–Footage of Kama beating up a Creature of the Night on Superstars is shown. The Undertaker’s battle with Tatanka is seen as the first opportunity for the Undertaker to get revenge for the attack. The Undertaker pledges to take Tatanka out to send a message to the Million Dollar Corporation and Kama.
–Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are tonight’s commentary team and they are concluding the brief tapings in Worcester, Massachusetts. This is the “go home” show for SummerSlam and it the last to feature the old RAW opening that has been a staple for more than a year since the company would have a new one when they returned after the U.S. Open.
–Opening Contest: Men on a Mission (17-2) beat Roy Raymond & Joe Hancock when Mabel pins Raymond after a belly-to-belly suplex at 3:47:
Men on a Mission dwarf their opponents to the point that Mo is able to give Hancock a gorilla press slam. Mabel makes Hancock dead to rights after a piledriver and Raymond fares no better, getting avalanched against the buckles by Mabel, eating a flying elbow from Mo, and then taking a Mabel belly-to-belly suplex to lose the match for his team.
-After the match, Mabel reminds fans that he is the king of the WWF and that Men on a Mission is the greatest tag team in history. He issues a challenge for the Allied Powers for a “tune up” match for SummerSlam.
–Dean Douglas gives a glowing report on Mabel. He defines the word dominate and gives Mabel a great of “NC” that stands for “New Champion.”
–Vince McMahon reminds fans that they can chat with him after the show on America Online!
–The 1-2-3 Kid (8-2) pins The Brooklyn Brawler after a side roll at 1:33:
The Brawler attacks the Kid and pounds away as McMahon and Lawler remind the audience that the show will last longer than Mike Tyson’s recent boxing appearance against Peter McNeeley, a bout that only lasted eighty-nine seconds. The Kid makes a comeback with a few kicks and after those stun the Brawler he rolls him up to get some momentum heading into SummerSlam. After the match, Lawler draws pimples on the Kid’s face and McMahon takes a digital Stridex pad to erase them, which was a funny way to do a product placement spot.
–Footage of Henry Godwinn slopping Ted DiBiase on last week’s show is played.
–Barry Didinski urges fans to buy an Undertaker t-shirt for $16 (plus $3.95 shipping & handling)! If you buy the shirt you can get a free three month subscription to WWF Magazine! Oh, and some Stridex pads too!
–The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (9-1) beats Tatanka (w/Ted DiBiase) (8-2-3) after a Tombstone at 6:40 shown:
This is the Undertaker’s first match on television of any sort since losing to Mabel at King of the Ring. It is humorous that the Undertaker is just now getting upset with the Million Dollar Corporation and the fact that Kama is wearing the urn as a chain despite the fact that Kama has been doing that since WrestleMania XI. This is not the blood feud that I remember. Tatanka pounds away slowly on the Undertaker, who eventually rallies with some clotheslines, and when we return from a commercial break Tatanka eats a Tombstone. This triggers a slow count from referee Earl Hebner for no reason but that does not matter as the Undertaker wins and is prepared to face Kama at SummerSlam. Rating: *½
–Todd Pettengill hypes SummerSlam. A video recording from Isaac Yankem’s office airs, saying that Yankem is not available because he is preparing for facing Bret Hart on pay-per-view. Bret says that four out of five dentists recommend that he beat Yankem at SummerSlam.
–Men on a Mission dare the Allied Powers to accept his challenge for a tune up match tonight.
–Call 1-900-737-4WWF to find out why Ernie Ladd is hanging out with Men on a Mission!
–Jean-Pierre LaFitte (15-0-1) pins Scott Taylor after Le Cannonball at 3:05:
Taylor gets in more offense in this squash than his outing against LaFitte in early April, hitting the pirate with a flying body press as part of a quick offensive flurry to begin the match. LaFitte is more sloppy here than usual, diving awkwardly onto Taylor from the second rope and doing a poorly positioned backbreaker. He also debuts a new twist to his gimmick, laying a pirate flag over Taylor before doing his cannonball finish which seems silly and cumbersome.
–In a new vignette Goldust is in front of the Hollywood sign and says that he is going to be creating a permanent vacancy in the Heartbreak Hotel.
–McMahon interviews WWF Champion Diesel, who says that he is ready for SummerSlam and teases whether he will Jackknife Mabel at the pay-per-view. The British Bulldog comes out, says that Lex Luger is in Atlanta for a “medical emergency,” and asks Diesel to be his partner against Men on a Mission. The Bulldog gets the crowd worked up by promising a Diesel-Mabel encounter before SummerSlam and Diesel agrees to help the Bulldog out.
–Diesel & The British Bulldog wrestle Men on a Mission (18-2) to a no contest when the Bulldog attacks Diesel at 2:10:
This impromptu bout is all about storyline development as Diesel destroys Mo in the corner and gives him a big boot. However, Diesel demands that Mabel tag in and when Mabel does so and stares down Diesel, the Bulldog comes in and clotheslines Diesel in the back of the head. This triggers Jim Cornette to run out, seemingly in cahoots with the Bulldog, and he keeps referees away as the Bulldog gives Diesel a running powerslam and Mabel leg drops the WWF Champion. The crowd showers the Bulldog with boos and Men on a Mission gets arguably its most hostile reaction since King of the Ring. At least this time the heat that they get is for all of the right reasons.
–After the commercial break, Diesel gets to his feet in the ring while Lawler interviews the heels in the locker room, with Mabel having stolen Diesel’s WWF title belt and the Bulldog refusing to say why he turned heel. McMahon wraps up the broadcast by reminding fans that RAW will pre-empted the next two weeks for the U.S. Open and does so in a disappointed voice, reflecting his shock at the Bulldog’s turn to the dark side.
–Tune in on September 11 to see Sid challenge the winner of the SummerSlam ladder match for the Intercontinental title!
The Last Word: During its first three years there were not many episodes of Monday Night Raw that built on a storyline during the entire show. This was the exception and it helped to make the British Bulldog’s heel turn effective. The turn was a very shocking since the Bulldog had never been a heel in his entire WWF career. His movement to the other side of the card opened up some fresh matchups for the remainder of 1995 and appears to be positioning him as a future challenger to Diesel’s world title since it is highly unlikely Mabel is getting the belt due to his relative inexperience. The company is even telegraphing that by having Mabel wrestle on this show in a tag team match rather than a singles bout. In addition, this show was historically significant as it was the last RAW before the Monday Night War as WCW was preparing to launch Monday Nitro in two weeks, an event that the Bulldog’s absent tag team partner would play a significant role in.
Up Next: WWF Superstars for August 26, 1995!