Monday Night Raw
Date: January 23, 2023
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick
It’s Raw XXX as the company celebrates thirty years on the air. As usual with the big Raw milestone episodes, we’ll be seeing a bunch of legends for special appearances. In addition, there are two title matches and a cage match so the card is stacked. If that isn’t enough, it’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble so let’s get to it.
Hokuto with her weird “Gas Mask/Michael Jackson” gear, fronted by Sonny Onoo, Eric Bischoff’s friend and manager to all Japanese heels in WCW.
JOSHI IN WCW (1997):
* And we’re back with more of WCW’s Women’s Division! So in early 1997, they try to make a “go” of the division, largely by having Akira Hokuto and Madusa feud, occasionally with Hokuto’s ally (enemy in GAEA) KAORU getting involved, and GAEA Japan’s Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato brought in a jobbers to the heels, and Malia Hosaka (of Japanese descent, but a Hawaiian trained in the U.S.) as a general jobber. But we also bring in Toshie Uematsu, and she gets the one WCW Title NOBODY ever remembers (as a 30-something, I learned of its existence and went “whhaaaaat?”)!
Ironically WCW attempts their Women’s Division around the same time joshi in Japan is about to go through INCREDIBLE disarray, but we’re not quite at AJW’s bankruptcy just yet. It’s mostly “Madusa & Hosaka with GAEA Japan”, and never improves with any homegrown talent.
Akira Hokuto has oddly become the first Champion- given how Madusa (always in her two-piece American flat outfit to show off her figure) was carried as the division’s “Ace” this feels peculiar, but is likely part of why GAEA agreed to it, and it at least gives Madusa someone to chase and a credible enemy instead of Madusa winning the tournament and the fans thus not buying ANYONE against her. And the division is gone before the summer ends- shockingly, it’s belts become defended in Japan!
AKIRA HOKUTO (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. MADUSA:
(WCW Worldwide, Jan. 12th 1997)
* A Starrcade rematch on the D-show (thus, it’s non-title)- Akira’s in green & Madusa’s in the usual.
Live from San Francisco, CA
Airdate: May 2, 1987
Attendance: 2,800
Hosted by Rod Trongard
Can Bockwinkel finally defeat Bockwinkel in their fantastic trilogy? How will Francis and Snuka fare against some militant competition? What happens when Madusa and Sherri battle for the women’s title? Will the Midnight Rockers win in their six-man match? Get ready for a tasty treat!
If you have not already, do not forget to vote for the Doomies.
–Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan handle studio duties for the last Main Event episode of 1995 to feature new matches.
–Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Steve McMichael are in the booth and they are live from Augusta, Georgia. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 8,100 fans attended the show, with 3,000 paying to do so.
–Madusa interrupts the announce crew, holding the WWF Women’s Championship. She says she will always be Madusa and she dumps the WWF Women’s title in the trash can. The promo was terrible, but this was a HUGE shock at the time since Madusa had just competed at Survivor Series weeks earlier and plans called her for to face Aja Kong at the Royal Rumble. This incident had long-term ramifications too as Vince McMahon feared Bret Hart would do the same to the WWF title if he retained at the 1997 Survivor Series, thereby leading to the Montreal Screwjob. Also, the WWF would not restart its women’s division until 1998. WCW would attempt to create its own women’s division with Madusa as a centerpiece, but it never worked out.
Live from Mobile, AL
Airdate: June 20, 1992
Attendance: 5,000
Hosted by Jim Ross & Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Can Cactus Jack defeat WCW World champion Sting in a falls-count-anywhere match? Who will win the 30-minute Iron Man challenge? Oh, and there’s stuff going down in WCW, too? Let’s find out!
Monday Nitro #228
Date: February 21, 2000
Location: Arco Arena, Sacramento, California
Attendance: 9,408
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden
It’s the night after SuperBrawl and almost nothing has changed. That’s about as close to the truth as you can get here as no titles changed hands, unless you count a tournament final for a new champion. The big story continues to be Hogan/Sting vs. Flair/Luger as we’re back in the earliest days of this show, minus Randy Savage. Let’s get to it.
