We are one day removed from the 1995 WWF Royal Rumble where Shawn Michaels became the winner of the Royal Rumble match and was the first man to do so from entry #1. However the real story coming out of the event was an altercation between Bam Bam Bigelow and Lawrence Taylor as Bam Bam shoved the NFL star after feeling laughed at by Taylor following his loss in the tag title finals.
Due to this, we open Raw with Vince McMahon apologizing to the audience at home for the actions of "Scott" Bam Bam Bigelow's actions towards L.T. We also learn that due to this, Bigelow has been suspended without pay. Raw is live in Palmetto, Florida's Manatee Civic Center for the next three weeks of tapings.
It's Vince and the Royal Rumble winner Shawn Michaels at the announce table tonight. Shawn is happy to gloat about his success at the Rumble and that he'll have the services of Pamela Anderson at Wrestlemania. He promises that he'll be leaving with Pamela in one arm and the WWF title in the other.
Opening action tonight is the WWF Tag Team Title match between new champions 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly and their opponent's The Smoking Gunns. The storyline here is that the Gunns were out due to a "rodeo accident" and as such were owed a title shot after the tournament wrapped up, which brings us to this match right here. Vince shills an update line on the latest on the Rumble aftermatch. Yes, even in the middle of a match, Vince still wants your dollar.
Shoulder block by Billy, but he gets caught with a hiptoss and a slam by Holly. Billy works the arm with some elbows. Tag to Bart, but Holly escapes any planned double team offense. Holly works the shoulder with some wringers and tags in the Kid, but Bart escapes some planned double teaming. Shoulder block by Bart, and catches the Kid on a powerslam for two. Bart misses a dropkick and the Kid follows with a dropkick for two.
Arm drag takedown by the Kid who tags Holly, who continues the work on the arm, following with a body slam. Both men miss elbow drops. Bob gets a right hand to the face as Bart tags Billy, who gets a bulldog from behind for two. Two elbow drops by Billy for two. Tag to Bart as both Gunns hit a double team press slam for two. They set up Holly for a sidewinder, but Holly sends Bart into Billy and dropkicks Bart.
Double Suplex by the Kid and Holly gets a two count. We return from commercial break with Holly in control, getting a boot to the face and tagging the Kid in. Chops by the Kid followed by a big spin kick for two. The kid strikes Bart and tags Holly as both hit a double dropkick for a two count. Bart gets the beter of a punch off. Billy gets a boot to the face in the corner to Holly. Vince doesn't understand if he's been kicked with a cowboy boot or BY a cowboy boot. Tag to the Kid, who ends up slammed by Billy. Billy tries to tag Bart, but the Kid keeps him down.
Billy gets a leg drop to the back of the Kid's head (an early version of the Fameasser). Tag to Bart who knocks Holly off the apron and gets a big elbow to the face of the Kid. Big back body drop to the kid for two. Body slam and a leg drop for two thanks to a Holly interference. Tag to Billy as the Gunns land a sidewalk slam and leg drop combo. Tag back to Bart who punches the Kid and covers for two. Tag to Billy as the Gunns land a double Russian leg sweep as we got to break.
When we return, it's Bart with a chinlock on the Kid. Tag to Billy who gets a slam and a jumping knee drop. Suplex and dropkick combo by the Gunns. Billy takes a while to cover as the Kid kicks out at two. Tag to Bart who drops a knee (with far less elevation as Billy). Cover for two. Tag to Billy who lays offense, but the Kid gets strikes in. Body slam by Billy. More quick tags, but Holly gets a cheap shot to Billy as the Kid gets the tag to him. Holly lays in some strikes and lands a dropkick for two. Body slam by Holly who goes to the top rope and dives, but eats a cowboy boot to the mush. Tag ot Bart who sets him up for the Sidewinder. It succeeds as Billy covers for three. The Smoking Gunns are the new WWF Tag Team Champs.
A pretty good tag team title match. Had a lot of time, perhaps a bit too much as the Kid in peril stuff did feel like it went on a bit too long, but other than that the offense was quick and effective, lots of double team offense, and lots of good tag team work. I'm not the biggest Smoking Gunns fan, but I do see improvement in them from where they were in 1993, so I'm fine with them as tag team champions. I do find it interesting that Holly and the Kid worked a bit more heelish in the match, which doesn't fit the plucky underdog motif, but they put in good effort and worked hard. Overall, a much better match than I expected going in.
Vince interviews the former champs who are very disappointed. The kid isn't taking anything away from the Gunns, but they did give them a title shot 24 hours after winning the title. Holly says that they were the underdogs, but the Kid asks for a rematch next week. Following the interview, we get Todd Pettengill with a recap of the Royal Rumble event. Shawn Michaels is unhappy with Diesel getting in his business, and says that he's looking to find a new bodyguard.
IRS is in action next against Buck Quartermaine. Irwin is carrying the Undertaker's urn. Surprisingly, no tax cheats promo before the match. Vince is on the phone with Roddy Piper, who says that the first syllable in Roddy is "Raw". He was Raw before Raw was cool. He already sounds soused. Hard elbow to the sternum by Irwin who follows by throwing Buck out of the ring. Roddy calls Vince fine wine and congratulates the Smoking Gunns and the rest of the new generation. Shawn gets annoyed that he's not getting any love for winning the Rumble, but Roddy is more focused on Bam Bam's actions on L.T. IRS wins with the Write-Off clothesline as Vince shills Piper on the Encore Plus for the Royal Rumble.
We get a vignette involving some guy playing an electric guitar. this is Man Mountain Rock. His prior wrestling run was in WCW as Maxx Payne and now he's come to take the superstars of the WWF to school. The school of rock I guess.
It's time for yet another edition of the King's Court. His guest this week is the new Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett. Lawler is very happy of Double J's actions towards Razor at the Royal Rumble, injuring the former champ and taking the gold. Jarrett is happy to give a rematch to Razor now that he's the champion. Lawler asks what's next for Double J's "Ain't I Great 95" tour. Jarrett is now focused on the WWF Title and calls out Diesel. He wants an opportunity to humiliate him and if Diesel has the guts, he'll let the whole world see Double J defeat Diesel by Submission. A very basic promo. Jarrett stumbled a bit through it, but it got to the point.
Our last match of the show is The British Bulldog taking on The Black Phantom. Bulldog jaw jacks Michaels, allowing the Phantom to get a cheap shot on the Bulldog. Knee lift and a DDT for a two count. A considerably shrill amount of screaming from the Phantom as he gets caught in a stalling suplex by the Bulldog. Clothesline by the Bulldog while Vince is trying to say that Bulldog deserved to win the Rumble more than Shawn. Elbow to the face and a chinlock from the Bulldog. Bulldog gets a snapmare and another short chinlock. Phantom gets a body slam and goes to the second buckle for a splash, but misses. Running powerslam by the Bulldog gets the three in an okay enough squash.
We wait to get Bam Bam Bigelow's apology, but we have technical difficulties. So we shill next week's card. The WWF tag title rematch, plus a "Two Man Royal Rumble" between King Kong Bundy and Mabel. Plus the debut of Kama. Since we still have audio difficulties, we don't get any apology from Bam Bam Bigelow.
A pretty basic edition of Raw this week. A solid tag title match was the highlight. While nothing was too offensive, the rest of the card was pretty much you basic fare. A bland King's Court and some simple squashes. I do like that we're continuing this storyline with how people think Shawn Michaels cheated to win (despite the rules making it clear that he didn't) and the continued storyline involving Bam Bam and Lawrence Taylor. It at least makes things feel less slow compared to a lot of Raws in recent memory. So with that, this Raw gets a fair B.
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