{"id":20750,"date":"2018-07-23T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=20750"},"modified":"2018-07-11T16:29:43","modified_gmt":"2018-07-11T21:29:43","slug":"wolskis-wrestling-rewind-wwf-monday-night-raw-reviews-october-21-to-november-11-1996","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2018\/07\/23\/wolskis-wrestling-rewind-wwf-monday-night-raw-reviews-october-21-to-november-11-1996\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolski’s Wrestling Rewind: WWF Monday Night Raw Reviews: October 21 to November 11, 1996"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s time for another look at Monday Night Raws from 1996, and these next few build toward the 10th Survivor Series pay-per-view. And let me tell you, compared to the previous batches of shows I\u2019ve looked at, business is picking up. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin is finally getting the spotlight and time he deserves, and Bret Hart is back. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Mankind are taking the next steps in their careers to become cornerstones of the company and Sycho Sid is on a mission to end the boyhood dream of Shawn Michaels. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0So let\u2019s jump right in and look at some more editions of Monday Night Raw.<\/span><\/p>\n

October 21, 1996<\/b><\/h1>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This is the Raw following Buried Alive, and it features the return of Bret Hart and the Intercontinental Championship in the main event.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0We start out with our favorite psychopath named Sid facing off with Owen Hart. They have a short little match where Hart has most of the offense and at some point Sid decides he\u2019s done selling and hits a chokeslam on Owen. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He sets up the powerbomb and British Bulldog runs in for the DQ. The two beat on Sid for a little bit, (even if Sid can\u2019t really sell well) and Shawn Michaels comes out for the save. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Of course, Sid gets hot because he\u2019s a macho crazy person that doesn\u2019t need any help. Sound familiar? These two are on a collision course for Survivor Series, and they don\u2019t trust each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0Next up is The Godwins taking on The Smoking Gunns. The Gunns are in the middle of a breakup, because Bart wants to wrestle, and Billy wants to stare at Sunny.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Because of Billy\u2019s lust, the Gunns lose the match and The Godwins rack up another win on Raw. Lord help me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The show perks up a bit when we get a clip from Livewire where Austin is going crazy. He\u2019s been trapped \u201cin a damn green room\u201d and cuts a promo on how he went to Calgary and beat up all the Harts. It\u2019s all a lie, but his delivery is fantastic and a lot of fun to listen to. Things like these are evidence of why Livewire should be on the Network.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0We then finally get the return of Bret Hart, who is interviewed in the ring by Jim Ross. He had been gone since his contract ended at WrestleMania 12, and there were serious doubts about if he would come back to the WWF. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0While I\u2019m sure all the office guys and Vince McMahon knew the decision beforehand, most fans who were in the know were probably very concerned about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Bret talks about how he spent his time off, and specifically mentions the fact that WCW offered him a big money contract, and were very nice about it (this probably set Vince off) but he was going to stay in the WWF forever. To that last line, McMahon gives out a great \u201cYEAH, ALL RIGHT!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He then says that his sights are set on Shawn Michaels and the WWF Championship, and will accept the challenge of \u201cone of the best wrestlers in the world today,\u201d and face Stone Cold at Survivor Series. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This was a really solid promo that jumpstarted many of the moving parts that would get the WWF out of the rut they were currently in. This feud makes Stone Cold a star, it makes Shawn Michaels embrace his prickly nature which leads to DX being formed. Good stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0We then get our main event, which was supposed to be Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Mr. Perfect, but due to a pre-match attack backstage by Helmsley, Perfect can\u2019t compete. Gorilla Monsoon is out and keeping Perfect from wrestling. Out comes Marc Mero to defend the legends honor, and challenges Hunter to a match. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Of course, Helmsley won\u2019t fight for nothing, and pressures him to put his Intercontinental Championship on the line. Perfect tells him to as well, and Mero agrees. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The two have a nice little match and then everything goes off the rails. The referee and Mero are down. Triple H is up and has a steel chair, ready to wallop Mero. Perfect gets in his way and takes the chair, and as Mero gets up, he\u2019s clobbered right in the head. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Following this betrayal, Hunter pedigrees the Wildman and wins his first title in the WWF. A pretty good match with a swerve that was executed well, but made no sense. Why did they have to go through the injury ruse to team up together? Regardless, it doesn\u2019t matter since Perfect will be heading to WCW in a month or so.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Overall, this was a good raw, with historical moments that lead to the Attitude Era, and a good main event that starts the ascension of Triple H.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rating:<\/b> 3 out of 5<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"October 28, 2018<\/b><\/h1>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This episode of Raw keeps ramping up the intensity, and builds to one of the most controversial segments in WWF history, and continues the Austin-Bret Hart feud. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0But, we start with the debut of \u201cThe Real Double J\u201d Jesse James, who is called Jeff Jarrett accidentally by Vince on commentary. He wrestles Salvatore Sincere (whose gimmick is so thin I couldn\u2019t tell you what it is) in a nothing match. James wins with the pumphandle slam to the sound of crickets. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0We then get a real mat classic with Crush taking on Aldo Montoya. This will get the WWF out of their business slump for sure. Crush wins in about three minutes with the heart punch, but the highlight is JR being as bored with this guy as I am.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He spends the whole match taking shots at Vince on a litany of topics, including undervaluing JR\u2019s abilities as a commentator, and some of his booking decisions. It at least gives me a reason to keep the TV on during a Crush match.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Next, we get the first round of the Karate Fighters tournament. It\u2019s blatant product placement by the WWF and it features odd combinations of WWF personalities battling with these weird toys that are like Rock Em\u2019 Sock Em\u2019 Robots with legs. They\u2019re connected to a pole, and you just mash a button like a video game to get them to \u201cattack.\u201d Whichever one gets knocked off the podium first is the loser. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Karate Fighters in all their glory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Todd Pettengill and Jerry Lawler host the tournament and treat it like the most serious thing ever. It\u2019s fun to watch and our first match is Mr. Perfect vs Phineas Godwinn. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Perfect wins by telling P.I.G. that Dolly Parton is behind him. He turns around and Perfect wins. He proceeds to talk Phineas down and calls him a dumb hillbilly. It\u2019s goofy stuff, but is much more entertaining than a Crush match or anything featuring Jesse James.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Also, throughout the show we see hype videos for the Survivor Series pay-per-view, which are interrupted by Stone Cold, who had just broken Brian Pillman’s ankle the previous day on WWF Superstars for bringing up Bret\u2019s nickname in Austin\u2019s promo. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The show is leading to an interview with Bret Hart live in his home, while Austin is doing an interview in the studio. He sees a problem with this, and takes it upon himself to make everyone in the backs\u2019 jobs much harder. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He takes every chance he can get to smack talk Bret, and threatened him. When he gets cut off or technical difficulties arise, he sees it as a conspiracy. He\u2019s a guy that is hungry to be at the top, and will do anything to get there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Meanwhile, Bret is interviewed sitting at home, petting his cats, and talks about how he\u2019s not worried about Austin. He\u2019s faced some of the best wrestlers in the business and come out on top. It\u2019s a great dichotomy that puts this feud to the next level. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Later in the interview, Vince plugs that next week Kevin Kelly will interview Pillman in his Cincinnati home. Austin then says he\u2019ll be there too to finish the job, as a tease for next week. In the end, he gets mad and assaults a production guy and gets arrested for the first (of many) times. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0These interviews are great, and are only the beginning of what Stone Cold would become. His presence leaps out from anything else going on during the show as raw and real, and it helps you connect with him and maybe begrudgingly, root for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Elsewhere on this show was the continuation of the breakup of The Smoking Gunns. Billy faces Freddie Joe Floyd in a match, where he\u2019s once again distracted by Sunny, who\u2019s doing commentary. Billy wins, but Bart comes over to tussle with him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Both guys are fighting over Sunny, an attractive woman that uses her looks to manage wrestlers to the top. She manipulates them to get herself moved up, and is really only interested in having winners and champions on her resume.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0But these guys don\u2019t realize that, and have no real character traits to get invested in, so you just want to sit on your hands and hope this breakup meets a quick merciless end. It\u2019s a good idea in theory, but the execution is lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The main event is Shawn Michaels facing The British Bulldog. They have a decent match, but in what has become a pattern in Michaels\u2019 matches, Owen interferes for the DQ and Sycho Sid evens the odds. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s a typical finish that happens too often today, where the wrestlers are \u201cprotected\u201d by a shmoz finish that really hurts everyone involved. Think of every Seth Rollins 2014-15 match as examples. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This match also continues the Sid and Shawn are buddies (?) storyline. They give an uneasy fist bump to each other, but it will only get worse from here.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Overall a Raw where all the bad stuff was canceled out by some good wrestling and promo segments. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rating:<\/b> 3 out of 5<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"November 4, 1996<\/b><\/h1>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This Raw is notable for featuring a controversial segment that almost got the show kicked off the air due to its disturbing content. It also included other feuds progressing toward the Survivor Series pay-per-view.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Sprinkled throughout this show were interview segments with Kevin Kelly and Brian Pillman in his Cincinnati home. Tensions are high, since Stone Cold made his intentions clear of storming the interview and beating Pillman up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Pillman has friends guarding the house, and makes clear that should Austin break through, he has a pistol ready to go. He makes it clear that \u201cAustin 3:16 won\u2019t be able to stand up to \u2018Pillman 9 millimeter gun.\u2019\u201d I don\u2019t know if adding gun to the end of that was necessary. He looks completely unhinged, and the announcers treat the reveal like a huge deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0And it was. Something crazy like this had real gravity in the 90s and had never been seen in wrestling, where usually the biggest threat to a wrestler was getting struck by the ring bell or a steel chair. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This brought an aspect of realism into the show that didn\u2019t sit well with many viewers, and helped blur the line between real and fake. Just wait a year and stuff like this will be the norm. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Plus we get Austin taking out Pillman\u2019s buddies by throwing toy cars at them and attempting to drown them in kiddie pools. It is the funniest thing you can see in 1996 WWF. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0Then Austin breaks the basement door with a tire iron, and makes his way to Pillman\u2019s living room. He promptly points the gun at Austin, and starts screaming. Then his wife starts screaming. And Kevin Kelly starts screaming. Cut to static and fade to black. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The show then ends with Austin coming back, and Pillman\u2019s friends blocking the shot, while Pillman curses and says “Let him go, I’m going to kill that son of a b****!” and “You don’t know who you’re f****** with!” Really heavy stuff for 96.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Keep in mind, this happens in chunks throughout the broadcast. So right after the gun is pointed at Austin the first time, they cut to the next round of the Karate Fighters tournament. It’s such a contrast, and only makes the gun segments stand out more. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This show is worth a watch for the gun segments alone, but what else happened?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The opening match was Goldust vs The Stalker (who\u2019s a babyface?) which is pretty boring and ends with a brawl between every member of the survivor series team. We see the Rock make his Raw debut by making a poor attempt at a crossbody.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Also going on is the return of the recently buried Undertaker. It is announced he\u2019ll be facing Mankind at Survivor Series with Paul Bearer locked above the ring in a shark cage. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0They show footage from a live event where Paul Bearer and Co. are interviewed and interrupted by Taker\u2019s booming voice and a threatening doll of Bearer inside a cage lowered to the ring. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Then we see the next round of the illustrious Karate Fighters tournament, where Sycho Sid beats Marlena in a battle of worked toy shoots (poor choice of words).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Say what you will about the segment, but I really like that podium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The following match is The Sultan crushing fan favorite Alex \u201cThe Pug\u201d Porteau. I really thought \u201cThe Pug\u201d was gonna pull out a victory. Next.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0After this is a debate between Shawn Michaels and Sid where they take little pot shots at each other. It\u2019s nothing bad, but nothing really good, until Jim Cornette, Vader, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog storm the ring and brawl with the two.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The glorious WWF podium is destroyed in the process, and Owen hits Sid in the back with a chair. Michaels gets the upper hand and takes the same chair and clears the ring. Sid sees Michaels with the chair and thinks he hit him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Before any violence can happen, zebras separate the two and it’s announced that Owen and Bulldog will defend their titles against Shawn and Sid. Will they coexist and win the titles? Probably not.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0And then we get our main event: Fake Razor vs Marc Mero. The match goes on for seven long minutes that consist of JR yelling about how good Fake Razor is, and Vince and King freaking out about Pillman and Austin. They don\u2019t even care about this snoozer of a match. Imposter Razor wins in the end. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Then the show ends with the aforementioned segment of Pillman pointing the gun and cursing. Raw goes off the air without any resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Overall, this show sucked aside from the gun angle. The funniest part is due to the angry phone calls and backlash from the USA Network, the best part of this show won\u2019t be mentioned for months, in fear of Raw being canceled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rating:<\/b> 2 out of 5<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"November 11, 1996<\/b><\/h1>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This is the go-home show to Survivor Series, where all the last major pushes to big matches happen, and another match in the Karate Fighters tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The opener is Michaels and Sid facing Owen and Bulldog for the WWF Tag Team Championships. I wonder how this will end up, with two rivals (one\u2019s name is Sycho spelled wrong for Pete’s sake) having to put their issues aside to fight for a title they don\u2019t really want? Surely there will be no miscommunications.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0They actually have a good match, where right when Michaels is about to hit Sweet Chin Music on Bulldog, he gets out of the way and Sid gets caught in the crossfire. The Harts retain.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Sid and Michaels fight each other for a moment before security breaks it up and sends them to separate locker rooms. Later in the night they both cut promos about their match in six days. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The second match is a real barn burner, Mankind destroying Freddie Joe Floyd. The Executioner is with Bearer and the Kind man and looks completely lost. Nothing compelling here.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Next up is Kevin Kelly interviewing Rocky Maivia before his debut in the Survivor Series. Maivia talks about his hopes and aspirations to give wrestling all his effort and to make his family proud and live up to his lineage. It\u2019s a nice little interview, made funnier when you remember where these two will be a few years down the line. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0After this, we get a first-round match in the Karate Fighters tournament, with Doc Hendrix (aka Michael Hayes) facing Sable. Sable doesn\u2019t really talk and Hendrix is annoying. Sable wins and Hendrix acts like the plastic fighting hurt him\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0Our main event is \u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin fighting Bob \u201cNot Yet Hardcore\u201d Holly in a ten-minute match. It\u2019s pretty boring and the main reason for the length is so we can see Bret Hart watching and scouting Austin\u2019s style in a fake locker room. Austin wins, and decides to go find Hart and break into the room, which is locked. So the best thing he can manage is yelling through the keyhole at him. It\u2019s pretty funny, but not Austin\u2019s best work. That\u2019ll come on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0This was a decent Raw, nothing major really happened, but nothing offensive happened either. An ok go-home show for Survivor Series. I\u2019ll add a point since I didn\u2019t have to see The Sultan, Crush or The Godwinns. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rating:<\/b> 3 out of 5<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Overall, this batch of Raws was much better than the past few months worth. We got great promos with Bret Hart, Austin and the Pillman angle. Fake Diesel and Fake Razor don\u2019t take center stage, and all the matches are built well. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Thankfully, the shows keep getting better, because they start focusing on the right people. Check back next Monday for my review of Survivor Series 1996, which is a much more pivotal show than you may remember. Thanks for reading!<\/span><\/p>\n

Henry Wolski<\/strong>
\nExecutive Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s time for another look at Monday Night Raws from 1996, and these next few build toward the 10th Survivor Series pay-per-view. And let me tell you, compared to the previous batches of shows I\u2019ve looked at, business is picking up. \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin is finally getting the spotlight and time he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10416,"featured_media":20761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2104,2109,3,2138],"tags":[2000,2141,1384,2618,74,2438,2644,772,2173,2642],"class_list":["post-20750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-opinion","category-tartan-news","category-wrestling","tag-henry-wolski","tag-online-exclusive","tag-opinion","tag-raw","tag-reviews","tag-wolskis-wrestling-ramblings","tag-wolskis-wrestling-rewind","tag-wrestling","tag-wwe","tag-wwf"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Screen-Shot-2018-07-11-at-5.16.49-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-5oG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10416"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20767,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20750\/revisions\/20767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}