WWF Monday Night RAW (August 15, 1994)

Original Airdate: August 15, 1994

From Lowell, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Randy Savage.

We start with a review of the escalating hostilities between Lex Luger and Tatanka

Opening Match: Owen Hart v 1-2-3 Kid: One thing I have to appreciate about these 1994 episodes, is that they're focused on actually delivering good matches. Like, we got Shawn/Razor, and they hyped it as the rematch from the awesome WrestleMania match. Then one like this, where they took note that Owen and Kid had a barnburner at King of the Ring, so we get a rematch on TV. Sure, there was lots of crap in 1994, but I appreciate it when they were actually trying. Speaking of King of the Ring, Owen tries to sneak attack Kid again like he did there, but Kid is ready this time, and Hart charges his way right into a spinheel kick. Kid hammers him into the corner, and dodges a charge from Hart - Owen hitting his shoulder on the post. Kid wrenches the arm, and hits a sloppy oklahoma roll for two. Back to the arm, but Hart flips out of it, and reverses. Kid does his own flippy escape, and spinkicks Owen for two. Headlock (including a bunch of intricate escape attempts to keep it interesting), and it ends in Owen bridging into a backslide for two. Kid tries slapping it back on, but Hart side suplexes him in short order, and drops a leg. Enzuigiri gets him two, and he slaps on a chinlock. Kid escapes, and they go through a reversal sequence, ending in a stalemate when both guys kip up. Owen makes the mistake of gloating, however, so Kid dropkicks him out of the ring, and plants a baseball slide onto him. Kid adds a springboard bodypress for good measure, and Owen is none too eager to get back in. That frustrates Kid, and as he tries to force Owen in with a suplex, Hart reverses - suplexing Kid right out of the ring! This is just crazy stuff for TV in 1994. Owen keeps upping the ante with a plancha, and he rams Kid into the post twice for good measure. Back in, Hart pounds the back, and gives him a hard cross corner whip for two. Kneedrop to the back sets up a 2^nd rope elbowdrop to the back for two, and a high elevation backdrop follows for two. Kid fires off a sunset flip for two, but Owen pounds him down before he can sway the momentum, and slaps on a reverse chinlock. Neckbreaker sets up a flying kneedrop, but Kid rolls out of the way, and Owen can't stand back up! Great spot there, as now the crowd is instantly buying that Kid can mount a comeback. Indeed, he goes right after the knee with a series of kicks, and dodges another enzuigiri to set up a half-crab - as the crowd loudly chants for the Kid. Owen can't reach the ropes, but here comes Jim Neidhart to clobber Kid, and Owen gets disqualified at 11:57. Not quite as balls out crazy good (or fast paced) as the King of the Ring match, or as good as the match Kid had with Bret the month before, but still a really great TV match for the era - which still absolutely holds up today. *** ¾

SummerSlam Report

Hot RAW Girl Sign of the Week: RAW to the Bone

Abe 'Knuckleball' Schwartz grabs a microphone, and tells the crowd to blame themselves for the MLB strike. Never really got why we were supposed to care about this character, but this had Vince's fingerprints all over it

Duke Droese v Nick Barbarry: Speaking of characters I'm not sure why we're supposed to care about. Like, I always enjoyed him as a wrestler, but the fact that he was a garbage man never made me like him more or less. Too bad they never went all the way with it, and revealed his mob connections for a heel turn later. Duke with a powerslam and a spinning elbowdrop to finish at 2:00. Hey, what happened to the Trash Compactor? DUD

Leslie Nielsen continues to try and solve the mystery of the Undertaker case... by sunbathing poolside with Randy Savage. Well, that's one method, I suppose

Call the SummerSlam Voteline now, and dial in your opinion on whether or not Lex Luger has sold out to Ted DiBiase! Hey, they're going to phone in their performance at SummerSlam, so you may as well do the same!

Kwang v Tony Roy: Ted DiBiase sits in on commentary for this, to keep pushing the Luger angle. Kwang pounds him down right away, and hits a spinkick at 0:45. Well, that was quick. DUD

Jerry Lawler hosts the King's Court, with guests Ted DiBiase and Paul Bearer. Man, I know DiBiase has a lot of balls in the air ahead of SummerSlam, but I never noticed how oversaturated these shows were with him while watching as a kid. Especially for the era. Anyway, you can guess what happens here, as they get into a debate over whose Undertaker is real, but when DiBiase actually produces his Undertaker (which Bearer has yet to do), Paul gets choked out. Give them credit, it may have been a shitty angle, but everyone involved sold it wholeheartedly

Mabel v Ray Roy: With the steroid trials done, it looks like Vince was in a spending mood, because this whole show has been loaded with really top notch lighting, including all those spinning graphics that shine down into the ring during the entrances. Love those. Miss those. The usual, though Mabel actually busts out a somersault necksnap (!!) before finishing him with a 2^nd rope elbowdrop at 2:32. He was certainly limited, but you could see the effort from the big guy, as he tried to get over as a singles wrestler. And, hey, somebody must have noticed, because he headlined SummerSlam the next year. ¼*

Sunday Night Slam promo

Jeff Jarrett v Scott Taylor: Jeff controls with a dropkick right away, but takes a sunset cradle for two. He pounds Taylor down with a backelbow, but makes the mistake of getting cocky, and Scott cradles him for two. Always enjoy Jarrett squashes, because he's one of the few guys who actually consistently gives the jobber an actual nearfall. Scott tries a 2^nd rope bodypress, but Jarrett dodges, and slaps on the Figure Four at 1:50. Afterwards, Mabel and Oscar come back out, and rap at him to hype their rap/country SummerSlam showdown. ‘Wave your hands like you just don’t care’ was never a more apt description. ¼*

BUExperience: Good episode, with a really strong opener, and a bunch of super quick squash matches, as they enter the last lap of SummerSlam buildup.