WWF Monday Night RAW (June 12, 1995)

Original Airdate: June 12, 1995 (Taped June 5)

From Struthers, Ohio; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler

Earlier today, Bob Backlund sat a bunch of kids down to lecture them on the evils of rock and roll

Opening Match: Bam Bam Bigelow v Duane Gill: I get the logic behind the booking, but did they really think anyone would buy Bam Bam Bigelow as a main event babyface? I don't care how much pyro or how many new outfits they give him, it's just not happening. They'd have been better off trying with Adam Bomb, frankly. Anyway, Bigelow proceeds with the squash as Diesel calls into the show to hype King of the Ring. See kids, Diesel calls during Bam Bam's match! He must be cool! Look, a cartwheel! Bigelow with the flying headbutt at 2:28. DUD

Waylon Mercy vignette. And I'll tell you, they're lucky it was 1995, because I'm pretty sure they'd have some sort of animal rights group all over their asses for squishing that worm today, and they'd probably have to fire Mercy then issue a public apology over it

The WWF Blimp is on tour, and may be over your house right now! Go outside and look! It's okay, it's not like there are any opposing wrestling shows you might want to check out

Barry Didinsky plays Pogs with the Smoking Gunns. Buy now, and you get an official WWF logo 18k gold slammer! Only $25! Plus four more dollars in shipping! Sadly, I totally had these as a kid, and quite liked them, though the WWF slammer was shit

Kama v David Haskins: Kama stole the urn from the Undertaker, so there's an urn placed at ringside to taunt him as he squashes Haskins. You know, just like Undertaker did when he had this exact same feud with Mr. Hughes in 1993. Apparently it's his go-to strategy when feuding black guys who steal his dead parents' remains over the summer time. Kama with a belly-to-belly suplex at 2:00. Funny bit afterwards, as Kama jumps out of the ring to go yell as the two stone-faced goths who placed the wreath at ringside, and nearly scares the shit out of some kid sitting next to them. The kid's attempts in trying to calm Kama down are pretty smooth, but definitely makes you wonder why he was so adept at trying to calm violent adults. ¼*

King of the Ring Report! Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka main event! A tournament featuring Bob Holly, Roadie, and Mabel! Call now!

Backstage, Owen Hart and Mr. Fuji feed Yokozuna rice to get him ready for his King of the Ring Qualifying Match against Lex Luger later on

WWF World Tour de Force promo! But will the blimp be there?!?!

Man Mountain Rock v Bob Cook: Another really quick squash for Rock, as he puts Bob away with the Whammy Bar at 0:55. DUD

Stephanie Wiand updates us on the upcoming WWF Hall of Fame ceremony, as Pedro Morales, George Steele, The Grand Wizard, and Fabulous Moolah have been added to the list of inductees

Backstage, Bob Backlund is storming around, and finds Man Mountain Rock's guitar randomly laying around in a hallway, and destroys it. Was he in a rush to get to the shitter, or something? Why was it even out there?

Techno Team 2000 v John Chrystal and Mike Khoury: God help me, I actually thought they were cool when I was ten. Who knows why, though, because this is a really dull squash, and it's not like they got any better later on. Travis with a flying bodypress at 3:24. DUD

Backstage, Man Mountain Rock is crying in the dressing room. Rock: 'Backlund, now it's personal!'

WWF King of the Ring Tournament Qualifying Match: Yokozuna v Lex Luger: Luger has Scotty Riggs as his flag bearer, which I believe was supposed to lead to an angle, but Riggs opted to go to WCW instead. Lawler compares Yoko to the WWF Blimp, and wonders if they should slap a logo on him, and try flying him over buildings. 'That might be difficult,' notes Vince. Yokozuna manages a quick bodyslam, but ends up in an armbar, and turnbuckles smashes the big man a few times to put him on the outside. Back in, Lex tries a ten-punch, but gets shoved off, and slugged in the corner. Nervehold, but Luger escapes, so Yoko clotheslines him back down - only to miss an avalanche. Lex fires off shoulderblocks and a pair of 2^nd rope axehandles, but he can't get him down. Pair of clotheslines and a 2^nd rope clothesline finally do it, but Mr. Fuji assaults Scotty on the floor, and Luger gets counted out while dealing with him at 10:00. These two can be alright together when properly motivated, but this was dull as dishwater, and probably smelled worse too. DUD

Jerry Lawler offers training footage for his King of the Ring showdown with Bret Hart, in the way of him walking barefoot through a horse stable to make his feet as disgusting as possible. Considering King of the Ring is still weeks away, that's really more of a hardship on Lawler than anyone else

On Superstars over the weekend, Jerry Lawler defeated Aldo Montoya, and some fat lady booed him. I'd be pretty worried, were I Bret Hart

BUExperience: Some episodes are just dull, but this one was a rare kind of terrible, where it’s so bad that it’s actually good again. All the WWFs worst ideas from 1995, one after another in rapid fire. If Mabel were on this episode, it would be hall of fame worthy