WWF Monday Night RAW – September 18th, 1995

September 18, 1995

From the Canton Civic Center in Canton, OH

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler

We get a hype video for this week’s Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid match.

We get a clip of the 1-2-3 Kid upset over Razor Ramon from 5/17/93.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Razor Ramon

Lawler tells us that Dean Douglas is in his mobile classroom and will critique this match. Vince says he is the man who made Kid famous. Razor gets attacked as he enters the ring. Kid sends Razor through the ropes with some kicks then Razor gets pissed and tosses off his vest and chain. Razor heads back in and catches Kid then places him across the top rope in the corner and boots him before using a super fallaway slam for a nearfall. Razor chops Kid hard in the corner then starts choking him out. Razor tosses Kid halfway across of the ring and starts stomping away. Razor sends Kid through the ropes with a discus punch as the announcers talk about how anything can happen in the WWF. Back inside, Razor works the arm then hits a chokeslam for a two count. Razor charges but Kid sidesteps and tosses Razor outside. Kid slingshots out with an attack that did not quite connect all of the way then brings Razor inside and hits a spinning heel kick for one as Razor got his foot on the ropes. Kid jumps on Razor’s back for a sleeper and gets him down to one knee as we head to break. We return as Kid works the sleeper on the mat. Razor breaks out with a back suplex as both men are down. Razor drapes his arm across Kid’s chest for a two count then gets up and fires away. Vince believes that Razor is “cutting loose” on Kid due to their friendship as Kid fights back. Both men collide then bump the ref, who flies through the ropes. Kid also falls outside then Douglas runs out and hits a top rope splash on Razor’s back then runs up the aisle through the curtains. Kid crawls back into the ring ever so slowly as does the ref and Kid drapes his arm across of Razor’s chest and the ref slow counts too and that is still good enough for Kid to get the win (7:09 shown) **.

Thoughts: The action was alright I suppose but I didn’t care for the finish as it made Razor look like a goober and the story on commentary of Razor going easy on Kid because they are friends did not jive since at points we saw Razor brutalizing Kid with chops.

The Report Card with Dean Douglas. Kid gets a “D” grade for “dumb” for thinking he actually beat Razor in this match and how Razor gets an “E” for “elevate” as Dean will elevate himself over Razor then the Dean gives himself an “A” for his performance here and an “N” for In Your House as “no-brainer” that he will be victorious then he circles the “Dean” he spelled out with these words.

Kama & Tatanka w/ Ted DiBiase vs. Savio Vega & Bob “Spark Plug” Holly

Savio locks up with Tatanka to start. Savio hits a pair of dropkicks then Kama runs in and Savio clears him from the ring. Holly and Kama are in now as Holly fires away. Holly uses an arm drag in a mistimed spot then works the arm after another arm drag that went smoother. Savio is back in but Kama decks him then tags out as we see Tatanka slide outside to avoid a thrust kick. Holly comes out for some reason in the aisle to yell at Tatanka and that allows Kama to attack Savio from behind. Kama & Tatanka double-team Savio as the announcers mentioned that Sid vs. Henry Godwinn will take place on the PPV. Kama taunts Holly then shoves him to distract the ref as Vince goes off about Holly not being a team player for how he has been distracting the ref throughout the match. Odd comment to make unless Holly was turning for sure. Holly tags in and fires away then the match breaks down with Savio and Tatanka fighting outside then Holly flies off the top for a flying body press and Kama turns that into a powerslam and nearly dropped Holly on his for the win (5:50) *.

Thoughts: Did not really get the point of this match since Savio had a singles match on the PPV and the other three not doing anything at all. They positioned Holly as someone maybe turning or just someone who is a moron on commentary with how often he hung Savio out to dry. Speaking of Holly, he had really poor chemistry with Kama. They were bad together in the ring. The Corporation flunkies get the win as maybe they are trying to establish them as a team? However, as we will seen soon enough, it would not last. Overall, this was a mess.

Replay of Dean Douglas attacking Razor Ramon from earlier tonight.

We have Razor standing by backstage. He tells Douglas the classroom will be in his house and that Douglas’s Ivy League education will not save him from getting carved up. Just a basic promo here,

Ad for the WrestleMania XI Special airs.

Clips of all the stuff Jean Pierre Lafitte has stolen over the past month.

Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. Brian Walsh

Lafitte destroys Walsh to start but whiffs on a corner splash and Walsh takes him down. Walsh lands a dropkick but misses a second attempt as Bret Hart is on the phone from the set of “Lonesome Dove.” Lafitte stomps Walsh as Bret talks about taking pride in his younger fans and will hold Lafitte accountable for stealing from them. Lawler predicts Lafitte will “steal” victory as Bret isn’t surprised Lawler will take the side of a liar and a thief. Walsh gets caught in an overhead suplex as Bret will not overlook Lafitte’s talents but has had enough of him stealing. Lafitte chokes out Walsh and after that hits a backbreaker before signaling for the Cannonball and he hits that for the win (3:18). Vince doubts Lafitte will beat Bret but that anything can happen.

Thoughts: Lots of hype for the Bret/Lafitte match at In Your House.

We see an agent “reinforce” the ring for the next tag match that features superheavyweights Yokozuna and Mabel.

An ad for In Your House airs.

Yokozuna & Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji vs. Men on a Mission

Vince still asks Lawler for his prediction in the triple header match but Lawler still refuses to answer. Owen and Sir Mo get in a shoving match then Mo wins a slugfest. Mo then eats boot on a charge in the corner and Owen follows that up with a clothesline. Mo powerslams Owen as the announcers talk about the triple header match. Mabel tags and beats on Owen but misses an avalanche. Mabel shoves Owen away then tags out but knees him in the back from the apron. MoM neutralize Owen in their corner as Vince says they are softening up the champs for Shawn Michaels & Diesel. Owen sidesteps a charging Mo and tosses him outside as Yokozuna tags into the match for the first time near the five minute mark. He wants Mabel, who is not the legal man, then we see Mabel roll Mo back inside near Yokozuna as Yokozuna beats him down in the corner. The champs now illegally double-team Mo as we go to break. Match returns with both Owen and Mo trying spinning heel kicks and missing. Both men are down then tag out as we get Mabel and Yokozuna slugging it out. Mabel drops Yokozuna with a clothesline then tosses Owen at him. MoM drop Yokozuna with a double clothesline but Yokozuna reverses an Irish whip and Owen knees Mo from the apron. Owen tags and gets a nearfall with a missile dropkick. Owen heads up top after a reverse neckbreaker but Mo cuts him off. Mo heads up now and hits a superplex for a two count as Yokozuna makes the save. Mabel runs in and Yokozuna knocks him outside then the champs put Mo away with the drop toe hold/leg drop combo as Yokozuna held Mabel’s leg to prevent him from making the save (9:06 shown) **1/2.

Thoughts: Much better than I would have thought here but the heel vs. heel dynamic lead to a quiet crowd. Yokozuna looked the best he has since returning to team with Owen and MoM were better than usual but the faster pace helped move things along. And after losing in the main event at SummerSlam, Mabel is already reduced to losing in tag matches on TV.

We see Shawn Michaels & Diesel as Shawn says Owen is lying about dodging his challenge. Shawn promises victory at the PPV as Diesel says he is going back home to Michigan and to give John Madden a call as they are coming home with all of the hardware.

After the break, Vince heads into the ring to interview the Tag Champs with Cornette & Fuji. Cornette says for the first-time ever all of the belts are on the line in the same match as Vince really tries to get over the “Two Dudes with Attitude” name for Shawn Michaels & Diesel but Cornette refers to them as “two fellas that are yella.” Cornette then said Yokozuna wants to regain the World Title and that Owen wants to prove himself as the new Intercontinental Title. Cornette then reminds us how last time Shawn & Diesel teamed up they split and plays that up as how they can turn on each other again to save their own titles. Good promo to plant seeds of doubt as to whether or not Shawn & Diesel can coexist but its really the first time they are playing it up

Lawler finally gives his prediction in the triple header match and that is Yokozuna will pin Diesel to also become the World Champion.

Next week, the triple header winners will be in action and we also have British Bulldog vs. Undertaker with a hype video for that match.

Final Thoughts: The main event was better than I would have thought but the hype for In Your House remains flat. They do not have any compelling feuds at the moment or even a top heel for the challenger. They basically hinted that Yokozuna would be next for Diesel and I don’t think that is something we need to see.