by Logan Scisco
–Vince McMahon and
The Honky Tonk Man are in the booth and they are taped from Albany, New York. This is the go home show for the Royal Rumble.
–Opening
Contest: Hunter Hearst Helmsley &
Jerry “the King” Lawler defeat “Wildman” Marc Mero & Goldust (w/Sable &
Marlena) by disqualification at 11:21 shown:
Contest: Hunter Hearst Helmsley &
Jerry “the King” Lawler defeat “Wildman” Marc Mero & Goldust (w/Sable &
Marlena) by disqualification at 11:21 shown:
To think that this tag match was predicated on the final
of a Karate Fighters tournament. Goldust
throws off his entrance attire in the aisle and charges the ring, demonstrating
that he means business tonight. There’s
lots of stalling since Lawler is in charge of most of the action for his team
and Helmsley flees when Goldust is tagged in.
These factors make the match very disjointed and also make it difficult
to build a decent heat segment.
Eventually, Goldust gets his hands on Helmsley after the hot tag, but
refuses to release a choke, gets his team disqualified, and decks Mero after
they lose. The story they are trying to
tell here is transparent, but the match quality suffered as a result. Rating: ½*
of a Karate Fighters tournament. Goldust
throws off his entrance attire in the aisle and charges the ring, demonstrating
that he means business tonight. There’s
lots of stalling since Lawler is in charge of most of the action for his team
and Helmsley flees when Goldust is tagged in.
These factors make the match very disjointed and also make it difficult
to build a decent heat segment.
Eventually, Goldust gets his hands on Helmsley after the hot tag, but
refuses to release a choke, gets his team disqualified, and decks Mero after
they lose. The story they are trying to
tell here is transparent, but the match quality suffered as a result. Rating: ½*
–WWF Champion Sid
cuts a promo in the vacant Alamo Dome and says that he’s going to destroy Shawn
Michaels in front of family in San Antonio this Sunday.
cuts a promo in the vacant Alamo Dome and says that he’s going to destroy Shawn
Michaels in front of family in San Antonio this Sunday.
–Shawn Michaels
cuts a promo in the midst of some crazy fans in San Antonio and says that Sid’s
attack on Pete Lothario last week has released the monster inside of him. A fat Latino lady keeps grabbing Shawn during
the interview and that’s worth a laugh.
cuts a promo in the midst of some crazy fans in San Antonio and says that Sid’s
attack on Pete Lothario last week has released the monster inside of him. A fat Latino lady keeps grabbing Shawn during
the interview and that’s worth a laugh.
–Bret Hart, who is
limping around on an injured ankle that Austin Pillmanized on Superstars, comes
out to do guest commentary.
limping around on an injured ankle that Austin Pillmanized on Superstars, comes
out to do guest commentary.
-Footage of Marc
Mero yelling at Sable on Shotgun Saturday Night and Rocky Maivia coming to her
aid is shown. This was supposed to
foreshadow a Mero-Maivia program where Mero would be the heel, but he was
injured before that could happen.
Mero yelling at Sable on Shotgun Saturday Night and Rocky Maivia coming to her
aid is shown. This was supposed to
foreshadow a Mero-Maivia program where Mero would be the heel, but he was
injured before that could happen.
–Rocky Maivia
defeats The British Bulldog (w/Clarence Mason) by count out at 9:06 shown:
defeats The British Bulldog (w/Clarence Mason) by count out at 9:06 shown:
Bret puts over Maivia’s potential on commentary, but the
crowd doesn’t buy into him. They aren’t
booing him, but just don’t react to his early offense against the Bulldog. However, I don’t think it’s a problem with
Maivia as much as it is a crowd that is burned out from the taping. Owen comes out and stands in front of Bret,
which seems more of an indictment of Bulldog’s abilities than anything
else. There’s very little action in this
match, as the Bulldog uses chinlocks to slow down the action. Steve Austin comes out when both men go over
the top rope, chop blocks the Bulldog, delivers a Stunner, and then flees to the
back where Bret and Owen follow him.
This is hardly a great way to put over a young face, but it does sew the
seeds for the emergence of the Hart Foundation to torment Austin after
WrestleMania XIII. Rating: *
crowd doesn’t buy into him. They aren’t
booing him, but just don’t react to his early offense against the Bulldog. However, I don’t think it’s a problem with
Maivia as much as it is a crowd that is burned out from the taping. Owen comes out and stands in front of Bret,
which seems more of an indictment of Bulldog’s abilities than anything
else. There’s very little action in this
match, as the Bulldog uses chinlocks to slow down the action. Steve Austin comes out when both men go over
the top rope, chop blocks the Bulldog, delivers a Stunner, and then flees to the
back where Bret and Owen follow him.
This is hardly a great way to put over a young face, but it does sew the
seeds for the emergence of the Hart Foundation to torment Austin after
WrestleMania XIII. Rating: *
–The Nation of
Domination says that it has unity and Crush says he’ll dominate the Undertaker
tonight using whatever means are necessary.
Domination says that it has unity and Crush says he’ll dominate the Undertaker
tonight using whatever means are necessary.
–Steve Austin’s
attack on the British Bulldog earlier in the show is the Starburst Fruit Twists
Rewind segment.
attack on the British Bulldog earlier in the show is the Starburst Fruit Twists
Rewind segment.
–The Undertaker defeats
Crush (w/The Nation of Domination) by disqualification at 8:35 shown:
Crush (w/The Nation of Domination) by disqualification at 8:35 shown:
The Undertaker must not be a fan of the PG-13 rap,
because he interrupts it and forces the Nation to scatter. Both guys work up a good pace at the
beginning of the match, but can’t sustain it and by the time we head to
commercial we’re getting too much of an exchange of punches and kicks. Crush just doesn’t look comfortable with this
gimmick and the only heat he can generate is yelling at the crowd not to call
him a Jailbird. We get our third
inconclusive finish of the evening as the Nation runs in before the Undertaker
can Tombstone Crush and Vader runs in to do some damage as well. Ahmed Johnson tries to make the save with a
2×4, but PG-13 jump him and Faarooq seizes control of the 2×4 and wears him out
with it. Rating: *
because he interrupts it and forces the Nation to scatter. Both guys work up a good pace at the
beginning of the match, but can’t sustain it and by the time we head to
commercial we’re getting too much of an exchange of punches and kicks. Crush just doesn’t look comfortable with this
gimmick and the only heat he can generate is yelling at the crowd not to call
him a Jailbird. We get our third
inconclusive finish of the evening as the Nation runs in before the Undertaker
can Tombstone Crush and Vader runs in to do some damage as well. Ahmed Johnson tries to make the save with a
2×4, but PG-13 jump him and Faarooq seizes control of the 2×4 and wears him out
with it. Rating: *
The Final Report Card: This RAW was more about the storylines and it
showed with the poor match quality.
Austin’s attack on the Bulldog keeps the Bret-Austin feud going and is going
to draw in more actors and was the highlight of the show. That also sustains a distrust angle between
Owen and the Bulldog that is taking place.
However, there just wasn’t a lot to get into on this show as it seemed
like the company wanted to fast forward to the Rumble so it could move onto
bigger and better things.
showed with the poor match quality.
Austin’s attack on the Bulldog keeps the Bret-Austin feud going and is going
to draw in more actors and was the highlight of the show. That also sustains a distrust angle between
Owen and the Bulldog that is taking place.
However, there just wasn’t a lot to get into on this show as it seemed
like the company wanted to fast forward to the Rumble so it could move onto
bigger and better things.
Monday Night War Rating: 2.3 (vs. 3.4 for Nitro)
Show Evaluation: Thumbs Down