WWF Monday Night Raw Results
September 30, 1996 (Taped September 23)
Hershey, Pennsylvania (Hersheypark Arena)
Commentary: Kevin Kelly, Jim Ross, 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 week on Raw, Jim Ross said he has no loyalty to the World Wrestling Federation. He only has loyalty to himself. Vince McMahon couldn’t stand the competition on commentary and fired him. Ross said the people leaving the WWF aren’t an accident, but he’s been working hard. Ross then introduced Razor Ramon, who was not portrayed by Scott Hall.
Video: The Raw video plays.
Kevin Kelly, Jim Ross, and Jerry “The King” Lawler welcome us to the show. Kelly mentions that Savio Vega will battle Razor Ramon. Ross mentions that WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and José Lothario will battle Vader and Jim Cornette. Lawler then says “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will battle Jake “The Drunk” Roberts. Lawler pulls out a bottle of Jim Beam and says he has a surprise for Roberts.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Referee: Mike Chioda
This is a rematch of the finals of the 1996 King of the Ring Tournament, which Austin won.
The bell rings, and they circle the ring before locking up. Roberts backs him into the corner, so Austin spins him around. The referee gets between them. Austin and Roberts are heated at each other. They lock up, and Austin backs him into the corner, but Roberts turns him around. Austin punches him back. Roberts is furious and gets fired up. They lock up, and Roberts backs him into the corner. Austin blocks a right hand and punches Roberts back. Austin sits on the middle rope to hold it open and tells Roberts to get out of the ring.
They lock up, and Austin applies a side headlock. Roberts whips him off, but he lowers his head, so Austin leapfrogs him. Roberts then punches him in the face. Austin quickly retreats to the corner. Roberts points at Jerry “The King” Lawler on commentary. Lawler says he’s got something for Roberts. Austin rolls out of the ring to recover, so Roberts starts a “DDT” chant. Austin gets in the ring and shouts at the crowd. They lock up, and Roberts wrenches his arm. Austin backs him to the corner and shoulders him in the midsection. Austin punches Roberts before whipping him hard to the opposite corner. Roberts boots him back and goes for a DDT, but Austin quickly escapes and rolls out of the ring to regroup. Roberts smiles and points at Lawler. Roberts leaves the ring and approaches the commentary table, but he turns to punch Austin down before he can attack.
Roberts gets in the ring, and Austin attacks him as he comes in. Austin elbows him in the neck and goes to the second rope for a bombs-away elbow. Austin pulls him to the ring apron and elbows him in the chest. Austin gets on the apron and comes down with another elbow to the chest. Austin stomps Roberts and rakes his boot on his face. Roberts is struggling to get up. Austin shoulders Roberts in the midsection and kicks him in the ribs. Austin jumps off the second rope and comes down with a boot to the back. Austin covers for a two-count. Roberts punches Austin in the midsection, sending him into the ropes, but Roberts lowers his head and eats a kick. Austin goes to the second rope and hits another bombs away elbow. Austin covers, but Roberts grabs the bottom rope at two.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Austin is applying a rear chin lock. Austin punches him as he attempts to get up. Austin grabs him, but Roberts bounces him off the top turnbuckle. Austin quickly pokes him in the eyes and climbs to the top rope, but Roberts sweeps his feet. Austin collapses to the mat in pain. Roberts connects with a short-arm clothesline and signals for the end. Roberts sets up for a DDT, but Austin holds the ropes. Austin covers and puts his feet on the ropes, but the referee stops counting when he catches him.
Lawler gets up from commentary with the bottle of Jim Beam in his hand. Austin argues with the referee. Roberts then kicks Austin and hits a DDT! 1… 2… Austin gets a foot on the bottom rope! Lawler is waving around the bottle at ringside. Roberts is furious and tells the referee. Lawler takes a swig and spits it in Roberts’ eyes. Roberts is not happy. Roberts approaches Austin, but Austin catches him with a Stone Cold Stunner for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Jerry Lawler gets up and celebrates with Austin. Austin drops some elbows on Roberts before he and Lawler start double-teaming him. Savio Vega runs down for the save, swinging the leather strap to clear them from the ring. Vega will face Austin at In Your House: Buried Alive.
Mike’s Thoughts: I really liked this match. Jake “The Snake” Roberts, one of my all-time favorites, if we’re being honest, has not looked great in this run. Roberts came back to the WWF after a year away from wrestling and was clearly out of shape. Being a master of ring psychology, he could still work his magic and get the crowd behind him, but there haven’t been any matches in this comeback that were actually good. Until this one.
You can tell watching this that Roberts has an affinity for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. During this run, Roberts had a chance to do some work with the writing staff, and he has said he was the one who identified Austin to Vince McMahon as someone who could be McMahon’s next guy. Roberts has also talked about mentoring Austin and going over his matches with him on the road.
That respect is also returned from Austin, who made Roberts look great here. This is by far the best that Roberts has looked in this run. Austin is clearly on the way up and being positioned for Bret “Hitman” Hart, while Roberts is closer to closing the book on his own WWF comeback. Both men seemed motivated by those converging paths, and it made for a surprisingly strong television match.
The Jerry Lawler stuff, which I’ve frequently acknowledged can co-exist in a world where it’s both funny and pathetic, is definitely getting a little old. Still, Lawler can squeeze every last drop out of the bit with his over-the-top mannerisms and obnoxious laughing at his own jokes.
Video: Mankind is digging a hole by hand in a cemetery as Paul Bearer yells that he doesn’t have to. Mankind says if he digs it, The Undertaker will come. Bearer says The Undertaker will dig his own grave, and Mankind will bury him in it.
Back to the Hersheypark Arena, Jerry “The King” Lawler returns to commentary.
Still to come, WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and José Lothario will battle Vader and Jim Cornette. Razor Ramon will also battle Savio Vega.
Backstage Segment
Razor Ramon is shown warming up as Diesel watches on.
In the arena, Hunter Hearst Helmsley storms down to the ring.
-Commercial Break-
Hunter Hearst Helmsley has had enough
Hunter Hearst Helmsley is in the ring, calling out Mr. Perfect. Helmsley knows he’s in the back and listening. If Perfect has the guts, he’s challenging him. Helmsley wants him to show why he’s called Mr. Perfect. If Perfect has any guts, Helmsley challenges him to come out and meet him in the ring. Helmsley will show him what the New Generation is all about.
Helmsley then leaves the ring and joins the commentary team.
Mike’s Thoughts: That’s about as bad as you’ll ever hear Hunter Hearst Helmsley on a promo at any point in his career, barring those first promos in WCW where he was feigning a French accent. So let me get this straight. Helmsley, fumbling over his words, calls out Mr. Perfect. Helmsley wants him in the ring if Perfect has the guts, and he’ll show him what the New Generation is all about. Then, he immediately leaves the ring. Just… not good.
Tag Team Match
The Grimm Twins (Jared Grimm and Jason Grimm) vs. The Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn and Phinneas I. Godwinn) w/ Hillbilly Jim
Referee: Tim White
Phinneas I. Godwinn starts against Jason Grimm. They lock up, and Jason applies a side headlock. Phinneas whips him off and absorbs a shoulder tackle. Jason hits the ropes and takes Phinneas down with a clothesline. Phinneas reverses a whip to the corner and hits a hip toss before punching him down. Jared Grimm and Henry O. Godwinn tag in. They lock up, and Henry wrenches his arm. Jared turns the wrench on him, but Henry fights back with a hammerlock. Jared elbows him, but Henry ducks a clothesline and hits a diving shoulder tackle. Henry then clotheslines Jared over the top rope.
Video: Mr. Perfect appears backstage. Perfect says he loves a good challenge. For the past eleven months, he’s been doing the color commentary for WWF Superstars. Not one New Generation superstar has challenged him. Perfect accepts Helmsley’s challenge, but he’ll do him a favor. He’ll give Helmsley a couple of weeks to get in shape to face Mr. Perfect. Helmsley scoffs and says Perfect needs to get in shape because he’ll take him apart. Perfect says, “Nobody beats Mr. Perfect. Nobody.”
Back to the action, Jason has tagged back in and is applying a rear chin lock to Henry. Jared tags in and sends Henry into the ropes, but he lowers his head and eats a knee. Phinneas tags in and punches Jared down before flipping out. Jason runs in and punches away at him. The referee doesn’t notice this is the other twin. Jason hits a sidewalk slam and goes for a move, but Phinneas counters into a Slop Drop for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: The Godwinns
Mike’s Thoughts: Boring match with The Godwinns, a team that has almost no momentum whatsoever, defeating The Grimm Twins. The Grimm Twins are just Ron and Don Harris repackaged from the pitiful gimmick of The Blu Brothers, who somehow wound up on the WrestleMania XI card (one of the worst WrestleMania shows ever). They did spend some time in ECW as The Bruise Brothers, but they’re back here in the WWF and ready to underwhelm. This gimmick is clearly going to go nowhere.
Also, even though there was no reason for Helmsley to be on commentary for this match (his feud against Henry O. Godwinn has long been forgotten), he at least got an answer from Mr. Perfect. I can’t wait to see how the WWF disappoints their fans with this angle. I don’t know if it’s a symptom of not getting any promo time from the punishment following the Curtain Call, or if it was just a bad night, but Helmsley was not good on commentary in this or in the back-and-forth with Mr. Perfect.
Video: Dok Hendrix says we found out last Monday on Raw that Jeff Jarrett was a fraud, but the scandal cuts much deeper. His whole singing career was a hoax. So, who did sing? We see footage of Jarrett lip-syncing at In Your House in July 1995. Sources say that Jeff Jarrett struck a deal with “The Real Double J.” When the scandal nearly broke, Jarrett went into hiding.
Now, we’ll see the secret rehearsal tapes. “The Roadie” Jesse James is The Real Double J.
Mike’s Thoughts: I’m not sure what they think they’re accomplishing with this. Jeff Jarrett is heading to WCW in a few weeks, so I guess they think this supposed takedown will prevent him from moving the needle? Just let Jarrett be Jarrett. Also, they’re about to follow up on an angle centered on exposing Jarrett’s fraud with a match where the WWF tried to defraud their audience into thinking Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were returning as Razor Ramon and Diesel. Cool.
Razor Ramon, who is clearly not being portrayed by Scott Hall, makes his way to the ring.
-Commercial Break-
WWF President Gorilla Monsoon has joined the commentary team. Jim Ross is not happy that Monsoon is there. Monsoon is concerned about Ross’s behavior.
Razor Ramon vs. Savio Vega
Referee: Jack Doan
Savio Vega charges down to the ring and attacks Razor Ramon to start the match. Vega punches away at Ramon before doing the ten punches in the corner. Vega wraps his ring vest around Ramon’s neck and chokes him before chopping his chest. Vega sends him into the ropes, but Ramon takes him down. Ramon puts Vega in the corner and punches away at him. Ramon chokes him before backing up. Ramon wrenches his arm and whips him into the corner. Ramon charges, but Vega sidesteps him. Ross and Monsoon argue about who the person is portraying Ramon. Ramon reverses a whip and catches him for a fallaway slam. Ramon stomps Vega and taunts the crowd.
Ramon applies an armbar. Ross is arguing about having lost his job. Monsoon is confused about how that relates to what he’s doing now. Ramon punches away at Vega before sending him to the opposite corner. Vega goes for a springboard crossbody block, but Ramon sidesteps him. Ramon stomps away at Vega and goes back to the armbar. Vega fights up, hits the ropes, ducks a pair of elbows, and hits a running crossbody block for a two-count. Ramon quickly pops up and punches him down. Ramon sends Vega into the ropes for a clothesline, picking up a two-count.
Video: Dok Hendrix says he just saw Diesel with his own eyes and will attempt to interview him.
Ramon is applying an armbar as the other commentators beg Jim Ross to just call the match. Ramon hits Vega with a scoop slam. Vega avoids an elbow drop and catches him with an inside cradle for a two-count. Ramon punches him before applying a neck vice.
Video: Dok Hendrix goes into the dressing room, but Diesel isn’t there.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Ramon is applying a rear chin lock. Vega fights up, so Ramon shoves him to the corner. Ramon sends him to the opposite corner and charges, but Vega catches him flush with a heel kick. Vega punches away at Ramon and sends him into the ropes for a clothesline. Vega chops away at Ramon and hits a spinning heel kick.
“Big Daddy Cool” Diesel heads to the ring, but Vega punches him off the apron. Vega hits the ropes, but Diesel pulls the top rope down to get him out of the ring. The referee calls for the bell.
Winner by Disqualification: Savio Vega
Ramon and Diesel get in the ring. Ramon hits Vega with the Razor’s Edge. Diesel saunters over to Vega and signals for the end. Diesel hits Vega with a Jackknife Powerbomb. Ramon and Diesel pose in the ring as the crowd boos. Jim Ross says there’s a lot more to his story.
Mike’s Thoughts: An absolutely horrific first match for Fake Razor. I get that these guys are supposed to be cheap imitations of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, or at least that’s what it appears like they’re going for, but they don’t have to wrestle like cheap imitations as well. Fake Razor’s offense, apart from a decent fallaway slam, looked awful. The punches, the selling, Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon bickering like an old married couple on commentary… everything about this was horrible. I still feel like this is a fever dream, and there’s no way that the WWF actually presented this on television.
Then we got to lay our eyes on Fake Diesel, who looks like a certain evil dentist with a really bad Just For Men hair gel dye job. This is all bad. All bad.
Video: We join The Undertaker in the cemetery. Undertaker finds Paul Bearer’s handkerchief. Undertaker knew Bearer would come and bring Mankind. Mankind’s wish is his command. Undertaker will dig his grave and will bury him alive.
Vader and Jim Cornette head to the ring.
Replay: Last week on Raw, “Wildman” Marc Mero defeated Faarooq after hitting him with Sunny’s loaded purse and then pinned him with a Wild Thing to win the vacant WWF Intercontinental Championship.
At In Your House: Buried Alive, “Wildman” Marc Mero will defend the title against Faarooq. As was announced on WWF Superstars, Faarooq and Sunny have amicably split.
The main event is next.
-Commercial Break-
Video: Next week on Raw, Sycho Sid battles “The Bizarre One” Goldust.
WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and José Lothario make their way to the ring.
Video: Over the weekend, Shawn Michaels participated in a Rock the Vote event. The commentators talk about his brutal schedule as champion.
Tag Team Match
Vader and Jim Cornette vs. WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and “Super Sock” José Lothario
Referee: Earl Hebner
Shawn Michaels will start the match against Vader. They lock up, but Vader shoves him away. Michaels hooks a side headlock. Vader lifts him, but Michaels punches him to get back down. Vader lifts him again, but Michaels flips out of a back suplex attempt before punching him. Michaels slides through Vader’s legs and ducks a clothesline, but Vader catches him with an avalanche. Vader sends Michaels to the corner and avalanches him down. Vader drops Michaels with a short-arm clothesline. Vader powers Michaels up and hits a standing fallaway slam. Vader strikes away at Michaels and sets up for a Powerbomb. Michaels punches out of it and hits a hurricanrana. Michaels jabs Vader to the corner and charges. Michaels slides under a big boot and goes out of the ring before sweeping Vader’s feet. Michaels pulls Vader crotch-first into the ring post. Michaels goes to the top rope and hits a flying seated senton before punching away at him. Michaels charges and dives at him, but Vader ducks down, sending Michaels over the top rope!
Vader taunts the crowd in the ring and attacks Michaels as he gets on the apron. Vader sends Michaels into the ropes for a clothesline. Jim Cornette is fired up on the apron. Vader puts Michaels in the corner and mauls him with some big punches. Vader sends Michaels into the ropes for another avalanche. Cornette wants to tag in, so Vader obliges and lets him warm up his strikes.
José Lothario tags in, and Lothario punches Cornette down twice before chopping his head. Cornette quickly rakes Lothario’s eyes and tags Vader in. Vader grabs the 62-year-old Lothario and sends him into the ropes, but Lothario holds on and tags Michaels in. Michaels punches away at Vader. Vader reverses a whip, but Michaels ducks a pair of clotheslines before hitting a huge flying forearm. Michaels goes to the top rope and hits a diving elbow drop. Michaels starts to tune up the band, but Vader ducks Sweet Chin Music. Vader connects with a vicious clothesline for a near fall.
PlayStation Slam of the Week: On WWF Superstars, Sycho Sid demolished The New Rockers with a pair of Chokeslams and Powerbombs.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the final break of the evening, Vader sets up for a Vader Bomb. Vader smiles and pretends to climb to the top rope. Vader goes back to the second rope for a Vader Bomb, but Michaels gets a boot up. Michaels hits a pair of clotheslines, followed by a scoop slam! Michaels sizes him up in the corner and tunes up the band. Michaels leaps over a tennis racket shot from Cornette and avoids an avalanche from Vader. Michaels goes for another scoop slam, but he collapses under Vader’s weight. Lothario is seen in the corner of the screen chasing Cornette to the back. The commentators never acknowledge it.
Vader crushes the Heartbreak Kid with a Powerbomb. Vader drags Michaels to the corner and heads to the second rope. Vader crushes him with a Vader Bomb and pins the WWF Champion for the win! Michaels’ foot touched the bottom rope while Vader was pinning him, but the referee didn’t stop counting.
Winners by Pinfall: Vader and Jim Cornette
Vader celebrates in the ring and sets up for another Vader Bomb, but Sycho Sid runs down to the ring for the save. Vader backs away from Sid. Goldust runs down to help Vader corner Sid. Michaels then pops up and attacks Goldust. Michaels and Sid brawl with Goldust and Vader as the show comes to an end.
Mike’s Thoughts: This was actually quite a good tag team match if only because it was a glorified singles match with Shawn Michaels and Vader. Jim Cornette and José Lothario didn’t do much in this and were only involved for about 30 seconds. The rest was all Michaels and Vader, and they were fantastic together. Vader post-SummerSlam isn’t as bad as I thought. He hasn’t been featured much on Raw in recent weeks, but this was a big spot for him, and he more than stepped up. Vader even pinned Shawn Michaels clean with his finish, seemingly setting him up for more title matches in the future. We’ll see what happens with those, but for this show, Vader looked strong.
Quick Match Results
— “Stone Cold” Steve Austin def. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
— The Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn and Phinneas I. Godwinn) def. The Grimm Twins (Jason Grimm and Jared Grimm) in a Tag Team Match
— Savio Vega def. Razor Ramon via DQ
— Vader and Jim Cornette def. WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and José Lothario in a Tag Team Match
Mike’s Wrap-Up: What We Learned from Raw
This was one of the stranger episodes of Raw in quite a while. It started with a surprisingly strong match between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Jake “The Snake” Roberts, ended with a good main event built around Shawn Michaels and Vader, and somehow managed to be pretty miserable in the middle.
The Austin/Roberts match was easily one of the better things Jake Roberts has done during this comeback. Roberts has struggled physically in this run, but he still knows how to structure a match and get the crowd behind him. Austin was also the perfect opponent for him at this point. He is clearly on the way up, the Bret Hart program is getting closer, and he gave Roberts enough to make this feel like more than just another sad late-stage Jake match. It was a good way to open the show.
Unfortunately, the middle of this episode was brutal. Hunter Hearst Helmsley cut one of the weakest promos of his career, the Godwinns beat the repackaged Grimm Twins in a match that meant nothing, and the Real Double J nonsense continued. Then came the first full Fake Razor Ramon match, and somehow it was worse than expected. The WWF is now running an angle in which it exposes Jeff Jarrett’s singing gimmick as a fraud while also asking the audience to accept fake versions of Razor Ramon and Diesel. The lack of self-awareness is almost impressive.
The Undertaker and Mankind material continues to work, at least. The cemetery videos are giving the Buried Alive Match some atmosphere, and the feud still feels like one of the few things on WWF television with real direction. Mankind, Paul Bearer, and Undertaker all feel locked into something that matters. That stands out even more on a show where so much else feels thrown together.
The main event was also good, mostly because Shawn Michaels and Vader were allowed to carry it. José Lothario and Jim Cornette were barely factors, which was probably for the best. Vader pinning Michaels after the Powerbomb and Vader Bomb made him look stronger than he has in weeks, and it at least gives the impression that the company still sees value in him as a top-level threat. Whether they actually follow through is another question.
Business-wise, this was a rough period for the WWF that extended beyond television ratings. According to the Wrestling Observer, the company drew what may have been its lowest paid attendance ever for a Madison Square Garden wrestling show on September 29. Even if the exact paid figure is disputed, the broader point is brutal: only a few months after setting strong MSG numbers with Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker, the WWF ran the building with a weaker lineup and drew an alarmingly poor crowd. Losing syndication in the New York market did not help, but neither did presenting fans with a card that looked second-rate at a time when WCW felt like the hotter company.
There was also front office movement around this time, with Neville Meyer beginning to make changes after becoming co-CEO alongside Linda McMahon. That kind of corporate restructuring is interesting because it shows the WWF trying to rethink parts of the business behind the scenes. On television, though, the company still looks like it is scrambling. Fake Razor and Fake Diesel, Real Double J, bad midcard filler, and taped television are not exactly signs of a company confidently finding its next direction.
WCW wins again, making it fourteen straight weeks for Nitro. Raw had two good matches and some useful Undertaker/Mankind build, but the middle of the show was atrocious, and the Fake Razor/Diesel angle remains one of the clearest signs yet that the WWF is reacting badly to WCW’s success. The company has pieces, but right now it keeps surrounding them with absolute garbage.
WWF Raw (USA Network, taped): 2.30 (Record: 16-30)
WCW Nitro (TNT, live): 3.28 (Record: 30-16)
Winner: WCW Nitro (14-week streak)
Email – mike@wrestleview.com
X – @MikeTedescoWV
Last week’s Raw | Last week’s Nitro
Thanks for reading!
Part of Wrestleview’s Monday Night War: 30 Years Later series, with weekly Raw and Nitro recaps every Thursday.