What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – 03.11.96

Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are commentating, live from San Antonio, Texas. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a sellout crowd of 9,364.

Opening Contest: Steve Austin (w/Ted DiBiase) (5-0) wrestles Savio Vega (0-1) to a double count out at 6:17 shown:

The Ringmaster name has now been discarded and Austin now goes by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Austin’s goatee has fully grown in as well. The only remnant of what he started with are white boots with a star on them. McMahon acknowledges that presence of weightlifter Mark Henry in the front row as Henry is heading to the Summer Olympics, noting that one day he might grace the squared circle. Austin pummels Savio with strikes but the crowd only cares about his opponent. Austin takes a wild bump over the top rope and to the floor when Savio gives him a spinning heel kick. That leads to both men brawling on the floor and they are counted out. Rating: **¼

As the crowd boos the finish, Savio and Austin keep fighting. There is a funny bit where referee Jack Doan pulls Austin away, causing Austin to somersault backward but he is soon fighting Savio again. Savio wins the extended contest, leveling Austin with a spinning heel kick. Austin points at Savio, who also wants more of Austin, as he leaves the ring.

Footage of Mark Henry gorilla press slamming Lawler before RAW went on the air is shown.

McMahon moderates a faceoff segment between interim WWF President Roddy Piper and Intercontinental Champion Goldust. Piper calls Goldust a fruitcake, a transvestite, and argues that the only appearances Goldust has been making in Hollywood are as a prostitute in back alleys. With regards to Goldust’s mind games, Piper says they will not work, noting that he beat Adrian Adonis years ago. After telling Goldust that he is messing with the wrong guy, Goldust takes the mic and quotes Patriot Games, telling Piper that he wants a piece of him badly. The champion invites Piper to his backlot while trying to touch him. Piper cuts Goldust off when he lifts his kilt so Goldust slaps Piper, only to be decked by one from the president. Piper closes the segment by telling Goldust that he will fight him and “make a man out of him” when he is done. Even though this program has been slapped together, Piper made it seem important and the crowd popped for what they saw.

The Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) (4-0) beat Alex Porteau & Jerry Meade when Henry pins Porteau after the Slop Drop at 1:47:

Porteau was a trainee of Jim Star and Skandor Akbar, starting his career in World Class in 1987. Porteau did enhancement work for WCW from 1989-1990 and formed a tag team in Memphis called the Dirty White Boys with Tony Anthony in 1990 as well. From there he returned to the Texas area, wrestling for Global until it closed 1994 and winning the promotion’s Light Heavyweight Championship four times. Porteau also went abroad, wrestling for Japan’s Network of Wrestling promotion from 1993-1995. The year prior to this show he was wrestling at independent shows in Texas, notably for NWA Dallas.

Meade has size but wrestles in a black t-shirt and has socks peeking out of his boots so that makes him look bush league. Phineas does a crazed dance after he knocks the jobbers to the floor, causing Henry to settle him down. The Godwinns do not do much as Henry kicks Porteau in the face when he puts his head down too quickly on an Irish whip and does the Slop Drop. Porteau does not sell the finish much, popping up and showing frustration in the corner. Henry does not appear pleased with that.

Jim Ross files a report from San Antonio, Texas where Shawn Michaels stands in front of the Alamo and introduces his mentor Jose Lothario. Lothario has Michaels work on a punching bag, run up stadium steps, climb rope, and do other training exercises. Lothario notes that he put Michaels through a rigorous training regimen and he did not quit, showing that he was going to be a star in wrestling.

Ross files another report from Calgary, Alberta, Canada where WWF Champion Bret Hart argues that he does not know too many tough Mexican wrestlers. Footage of his father Stu putting him submission holds airs, along with Bret working on a treadmill and running in snow. Bret does a better job talking with an attitude, saying Michaels only has one hard-hitting move: Sweet Chin Music. According to Bret, he hated this video package as he thought it made him look weak to have his elderly father stretch him and that running in snow made him look slow. Some of those concerns were exaggerated as young fans did not catch onto that. However, the video package does position Bret more as a heel as his confidence came off like arrogance. It was nice to see someone show some attitude and fire to build this main event, though.

A video package hypes the Ultimate Warrior as “faster than a cheetah, stronger than a grizzly, and more terrifying than a great white shark” who is ready to run all over the WWF again.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley (5-2) pins Ben Greer after the Pedigree at 1:53:

McMahon announces that Helmsley will face the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII. Tonight Michelle Snickler accompanies Helmsley to the ring. Lawler has a funny joke that Helmsley “wears more clothes in a day than Gandhi wore in his entire lifetime.” As Helmsley methodically works over Greer with his knee McMahon and Lawler talk about what the Warrior will be like upon his WWF return and how Helmsley will need to be vicious to win. To put that over, Helmsley slaps Greer a lot in the corner before hitting the Pedigree.

Scheme Gene at the Geriatric Control Center that looks like WCW’s Control Center hypes the geriatric match between the Huckster and the Nacho Man on the Free for All that will be refereed by Billionaire Ted. Gene announces that there will be no handcuffs or ladies shoes allowed at ringside. The Huckster’s training sees him struggle to bend or do any exercises, requiring oxygen midway through his workout. He leaves with a walker. The Nacho Man’s training has someone massage his head as he yells “Grow!” because he wants to overcome male pattern baldness. Eventually two men in white coats just spray the spot to match his hair color and the Nacho Man thinks it works. Gene ends the bit by urging fans to call 1-900-LYING BALDY to find out if there will be nightfall. This was a funnier Billionaire Ted sketch as it lacked the venom of the one that recently aired on RAW.

The Undertaker & Yokozuna (w/Paul Bearer) defeat Owen Hart & the British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette) (1-0) via disqualification after Vader interferes at 3:26 shown:

Yokozuna has always been terrified of the Undertaker and it is great that the WWF plays into that as Yokozuna has an uneasy expression when the Undertaker’s theme music starts to play. It is also fitting that the Undertaker and Yokozuna team up here as their feud ended in San Antonio at the 1994 Survivor Series. As the Undertaker makes his entrance, Diesel appears in the split screen and says he will see the Undertaker this week since house shows will feature him and Shawn Michaels against the Undertaker and Bret Hart. He tells McMahon that he just hopes rumors about Michaels are not true and when a puzzled McMahon asks what he is talking about, Diesel shoves the camera away. The Undertaker and Yokozuna stare at each other to start but when the heels try to jump them, they fend them off. Diesel quickly walks to the ring as the Undertaker fights Owen on the floor, grabbing Bearer, clotheslining him, and beating him down. Thankfully, he does not steal the urn as fans do not need to see a rehash of that bit. When the Undertaker realizes what happened to Bearer, he walks to the locker room but that forces Yokozuna to fight alone. Making Yokozuna’s situation worse, Vader comes down after a commercial break and gets in the ring, blindsiding him with a blow to the back of the head. Obviously, this was not much of a match. It was fun to see Yokozuna and the Undertaker team up, even if it was brief. Rating: ½*

After the bell, Ahmed Johnson makes the save, popping the crowd by powerslamming Owen and giving the Bulldog a spinebuster. The crowd pops for him fighting Vader too. Jake Roberts slowly gets in the ring to even the odds but is not very effective. Officials pour into the ring and eventually Camp Cornette thinks it is better to retreat and fight another day.

McMahon announces that Diesel has taken off and left the arena, avoiding the Undertaker.

Tune in next week to see WWF Champion Bret Hart wrestle Tatanka!

The Last Word: There was some important storytelling for WrestleMania XII on this show and that was better than the in-ring product, although the opener was perfectly acceptable wrestling. The training vignettes are a much better way to sell Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels as their in-ring standoff last week did not inspire confidence in going back-and-forth in promos to hype the iron man match. Roddy Piper is also turning lemons into lemonade for the Goldust program, giving more effort for it than Razor Ramon did because of the latter’s disgust of having to participate in that feud. It is not surprising that this episode lost to Monday Nitro because fans likely tuned out in the middle when the squash matches came on. It is hard to see Bret Hart vs. Tatanka as an attractive matchup for fans next week either.

Monday Night War Rating: 2.9 vs. 3.2 for Nitro (Main Event: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage & the Booty Man vs. Kevin Sullivan, Ric Flair & Arn Anderson in a lumberjack strap match)

Up Next: WWF Superstars for March 16!

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