for another near fall. Austin quickly grabs Mero and pulls him out of the ring. Mero gets on the apron and goes to shoulder Austin’s midsection, but Austin pulls the referee in the way, taking him out. The referee calls for the bell.
Austin attacks Mero and punches away at him before hitting a Stone Cold Stunner and throwing him out of the ring. Howard Finkel announces that the referee awards the decision as a result of a disqualification to “Wildman” Marc Mero.
Winner by Disqualification: “Wildman” Marc Mero
Mero soon gets back in the ring, and they begin brawling. All of the WWF referees and producers run out to separate them.
Mike’s Thoughts: That was an absolutely awful finish to a match where there wasn’t anything happening. It’s clear that they don’t want to give a clean finish away because they’ve got some big plans for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, which is why they had Brian Pillman on commentary for this to announce that he has a big scoop on Bret “Hitman” Hart’s return. A few weeks ago, Austin was running down Bret Hart on commentary, so they’re clearly positioning him to be Hart’s first opponent if/when he comes back (believe it or not, it wasn’t 100% certain he would sign with the WWF at this time). Still, they could’ve come up with something better than this. This tournament has featured three matches: one glorified squash match and two non-finishes. Whoever gets the title is basically limping to the finish line.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament
First Round
Owen Hart def. The British Bulldog via CO
“Wildman” Marc Mero def. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin via DQ
Sycho Sid def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Savio Vega vs. Faarooq Asaad
Semifinals
Owen Hart vs. “Wildman” Marc Mero
Sycho Sid vs. Winner of Vega vs. Asaad
-Commercial Break-
Footaction USA Slam of the Week: Earlier tonight, Sycho Sid hit Hunter Hearst Helmsley with a vicious Powerbomb.
Jerry “The King” Lawler interviews Mark Henry
Mark Henry makes his way to the ring to “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa as Jerry “The King” Lawler mocks him in the ring. Lawler introduces Henry as the man who represented the United States of America in the Olympics. Lawler mentions that he wrestled Jake “The Snake” Roberts at SummerSlam. Does Henry know what Jake “The Snake” Roberts and SummerSlam have in common with the Olympics? They both got bombed. Lawler cackles.
Lawler says Henry is the Strongest Man in the World and competed in weightlifting at the Olympics. Now, he’s signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation. However, Henry is making a lot of people mad. First, at SummerSlam, he made Lawler and Roberts mad. When Lawler was pouring the booze down Roberts’ throat and grabbed it out of his hand, Roberts was mad because he wasn’t finished drinking it. Then, on Raw, he got in Vader’s face. Is he crazy?
Henry says he’s not crazy at all. Personally, he doesn’t like Lawler or Vader very much. There are a lot of other people in the WWF that he doesn’t particularly care for. Lawler says he wants to challenge Henry to a match. Henry gets fired up, but Lawler tells him to listen. Lawler says Henry doesn’t know anything about wrestling. He doesn’t know the difference between a wristlock and a wristwatch. Lawler wants a wrestling match. Henry says if he wants a fight, he can bring it on. There’s nothing but air and opportunity. Lawler says he’s not talking about a Street Fight. Lawler wants a wrestling match. Henry says everyone knows he’s recently signed and doesn’t have the proper work he needs. Being a professional athlete and an Olympian, he knows when it’s time for him to lift and wrestle. Henry isn’t ready right now, but there will be a day.
Lawler says Henry isn’t ready because he hasn’t trained enough. Lawler thinks Henry should have won a Gold Medal at the Olympics for being the biggest coward there. Lawler thinks Henry is yellow. Henry angrily grabs Lawler by the jacket. If Lawler wants to wrestle, he’s got it. The match is on! Lawler smirks and asks if Henry is accepting his challenge for a wrestling match. Henry says Lawler will get one Gold Medal butt kicking.
Mike’s Thoughts: You can really see the value of Jerry “The King” Lawler for the WWF at this time. Lawler at 46 years old was not going to be tearing the house down anymore, but if you wanted to protect someone and still have an entertaining match, you could pair them with Lawler. It wasn’t often, but it was effective when they did it. And when it came time for the feud to pay off, Lawler was more than willing to look like a fool and get tossed around. This is actually a good first feud for Mark Henry. It’s true: Henry at this point has had no real training to speak of, so if you need to guide him through the first WWF match of his ten-year, $250,000 a year downside guarantee career, Lawler is the guy to do it.
-Commercial Break-
Mankind and Paul Bearer make their way to the ring. The commentators announce that The Undertaker was hospitalized as a result of the Boiler Room Brawl and was just released. This Monday on Raw, he’ll face the undefeated Salvatore Sincere.
Mike’s Thoughts: Mark Calaway’s toughness as The Undertaker can never be overstated. That cut we saw on his elbow at SummerSlam resulted in a horrific staph infection that did get him hospitalized and caused him to miss a few shows. When we started this series, he had wrestled a few matches with a fractured orbital socket. Now, he went over to Puerto Rico to wrestle Mankind after having the staph infection lanced. Mick Foley tells a really graphic story about it in Have a Nice Day!. The guy is insanely tough.
Mankind w/ Paul Bearer vs. Alex “The Pug” Pourteau
Referee: Tim White
As the match gets going, Jim Ross announces that he has it on good authority that “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon and “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel are on their way back to the World Wrestling Federation.
The bell rings, and Pourteau goes for a takedown, but Mankind quickly overwhelms him with forearm strikes. Pourteau goes for another takedown, but Mankind counters with some strikes. Mankind sends him into the ropes before kicking him in the midsection and hitting a running elbow to the skull. Mankind rakes his face against the ropes before ripping his own hair out. Pourteau gets knocked into the corner, so Mankind hits a running knee. Mankind connects with a swinging neckbreaker. Jim Ross also announces that Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle was at the Stamford, Connecticut offices of the WWF yesterday. Mankind boots Pourteau in the head and sends him into the ropes before grabbing him and applying the Mandible Claw.
Winner by Technical Submission: Mankind
The soft piano music plays as Mankind rocks in the ring. Paul Bearer gets in the ring and gives him the urn.
Mike’s Thoughts: Wow, that’s certainly a lot of information given by Jim Ross in this one Mankind squash match. First, we’ve got the news that Razor Ramon and Diesel are coming back to the WWF. I don’t want to spoil anything, but this is going to become one of the more desperate and ill-advised angles of the year. This one is borderline pathetic. Next, Ross mentioned that Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle was at the WWF Headquarters about a potential deal. It won’t work out. I hope he can find his way back to wrestling at some point. He could be great.
Anyway, I love a good Mankind squash match. So much chaos going on. The act with Paul Bearer is already looking very promising.
Video: Highlights from WWF Ex-perience from August 24, 1996. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper even made an appearance.
Mr. Bob Backlund is in the ring, and the crowd is booing him. Backlund says he is bringing back the man who will win the “WWF Champion” in the near future. First, he wants to introduce someone who will be his mentor and trainer, a man he has a tremendous amount of abomination for, but he respects him tremendously for what he’s done in wrestling as an amateur and professional: The Iron Sheik.
The Iron Sheik heads to the ring waving the Iranian flag. Sheik defeated Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship in 1983. Sheik gets in the ring and shakes hands with Backlund, kissing him on both cheeks. Backlund welcomes him back to the WWF. Sheik shouts that he comes from the oldest country in the world, Tehran, Iran. Sheik says Backlund was an All-American. Jim Ross begins talking over what he’s saying. Ross says this promo should come with closed captions. Kevin Kelly says we’ll take a break, and we leave The Iron Sheik mid-sentence.
Mike’s Thoughts: Well, that was certainly a segment. Bob Backlund and The Iron Sheik have a ton of history together, with Sheik ending Backlund’s long WWF Championship reign in 1983, but this felt more like the company throwing nostalgia and weirdness at the wall than the start of anything meaningful. Certainly not the makings of two guys who will manage a future WWF Champion. Backlund misusing words is always funny, and The Iron Sheik being impossible to understand had Jim Ross scrambling to talk over him, but I’m not sure what anyone was supposed to take away from this other than, “Here are two names you remember.”
The WWF is clearly setting something up with Backlund bringing in a new protégé, but this didn’t exactly make me excited to see where it goes. It mostly made me wonder how fast we could get back to Shawn Michaels, Goldust, Mankind, or literally anything else happening in 1996.
Video: The new WWF fall season premieres on September 21 and 22 on the USA Network.
-Commercial Break-
Video: The Undertaker says Goldust’s time is up. Now not even the band of jackals he rides with can save him. The end is at hand. Goldust will rest in peace.
WWF Championship
Goldust w/ Marlena vs. Shawn Michaels (c) w/ José Lothario
Referee: Earl Hebner
Goldust tries to blindside Shawn Michaels during his entrance, but Michaels ducks a right hand and punches away at him before sending him over the top rope. Goldust quickly gets back into the ring, but Michaels sends him over the top rope again. Michaels then crawls toward Marlena.
They promote that Shawn Michaels is on the cover of Playgirl Magazine.
The bell rings to start the match, and Goldust is on the apron. Michaels slides between his legs and pulls him down to the floor. Michaels punches him at the ringside and sends him into the ring. Michaels goes to the top rope, but Goldust punches him out of mid-air. Goldust clubs his back and puts him in the corner. Michaels reverses a whip to the opposite corner and starts the ten punches. 1… 2… 3… 4… Michaels backflips off him and lands on his feet before hitting a hip toss. Michaels sends him into the ropes, but Goldust drops down and uppercuts him before connecting with a clothesline. Goldust punches away at Michaels and drops him throat-first on the top rope. Goldust punches Michaels in the corner and punches away at him. Goldust whips him hard to the opposite corner, and Michaels rolls up the turnbuckles and out of the ring. Goldust goes to the floor and drops him throat-first onto the barricade.
Goldust points at José Lothario, causing the referee to run over to him. Goldust holds Michaels up, and Marlena blows cigar smoke into his face. Goldust gets in the ring and kicks Michaels in the head as he stands on the floor. Goldust soon pulls him up to the apron and hits a vertical suplex back into the ring for a two-count.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Goldust is applying a rear chin lock. Michaels fights up and elbows out. Michaels hits the ropes, but Goldust turns him inside out with a kitchen sink knee to the midsection for a near fall. Goldust immediately goes back to the rear chin lock.
Backstage Segment: We see Mankind hobbling backstage while singing Shawn Michaels’ theme song. Mankind then peeks through a curtain and is watching the match. Mankind says he has a surprise for Michaels, then laughs.
In the ring, Michaels soon fights up and punches out. Michaels hits the ropes and avoids a slam. Michaels tries to roll him up, but Goldust holds the ropes. They then take each other out with a double clothesline. Both men are being counted down. They get up before the final count. Goldust punches Michaels, but the WWF Champion responds with a right hand. Goldust goes for a back suplex, but Michaels backflips through it. Michaels hits the ropes, ducks a clothesline, and hits a flying forearm. Michaels kips up and gets the crowd going. Michaels hits a scoop slam before going to the top rope for a diving crossbody block. Goldust rolls through for a near fall!
-Commercial Break-
Video: Mankind battles Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship at In Your House: Mind Games on September 22.
Back from the final break of the evening, Michaels hits a flying elbow drop. Michaels tunes up the band, but he stops when he sees Marlena on the apron. Goldust attacks Michaels from behind and drives him sternum-first into the corner. Goldust sets up for the Curtain Call, but Michaels flips through, dekes him down, and hits a moonsault block for the win!
Winner by Pinfall and still WWF Champion: Shawn Michaels
Mankind quickly sprints to the ring from the crowd and checks on Goldust. They go to double-team Michaels, but Michaels ducks and gets out of the ring. Paul Bearer joins them in the ring and stares at Michaels and Lothario. Michaels is not happy.
Mike’s Thoughts: This was an ok match with Shawn Michaels and Goldust, but I was certainly expecting a lot more. The reports of the day said this was the best match of the entire taping, so in editing it for television, they must have cut out a good chunk. Either that, or after a marathon taping, the person making the report was just so thrilled to see a halfway competent match that they overhyped it. Only about eight minutes were actually shown, so not enough to be exciting or make up for the decreased match time.
Quick Match Results
— Sycho Sid def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the First Round of the WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament
— “Wildman” Marc Mero def. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin via DQ in the First Round of the WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament
— Mankind def. Alex “The Pug” Pourteau via Technical Submission
— Shawn Michaels (c) def. Goldust to retain the WWF Championship
Mike’s Wrap-Up: What We Learned from Raw
This was not a good episode of Raw, even with the “Championship Friday” branding. The WWF tried to make this feel like a special edition, but most of the show was built around a weak Intercontinental Championship Tournament, a disappointing WWF Championship match, and a lot of setup for things that may or may not matter in the weeks ahead.
The tournament is already off to a rough start. Owen Hart beat The British Bulldog by countout two weeks ago, Sycho Sid basically squashed Hunter Hearst Helmsley (which I’m not totally against), and now Marc Mero advances over “Stone Cold” Steve Austin by disqualification in a finish that helped no one. The WWF clearly does not want to beat certain people, but the result is a tournament that feels like it is limping along instead of creating a moment for the vacant Intercontinental Championship.
The most interesting thing on the show was probably everything happening around Mankind. His squash match was short and chaotic, Paul Bearer already feels like a strong addition to the act, and the post-main event confrontation with Shawn Michaels at least kept the Mind Games title match in focus. Mankind feels dangerous, fresh, and unpredictable, which is more than can be said for a lot of the roster right now.
There were a few other pieces worth noting. Sycho Sid remains extremely over (they didn’t need all that crowd sweetening to show that). The Mark Henry/Jerry Lawler setup makes sense as a safe first feud for Henry. Ahmed Johnson’s recovery update was encouraging, even if the Intercontinental Championship picture has already moved on without him. Jim Ross also dropped the “Razor Ramon and Diesel are coming back” tease, which just shows how desperate the WWF is to find something that might get people talking.
The ratings tell the story. According to The Wrestling Observer, this special Friday edition of Raw drew a 1.8, which is an ugly number no matter how you frame it. Yes, the show aired outside Raw’s normal Monday night slot, but this was still a rough result for a company already losing badly to WCW. The WWF has some promising pieces with Mankind, Sid, Austin, and the eventual return of Bret Hart hanging over everything, but this episode did not feel like a company closing the gap. It felt like a company trying to figure out what might stick.
WWF Raw Championship Friday (USA Network, taped): 1.8
Since this was a Friday special and not a head-to-head Monday airing, I am listing the rating but not counting it toward the weekly Raw vs. Nitro record.
Email – mike@wrestleview.com
X – @MikeTedescoWV
Raw from two weeks ago | Last week’s Nitro
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