Connor McGrath
WWF Monday Night RAW
June 5th, 1995
Live from The Memorial Fieldhouse in Struthers, Ohio
Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler (first two matches), Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon (Owen Hart Vs British Bulldog)
The show opens with a shot of the WWF Blimp (!!!) and Bob Backlund campaigning outside of the arena. Already can tell this could be a GOAT episode! Tonight, it’s a family feud as The British Bulldog faces his brother-in-law Owen Hart in a King of the Ring qualifier.
Vince McMahon welcomes us to the highest rated TV series on cable television, Monday Night RAW. Tonight, we’ll also see the debut of Savio Vega plus the debut of The Bodydonnas! And Jean Pierre Laffitte will be in action. Plus Vince McMahon will interview Bret Hart about his Kiss Your Feet match against Jerry Lawler. Lawler cackles about the notion of Bret Hart kissing his stinky feet.
Savio Vega Vs Kenny Kendall
Savio Vega is introd as a “Caribbean Legend” so he was getting a pretty good push out of the gate. He has his name and the WWF logo shaved in the back on his head and Lawler is appalled. Vega hits a really bad sidewalk slam on Kendall. Vince McMahon talks about Hurricane Alison and Lawler thinks that’s a wimpy name for a hurricane. He’s delighted that the next hurricane will be called Hurricane Jerry. Vega wins with a modified abdominal stretch.
We see a video package highlighting the career of the WWF World Champion Diesel. 1995 is the year of the Diesel!
Ted DiBiase is with Sid & Tatanka. DiBiase says Sid & Tatanka will send Diesel back to the hospital at King of the Ring! Dr. Andrews better be ready.
Future Skype Cam Girl Sunny is with Skip. Skip sprints up and down some stairs backstage. The Bodydonnas are ready to make their debut!
Barry Didinsky shills the official King of the Ring ’95 t-shirt. Some kid in a Blind Melon t-shirt mugs behind him. 1995! Barry says if you buy the t-shirt, you get a free Bob Backlund for President t-shirt.
Skip (with Sunny) Vs Barry Horowitz
Man, 1995 Sunny. Hubba Hubba! Barry Horowitz could never beat Skip! Sunny cuts a promo on the out of shape fans of the WWF Universe. Horowitz takes control from the start. COULD THIS BE THE FIRST MATCH BARRY HOROWITZ WINS? Wait a few weeks, Vince… Horowitz gets a nice pop for telling Sunny to shaddup. Horowitz does get a lot of hope spots here. Preview of things to come. Skip wins with a top rope legdrop. Interesting match. Never knew they had a match before the famous “HOROWITZ WINS! HOROWITZ WINS!” match.
Todd Pettingell is with a King of the Ring Report. Thankfully, the Toddster’s cut his awful mullet. The pay per view is less than three weeks away. Todd says the King of the Ring tournament is more exciting than the NBA Playoffs and the NCAA Basketball Tournament! Call it June Madness! The first match in Round One is Mabel Vs The Undertaker, the second pits Shawn Michaels against The Million Dollar Corporation’s Shawn Michaels. Next we have “Spark Plugg” Bob Holly against The Roadie, who upset Doink The Clown in a qualifier this past weekend on Superstars! Then Razor Ramon will take on the winner of Owen Hart/British Bulldog.
King of the Ring Tournament Qualifier: “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith Vs Owen Hart (with Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji)
For some reason, we cut to another arena and another commentary team for this match. This match was actually taped at the In Your House pay per view. This is the “final” qualifying match for the King of the Ring ’95. Pretty decent bout as to be expected from these two. It’s also interesting to hear Gorilla Monsoon (voice of WWF in the late ’80s/early ’90s) and Jim Ross (voice of WWF in the late ’90s/early ’00s) call a match together. They kind of telegraph the finish of this match by talking about how much time is left in the match. Also I have no idea why Fuji is waving the Japanese flag during a match between a Canadian and a Brit… Maybe if Yokozuna was out there, it might make a little sense but not really. This match goes to a time limit draw. Both of these guys are out of the King of the Ring tournament but we still have one spot open. WHAT IS GOING ON? Vince McMahon, what’s going to happen?
Vince McMahon says Jack Tunney’s going to come up with a plan to figure out who will face Razor Ramon at King of the Ring ’95!
We get a clip of Lawler with his royal wenches, talking about his dirty feet. He hasn’t washed them in two weeks and he won’t wash them until King of the Ring ’95. HOW DID WCW THINK THEY COULD COMPETE WITH THIS? There’s gonna be corns, callouses, and maybe even hammertoes when Bret has to kiss his feet.
Vince is in the ring with Bret Hart. Hart’s not surprised Lawler wanted a Kiss My Foot match because Lawler has a SICK mind! Lawler sticks his feet out at the commentary table. Vince is DISGUSTED! Bret says losing to Lawler at In Your House was the most EMBARRASSING thing to happen to him in his career and he won’t let it happen again. He’s dedicating his match at King of the Ring ’95 to his friends, family, and fans. Bret says when he beats Lawler, he’s gonna shove Lawler’s own foot down his throat!
Jean Pierre Lafitte Vs Jerry Flynn
Hey! Future WCW Superstar “Thunderfoot” Jerry Flynn. Lafitte’s agility is damn impressive for a guy his size, doing a dive outside onto Flynn. HOLD ON! Breaking news! Vince says Jack Tunney has announced that Lex Luger and Yokozuna will face off next week in the last King of the Ring Qualifier. Lafitte wins with the Cannonball senton. Some guy in the front row is really happy that the Cajun Pirate’s win streak has continued for some reason.
Another shot of the WWF Blimp. Bob Backlund is still ranting to the Heavens. There’s no one out there!
Vince and Lawler hype next week’s show! Bob Backlund hears Man Mountain Rock is going to be here next week and says he’ll be here to make sure that Man Mountain Rock doesn’t destroy the youth!
Interesting, in the video package hyping Yokozuna, they mention him being Polynesian. We see footage of Yokozuna beating Hulk Hogan at King of the Ring ’93. Pure coincidence that Hulk Hogan happened to be the WCW World Champion at that point. Surely. Then we see Luger hiptossing slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid and clips of their match at SummerSlam ’93 (and the “I’ll Be Your Hero” video!) . Luger has never been able to pin Yokozuna but he gets his chance to get his revenge and the final slot in the King of the Ring tournament next week!
Next Week on RAW: One of the greatest rivalries of the ’90s in the World Wrestling Federation is renewed as Lex Luger takes on his old foe Yokozuna in the final King of the Ring Tournament Qualifier
