Raw History: Episode 180 and Reliving Nitro: Episode 57

Raw History
Episode #180
October 14th, 1996 | Hershey Park Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania

WWF Champion: Shawn Michaels (1) since 3/31/96
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Marc Mero (1) since 9/23/96
WWF Tag Team Champions: Owen Hart and the British Bulldog (1) since 9/22/96

The opening video package focuses on tonight’s main event between WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin. Austin says he’s going to whoop Shawn’s ass.

Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly are on commentary.

Vader def. Phineas Godwin w/ Hillbilly Jim in 4:33
Yikes, it isn’t even the better Godwin. They announce that Vince McMahon returns to host Raw next week. There’s even the first televised name drop of Kevin Dunn. While Vader wails on Phineas, JR says that he’ll be here next week even if he’s being replaced. Sid comes out to talk trash to Vader from the aisle. Phineas gets on offense because of the distraction. Vader sloppily holds the ropes to block the Slop Drop. Vader finishes with the Vader Bomb and Jim Cornette shows up to celebrate with him. Vader looked rough here and might have been hurt. Sloppy work. ¾*

Jim Ross hops in the ring to interview Mr. Perfect, who returns to the ring next week. He cuts a short but passionate promo about being the best Intercontinental Champion of all time, still being in great shape and being perfect.

They run a commercial for the BIG BANG BOOM tour! What a shit name for a tour.

Jerry Lawler is out for a match with Jake Roberts, but spends too much time cracking jokes on Jake being an alcoholic. Jake comes out stumbling and holding a brown bag of booze behind his back. Gorilla Monsoon comes out to check on Jake, who reveals that he isn’t drunk at all.

Jake Roberts def. Jerry Lawler in 0:28
Lawler thinks Jake is drunk so he walks right into a DDT and then gets the snake dropped on him.

JESSE JAMES VIGNETTE ~ More footage and words from the future Road Dogg. They try to set him up as a star but it didn’t work. Next week he’ll talk about his time in Desert Storm.

Freddie Joe Floyd def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley via countout in 4:06
MORE TRACEY SMOTHERS! Since Mr. Perfect has been “Mr. Steal Your Girl” lately, Hunter handcuffs his valet for the evening at ringside. As Helmsley works over Floyd, JR and Kelly discuss possibly losing their jobs when Vince comes back. Mr. Perfect strolls to ringside to mack on Hunter’s lady. Perfect gets the key from a security guard and leaves with the woman. HHH hits the Pedigree, yet somehow Floyd kicks out. Helmsley goes after Perfect and gets knocked out, leading to the countout. Mostly a squash to advance the angle.

Backstage, Steve Austin calls out Bret Hart again. Since Bret isn’t man enough to face, he’s gonna kick the ass of the guy who sent Bret packing.

SLAM OF THE WEEK ~ The Godwins defeated Owen Hart and British Bulldog in a non-title match this past weekend.

NEXT WEEK ~ Mr. Perfect finally returns to the ring to take on Hunter Hearst Helmsley!

Sunny comes out and reveals a giant poster of herself from the rafters.

GRAVEYARD ~ Mankind cuts a promo in a rainy graveyard about the upcoming Buried Alive match. Paul Bearer yells that this is all Undertaker’s fault.

Faarooq def. Alex Porteau in 2:03
Sunny stays on commentary and announces that she is done managing Faarooq. JR straight up disses Faarooq’s stupid helmet. He questions putting something ridiculous like that on a former All-American because it all comes back to football when you’re JR. Faarooq runs through Porteau, including a sweet spinebuster. He wins with the Dominator ahead of his Intercontinental Title match at the PPV.

LIVEWIRE ~ Ahmed Johnson was the guest and Faarooq called in. They talk trash and Ahmed says he’s gonna break his foot off in Faarooq’s ass. He also quotes Tupac.

GRAVEYARD ~ The Undertaker cuts a promo on the Buried Alive match now. He says that he’ll destroy himself if it means destroying Mankind.

Non-Title Match: WWF Champion Shawn Michaels w/ Jose Lothario def. Steve Austin via disqualification in 6:22
Commentary continues to plug this as the biggest match in Raw history. While they go through their early exchanges, Jim Cornette cuts a split screen promo on Sid, while Vader huffs and puff. Instead of just giving us this match, we go to another split screen, this time with Sid. To be fair, Shawn is just working headlocks and nothing too great is going on. They run a fine series where Austin is wise enough to avoid the Sweet Chin Music and Michaels is able to block the Stunner. After a break, Shawn is hitting the ten corner punches but Vader runs in for the DQ. Disappointing because we could have at least been treated to some good stuff before the DQ finish. *¾

Vader and Austin pound away on Shawn Michaels until Savio Vega runs out. Savio is scheduled to face Austin at the PPV. Sid shows up and all hell breaks loose. Fake Diesel and Razor watch from the aisle for some reason. Sid bumps into Shawn, causing the two to get into a heated argument. They could meet at Survivor Series if Sid beats Vader on Sunday. They get over it and send Austin and Vader packing to close the show.

Reliving Nitro
Episode #57
October 14th, 1996 | Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan (2) 8/10/96
WCW United States Champion: Ric Flair (5) since 7/7/96
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (7) since 10/5/96
WCW Television Champion: Lord Steven Regal (3) since 8/20/96
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio Jr. (1) since 7/8/96

We have our usual hosts of Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko.

LAST WEEK ~ The nWo made Elizabeth watch as they destroyed Randy Savage.

Dean Malenko def. Brad Armstrong in 5:22
Malenko shows up with Mysterio’s mask in his hand to build towards Halloween Havoc. Armstrong got a win over Dean on WCW Saturday Night even though both men had their shoulders on the mat. The crowd is rowdy and chants for the nWo while the wrestlers exchange holds. Brad nearly gets DQed for hip tossing Dean over the top but Dean hangs on. Dean gets tired of Brad’s shit and starts in with aggressive chops. Brad comes close on a roll up and again with an impressive Russian leg sweep. Brad hits a nice back suplex before Dean goes for a vertical. Brad slips out but Dean pulls him into a cradle to win. Solid work from both men, I just wish the crowd was more interested in it. They were loud but not about what was going on in the ring. **¼

The nWo arrive in two limos.

Jim Duggan def. VK Wallstreet in 4:34
I have strong disdain for both workers. Duggan beat Wallstreet on Saturday Night with the taped fist and Nick Patrick reversed the decision. It was the right thing to do, but Patrick is portrayed as being in the wrong. It’s the rematch nobody wants. Duggan punches and kicks, while Wallstreet works rest holds. It’s really all either guy has. Duggan tries for the tape, but Wallstreet steals it. He takes too long applying it and eats the three point stance to lose. Boring match involving boring wrestlers. ¼*

Hugh Morris def. Jim Powers w/ Teddy Long in 6:34
This starts off oddly because Schiavone takes time to thank Jerry Lawler for helping to fill out the arena. I guess Lawler helped promote the show for whatever reason. He then changes tune and mentions something about Lawler working at a flea market. Wrestling in 1996 was a strange time. Powers uses generic offense for early control but gets in trouble with Morris’ power. He works him over for a while and teases No Laughing Matter, allowing a Powers comeback. His pin attempts all get very slow counts from Patrick. Long gets on the apron to argue. Patrick has to dodge Morris being thrown into him, so he holds his neck instead of counting for Powers. No Laughing Matter hits and Morris wins. I didn’t care for the match, but Patrick was rather entertaining. ¾*

SATURDAY NIGHT ~ Rough and Ready take on the Faces of Fear, plus appearances from DDP, Lex Luger, Randy Savage, Chris Jericho and more!

Lex Luger def. Greg Valentine in 6:35
I can’t fathom why Valentine had a job by this point. He brought no value to the company. Thanks to Arn Anderson’s attack last week, Luger has taped ribs. While these two trade boring offense, Arn is shown watching on a monitor. Valentine targets Luger’s ribs like a smart man. Ted Dibiase and Vincent are in the crowd, getting the biggest pop of the match. Commentary gets word that Hogan has an announcement to make. Larry shits on WCW for fighting each other instead of the nWo. Valentine nearly wins but the referee catches his feet on the ropes. Valentine still celebrates like he won, so Luger puts him in the Rack and he gives. The crowd pops for the win like it was an important match. About what I expected from these two. *

Nick Patrick gets interviewed at ringside. Schiavone informs him that Randy Savage is not getting fined $1 million, instead it will be $500. Patrick is furious and says he will talk to his legal team. They show footage from Saturday Night, when the nWo competed in an empty arena. The referee wore a ski mask and they say it looks and sounds like Patrick, who finds the accusations insulting.

HOUR NUMBER TWO!

Before the next match, Eric Bischoff stops Randy Savage for an interview. A TV is wheeled out like there’s a substitute teacher in class. They show a video of Elizabeth giving a heartfelt apology to Randy for everything. She does it from their backyard on a swing Randy personally built for her. When it ends, Savage is distraught and unsure what to do. He leaves backstage, never giving us Savage vs. Mike Enos. I’m not upset. After a break, Bobby Heenan rightfully chastises Bischoff for messing with Savage’s mental state ahead of the Halloween Havoc match.

Eddie Guerrero def. The Cheetah Kid in 2:41
No clue who’s portraying the Cheetah Kid. Eddie gets an insert promo where he calls DDP a one move wonder. Cheetah doesn’t impress outside of a powerbomb and decent springboard dropkick. Eddie turns things around and wins following a super rana and frog splash.

1-800-COLLECT ROAD REPORT ~ Lee Marshall calls in from Minneapolis for the first ever report like this. He plugs a house show coming to the area.

Jeff Jarrett def. Big Bubba w/ Jimmy Hart in 6:43
I’ve always felt Jarrett was sorely miscast as a babyface. He just had an unlikable quality to him, similar to Lex Luger, for most of his career. That being said, he gets a huge pop in his home state. Bischoff makes a funny note about Jarrett being a bad singer, but in WCW only wrestling matters. The strut continues the positive response for Double J. He starts hot and Hart grabs his ankle. Jarrett gives chase and is suckered in because Bubba lays him out. He attempts to slam Jarrett on the steps but the referee stops him so he just does a backbreaker. Bubba works a chinlock and cuts off a few Jarrett rallies. Jarrett misses a dropkick and gets clocked with a big right hand. Jarrett’s comeback is again cut off, this time by Hart on the apron. He levels Jimmy, who takes a rough looking bump. Bubba tries to use the megaphone but it gets dropkicked into his face, giving Jeff the win. Better than expected. It was fun, had a hot crowd and all three guys involved put forth some effort. **½

Tony Schiavone interviews Jeff Jarrett on the stage. It’s announced that Jarrett will face the Giant at Halloween Havoc. He promises to make Giant respect Ric Flair and the heritage of WCW.

Non-Title Match: WCW World Tag Team Harlem Heat w/ Col. Robert Parker and Sister Sherri vs. The Faces of Fear ends in a no contest at 7:17
Harlem Heat refuse to put the titles on the ling before the big defense against the Outsiders at Halloween Havoc. About a minute into the math, Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael and Debra come out for a closer look. Poor Benoit got saddled with a talentless hack as his partner. The two teams clobber away on one another. Jim Ross would call this “bowling shoe ugly.” Booker uses a superkick, while Stevie utilizes a bicycle kick. Barbarian busts out a super overhead belly to belly suplex. He tags out to Meng, who stops to dance for Sherri. Amazing. Booker takes the heat following that but just as the match breaks down, the Outsiders show up through the crowd. The teams stop wrestling and stand in unity against the nWo. That was pretty fun until the non-finish. I wish the Faces of Fear got a Tag Title run around this time. **¼

With the teams together, Hall and Nash head back up through the stands.

Following a break, the nWo come out (to no music) and basically have Elizabeth hostage. The crowd loves them. Hogan plugs the movie he’s been filming and is disappointed that Savage isn’t around to fight tonight. He implies that Liz was acting in her video earlier, so she tries to slap him. He blocks it and laughs. The Nasty Boys stroll out in nWo shirts with contracts. Brian Knobbs reads the contract and wants to know why they aren’t being paid as much as they were promised. Hogan checks for his signature, realizing he didn’t sign yet. He tells them they shouldn’t wear the shirts without the contract official. The nWo jump the Nasty Boys and spray paint them. Hogan insinuates that he’ll be with Liz all night long from now on. The nWo take over commentary again but things get cut off before anything interesting happens.

Raw Rating: 1.8
Nitro Rating: 3.3

4.8

The final score: review Poor

The 411

Raw:  I originally expected to score this lower but I think the hot ending helped things. Not only was it chaotic fun, it helped build intrigue for the Sid/Shawn angle. The Hunter/Perfect angle and Perfect’s promo were set up well too. I wasn’t a fan of Vader’s squash or the Lawler/Roberts stuff at all though. 4.0

Nitro: A fair amount of that episode was solid. Malenko/Armstrong and Harlem Heat/Faces of Fear were relatively fun matches, while I thought Jarrett/Bubba was one of the more surprising matches in recent Nitro memory. They built towards some Halloween Havoc stuff well, but the nWo angle at the end fell way flat. 5.5