WWF Monday Night RAW (July 31, 1995)

Original Airdate: July 31, 1995 (Taped July 24)

From Louisville, Kentucky; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler.

Mabel v Nick Barberry: Gotta feel for the poor jobbers who had to carry Mabel out on a throne. At least when Randy Savage or Jerry Lawler used to do that gimmick, it wasn't at the expense of some poor guys spine. Well, we know they keep plenty of ice packs on hand in the back, so at least the jobbers had that, right? The crowd still doesn't care about Mabel in any way that would make you think he was getting a main event push, but what do they know? Mabel finishes this slow, dull squash with a belly-to-belly suplex at 3:12. Afterwards, Mabel tells the fans to shut up, but I think they were already doing a pretty good job of that already. DUD

Fatu hangs out on the streets, makin' a difference. You know he's street, because there's graffiti!

Backstage, Jerry Lawler catches up with Shawn Michaels to hype his match with Sid at SummerSlam. You'd think that angle would be the easiest, most organic thing in the world to book, but they castrated Sid so badly with the whole 'terrified of Diesel' bullshit for two months that literally no one cared by the time this match was announced

Bam Bam Bigelow v Bob Cook: Speaking of no one caring, Bigelow is still trying to find himself as a babyface, but the reactions just aren't there. Flying headbutt finishes Bob at 3:21. ¼*

Dean Douglas joins us from his mothers basement to critique Bam Bam Bigelow's match. He gives it an 'F'. Kinda makes you wonder why he'd want to form a stable with the guy a couple of years later, then

Backstage, Owen Hart and Yokozuna prepare for their upcoming tag title defense against Razor Ramon and Savio Vega, while Jim Cornette makes vaguely racist remarks in the background

Skip v Major Yates: Speaking of the Triple Threat. Wasn't Major Yates their leader at one point? Skip is still recovering from his recent loss to Barry Horowitz on Action Zone here, and Yates actually gets a good bit of offense in on him. Not sure how 'guy who can't beat jobbers' was supposed to get anyone over, but then, what do I know? I'm just a fan. Skip with a superplex at 2:20. ¼*

SummerSlam Report! Even with their best bit of angle spin, this Diesel/Mabel main event is just dead in the water, and it's painfully obvious right from the beginning

Barry Didinsky wants you to buy the new Razor Ramon t-shirt! They should bring this goof back today, he's got more enthusiasm than anyone on the roster, and clearly he's no stranger to a shitty product

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Owen Hart and Yokozuna v Razor Ramon and Savio Vega: Owen starts with Savio, but makes the mistake of showboating, and gets hammered. Backdrop out of the corner leads to a hiptoss, and Vega tags out. Razor works a wristlock, so Owen tries reversing, but gets decked so hard he falls out of the ring. That was quite a punch. Back in, a criss cross goes Razor's way when he counters a bodypress into a blockbuster, and Owen tags. Yoko easily overpowers him, so he tags back to Savio, and Vega works a wristlock. That seems like a poor strategy, given the size difference. I guess Savio realizes this as well, because he quickly lets off, and dropkicks Yokozuna all the way to the outside. Tag back to Owen, but he walks into a hiptoss, and Savio follows with an armdrag into an armbar. Owen manages a spinheel kick to turn the tide, and immediately brings Yokozuna in for a double-team. Sadly, that's about all Yoko's got in the tank, so he kicks Savio out to the floor so he can rest while Owen beats him up. Back in, nervehold time. Savio escapes and manages a tag, and Ramon is a casa of fire to ignite a four-way brawl. Yoko ends up on the floor, and Owen takes the Razors Edge to crown new champions at 12:30. Good pop for that, but the celebration is cut short as Jim Cornette alerts the official to the fact that Owen wasn't the legal man, and therefore the match continues. Probably for the best anyway, Razor looks weird with the tag belt. IC or bust, yo! So we start with the last two legal men (Yokozuna and Ramon), but it quickly devolves into a four-way brawl again. Dust settles on Hart and Vega, and Owen eats turnbuckle, then gets cradled for two. Savio with a sunset flip for two, but Owen gets the tag, and the champs wishbone him. Yoko fucks it up by missing an elbowdrop, however, and Ramon gets another hot tag. He destroys Owen again, and sets up the Edge, but time runs out at 19:30. Not, like, the 'time limit' time, but airtime, as the show goes off the air mid match in a ploy to get you to tune in next week. Well, that's creative at least. Though, it might have been better used during a live show. It’s hard to judge an incomplete match, but the rest was pretty dull, with everyone looking lethargic - especially Yokozuna, who was sucking wind like 2003 Scott Steiner at points. *

BUExperience: After last weeks excellent live show, it was back to business as usual this week, unfortunately