What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – 07.22.96

Fans are shown entering the Key Arena, the venue for tonight’s program.

Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler commentate, live from Seattle, Washington. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 6,755 fans attended the taping. McMahon wishes a happy birthday to WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and former WWF Women’s Champion the Fabulous Moolah.

Sunny wheels a cake to ringside with WWF Tag Team Champions the Smoking Gunns before the opening contest where the Gunns are defending their titles against Shawn Michaels and Ahmed Johnson. The champions attack Michaels and Ahmed before the bell but that just results in Billy eating Sweet Chin Music before the bell rings. Michaels slides out of the ring and wheels the cake toward Sunny. He takes some icing off and puts it on her face, which she does not like. Sunny picks up the cake and thinks of throwing it on Michaels’ head but he catches her. When Sunny backs up, Ahmed stops her and shoves the cake in her face. As the crowd cheers, Michaels licks it off her face.

After a commercial break, WWF President Gorilla Monsoon promises that there will be a Tag Team title match tonight and the bout will take place once Billy recovers some of his senses.

Opening Contest: Marc Mero (w/Sable) (13-4) pins the Goon (1-0) after a slingshot leg drop at 7:13:

Steve Austin does color commentary, telling people that he opened “a can of whoop ass” on Mero last night at In Your House. McMahon announces that next week Austin will face the Undertaker. Austin says he would love to face WWF Champion Shawn Michaels or Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson. When McMahon asks him about Bret Hart, Austin claims that he is the real excellence of execution. To add more verbal interference on the match, Jake Roberts calls in and reiterates that he missed last night’s match with a rib injury that will keep him out for two to three weeks. Lawler accuses Roberts of calling in from the Betty Ford clinic and offers a bottle of Jim Beam as a gift. Mero has a problem figuring the Goon out and the long offensive run that the Goon gets exposes a problem with the character: He cannot fill a long time with new offense that is not hockey themed. The Goon kicks out of Mero’s reverse victory roll as Austin has a hilarious rip of the old Lex Express, asking McMahon for a fancy bus so he can go around the country and whip people’s asses. Near the end there are several awkward sequences where Mero and the Goon tumble around close to each other in the corners. Then Mero messes up a headscissors. Things get even worse when they fall to the floor where lots of icing remains from the cake that was pressed into Sunny’s face. The Goon slips when trying to do his cross-check spot into the apron, going into the steps. And both men struggle to find their footing, slipping around like they are on ice. The Goon gets to his feet long enough for Mero to do a tope and then the match finally ends with a slingshot leg drop. Having Mero struggle against the Goon was not good for him and the match steadily fell apart after the four-minute mark. It gets an extra quarter star because of Austin’s entertaining commentary. Rating: ¾*

Michaels and Ahmed are in the locker room. Michaels thanks Sunny for the cakes and says that Ahmed would love to get some Tag Team gold.

Enter the Stridex SummerSlam sweepstakes to get tickets to the event! 50 other winners will get a free WWF pay-per-view of their choice!

Bob Backlund, who came out during the Marc Mero-Goon match, is shown in the crowd campaigning for the presidency.

Footage of WWF President Gorilla Monsoon meeting with Clarence Mason airs. A big, white guy with dreadlocks stands behind Mason with his back to the camera and he is someone that Mason is trying to get reinstated to the WWF after he was accused of a crime.

Mankind (11-0) defeats Freddie Joe Floyd (1-1) via submission to the Mandible Claw at 3:52:

Another B-show gimmick invades RAW! McMahon announces that Mankind will face the Undertaker in a boiler room brawl at SummerSlam. Floyd gives Mankind a tough match, countering a Tree of Woe attack by grabbing the top rope and pulling himself up. A flying spinning elbow almost registers an upset. After a cradle gets another near-fall, Floyd goes to the top rope but Mankind crotches him, applies the Mandible Claw, crotches Floyd again on the top rope, and then re-applies the Claw to win. Short and enjoyable. Rating: **

After the match, Brian Pillman comes to ringside. As he does, McMahon announces that next week Marc Mero will face Vader and Sid will battle Justin Bradshaw.

Backstage, Mero and Sable appear. McMahon announces that Mero has been booked to face Goldust at SummerSlam. Mero promises jungle warfare against Vader that will cause the big man to get cat scratch fever. When it comes to Goldust, Mero quotes “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by saying that Goldust should not tug on Superman’s cape, spit into the wind, or mess with Sable. Mero says that Goldust has his full attention because of his infatuation with Sable.

Goldust (w/Marlena) (11-7-2) pins Barry Horowitz (1-7) after the Curtain Call at 2:17:

Pillman provides commentary for the bout, teasing that he is going to spit out the seven words you cannot say on television and get McMahon in trouble. He also says that any negative comments about Horowitz will be construed as anti-Semitism. Unlike last night, Goldust shows more aggression as Pillman insists that Goldust is building a harem and he hopes to be a talent scout for him. Horowitz is crushed, managing no offense as Goldust slams his head into the steps, whips him into the corner several times, and finishes him with the Curtain Call.

Sunny, with the Smoking Gunns, is angry when McMahon makes fun of her bad hair day. She says that the Gunns will successfully defend their titles after she has nursed Billy back to health. Billy promises that the Gunns will show a side people have not seen before. Bart unconvincingly shouts about how Shawn Michaels and Ahmed Johnson will pay for what they did to Sunny.

The Stridex Slam of the Week is Vader pinning Michaels at In Your House last night.

McMahon interviews Vader and Jim Cornette, announcing that Vader will face Michaels for the WWF Championship. Cornette hypes Vader as a school bully who wants an adult prize, that prize being the WWF title, and he is convinced that no one on the planet can beat the big man.

This year’s big SummerSlam commercial shows different WWF wrestlers doing Olympic events. Ahmed Johnson runs through hurdles; Steve Austin shot puts an Olympic runner, who sets themselves on fire with the Olympic torch; and Michaels does the high jump. On a medal podium, various WWF wrestlers start fighting each other, providing a fun end to a good ad campaign that was timely due to the Summer Olympics taking place in Atlanta, Georgia.

Call 1-900-737-4WWF to find out if SummerSlam will be the Undertaker’s last WWF match!

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: Shawn Michaels & Ahmed Johnson (w/Jose Lothario) beat the Smoking Gunns (Champions w/Sunny) (10-1) via disqualification when Ahmed is attacked by a man dressed as a gladiator at 11:07 shown:

Once again, the Gunns charge the challengers and it does not work. The singles titleholders control the action for close to six minutes until Michaels is placed in peril with an assisted stun gun when he tries to headscissors Billy. Michaels takes a nice bump over the top rope from a Flair flip but the Gunns miss a chance for Sunny to get some revenge for the cake spot by either putting the boots to Michaels or slapping him. A false tag spot gets the crowd worked up and Billy almost pins Michaels after launching off of Bart to do a forearm smash in the corner. Ahmed lays waste after the hot tag but Bart holds down the top rope when Ahmed runs them after delivering a spinebuster to Billy. When Ahmed is on the floor, a man in blue gladiator gear attacks him with a stiff kick to the kidneys, smashing the Intercontinental champion’s head into the guardrail and slamming him. Michaels takes care of the Gunns in the ring and then gets the gladiator to back down as referees pour out of the back. Due to all of this, the Gunns are disqualified. Like the six-man the previous night, Michaels did most of the work. Unfortunately, the Gunns have forgotten most of the double teams they used to do as a babyface act during this heel run that would be good for false finishes. Rating: **½

As the gladiator walks to the locker room, Lawler tells viewers that it looks like Ron Simmons. Sunny points to her new wrestler, who says that from now on Sunny’s kingdom will rule. Simmons was an imposing guy but the outfit made him look goofy, almost as if he was going to be a character on The Running Man.

Tune in next week to see the Undertaker face Steve Austin! Also, Marc Mero squares off with Vader! And Sid faces Justin Bradshaw!

The Last Word: The interference by Ron Simmons’ unknown character would have large reverberations in WWF history as his kick to Ahmed Johnson’s kidneys would send Ahmed to the hospital after the taping. Simmons had a reputation of working stiff as a consequence of his legitimate football background but Ahmed and his defenders over the years have accused Simmons of being rough due to jealousy at Ahmed’s push and Ahmed not welcoming Simmons to the locker room when he arrived for the show. The injury would cause heat between the two that would persist as long as they were both in the company. Beyond that, this show announced several bouts for SummerSlam. The main event made up for a poor undercard and the WWF’s ability to start and end the show with the same match probably helped it narrow the rating on this night with Monday Nitro.

Monday Night War Rating: 2.2 vs. 2.6 for Nitro (Main Event: Randy Savage, Sting & Lex Luger vs. Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael)

Up Next: WWF Superstars for July 27!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1995 WWF, 1993-1995 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!