WWF Monday Night RAW (August 14, 1995)

Original Airdate: August 14, 1995  

From Worchester, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Ted DiBiase

Waylon Mercy v Doink: Does this still count as a star/star match, or can we safely consider Doink an outright jobber by the summer 1995? Mercy tries to sucker him into a handshake at the bell, but Doink knows better, and armdrags him out of the ring instead. You know, Waylon Mercy versus the original version of Doink would have actually been a really interesting psychological battle. This Doink is a fucking idiot, though, and Mercy easily suckers him into a trying a spear, and flying out of the ring off of it, then suckering him into believing Mercy would help him back in, and snapping the ropes on him. Waylon with a lariat, and the Sleeper finishes at 3:11. Total squash. ¼*

Goldust vignette. And, BOY, is it creepy

Henry Godwinn marches down to confront Ted DiBiase over some disparaging remarks, ordering DiBiase to 'get on your knees, and squeal like pig, boy!' Wow. Ted understandably refuses, so Godwinn slops him to turn face. Good thing he didn't try that same play with Goldust

The Smoking Gunns v Cody Wade and Bill Garrett: Dok Hendrix takes over on commentary, as DiBiase storms off post-slopping. God, I hated Hendrix as a kid. Still do, really. What a smarmy asshole - terrible character choice for a babyface announcer. Gunns with the Sidewinder for the pin at 1:36. One thirty six?!? That's how long it would have taken Michael Hayes to primp his hair after the bell! DUD

Still in his mothers basement, Dean Douglas continues to suffer delusions of grandeur as he negatively critiques Bret Hart. I guess Vince was aware of the Internet in 1995 after all! Also, you’d think they’d have some common ground with some good ol’ Flair hate, but I guess not

Backstage, Shawn Michaels prepares for his match with Jerry Lawler later on

Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Jeff Hardy: This one obviously has a whole different ring to it now, but in 1995 Triple H was still a midcard gimmick joke, and Jeff Hardy was an outright jobber. And, indeed, it's a total squash - finishing the babyfaced Hardy with the Pedigree at 2:06. ¼*

SummerSlam Report! Nothing of note this week, as we continue to build to the inevitable Diesel/Mabel main event that no one wanted to see. And that's not even hyperbole. My friends and I were superduper marks who ate up everything in 1995, and even we couldn't get interested in that main event. There were kids who loved Savio Vega and Henry Godwinn who couldn't buy Mabel as a threat to the title. Bad sign

Henry Godwinn v Russ Greenberg: So, here's Godwinn fresh off his face turn. I guess Dusty Rhodes was right: he's just too darned handsome to be a heel. Slop Drop puts Greenberg away at 0:56. DUD

Isaac Yankem continues to torture his patients as a warning to Bret Hart. You'd think he'd be a little less concerned with Bret, and a bit more with the fact that there are obvious cameras capturing his blatant medical malpractice

Barry Didinsky wants you to buy a set of WWF pogs for only $19.00 - plus shipping! I'd make fun, but I totally had these as a kid

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Jerry Lawler: The crowd comes alive for the first time all night at the sight of Shawn, and rightly so. Luckily, in those days, that meant he'd be WWF Champion within a year, as opposed to triggering a slew of excuses about how the fans just don't know what they want. Shawn sticks and moves early on, and backdrops the King. Second try allows Lawler the Piledriver, but Shawn escapes, as Sid makes his way out to check out the Intercontinental Title belt. The distraction allows Jerry to jump the champ in the corner, and he tosses him out to the floor right in front of big Sid. Back in, Jerry goes to work with a hanging vertical suplex, and a series of fistdrops, as Sid walks around with the title belt. DDT gets two, and a bodyslam sets up a flying splash, but Michaels rolls out of the way, and kips up! Diving forearm and a bodyslam of his own setup the flying elbowdrop, and it's Superkick time, but Sid runs in to prevent a pinfall, and Michaels retains via disqualification at 8:34. Afterwards, Sid chokeslams him, but Razor Ramon saves Michaels from a Powerbomb. They end up getting into a tug-of-war over the belt, however, and Diesel has to come down to calm them down. I hope they both got a detention for that. Decent match. *

BUExperience: Anything involving 1995 Shawn Michaels is always worth a watch, everything else was shit