May '96

Monday Night Wars May '96

Raw/Nitro May 6th

Monday Night Raw 6/5/96 (2.75 Stars)

Raw starts with a tribute to Ray Stevens who sadly passed away three days prior (35-96) Ray Stevens was a huge star, making his name during the early 60's in San Francisco. He would work with names such as Bruno Sammartino and Karl Gotch. His tag partner was Pat Patterson. "Wildman '' Marc Mero defeated 1-2-3 Kid to start the night over on Raw. Waltman (1-2-3 Kid) was another member of the clique soon to leave the WWF, who had a suspiciously good match before his contract's end. Video footage of a lady who‘s face was blurred, named 'Wife of former professional wrestler' was shown as she claimed HBK was the "best she'd ever had" yet never called again and was simply using her! Bulldog defeated Fatu. Fatu's family appeared after his match, trying to turn him heel. But he was having none of it! A Surprisingly good match as I didn't think these two would click. Tekno Team 2000 lost to The Bodydonnas. An ok tag match, even if Tekno Team 2000 were kind of blah and looked like 'create a wrestlers' from a 2K game. Vince tried to scare Goldust after telling him he'll face Taker in a casket match at IYH 8! There was no reason given for this feud, and it seemed to me as if they were quickly trying to place Dustin, with another star earmarked for the future in the wake of Ramon's departure. Regardless of what you think of this feud, the announcement didn't add anything to the actual show. Undertaker defeated Owen Hart in a so-so main-event. I may be judging this show too harshly as there were 2 good matches, as well as two passible ones. Yet they were all bland, offering no real angle advancement.

WCW Nitro 6/5/96 (2.5 Stars)

Hugh Morris defeated Randy Savage via DQ after Macho Man refused the rope break, continuing to choke Morris using his jacket. Post-match Savage would go berserk, attacking the ref. A fun moment ruined by incessant bell ringing that went on for about 3 minutes! Dean Malenko toppled Jushin Liger in a match contested under the newly formed banner of the Cruiserweight division. The term "Cruiserweight" was actually coined by WCW, when they started using the phrase around this time. We also received the news that the new champion Shinjiro Ohtani will defend his newly won title for the first time in WCW, at Slamboree. Ohtani won the belt at a NJPW event back in March, so Nitro only telling us about it now was old news in itself. Not only this, but due to them taping shows out of order, on that day, it was actually DEAN MALENKO who was the champion. Dean had pinned Ohtani on an episode of WCW WorldWide that had yet to air. Sting pinned Lord Steve Regal before The Giant retained his World Title against Hacksaw Jim Duggan after Luger "No-showed" Flair then attacked The Giant with a chair post-match only for The Giant to clean house. Sting would run down and before he could get his ass kicked too, Lex came in with the save. Luger and Sting got into a spat over Lex continuing to waste opportunities (had this happened before?) as Nitro ended. A solid show wins Nitro the point, but only barely as I don't understand the decision to swerve the fans with the main-event. If the reason was simply for another Sting/Luger confrontation. Thanks, but no thanks!

Raw/Nitro May 13th

Monday Night Raw 13/5/96 (2.75 Stars)

As this would be the final week of Hall and Nash's contracts, I will briefly explain the situation before giving a general overview of Raw and Nitro. Their final WWF matches came during a house show involving the infamous curtain call at MSG (May 19th) After a main-event steel cage match between Nash and Michaels, Scott Hall and HHH, who were involved in the co-main that night, clambered into the ring and all 4 men hugged, raising each others hands. This was a big no no in wrestling, as all four men "broke kayfabe" essentially breaking the fourth wall. As Nash and Hall were leaving and Shawn was champion, it would be HHH who would be punished by way of a demotion or not being pushed as strongly as he otherwise might have been. Even though this was considered to be the "pre internet" era, many older fans were still wise to what was going on. Ramon even used this to his advantage during his match with HHH when he requested a different finish. Originally HHH was going to cut a promo on Hall, chastising him for leaving. Instead they would go on to work a match Hall now describes as one of his all time favourite matches! Scott Hall was met with chants of "You sold out!" Although this still doesn't tell the full story, as MSG fans would scream along with Hall "Say goodbye...to the bad guy!" before he left the ring. After his match, Scott Hall was even called into Vince's office who tried to persuade him to stay. Even though Hall didn't want to necessarily leave, as he gave WCW his word, he would part ways with the WWF. Scott Hall's pay has been described by Nash as "above Sting money" I.E not as much as Hogan, Flair or Savage, yet more than everyone else. He would also be offered a "favoured nations'' contract, essentially meaning his pay would rise to match that of any new signings. As for Kevin Nash himself, he was offered 1.2 Million Dollars guaranteed over 3 years. Nash told McMahon, if it could be matched, he would stay. Raw's results for this week were as follows- Ahmed Johnson defeated Zip the Bodydonna (he technically pinned Skip after tag team shenanigans went wrong) Vader pinned Duke Droese and Mankind interrupted Undertakers in-ring segment with Goldust. This led to Goldust molesting the Deadman in a surprisingly fun segment causing Taker to "pop-up" Not like that! Bradshaw defeats the vastly underrated Aldo Montaya and WWF Champion Shawn Michaels pinned HHH in what would turn out to be an excellent famous first encounter between these men that rounded off a strong show. Mr Perfect also made an appearance and if I see Perfect/HBK in this cannon, I'll die happy.

WCW Nitro 13/5/96 (2.25 Stars)

Slamboree's go home show was not as good as it's competitor's offering that week. They showed Luger camping outside the building in an effort not to miss the show. Seriously. Steiners defeat Public Enemy (Thank God) Beniot defeats Dave Taylor and Ric Flair submits VK Wallstreet to a figure four-WOO! It was a good match and MOTN so far. He proceeded to call Woman and Miss Elizabeth his "Wide receivers" in a football reference that was somehow a veil dig at former NFL star and WCW announcer Steve "Mongo" McMichael. The Giant retained his World Title against Lex Luger by getting DQ'd. This match served its purpose in making The Giant look like a killer but as an actual match was a dud. Raw with the stronger show and the Goldust/Taker segment along with Shawn/HHH was head and shoulders above anything WCW produced. WWF wins the point

Slamboree '96

The format for the "Lethal lottery" was fairly straightforward. Tag Teams are drawn at random, if your team wins, you both progress to a Battle Royale (Battle Bowl) at the end of the night. The winner received a title shot. There were 8 consecutive tag matches at the top of the show as well as 3 more afterwards, so instead of reeling off meaningless results as most of the matches were fairly short, I'll only list the winners as well as mentioning any notable occurrences. Hawk & Lex Luger/Animal & Booker T ended in a double count-out after the Road Warriors ganged up on Lex Luger. This was done in an attempt to add some "unpredictability" to the whole random partner's gimmick. The Road Warriors would leave the company shortly after this match. Former WCW booker Kevin Sullivan was reluctant to say too much about the issues related to it, although it was suggested he wanted to modernise the gimmick. His ideas were seemingly rebuffed. Public Enemy somehow got past Taskmaster & Chris Beniot. If the first match ended via count-out, this one should have also, as they spent most of the time brawling outside the ring! Booty Man & Rick Steiner defeat Sgt. Pittman & Scott Steiner. Seeing Rick and Scott face off was very enjoyable, and if given more than a couple of minutes, could have been something truly special. Ric Flair was forced to team up with his arch rival Randy Savage and take on Arn Anderson and Eddie Guerrero in the final tag match of the 1st round. Flair and Anderson ganged up on Savage, only for AA to hit a DDT on his own partner, allowing Flair AND SAVAGE to progress. Fire and Ice received a bye to the finals due to the uneven number of teams. Dean Malenko defended his Cruiserweight Title against Brad Armstrong. They tried to explain it by saying Dean won it during a double elimination tournament, when in reality he won it on an episode of WCW Main-Event. Public Enemy advanced via count-out in the 2nd round after Flair and Savage brawled on the ramp prior to their match. Dick Slater, Earl Robert Eaton, DDP, Barbarian as well as Fire and Ice round out the Battle Bowl field. Konnan successfully defended his U.S Title against Jushin Liger in a good match before Flair cut a promo on WCW colour man Steve 'Mongo' McMichael for some reason, setting up a future match between himself, AA and two former NFL players in Mongo and Kevin Greene. Next was the weirdest Battle Royale I've ever seen. Keep in mind this was for a World Title shot, yet full of men who haven't once main-evented for the company. Apart from DDP, they were either tag "specialists" or midcarders/job guys. Which is just as well seeing as DDP won anyway. Seeing as the strongest teams were all disqualified from competing, it was a "so what" moment. A shame seeing as most people liked and rated DDP highly. The Giant defeats Sting in a fun main-event to retain his World Title. The elements of Lex Luger and Jimmy Hart handcuffed together at ringside was booked perfectly and added drama rather than detracting from the match. It was a bit of a chore sitting through the first round of 8 consecutive tag matches at the top of the show. Although I would like to point out, the Steiners were involved in the best tag match that evening. It wasn't hard to do so, but they did it anyway. As a network special this might have worked, but as a PPV it was poor. Then again, they knew Hall and Nash were coming, so I doubt they cared about this show at all! (2 Stars)

Raw/Nitro May 20th

Monday Night Raw 20/5/96 (2 Stars)

Steve Austin defeats Marc Mero via DQ after Savio Vega whipped Austin with a strap. Footage was shown of Ahmed Johnson winning a 60 man tournament in Kuwait before they promoted the King of the Ring PPV. Savio Vega pinned 1-2-3 Kid. Austin then tied Savio up with a strap before putting a chauffeur hat on him, in an effort to humiliate his rival. This feud has been built really well and with both men being solid workers, I'm sure they'll deliver when IYH comes around. Some MSG house show footage was shown (not that footage) as we saw The Godwinns winning the tag titles from The Bodydonnas. The rematch will take place during the IYH pre-show. The next segment included Mankind tying a strap around a casket the Undertaker was in (A very strap heavy show tonight) before proceeding to beat on it with a baseball bat. JC cuts a promo on HBK banning him from ringside during the main-event due to a restraining order put on the Heartbreak Kid. Gorilla Monsoon retaliated by banning Diana Hart from ringside instead. She would come down anyway and throw water in Shawn's face as the show ended before fans at home actually saw any kind of finish between Jake and Davey. Apparently it ended in a no contest yet I honestly don't understand the logic behind this. They could have had a quick DQ but at the same time, I don't really care

WCW Nitro 20/5/96 (3 Stars)

This would be a 90 minute episode, one week ahead of the show's move to two hours. The Steiners and Fire and Ice fought to a double count-out to kick off proceedings. It's a shame Rick and Scott never received the "DVD treatment" from WWE, although in their minds, they probably didn't work with them long enough or at the right times, to warrant a release. Ric Flair defeated Eddie Guerrero in a match that was both very good and also the longest in Nitro's history so far at 20 minutes. I've heard people say this was the best match in Nitro's history up to this point. I'd disagree, but only because of the lack of story/build behind it. Personally I'd give that particular honor to Flair/Savage from Christmas Day in '95. Although, as a straight up wrestling match, they are probably right. I'd still give it 3.5 stars, an impressive rating considering there was no real story behind the match. Sting and Lex Luger successfully defended their tag titles against The Faces of Fear and Mean Gene spoke with Randy Savage outside the building, informing him he wasn't allowed to enter as WCW officials discussed his future. DDP pinned Brad Armstrong before being told his title shot was being taken away due to his foot hitting the floor during the Battle Royale, the match being given to Lex Luger instead. WCW used VAR apparently (American readers, just think of video replay in the NFL) DDP was also using Self High 5 as his theme at this point. A song that would cause heat between WCW and Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, due to the close resemblance to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Main-Event time as The Giant made light work of Arn Anderson in a World Title match. Put simply, WCW BLEW RAW AWAY THIS WEEK! It wasn't even competitive in that regard, despite the fact I don't think Raw was nearly as bad as people made out. They had some great build towards Austin/Vega, as well as a fun segment with Mankind/Taker and all the Diana Hart stuff. But the show didn't even have a finish! An especially bad look considering Nitro was given an extra half hour and was getting two next week. Al Snow must have been so mad.

In Your House 8 (Beware of Dog)

Bodydonnas regained the tag titles from The Godwinns on the pre-show. Due to a power outage in South Carolina, this show was actually taped in two parts over multiple nights. The main card results from night one are as follows. Marc Mero defeated HHH. I was ready to get my stopwatch out for this one following the events at MSG, but it was given a good amount of time to be fair with HHH actually getting in the majority of offense. A great start to the show and an excellent match. This is when the power went out. The card did continue for the live crowd (I will be watching a redone version, with the same matches taped again on "Night Two") but the viewers at home received static for an hour before the main event when HBK retained his WWF Title against British Bulldog following a draw (both men's shoulders were down) Pre-match, super attorney Clarence Mason served HBK with a lawsuit citing "attempted alienation of affection" I.E home wrecking in layman's terms. Allegedly, the Hart family had gotten into Davey's ear about the angle involving Diana, telling him it cast her in a negative light. He was convinced by Bruce Pritchard that the angle would paint Cornette as the bad guy, so agreed to go on with the story. Add into this the technical difficulties and temperatures rising backstage, Davey looked visibly annoyed during his entrance. But to be fair, he usually looked annoyed to some degree. The angle would soon be dropped anyway. Luckily, this wouldn't be enough to affect the quality of the match. As it involved two men as talented as they are, they went on to deliver a classic. While "Beware of Dog 2" was taped and aired two days later on May 28th and acknowledged as a separate show that aired after Raw. I'm going to watch both cards in one sitting, and give a combined score. The show starts with the EXCELLENT strap match between Austin and Vega, now with the added caveat of Ted Di Biase's career being on the line. Vega went over, yet this was the match that solidified Austin's position as a top WWF superstar going forward. As per the stipulation, Ted Di Biase would leave (in favour of WCW) along with the 1-2-3 Kid. Vader pinned Yokozuna in what was actually the reverse result of Night 1, when Yoko beat Vader. Goldust retained his I.C Title during his casket match against The Undertaker, following a Mankind assist after he somehow appeared from the casket, pulling Taker inside. That capped off an usual yet highly entertaining PPV. A weird show to rate. While it was excellent, watching at home as two separate shows, would have been very different to either attending either of the show's live, or rewatching the spliced together version available today. It would have scored higher if not for the production issues. Regardless, WWF have produced 2 stellar PPVs so far in 1996. WM XII as well as IYH 8- Parts one and two (3.25 Stars)

Raw/Nitro May 27th

Monday Night Raw 27/5/96 (2.5 Stars)

With Nitro officially moving to two hours. I will be more to the point here. Ultimate Warrior and Goldust ended in a double count-out during a King of the Ring qualifier. Quite possibly one of the longest matches in Warriors carrer clocking in at around 12 minutes, also one of the most boring. Sunny switched allegiances, accompanying the Smoking Gunns during their victory over the Bodydonnas. Vader defeats Ahmed Johnson after an Owen Hart interference, thus qualifying for KOTR. Easily the best match of Vaders WWF tenure thus far, and arguably Johnson's. Goldust gave Ahmed CPR backstage, which led to him flipping his shit and leaving me eager to see him get his revenge. Vince called this "one of the most sickening things'' he had ever seen, in what was at best, a sad reflection of the time period, at worst downright homopobic. A solid episode anyway.

WCW Nitro 27/5/96 (2.75 Stars)

The month closed with Nitro and one of the most important episodes in either show's history, as it involved the debut of Scott Hall, in a move that ignited the Monday Night Wars. But how good was the episode overall, and how well was the debut booked? Ric Flair and Arn Anderson opened proceedings with a win over The American Males. A great way to start the show and a fun match. The Mauler (Steve Enos) was wrestling Steve Doll when SCOTT HALL JUMPED THE RAIL AND CUT A PROMO! If anyone should ask you who was wrestling when Scott Hall debuted, you can now tell them! Scott was intentionally vague as to the reason for his presence. He mentioned the "Nacho Man," a term WWF used in an effort to belittle one of WCW's top stars, and also mocked WCW and it's fans by imitating a Southern accent. His closing words of "You want a war, you got one!" possibly lead to even more confusion, as WWF and WCW were clearly competing with each other at the time. DDP goes over Col. Parker, but by this point, viewers in attendance and at home were most likely desperate for more clarity on what had just occurred. A great reason to "stay tuned" if you ask me. A recap covers the 99 reasons Savage had to be pissed off at Flair, including but not limited to, Flair and Miss Elizabeth using the money from his divorce on lavish dinners, getting arrested multiple times and not being allowed into his place of work as a result, as well as general mental distress. The Shark says he was kicked out of the Dungeon, before losing to it's leader The Giant in a World Title match that kicked off the second hour of Nitro. Bubba Rodgers proceeded to shave half of The Shark's head post-match, on behalf of DoD. Eric Bischoff furthered Hall's angle by adding he wasn't going to "dignify the interruption with a response" lending credence to the idea Scott was in fact working with the other side, even if only in kayfabe terms. Lex Luger defended his TV Title against Maxx and Bobby Walker defeated Brad Armstrong in Cruiserweight action. Bobby made multiple mistakes, slipping twice after jumping to the top rope. The quality of the matches were slowly declining, but my interest level remained high as a result of earlier happenings. Steve Regal defeated Alex Wright before Sting and Scott Steiner suffered a DQ finish after Lex Luger and Rick Steiner got involved during the dull main-event. Matches like this need a defining moment to suck you in. A great move or near fall that gets you on the edge of your seat. This had neither, and while I like both Sting and Steiner a great deal, and even though the mechanics of the match were fine, I have to be frank in my opinion of the contest. The show was saved somewhat when Scott Hall interrupted the WCW broadcast team proclaiming "We are taking over" challenging Ted Turner and WCW to gather 3 of their best men, presumably for a match at Great American Bash. A strong episode of Raw going against one of the most talked about episodes of Nitro's history. Yet, during any other week, The WWF would have easily produced the better television show! Nitro had one strong match and the Scott Hall stuff, but that was it really. To answer my question of "was his debut booked well" Yes it was! Scott Hall was booked brilliantly, with his presence on Nitro leaving plenty of suspense and intrigue. As a result of that alone, Nitro takes the point. Even if it required producing one of the most iconic moments in wrestling to do so!

Summary and scores

I've already surmised my thoughts on how Hall's debut was booked. Sullivan has stated that in having two of the opposition's top guys, all he needed was to give them a general direction and it was pretty much bomb proof. He was right. Kind off. Looking forward, it's obvious WWF needed to do something big to stay competitive (as ridiculous as that sounds) Nonetheless they do win MOTM, so there's always that. The scores are WCW 20-10 WWF with 4 ties.

Match of the Month: Savio Vega Vs Steve Austin (IYH Beware of Dog 2)