RAW #140
Date: 18 December 1995
Location: Bob Carpenter Center; Newark, DE
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler
It's the most wonderful time of the year (apart from in the WWF)!
We're live this week for the final RAW of the year, as WWF will be pre-empted next week on Christmas Day. It was beaten pretty handily in the ratings by Savage vs. Giant on the other channel.
Jeff Jarrett def. Fatu via DQ (5:47)
Double J is back! This ends up being a very short run before a longer hiatus (via WCW). Jarrett evades Fatu from the bell and struts his stuff. That of course ends with Fatu slamming Jarrett and launching a headbutt at his nether region. Jarrett rallies and hits Fatu with a DDT, but Fatu summons his Samoan powers and it has no effect. Fatu takes over now and uses his size to dominate Jarrett, but misses in the corner to allow Jarrett to hit a swinging neckbreaker. That reverses the momentum, as Jarrett sends Fatu outside and launches him into the steps. Back from a break, Jarrett continues to control the match and hits Fatu with a double axe-handle. A second one fails though, as Fatu recovers a hits a power slam. A back body drop is followed by a back breaker, but Fatu can only get two. Fatu then hits a running cutter but his shoulder is in all kinds of pain and he can't capitalise. Jarrett rams the bad shoulder into the turnbuckle and signals for the figure-four, but out comes Ahmed Johnson for some revenge from last night and that causes a DQ. Ahmed gets a few shots in, until Jarrett dips from the ring and escapes. Not awful or anything as both guys can work at a decent pace and Jarrett showed very little rust (if any), but the finish feels unnecessary and I can't say Ahmed and Jarrett is a match I'm dying to see. (*1/2)
Dok Hendrix is with Gorilla Monsoon now, who announces that he's pulled Jeff from the Rumble to fave Ahmed Johnson! Tastes like revenge for Vince. Meanwhile, Goldust still has the hots for Razor Ramon!
We then get a replay of Taker and Diesel's confrontation at IYH5, which I covered in my review of the show (above).
Buddy Landell def. Bob Holly (6:51)
Hot off being decimated by Ahmed Johnson last night, this is Buddy's one and only RAW match (and we're about to find out why). What possessed Vince to even give this guy a sniff of a push I'll never know. Holly starts hot with a series of arm drags here, but Landell takes him over to the corner and hurls a few chops at him. Landell works the arm and throws a few more chops. Holly has a brief comeback, but Landell cuts that off with a boot to the face and locks in a REST HOLD. A back body drop follows for two. Eventually Landell misses a beat, as Holly catches him out of nowhere for a DDT! He then takes Landell over to the corner and gets ten punches up on the turnbuckle. Then Holly hits a Frankensteiner on Landell, which is easily the highlight of the match. Landell rises, so Holly puts him back down with a pair of clotheslines for two. Holly's dropkick attempt whiffs though and Landell hits a modified elbow drop to get a shock win?! Man, Holly must have been close to the edge after losing this one and if memory serves, his career goes into the wilderness for the next couple of years. This was brutally boring, especially segments with Landell on top. In many ways, he typifies just how outdated WWF felt at this time; meanwhile, WCW were challenging the status quo of booking (not always a good thing, admittedly) with faces people already recognised. (3/4*)
It's time for The Brother Love Show and guess what? He looooooves you. His guest tonight is Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, who explains that the evil Santa Claus from IYH5 is actually called Xanta Klaus and is from the South Pole. Who writes this shit! The actual nugget of interest here is that 1996 will be the year of the Million Dollar Champion, and that guy ends up being a big deal. More on that in 1996.
Intercontinental Championship: Razor Ramon (c) def. Yokozuna via count out (8:46)
Once again, Goldust and his usher have a front row seat for this one. In a cool bit, Razor's usual pyro in-ring is replaced by falling gold dust, as the mind games continue. This creates a distraction that Yoko seizes on, but Razor quickly sends the big man out of the ring with a clothesline. Back inside, Razor slaps on a REST HOLD to wear his opponent down, but Yoko powers out of it and slams Razor. Yoko then relinquishes control as he misses an elbow drop. Razor tries to take the big man down with a clothesline now, but it doesn't work and Yoko sends him to the outside, although Razor lands on his feet and heads back inside. He goes for a sunset flip now, but moves out the way as Yoko tries for a butt splash. Yoko recovers though and launches a bunch of headbutts at Razor and puts him in a nerve hold that goes on for a while. Razor works out of it eventually, but then gets his head knocked off by a clothesline. Razor now hurls a bunch of strikes in Yoko's direction and desperately tries to knock him down, which he does (eventually) for a near fall. Back from a break, Yoko has put Razor in another nerve hold. He then takes Razor to the corner for some more punishment, but the champ fights back and launches a flying clothesline from the turnbuckle. The lights then begin to flicker as The Undertaker is here for some unfinished business! Yokozuna is terrified and gallops away from the ring, giving Razor a count out victory. This was no good, really, as Yoko just couldn't work a solo match anymore and looked totally gassed before we even got to the first break. Not sure why we need to revive the Takee feud at this point either, but I guess we need to fill the gap before Rumble somehow! (1/2*)
After a break, Dok catches up with Razor to find out what was in Goldust's letter! Apparently it's not suitable for kids, and Razor is keen to point out that he only likes women, which is a more tactful rejection of Goldust than I'd expect for the mid-nineties.
A schmaltzy video about Shawn Michaels ends the show, and that's it for 1995!
I'll do a wrap-up of the year shortly, but as for this episode, I guess it wouldn't be the final RAW of 1995 if it wasn't absolutely terrible. Then again, I don't think any final RAW of the year in recorded history has ever been any good. Thumbs way down.
NEXT WEEK: Four teams collide in the RAW Bowl!
Date: 18 December 1995
Location: Bob Carpenter Center; Newark, DE
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler
It's the most wonderful time of the year (apart from in the WWF)!
We're live this week for the final RAW of the year, as WWF will be pre-empted next week on Christmas Day. It was beaten pretty handily in the ratings by Savage vs. Giant on the other channel.
Jeff Jarrett def. Fatu via DQ (5:47)
Double J is back! This ends up being a very short run before a longer hiatus (via WCW). Jarrett evades Fatu from the bell and struts his stuff. That of course ends with Fatu slamming Jarrett and launching a headbutt at his nether region. Jarrett rallies and hits Fatu with a DDT, but Fatu summons his Samoan powers and it has no effect. Fatu takes over now and uses his size to dominate Jarrett, but misses in the corner to allow Jarrett to hit a swinging neckbreaker. That reverses the momentum, as Jarrett sends Fatu outside and launches him into the steps. Back from a break, Jarrett continues to control the match and hits Fatu with a double axe-handle. A second one fails though, as Fatu recovers a hits a power slam. A back body drop is followed by a back breaker, but Fatu can only get two. Fatu then hits a running cutter but his shoulder is in all kinds of pain and he can't capitalise. Jarrett rams the bad shoulder into the turnbuckle and signals for the figure-four, but out comes Ahmed Johnson for some revenge from last night and that causes a DQ. Ahmed gets a few shots in, until Jarrett dips from the ring and escapes. Not awful or anything as both guys can work at a decent pace and Jarrett showed very little rust (if any), but the finish feels unnecessary and I can't say Ahmed and Jarrett is a match I'm dying to see. (*1/2)
Dok Hendrix is with Gorilla Monsoon now, who announces that he's pulled Jeff from the Rumble to fave Ahmed Johnson! Tastes like revenge for Vince. Meanwhile, Goldust still has the hots for Razor Ramon!
We then get a replay of Taker and Diesel's confrontation at IYH5, which I covered in my review of the show (above).
Buddy Landell def. Bob Holly (6:51)
Hot off being decimated by Ahmed Johnson last night, this is Buddy's one and only RAW match (and we're about to find out why). What possessed Vince to even give this guy a sniff of a push I'll never know. Holly starts hot with a series of arm drags here, but Landell takes him over to the corner and hurls a few chops at him. Landell works the arm and throws a few more chops. Holly has a brief comeback, but Landell cuts that off with a boot to the face and locks in a REST HOLD. A back body drop follows for two. Eventually Landell misses a beat, as Holly catches him out of nowhere for a DDT! He then takes Landell over to the corner and gets ten punches up on the turnbuckle. Then Holly hits a Frankensteiner on Landell, which is easily the highlight of the match. Landell rises, so Holly puts him back down with a pair of clotheslines for two. Holly's dropkick attempt whiffs though and Landell hits a modified elbow drop to get a shock win?! Man, Holly must have been close to the edge after losing this one and if memory serves, his career goes into the wilderness for the next couple of years. This was brutally boring, especially segments with Landell on top. In many ways, he typifies just how outdated WWF felt at this time; meanwhile, WCW were challenging the status quo of booking (not always a good thing, admittedly) with faces people already recognised. (3/4*)
It's time for The Brother Love Show and guess what? He looooooves you. His guest tonight is Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, who explains that the evil Santa Claus from IYH5 is actually called Xanta Klaus and is from the South Pole. Who writes this shit! The actual nugget of interest here is that 1996 will be the year of the Million Dollar Champion, and that guy ends up being a big deal. More on that in 1996.
Intercontinental Championship: Razor Ramon (c) def. Yokozuna via count out (8:46)
Once again, Goldust and his usher have a front row seat for this one. In a cool bit, Razor's usual pyro in-ring is replaced by falling gold dust, as the mind games continue. This creates a distraction that Yoko seizes on, but Razor quickly sends the big man out of the ring with a clothesline. Back inside, Razor slaps on a REST HOLD to wear his opponent down, but Yoko powers out of it and slams Razor. Yoko then relinquishes control as he misses an elbow drop. Razor tries to take the big man down with a clothesline now, but it doesn't work and Yoko sends him to the outside, although Razor lands on his feet and heads back inside. He goes for a sunset flip now, but moves out the way as Yoko tries for a butt splash. Yoko recovers though and launches a bunch of headbutts at Razor and puts him in a nerve hold that goes on for a while. Razor works out of it eventually, but then gets his head knocked off by a clothesline. Razor now hurls a bunch of strikes in Yoko's direction and desperately tries to knock him down, which he does (eventually) for a near fall. Back from a break, Yoko has put Razor in another nerve hold. He then takes Razor to the corner for some more punishment, but the champ fights back and launches a flying clothesline from the turnbuckle. The lights then begin to flicker as The Undertaker is here for some unfinished business! Yokozuna is terrified and gallops away from the ring, giving Razor a count out victory. This was no good, really, as Yoko just couldn't work a solo match anymore and looked totally gassed before we even got to the first break. Not sure why we need to revive the Takee feud at this point either, but I guess we need to fill the gap before Rumble somehow! (1/2*)
After a break, Dok catches up with Razor to find out what was in Goldust's letter! Apparently it's not suitable for kids, and Razor is keen to point out that he only likes women, which is a more tactful rejection of Goldust than I'd expect for the mid-nineties.
A schmaltzy video about Shawn Michaels ends the show, and that's it for 1995!
I'll do a wrap-up of the year shortly, but as for this episode, I guess it wouldn't be the final RAW of 1995 if it wasn't absolutely terrible. Then again, I don't think any final RAW of the year in recorded history has ever been any good. Thumbs way down.
NEXT WEEK: Four teams collide in the RAW Bowl!
