Written by: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation presents RAW
Date: 9/30/1996
From: Hershey, PA
Matches:
1.) Steve Austin defeated Jake Roberts
2.) The Godwinns defeated Grimm Twins
3.) Savio Vega defeated Razor Ramon by disqualification
4.) Vader & Jim Cornette defeated WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels & Jose Lothario
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Austin has control of the match early on dropping Roberts with a few right hands but it is a really slow start to the contest. Austin leapfrogs over Jake but is decked with a right hand and rolls to the corner. Austin decides to stall for a few moments. Austin works over Roberts in the corner with a shoulder ram but runs into a knee and Roberts nearly hits the DDT but Austin bails to the floor to regroup. Roberts turns his attention to Jerry Lawler and goes to the floor to talk smack to the King. Austin tries to come from behind but Roberts delivers a right hand. Austin regains control back in the ring with a forearm drop from the middle rope. Austin stomps away on Roberts and gets a near fall. Austin blocks a backdrop attempt with a kick to the chest and hits a middle rope forearm drop for another two count. Roberts rams Austin into the turnbuckles but runs into a right hand. Austin gets crotched on the top and flips over into the ring. Roberts drops Austin with a short arm clothesline and goes for the DDT but Austin holds onto the ropes and nearly pins Jake. Roberts plants Austin with the DDT as Jerry Lawler has left the commentary table and Austin gets his foot on the bottom rope. Lawler spits some booze into Roberts face and Austin hits the Stunner for the win. (1/2*. That was quite a boring match as Roberts didn’t have much to offer in-ring wise as his physical condition has noticeably worsen since he returned to the company. At least the right guy went over.) After the match, Savio Vega makes the save from a post match beat down.
2.) At the graveyard, Paul Bearer and Mankind talk about the Buried Alive match quickly. Bearer is confident that Mankind will bury the Undertaker alive.
3.) Hunter Hearst Helmsley makes his way down to the ring as RAW goes to commercial. Hunter calls out Mr. Perfect to show him why they call him Mr. Perfect. Hunter goes to the commentary table.
4.) So, the Grimm Twins are the team formerly known as the Eli Brothers from last year. During the match, Mr. Perfect responds to Hunter Hearst Helmsley and says he respects Hunter. Perfect accepts the challenge and says he will give Hunter a few weeks to get in shape. Hunter says he will take Perfect apart when they beat. “Nobody beats Mr. Perfect, nobody!” As for the match, Phineas got the win following the Slop Drop.
5.) Dox Hendrix continues the exposing of Jeff Jarrett and his fake singing career. Jarrett went into hiding when the scandal broke out in July of 1995. It’s revealed that the Roadie, real name Jesse James, was the real singer. We get a video of James singing the song. So, there you go.
6.) Vega quickly goes after Ramon with a series of right hands and chokes Ramon in the corner. Ramon drives Savio face first into the canvas and taunts the fans. Ramon delivers some sloppy looking right hands to Vega in the corner. Ramon misses a shoulder attack in the corner but hits a fallaway slam. Ramon sends Savio shoulder first into the corner and continues to deliver sloppy right hands. Vega misses a cross body off the middle rope and crashes to the canvas. Vega hits a cross body but only gets a near fall. Ramon fights back with a clothesline for a two count.
Backstage, Dox Hendrix attempts to talk to Diesel. Ramon scoop slams Vega but misses an elbow drop. Vega inside cradles Ramon but can’t get a three count. Hendrix says he saw Diesel but wasn’t in the room. Vega drops Razor with a spin kick in the corner. Savio clotheslines Ramon and follows up with some chops and hits a spinning heel kick as Diesel enters the ring. Savio punches Diesel off the apron but Diesel pulls down the top rope and Vega gets worked over by Ramon and Diesel. After the match, Ramon lifts Vega up and hits the Razors Edge. Diesel pulls Savio up and hits the Jackknife power bomb! (*. An uninteresting match and the fans are not into the fake Razor and fake Diesel angle and it’s quite noticeable.)
7.) Back to the graveyard, Undertaker knew that Paul Bearer would come and bring Mankind. Taker is behind Mankind apparently and tells us that he will bury Mankind alive!
8.) Michaels and Vader kick off the main event. Michaels jabs Vader several times but runs into a body shot as he came off the ropes. Vader splashes Michaels in the corner and taunts the fans. Vader casually tosses Shawn over his head to the canvas. Vader attempts a power bomb but Michaels counters with a hurricanrana and pulls Vader groin first into the ring post from the floor! Shawn heads to the top and sits down onto Vader where he continues to deliver right hands. Vader avoids a leaping cross body and Shawn flies over the top to the floor. Vader pummels Michaels in the corner with forearm strikes and another body show. Cornette tags in and Michaels tags in Lothario. Lothario hammers away on Cornette but is stopped with an eye rake. Vader tags into the match and grabs Jose but Shawn gets tagged in. Shawn hits a leaping forearm smash off the ropes and hits a top rope elbow drop! Michaels signals for the Sweet Chin Music but Vader ducks it and drops Shawn with a clothesline for a two count. Vader goes to the middle rope looking for a splash but Michaels gets his knees up and drops Vader with a clothesline and a scoop slam! Shawn goes for the Sweet Chin Music but Vader avoids it and Shawn fails on a scoop slam attempt. Vader plants Michaels with a power bomb and drags Michaels to the corner. Vader hits a middle rope splash and pins Michaels! (**. An average match between these guys which was virtually a singles match. It’s an important victory for Vader to maintain his creditability as a top heel threat for the WWF World Championship. Not a memorable match but a decent match.) After the match, Psycho Sid runs out to prevent a post match attack. Goldust comes out to get involved and Shawn pops up to cause a brawl to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
A rather subpar episode of RAW this week as the wrestling wasn’t all that interesting or entertaining to watch. The only real positive from the program was Vader’s big victory over Michaels at a time when he really needed to re-establish his creditability.
Thanks for reading.