Written by: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation presents RAW
Date: 9/11/1995
From: Canton, OH
Matches:
1.)Davey Boy Smith defeated Razor Ramon by disqualification
2.)The Smoking Gunns defeated Rad Radford & the Brooklyn Brawler
3.)Isaac Yankem DDS defeated Scott Taylor
4.)WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels defeated Psycho Sid to retain the title
Angle Developments/Notes:
1. Tonight is the “season premiere” for WWF RAW which has a brand new opening. The opening features Shawn Michaels dancing on the roof and various wrestlers wrestling on the roof of a building.
2. Bulldog is sporting a new look as he cut off all of his hair and has a new cape of sorts as most heels introduce. Ramon tosses his toothpick at Cornette on the floor! Ramon nails Bulldog with a right hand and clotheslines Bulldog over the top to the floor. Ramon slaps the back of Bulldog’s head while having an arm lock on him. The announcers aren’t talking as there was a glitch in their commentary for a moment. Bulldog drives Ramon down to the canvas with a delayed vertical suplex. Bulldog goes to work on Ramon’s lower back with a series of strikes. Bulldog slams Razor face first onto the canvas for a near fall. Bulldog gorilla press slams Ramon and taunts the fans as the show goes to break. Bulldog gets another two count after a scoop slam. Razor nearly pins Bulldog after getting out of a power slam attempt. Bulldog heads to the top rope but Ramon cuts him off and tosses Bulldog to the canvas! Ramon drops Davey with a discus punch. Razor hits a fall away slam but can’t get a three count. Razor sends Bulldog into the referee in the corner. Razor goes for the Razors Edge and hits it! Ramon goes for the cover but Dean Douglas comes out and hits Razor with a top rope forearm shot. Douglas takes care of the 1-2-3 Kid by dropping him gut first across the top rope! Bulldog hits the running power slam but Kid comes off the top but misses Bulldog and splashes Razor. That has caused the disqualification! After the match, Bulldog beats down Razor some more and leaves Kid laying in the ring. (**. An average match between these two that didn’t have a lot of crowd heat attached to it. Bulldog was presented well and I can buy into him as a top heel moving forward for the WWF.
3. Vince McMahon conducted an interview with Razor Ramon and 1-2-3 Kid in the ring. McMahon questions Kid’s intelligence. Kid is angry about Razor costing him his match a few weeks ago. Kid didn’t cost Razor the match. Kid is tired of being treated like a little kid. Kid wants some respect. Kid asks if he has to beat Razor again. He issues a challenge to Razor to wrestle next week! Razor says anything can happen in the WWF. Ramon notes he made Kid famous. Ramon accepts the challenge after Kid leaves the ring.
4. Michaels uses his speed early on to get the better of Sid and drops the big man with a clothesline. Michaels punches Sid to the floor where the challenger regroups. Michaels dropkicks Sid from behind and sends Psycho Sid over the top to the floor! Sid slams Shawn down to the canvas back first. Sid delivers a blow to Michaels midsection and chokes the champ in the corner. Sid sends Michaels to a corner and kicks Shawn to the apron where Sid clotheslines Shawn to the floor. Sid drops Michaels face first across the apron as well! On the floor, DiBiase gets a few shots in on Michaels. Sid choke slams Michaels as RAW comes back from break! Sid taunts the fans instead of going for the cover! Michaels counters the power bomb with a back drop. Michaels fights back with a few right hands and blocks Sid’s attempted punches. Michaels gets on top of Sid and delivers a flurry of punches! Shawn hits a top rope cross body for a two count only. Shawn super kicks Sid three times once in the gut, another in the chest and the last one on the chin to pin Sid! (**1/2. A decent bout here as these two had been feuding since April, basically. This pretty much kills Sid off as a threat in a singles role as a heel.) After the match, Michaels decides to expose a little bit of his backside. People wonder why he couldn’t draw to the male demographic at this time.
5. Backstage, Dox Hendrix talks to Michaels and Diesel. Their titles are on the line against the WWF World Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna. Dox explains the rules of the match. Michaels is righting all the wrongs in his life. Michaels has completed doing all that and says he and Diesel are going to make history at In Your House III. They are going to have all the straps, too!
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed RAW this week. We have a new top heel in Bulldog who had a decent match with Ramon and the blow off between Michaels and Sid. The crowd wasn’t all that hot for the show, but I felt like it was a good RAW this week. No complaints with it.
Thanks for reading.