Connor McGrath
WWF Monday Night RAW
May 22nd, 1995 (taped May 15th, 1995)
From Broome County Arena in Binghamton, New York
Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler
Show opens with a flashback to SEVEN WEEKS AGO with Shawn Michaels being the first victim of Ted DiBiase’s diabolical plot! Shawn’s bodyguard SID, who had secretly sold out to DiBiase, brtually attacked Shawn Michaels in an attempt to ruin his career! Tonight! Shawn Michaels’ career resumes in a match against the biggest member of the Million Dollar Corporation, King Kong Bundy in a King of the Ring Tournament qualifier.
Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler welcome us to the show. In addition to Bundy-HBK, Bret Hart will return to confront Jerry Lawler. Lawler brushes it off, wondering if Bret has the nerve to face him after what he did to him at In Your House.
Razor Ramon (with Savio Vega) Vs Mike Bell
Vince notes that Razor Ramon has qualified for the 1995 King of the Ring Tournament, with a victory over Jacob Blu this weekend on Superstars. Jerry Lawler talks about Razor Ramon winning the title back from Jeff Jarrett (and then losing it back to him again) on some untelevised shows this past weekend. Lawler thinks Razor can’t win King of the Ring because the crown will slip off his head because his hair is so greasy. Vince thinks KING RAMON has a nice ring to it. Vince wonders if we might see King Mabel. Lawler pshaws. This arena looks a hell of a lot like my hometown arena, the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine, I’d be surprised if they weren’t built in the same era. Yep, Wikipedia tells me Broome County Arena opened in ’73 and Civic Center opened in ’77. All of these ’70s arenas look the same and looked terrible.
And that was my rant about stadium architecture for the week. Razor Ramon wins with The Razor’s Edge a shove to the mat after a back suplex off the top? Huh. OK.
Bret Hart stomps out wearing his ring jacket, jean shorts, sneakers, and nothing else. Bret Hart yells at Lawler and berates him into giving him a rematch. Bret comes across as kind of a dick in this segment. It’s also quite edgy for ’95 WWF as Bret calls Lawler a “sonuvabitch” and a “piece of shit” (former isn’t bleeped out but the latter is). A bunch of officals pry Bret off of a bloodied King
Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs John Chrystal
Hmmm. From one King to the debut of the King of Kings. There was an internet rumor that the jobber he’s facing, John Chrystal, was actually a young Santino Marella about six or seven years back (when this RAW aired on WWE On Demand) but this guy looks almost nothing like Santino! The future Triple H looks impressive in a dominant victory. He wins with the Pedigree Diamond Cutter. Interesting to note, Diamond Dallas Page saw this match and called Triple H afterward and basically said “Hey! Look, I’m already coming into this business at enough of a disadvantage by starting at a late age and this move is just starting to get over. You’ve got another great finisher (Pedigree), why don’t you use that?” And Triple H agreed! See, he’s not that horrible of a person…
We get out first campaign ad for Bob Backlund’s Presidential Campaign. Bob Backlund wants us to all read a classic novel once a week. No more calculators and spell checkers in the School System. No more computers or Summer Vacations! Someone get this man on Fox News.
Backstage, Ted DiBiase pumps up King Kong Bundy for his main event match against Shawn Michaels.
Next, we see Stephanie Wiand presenting the keys to the In Your House House Giveaway winner. The Bushwahckers greet the winner of the giveaway. This is all very heartwarming. Until we realize that the kid and his parents couldn’t afford the property taxes on the house they won. But at least they got to meet The Bushwhackers!
The Allied Powers Vs Tony DeVito & Bill Payne
We see a clip from Action Zone of Bulldog doing an electric chair drop on Mabel. Holy shit. That IS impressive! Vince and Jerry Lawler talk about new box office smash Die Hard with a Vengeance briefly during a discussion about whether or not Lawler will give Bret a rematch. This show is LIVE! Allied Powers when Bulldog hits the Running Powerslam. Vince trolls Lawler by saying Bret Hart’s coming out again.
We get footage from last week of Ted DiBiase issuing a challenge to Bam Bam Bigelow & Diesel for a tag team match against Tatanka & Sid. Then we get some “highlights” of last week’s main event. It looks like Bam Bam & Diesel Vs Tatanka & Sid will happen somewhere in the indeterminate future!
Kama (with Ted DiBiase) Vs Barry Horowitz
Horowitz is back as a face again. He gets a surprising amount of offense on Kama. He even gives us a patented Pat on the Back at one point. Vince McMahon points out that Barry Horowitz has never won a match on Monday Night RAW. You know, I’m not sure if he ever broke that streak. I remember all of his victories happening on Superstars or Action Zone but I guess we’ll see in a few weeks… Lawler wonders if Bret Hart will let him have ANY stipulation in their rematch as Vince McMahon plugs upcoming house show dates for WWF. Kama wins with a half crab.
Todd Pettingell is here with a quick timeout. He says the Second Annual World Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame Banquet will happen the night before King of the Ring ’95. Tickets are available right now! Todd announces that Antonino Rocca is the first inductee for the WWF Hall of Fame Class of ’95.
Barry Didinsky is here to shill the brand new Shawn Michaels all over t-shirt. The print is ALL OVER the t-shirt. It’s available for only $20 plus a Monday Night RAW t-shirt available for $16. Didinsky gets scared away by King Kong Bundy’s theme.
King of The Ring Tournament Qualifier: Shawn Michaels Vs King Kong Bundy (With Ted DiBiase)
HBK enters to a big pop. I vaguely remember this match as a young’un (although I wasn’t usually allowed to stay up late to watch RAW). I don’t think HBK had a chance against King Kong Bundy because Bundy was so huge! Clearly, buying into Vince McMahon’s typical mindset at an early age. Seven year old me is proven wrong right away though as HBK sends Bundy reeling from the get go. Some guys have a hard time transitioning between being a babyface and a heel (having watched some ’96 WCW shows recently, Hogan in his early Hollywood days comes to mind) but HBK’s transitioning to the babyface role with ease. I guess it’s not too hard to transition from cool heel to cool face though. We see Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow watching this match on a backstage monitor. BUT WHERE IS THE MILLION DOLLAR CORPORATION!? asks Vince. Shawn Michaels gets the win with the Sweet Chin Music. Typical Shawn-Big Man Match. Fun to see HBK work with a Hogan-era monster heel.
Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow come down to ringside. Shawn Michaels is not sure if he wants to shake hands with Diesel. Shawn Michaels doesn’t want to shake hands… he wants to high five Diesel. The fans love it! Diesel and HBK hug it out. Who said romance was dead? Two Dudes with Attitude whoop it up with Bam Bam Bigelow. Bam Bam looks so out of place with the Clique…
Vince McMahon hypses next week’s show and asks Jerry Lawler one more time if he’ll accept Bret Hart’s challenge for a rematch. Lawler can’t answer! Bret Hart crushed his throat! We get some pre-recorded comments from The Undertaker who will be trying to qualify for the 1995 King of the Ring Tournament against “Double J” Jeff Jarrett.
Next Week on RAW: The Undertaker takes on WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett in another King of the Ring tournament qualifier! Plus matches featuring SID, Hakushi, and Men On A Mission!
