A Taste of the New Generation: Days of Diesel: WWF Monday Night Raw: October 16th, 1995

We open Raw with a really cool hype video for tonight's steel cage match between Bret Hart and Isaac Yankem D.D.S. A lot of dental references, from Yankem promising to ply the biggest braces to Bret's teeth, Bret promising to be the personal hygenist to Lawler and Yankem, and Lawler promising that Bret will look like his trench-mouthed mother. From the camera work and the general focus on the cage itself, this may be the best hype video I've seen for any match so far doing this blog.

We go right into action with Raw this week as opening action sees Hunter Hearst Helmsley taking on Doink the Clown. You can actually see the roid pimples under Doink's singlet. Vince mentions that Undertaker has suffered a crushed face from the assault by Mabel and Yokozuna last week. I forgot to mention the face injury last week, but when we see Taker again, it'll definitely be one of his more unique looks.

Headlock by Hunter on Doink, until he realizes that he gets grease paint all over him. Doink reverses a hiptoss and hits one of his own. He grabs the large noise of Hunter and lays in a slap. Doink laughs and lands a body slam. He drops his weight on the neck of Hunter and mocks the injury long enough for Hunter to land a clothesline. Stomps by Hunter followed by an elbow to the midsection. Whip to the corner by Hunter is met with boots by Doink. Slam by Doink, who tries to follow with an elbow drop, but Hunder avoids, landing a knee drop. Cover only gets two.

Suplex by Hunter, who covers for two. He puts in a chinlock to the clown until Doink tries to escape. Small package by Doink only gets two. He turns into a backslide for two. Hunter reverses a whip. Doink tries a sligshot, but misses. Pedigree gets the win for Hunter in a decent match. Good back and forth, some solid comedy from Doink, and in the end, the right man won.

But, with it means that it's time once again to say goodbye. This time to Doink the Clown. This is Doink's last Raw match until 1997. Though since he barely appeared in 1995, and lost a lot of importance after Dink left the company, it's not too surprising that the writing was on the wall. While I still think Matt Bourne was the superior Doink, Ray Apollo didn't do a bad job, was solid in the ring, and played the character fine. It was the annoying antics and bad booking that really made me dislike face Doink though. So, it's farewell to the clown. Laffy trails to you.

We get a backstage segment with Hakushi being "americanized" by Barry Horowitz. Barry tries to get him to acknowledge Babe Ruth as the greatest of all time, but Hakushi is quick to mention Hank Aaron. I'm fine with the face turn for Hakushi, but the whole "you need to be American to be a good guy" stuff always bugs the crap out of me.

Up next, it's PG-13 taking on The Smoking Gunns for the WWF Tag Team Titles. We get an interview with Gorilla Monsoon who tells us that due to Undertaker being taken out by King Mabel and Yokozuna, Monsoon has decided that both Mabel and Yokozuna will face each other at In Your House.

Wolfie D and Billy begin as Billy gets in a hiptoss. Wolfie avoids contact, but his cocky dancing lands him a punch to the mouth. Some criss crossing causes Wolfie to crash into J.C Ice. Ice is brought in and right now PG-13 look like a pair of small goofballs compared to the Gunns. Bart comes in and lands a clothesline to Ice. Back body drop is countered by Wolfie, only for his own cocky dancing to get met with a clothesline and some house cleaning from Bart.

Tag to Billy  and Wolfie. Ice trips the leg, allowing for Wolfie to drop the knee, sending Billy tumbling out. Cheap shots from PG-13 as Bart chases them around like some demented Benny Hill sketch. Chinlock by Wolfie to Billy, followed by some double teaming as we go to break. When we return we see how Wolfle got in a cheap shot to Billy during the break. Double elbow by PG-13 as Ice covers for two. Billy ducks a clothesline and catches Wolfie, catapulting him into Ice. Tag to Bart who cleans house again with some slams and a dropkick. Tag to Billy as the Gunns land a sidewinder to retain the gold. While not a bad match, it didn't really do a good job in making the Smoking Gunns look good, while unfortunately in  the end it makes the USWA tag champs PG-13 look like a pair of goofs. No wonder we don't see them again for a while.

We get a promo from Bulldog and Cornette as they gloat about the victory Bulldog got from Diesel in the six man. Basic stuff about how Bulldog was being held down for years, and how he will finally get the gold in the great white north at In Your House.

We get a video package for Ahmed Johnson. He talks about his mother working on minimum wage but still making enough to get him a ticket to the WWF.  Very rambling and mumbly, much like all of Ahmed's promos. I mean, have you played WWF War Zone for Playstation?

Dean Douglas is up next  against Joe Dorgan (who would later by Johnny Parisi... yes, I actually remember him). Vince has news that Shawn Michaels was attacked in a parking lot by ten thugs over the weekend and is in bad shape, and thus the Intercontinental title match at In Your House could be in jeopardy. More on that at the PPV.

Waistlock by Douglas to begin, but Dorgan gets in a hiptoss and some dropkicks, only to eat a clothesline. Shawn is on the phone as he's in a pretty chipper mood despite getting man handled. He says he doesn't look good, nor feels good, but he promises to not quit and will be there to delivier. Oh, we'll get to that at In Your House 4 too. Dean Douglas wins with a fisherman suplex BTW.

Dok  Hendrix shills a decent at best Michaels and Diesel shirt from his new shop zone area. Meanwhile, a shark cage is being set up for Jerry Lawler should he interfere in the upcoming cage match between Bret Hart and Isaac Yankem, which is our main event, next.

First we get a vignette for Goldust who quotes Gone with the Wind as he doesn't give a damn about Marty Janetty, who he'll face in Goldust's world premiere at In Your House.

Next is Paul Bearer who is cringing about how Undertaker may never be the same again thanks to Yokozuna and Mabel. But he promises that the dead man will be back soon to destroy the massive duo of Mabel and Yoko quite soon. They'll never be the same again.

It's main event time at last as the steel cage is lowered for Bret Hart and Isaac Yankem. Should Lawler get involved, he'll be thrown into his own personal shark cage. Clubbing blows to the back of Bret followed by a ram into the buckle. Lawler calls this match "Adventures in dentures" as he wants Yankem to leave Bret toothless. However, Bret coms back with the inverted atomic drop and a clothesline. Bret drops the head to the lower extremities of Isaac. Body slam and and elbow by Bret. He tries for the first escape of the match, but Isaac grabs the leg and pulls him down.

Hair pull takedown by Isaac, followed by an elbow to the face. Isaac starts the climb over, but Bret gets up and clubs down Yankem. Bret goes back up, but Isaac is quick again to take him down. He followed by ramming Bret face-first into the cage. Yankem tries to escape, much to Lawler's discretion, but Bret pulls his leg off the ropes as the dentist takes a bumpy landing. Bret calls for the door, but Tim White has troubles unlocking the door as Yankem clotheslines the back of Bret's head. It turns out that Lawler switched the locks to ensure that Bret can't escape through the door.

When  return, we get a bulletin telling us to call the superstar line to find out about Shawn Michaels. Vince still wants your dollar, kids. Bret throws Yankem off the top rope and goes up top, landing a clotheline. Bret locks in a sharpshooter, despite the fact that it won't get the win. Bret climbs up, but Lawler climbs up the other side and punches Bret into the ring. However, Gorilla Monsoon is quick to get the officials to grab Lawler as Bret lays in a some punches to knock him down. The officials drag Lawler into the shark cage as Yankem and Bret continue to fight inside the bigger cage.

As Lawler screams in panic, suspended above the cage, Yankem tries a piledriver, only to get back dropped by the Hitman. Bret climbs back up, but Yankem blocks the attempt. More punches by Yankem, who follows with a slam off the top. Isaac goes to the top and almost gets out, but Bret gets back to the ropes and both men pummel each other. Bret bites the face, but both men collapse.

 Lawler has a nosebleed from the heights as we go to break. When we return, Bret gets a headbutt in the corner to Isaac folowed by the backbreaker. Bret almost gets all the way out, but Isaac brings him back in. DDT from D.D.S who goes back for the climb, but Bret recovers and grabs the leg again. He smacks Isaac in the corner and lands the ten count punches. Isaac reverese a whip, sending Bret crashing sternum first into the buckle. Lawler throws the key to the door lock to Isaac, who tries to work the lock. Bret goes for a roll up. Bret grabs the key and throws it away, landing a bulldog, another backbreaker and the patented elbow drop. Bret climbs back up again and escapes this time, getting the win. Post-match, Vince taunts Lawler who is still stuck in the cage

A really good cage match. Pretty basic stuff with it being a 'move, climb, move, climb, move, climb' affair, but both men put in a good effort. But the real MVP was again Jerry Lawler from his early cockiness, to his panic attack when suspended inside the cage. A strong main event and a good way to end this rivalry between the dentist and the hit man.

After one of the most underwhelming editions of Raw, we bounce back strong with this final edition before In Your House. Lots of new developments with injuries, sneak attacks and much more that leads us to a lot of twists and turns going into the event. A really solid Bret/Yankem cage match is the star of a show that saw a bizarre but decent tag title match with PG-13 and The Smoking Gunns, along with the final appearance for a while and Dean Douglas... who also wrestled. A fun edition that finally feels like the first show in a while to build to multiple storylines, and not just the ones involving Shawn and/or Diesel. A B+ is fair enough. Up next, it's a trip to the great white north with In Your House 4. Bulldog vs Diesel, the debut of Goldust, and what happens when Shawn Michaels pisses off a bunch of marines. Find out soon!

Replaying With Power: Super Mario Bros 2

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Replaying With Power. The blog series that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. Once upon a time, I covered over 100 NES items for another site, back when I had hundreds of NES titles. Since then I've had situations come up where I had to give up that collection. But I have now begun to rebuild my collection, and with it, I  plan to once again cover both the games I've reviewed before and ones I've never gotten around to talking about. Such is the case with the first game I'm covering, Super Mario Bros 2.

Year of Release: 1988

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Platformer

To say you have no clue who Mario is would be a blatant lie. Even if you never picked up a video game controller before, you’ve seen his lovable Italian mug. And it’s hard not to. He’s the most successful video game character of all time. Being featured in over a hundred games, having tons of  merchandise, even having three animated cartoons, and his own bad 90’s movie. Mario is a pop culture icon who is more beloved in this generation than both Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny combined. And it’s all deserved, because Mario rarely disappoints when it comes to his video game adventures. Especially in the days of the NES

Super Mario Bros was an instant hit when it debuted on the NES in 1986. The side-scrolling adventure was revolutionary for its time. Tons of levels, power-ups, tricky areas, and plenty of hidden secrets. It was something nobody had ever seen at the time, and is still considered as one of the greatest games of all time. And, of course, everybody was waiting for a sequel that would be just as epic.

And they would get one. Just not exactly the real one.

In 1986, Nintendo released Super Mario Bros 2 on the Famicom. The game was in a way more a remake of the original Mario game, only much, much harder. New perils like poison mushrooms, unfair hidden blocks, and tricky wind were just a couple of the culprits that made this one of the most challenging video games of all time. And, like the original, it was an instant hit in Japan. So, you’d think with another hit on their hands, Nintendo would get this to the North American market ASAP right?

Well, no.

There was belief that this Mario game would be way too hard for the more simple American gamer (However, I don’t think that was the only reason, and I’ll get to that in a minute). So instead, Shigeru Miyamoto would take another game her worked on, a game called Doki Doki Panic!, and have the game rebuilt replacing the characters of the game with Mario sprites, retooling the game, and shipping it off to the rest of the unknowing world in 1988 as Super Mario Bros. 2

While one could say this was an underhanded move by Nintendo, I personally think it was a wise decision. One, for the infamous difficulty excuse, which is more arguable than true. And another because I think that somehow a sequel so similar to a game that most already owned would have flopped.  Remember, these games were almost 100 bucks a cart at the time. And most gamers wanted something fresh for their money. So, why shill out the extra coin for a harder version of a game they got for free with their console? In other words, the Japanese Mario 2 feels more like the 80’s equivalent to a shallow DLC add-on then a new Mario adventure that gamers were waiting for. All in all, a dirty truck, but a sensible one. And the real Mario 2 would eventually be released with Super Mario All-Stars on the Super Nintendo. Affectionately renamed “The Lost Levels”. As for Doki Doki Panic, I don’t know if it would’ve had the ability to find a big fanbase on it’s own outside Japan, but probably would’ve been a cult classic at best.

Now that we’ve talked about the legendary backstory of this game, let’s get to reviewing the actual game itself.

STORY

During a dream, Mario finds a strange door atop a long stairway. Upon opening it, he discovers a strange new world known as Subcon. The peaceful world of dreams has been taken over by a tyrannical vegetable hating frog known as Wart. Mario recruits Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool to help save Subcon, and put a stop to Wart once and for all.

GAMEPLAY

Super Mario Bros 2 is a standard side-scrolling platformer similar to Super Mario Bros 1, only with several major differences. The goombas, koopa troopas, and piranha plants of old are nowhere to be seen, and you have to deal with enemies like Shyguy, Ninji, Bob-Omb, Flurries, and many other Subcon creatures. Mario’s stomping ability doesn’t work here, so to kill enemies, you either have to pick them up by pressing the B button while on top of them, or by plucking the many vegetables found on the ground. Yes, vegetables replace the bricks from the original game. You can find several items as well on the ground. There’s POW bocks that will destroy everything on screen, stop watches that freeze time, koopa shells that act like the ones in Mario 1, 1-ups, and potion bottles.

These bottles, when through on the ground, will turn into doors. Entering the door will take you to subspace, where you’ll find mushrooms that give you extra health. Also, every vegetable plucked in subspace will give you a coin which can be used for the end level slot machine. Plus, if you enter subspace through certain pipes in the game, you can warp to later worlds.

There are also cherries scattered in every stage. Collecting 5 will activate a star man, which will rise (albeit quite slowly), from the bottom of the screen. Once collected, you gain the legendary invincibility that is present in almost every Super Mario adventure.

You can choose between any of the four Mario characters at the beginning of each level. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses that will make them essential for certain levels in the game. Mario is the balanced character. He jumps high, and can pluck vegetables at a decent speed. Luigi is the highest jumper in the game, but plucks vegetables rather slowly. Toad is the smallest, and has the worst jump. However, he can pluck veggies the fastest. And of course, everyone’s favourite, Princess Toadstool can briefly float in mid-air by holding A for a couple seconds. However, she is the slowest when it comes to plucking veggies.

There are 7 worlds, with a total of 20 levels to traverse. At the end of almost every non-main boss level, you’ll face off with Birdo. A gender confused dinosaur that will shoot eggs, and sometimes fire, at you. After hitting him three times with eggs or blocks, you’ll be able to head to the next stage. There are several bosses in the game to deal with. Mouser, a giant mouse who chucks bombs at you. TriClyde, a three headed fire-breathing snake, Fryguy, a giant fireball that will split apart when hit, Clawgrip, a giant boulder throwing crab, and the main villain Wart. Each enemy requires little strategy defeat. Just have good timing when throwing things back at them.

Certain levels will require keys to open doors within the stage. However, once you grab the key, you;ll have to haul butt back to the door pronto, before an evil mask called Phanto catches you.

That damned mask was no doubt the cause for many a nightmare for some kids.  There’s also walls that need bombing, whales to traverse, sand to dig through,  wheel carts to ride, and other things to dodge and avoid.

While a straightforward side-scroller throughout, there’s still plenty of variety to keep you entertained throughout.

GRAPHICS

The graphics are colorful and vibrant, giving off the feeling of a strange new world unlike the one you faced in Super Mario Bros. You’ll traverse through several locales. From grasslands, to pyramid deserts. Spelunking through caves, and finding your way through enemy castles. There’s just enough variety in the game to keep it from ever feeling dull, or looking bland. The characters all have great designs, and the enemies look unique and original.

SOUND

The game has some of my favourite NES  tracks. They mix from peppy and fun, to mysterious, and ominous, to even a bit thrilling and dangerous. It’s nearly impossible to play this game without having one or two songs stuck in your head.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This game is a classic. Great controls, fun gameplay, and memorable music. While it has become the black sheep to many because of it’s shady origin, it still deserves more praise than it gets. Many of the franchise’s most beloved enemies like Birdo, Shyguy, and Bob-Omb all made their debuts here. Many character traits like Lugi’s super jump, and  Peach’s floating ability made their debut here as well. Not to mention the game was the focal point of the Super Mario Bros Super Show, a late 80’s cartoon starring the late WWE Hall of Famer Captain Low Albano. The gameplay may be a bit too different from the norm when it comes to Mario games, and the challenge can be at times annoying, the feeling of chucking enemies into one another is just as satisfying as stomping on them.

While it may have a dark past, this is a bright addition to any video game collection, and is one of my favorite NES games of all time.

Nitro Charged!: WCW Monday Nitro: October 9th, 1995

We open Nitro with a recap of the assault on Hulk Hogan the week prior. From the Taskmaster's old lady act, to the shaving of the iconic Hogan stache. Nitro is live in Chicago for this week's edition. Bobby Heenan brings up that Hogan is there, and that there's been a restraining order put on the Giant and Taskmaster. Sting comes up the announce booth and says that something has to change with the situation involving Savage and Luger, and he's going to be the one to solve the problem.

Opening action tonight is Sting defending his WCW United States title against Sharkquake. Shark sneak attacks Sting and continues the assault, landing a slam and both and elbow and leg drop. Cover only gets a two. Sting avoids a charge in the corner and follows with some stinger splashes. He goes to the top rope and lands a flying cross body for the win in a super fast match.

We completely recap the Hogan assault again, but at the very least it wasn't a complete waste of TV time like recapping over half the Bret Hart/Isaac Yankem match.

Up next, we have Sabu in action against Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn). Sabu starts with strikes in the corner, a body slam, and slingshot leg drops, covering for two. He locks in a chinlock, then goes for a whip, only for J.L to get a spinning elbow. A loud "Hogan Sucks" chant from the crowd as Sabu and J.L wind up on the outside as J.L lands a suicide dive. Sabu ducks a clothesline and lands a spinning wheel kick, sending J.L to the outisde. Plancha by Sabu, who lands head first on the floor, while J.L smacks into the barricade. Sabu takes a chair and dives into J.L.

Back in the ring, J.L lands a German suplex, bridging for two. Dropkick in the corner by J.L, that smacks Sabu right into the face. Sabu comes back with a clothesline and follows with a springboard moonsault off the ropes. Camel clutch by Sabu but J.L grabs the ropes in time. Sabu goes to the top rope, but J.L turns it into a DDT off the top buckle. Cover, but Sabu kicks out. J.L goes up, but Sabu stops it. He tries for a frankensteiner, but J.L stops it. J.L dives, but gets caught in a powerbomb as Sabu reapplies the camel clutch for the win. He throws J.L out and hits a messy sunset flip powerbomb. A good match, very fast paced, but much like a Sabu match, it was very car crash. Lots of sloppy spots and painful looking bumps. But Lynn and Sabu worked well enough together.

Mean Gene is in the ring with Sting and Lex Luger. Sting calls out Randy Savage to hdlp solve this continuing heat between the  pair. Sting brings up how the Giant has been going after everybody, which Savage interrupt by saying that Sting hasn't been affected. Sting says that everybody in WCW wants to be champ, and that makes them wanted. He tells Savage to shut up and stop slapping everyone. At Halloween Havoc, Savage faces Kamala and Luger faces Meng, so Sting suggests that if they win their matches, they face each other later. Luger says that he won't do it at Halloween Havoc, which Sting finds pathetic. He's tired of babysitting Luger since he came back, so he puts Lex on the spot. Luger angrily accepts the challenge to end what was a really good promo segment.

We get a vignette for the debuting Chris Benoit. Gotta admit, with it being almost ten years since Benoit murdered his wife and son, I have had zero interest in rewatching his work, despite how big a fan I was of his. Though with this fresh look through WCW during the Monday Night Wars, I am at least intrigued enough to watch his work and cover it here.

Disco Fever! Disco Fever! It's time once again for Disco Inferno to boogie down, even if nobody wants to see that right now. Perhaps not the best time to do so, as he's taking up valuable time from Road Warrior Hawk or Big Bubba Rogers. With his music interrupted, he gets down to his theme on a stereo. Then when Hawk comes out and tells him to get lost, Disco Inferno, having some sort of death wish, throws a ball cap on the shoulder spikes of Hawk. Yeah that'll show him!

Bubba sneak attacks Hawk (the third sneak attack open of the show. Dammit D'lo!). He splashes Hawk in the corner and follows with some punches. Hawk avoids a ram into the buckle, but Bubba continues the offense. Whip by Hawk, but Bubba slides out of the ring, only to get caught with a powerslam. Disco Inferno starts dancing to the camera again, which finally pisses Hawk off, and he focuses on beating the crap out of Disco on the outside, causing the count out. Hawk is an idiot. That, or Disco Inferno is a genius.

Gene Okerlund is in the ring to interview Hulk Hogan, who comes out to noticeable boos. He also comes out sporting all black. Almost like we're seeing Hollywood Hogan a year early. He tells Gene to shut up, and ditto Jimmy Hart. The games are over, dude! He's in all black because he's playing the Dungeon of Doom's game. Just like he beat Andre the Giant, so too will be the fate of the Giant. He wants the Giant in the ring, to which Okerlund mentions the restraining order. Hogan goes into a history lesson as the boos are quite loud. People are tired of Hogan-Senpai, brother! They're ready for the world to stop revolving around him, dude.

The Giant's monster truck rolls to the outside of hte arena with cops in tow . Hogan begs for the Giant to come in, and if he can't get in, Hogan will easily come out to face him. After the break, we learn from Eric Bischoff that Chicago P.D are outside to try to stop the ensuing assault.

It's time for our main event. A cage match between Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. After two matches that have involved Brian Pillman's involvement to aid Double A, the only way to control this situation is to lock the two former Horsemen up inside a steel cage.  Arn tries to ram Flair into the steel, but Flair comes back with some chops and some patented Flair strutting. Whip to the buckle and a big back body drop by Arn, followed by a successful ram into the cage. Arn throws Flair into the cage, but Flair comes back with a chop. Some back and forth as we go to break.

When we return, Flair is in control with a chop. But Arn comes back with a whip and a spinebuster. Slow cover only gets a two. Flair throws arn into the cage and follows with a second. He rakes Arn's face into the steel mesh as the crowd chants "we want blood". This crowd is savage, but then again, it is Chicago. Arn blocks another throw into the cage and sends Flair into the cage instead. He grates Flair in the mesh, but Flair no-sells and lands a big clothesline. Stall suplex by Flair as both men collapse. It turns out the cage was ineffective as Pillman tries to climb in, only to get knocked down by Flair. Arn appears to have something in his trunks, but Flair comes back with an atomic drop. He goes for a figure four, but Arn smacks Flair with brass knuckles. Cover gets the three for Arn as Pillman and Double A celebrate.

A bit of an underwhelming cage match, but again I can forgive it as it still plays into the story. And that story being that no matter how hard Flair tries, thanks to Brian Pillman, Arn continues to get tainted victories. Clearly at this point, Flair needs to come up with a better strategy, but what? And yes, while it underwhelmed, as always, you get some top notch wrestling from both men, even if, considering this is a cage match, it wasn't a truly technical affair, which these two can almost always manage.

Flair is so angered  that he will face both Pillman and Arn next week. He promises to look for a partner. Next week on Nitro, it's DDP vs Johnny B Badd, Chris Benoit vs Eddy Guerrero, Jim Duggan vs Meng and more.

A very solid edition of Monday Nitro this week. Lots of matches, albeit far more brief than what we've seen from Nitro for the most part so far. A couple non-matches really with Sting vs Shark being so brief and Bubba vs Hawk ending so abruptly thanks to Disco Inferno. I was expecting more from Flair/Arn in the cage, but it was still a great match, and Sabu/J.L, while a bit messy was still fast paced fun. I like the continuing saga between Randy Savage and Lex Luger with Sting being the dopey peacemaker. And what I loved most of all from this show, the loud "Hogan Sucks" chants. Thank you Chi-town. In the end, for having a lot going for it, this Nitro entertained, earning it a B. 

WHO WON THE WAR WEEK #5: NITRO

Raw really felt lacking this week, particularly due to being a two-match, one angle show. There was simply no reason for over ten minutes to be wasted recapping the Bret Hart/Isaac Yankem match from Summerslam. Meanwhile, Nitro used its hour much better, added more content and continued multiple storylines, while also hyping up new talent. An easy win for WCW  for the week of October 9th. 

A Taste of the New Generation: Days of Diesel: WWF Monday Night Raw: October 9th, 1995

We kick off Raw with the six-man tag match promoted the week prior. It's Shawn Michaels, Diesel and the Undertaker versus Owen Hart, Yokozuna and The British Bulldog. This situation stems from the end of Raw from two weeks prior as Shawn and Diesel came to Taker's aid when the heels teamed up against the dead man.

Owen and Shawn start. Shawn catches Owen in an arm drag, working the shoulder. Owen tries a reversal, but the King of Harts gets a shoulder block, only to be monkey flipped and clotheslined to the outside by Shawn. Bulldog tries an attack, but eats a hiptoss. Taker and Diesel get in to brawl with Yoko and Bulldog. They throw Yoko's partners at him and boot the big man through the ropes to the outside.

Yoko is still out of it outside as Bulldog and Diesel come in. Big boot by Diesel in the corner. Bulldog ends up outside. Taker grabs Bulldog by the throat, and you think he's going to go for a chokeslam on the outside, but instead he just gingerly sets Bulldog back in the ring. Tag to Yokozuna who whips Diesel, but gets caught in a clothesline. Tag to Undertaker who works the arm, hitting the old school off the ropes. Taker ducks a clothesline, but gets caught in a Samoan drop. Sinds it's Taker, he just sits up, and lands a DDT.

For the second time in a Taker match, we see Waylon Mercy looking on from the entrance way. Taker tags in Shawn Michaels, who gets some offense before getting caught in a slam by Yoko. Tag to Owen who covers for two. Backbreaker by Owen who continues to work the lower back with some stomps. Bulldog tagged in as the heels land a double elbow to the face. Press slam by Bulldog, slamming HBK to the mat. Cover only gets a two count. He pulls the hair and slams Shawn. Cover, but Shawn gets the rope. "USA" chants from the crowd as Owen is tagged in as the other heels keep Shawn choked in the corner as we go to break.

When we return, Owen has an abdominal stretch locked, using Bulldog for added pressure. Dean Douglas shows up yet again at the entrance way, taking notes for his match against Shawn Michaels at In Your House 4. The ref catches the assistance, allowing for Shawn to escape the hold. Shawn turns a back drop into a backslide for two. Owen is quick to clothesline Shawn and tag in Yoko, as the former tag champs hit a double wishbone. Tag to Bulldog as he and Yoko hit a double headbutt. Cover by Bulldog only gets a two. He follows with a patented stalling suplex, covering again for only two.

Tag back to Owen who locks in the chinlock. Shawn escapes, but gets caught by a spin kick by Owen, who covers for two. Owen complains to the ref, allowing Shawn to pull the tights for a roll up for two. Owen continues with the offense, going up top for a headbutt as we go to commercial. When we return, Owen tags Bulldog and Shawn finally tags Diesel, who lands a sidewalk slam. He takes down Yoko and Owen, but Owen gets a cheap shot to the back, allowing Bulldog to land the powerslam. Cover, but Undertaker makes the save. Leg drop by Yoko as Bulldog covers for the three.
A good six man tag match, but really slowed down in the middle with a long "face in peril" spot by Shawn Michaels. Also the ending and the hot tag to Diesel felt flat as well. I was hoping for a lot better from the talent in the ring, but while it was serviceable, did feel like a disappointment.

Post-match, King Mabel makes it into the ring. Taker tries to fight off the heels, but the heavier heels both splash him into the corner. Leg drops by the big men on Taker. Dean Douglas attacks Shawn on the outside, ramming him into the apron, and suplexing him face first into the steps. Meanwhile, Bulldog and Owen continue to stomp down on Diesel. After about five minutes of assault, the officials finally stop the heels and check on the three beaten down faces.

We spend the next ten minutes or so recapping the feud between Bret Hart and Isaac Yankem D.D.S. From the Summerslam match (which is damn near the entire match recapped), to the attack by Isaac last week. This will culminate in the cage match next week. If Lawler does interfere, he'll be put in a shark cage above the bigger cage.

It's time to clean it up. It's "Make a Difference" Fatu taking on Skip of the Bodydonnas. Fatu avoids a headlock, but Skip dodges a back drop, doing some jumping jacks in the process. Some rights by Skip who rams Fatu in the buckle, but  you forget, Fatu has absorbed Tatanka's powers. He takes down Skip. Sunny distracts Fatu, but he's quick to stop a sneak attack from Skip. Skip avoids a ram in the corner and hits a back suplex. Some more jumping jacks by Skip who follows with a slam and a knee drop off the second rope. Fatu comes back with a strike, but once again Skip avoids the back drop, hitting an enziguri and giving some flex time.

Cover by Skip only gets a two. Headlock takedown by Skip, who locks in the chinlock. Fatu tries to escape, but Skip takes him right back down. Skip goes to the top for a headbutt, but forgot the golden rule: All Samoans have hard heads. So Skip hurts himself in the process, and Fatu no-sells it. Whip to the ropes and the third time's the charm on the back drop attempt by Fatu. Back breaker by Fatu. He goes up, but Sunny interferes again, allowing Skip to ram Fatu into the post. He sets Fatu up for a superplex, but Fatu blocks it, knocking down Skip and landing the splash for the win in a decent at best match. Kinda dull and all over the place, but not bad.

Dok Hendrix is backstage telling us what we'd pretty much have guessed. The faces are pissed off. Meanwhile, Jim Ross is backstage with the heels as Jim Cornette is gleeful for what has gone down. He says that Bulldog has never gotten his rightful due in the WWF, but he's done what nobody else has been able to do, and that's pin Diesel clean. He promises victory for the Bulldog at In Your House 4.  After a promo from Bulldog saying the same, we get Mabel saying he did same tonight by pinning Taker for the three. He promises to bury the dead man in a mountain of snow in the great white north.

This may have been the most basic edition of Raw I've seen in a long time. Two basic matches, one being your average six-man tag match and the other being an okay at best match between Fatu and Skip. What I did like from this show was the post-match assault on the faces by the heels, and I like it especially since it involved pretty much everyone involved in the major storylines going into In Your House 4. Other than that, we wasted over ten minutes recapping the Bret Hart/Isaac Yankem angle, which just felt like it could have been used for anything else. Get Savio out there, anybody. For a one-angle show with a lack of content, this Raw gets an unfortunate C+ rating.

Nitro Charged!: WCW Monday Nitro: October 2nd, 1995

Nitro is mile high in Denver, Colorado.  I haven't made much mention to Mongo's pet Pepe. But before we can get to mentioning the crap he has his dog wearing, Ric Flair comes up to the announce desk and promises a mile high night for Arn Anderson because tonight Ric gets his chance at a rematch against his former Four Horsemen protege. We also recap the heated confrontations with Lex Luger and Randy Savage, leading to our opening match of the evening. If Luger loses, he leaves WCW.

Luger and Savage lock up and are pulling at each other for a good minute until the two men tumble to the outside and continue to lock up as we go to break. When we return, Savage is back in the ring, inviting Luger to come on back. Luger throws Savage into the corner and gives a flex. Savage throws Luger in the corner and lands an elbow. Luger makes his escape, but Savage gives chase. He tries for a suplex, but Luger turns it around into a neckbreaker on to the mat. Luger takes Savage back in, but Savage rolls him into a small package for two. Luger presses Savage over his head and slams him to the mat.

Savage gets a boot in on Luger (who gives an overselling yell) and attempts a backslide, but Luger turns it around,  but eventually Savage tries to get him down, only for Luger to use his ropes to block. Luger goes for a backslide of his own, covering for two. Both men collide into each other. Savage recovers first and goes to the top rope, only to be caught with a shot to the midsection by Luger. Savage throws Luger to the outside and lands an ax handle off the top buckle. He then drops Luger throat first into the steel guardrail. Savage gets a knee to the back and whips Luger into the buckle, only for Luger to crash into the referee. Savage goes up top for the elbow and connects, covering, but there's no referee.

The Giant shows up again and attacks Savage with the chokeslam. He makes his exit as Luger locks in the torture rack for the win.  I really enjoyed this match. It wasn't any technical marvel, but it worked to sell the bad blood between both men and how evenly matched they are. Plus we continue to question where Luger's loyalties lie as we get more interference from the Dungeon of Doom with Luger untouched this week.

Disco Fever! Disco Fever! We're supposed to have a match between Dean Malenko and Eddy Guerrero, but instead we have Disco Inferno dancing like a fool. However, Guerrero is quick to spoil the party. Eddy yells at Disco as he heads to the ring. Eddy Guerrero, undoubtedly the most famous of the legendary Guerrero wrestling family taking on "the man of 1000 holds" Dean Malenko.

Malenko takes Guerrero to the corner. Eddy slaps him down and Dean just kips right back up. Test of strength by Eddy is countered into a monkey flip from Dean, but Eddy lands right on his feet. Malenko takes him down, but Eddy locks in a hammerlock. Shoulder block by Eddy, but Dean is quick to dodge offense and gets in a nice dropkick to the chest. Eddy reverses a whip, but Dean catches him. Both men attempt roll ups and headscissors. This is an amazing match so far...

Too bad we cut in the middle to focus on Hogan-Senpai! Despite Jimmy Hart's concerns, Hogan is hear to deal with that stinky giant, brother. Hogan's going to hunt the Giant down in Denver. This is literally two minutes of tv time when we should be focusing on technical talent in the ring.

Back ot action. Eddy dodges a full nelson, but Dean takes him down for a cover for two. Eddy reverses a whip, but Dean catches him as both men go to the outside. Slam to the outside by Eddy who goes up top and dives on to Dean on the outside. Eddy takes Dean back in and lands a brainbuster. He goes up top for the frog splash, but Dean gets his knees up. Back and forth switches, but Eddy gets the better, covering for three in an awesome back and forth exhibition. Shame they were interrupted by Hogan, and a shame it felt like it needed to be extremely rushed, but what we got was still epic work by technical wizards.

Mean Gene is in the ring to interview Hulk Hogan. Hogan had to do some soul searching, but after talking to a kid having a double lung surgery, he's ready to rip his shirt off and head to the back to rip apart the Giant. He slaps hands with fans at ringside.

But what's this!? An old lady throws powder into the eyes of Hogan and jumps the rail, while Gene screams "THERE'S A WOMAN! WITH A CANE!" The woman canes Hogan multiple times as the Zodiac and Giant make their way to the ring.

Why it was the Taskmaster all along. The Giant removes the neck brace of Hogan and twists the neck again. But that's not all, as Sullivan pulls out the clippers and shaves the iconic mustache of the Hulkster. The American Males try to make the save, but get destroyed. The Nasty Boys try their luck, only to eat more chokeslams. Heenan cackles as Hogan is laid out in the ring.

It's time for our main event. It's a rematch between Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Flair isn't stylin' and profilin' tonight, he's focused on revenge. Back body drop by Arn early on, who covers for two. He returns to the arm work much like back at Fall Brawl, locking a hammerlock. Flair takes Arn to the corner and lands a series of hard chops and punches to the face. Flair struts and lands a strike to the back. Flair goes for more chops, but Arn gets in a thumb to the eye.  He whips Flair over the ropes, but Flair sends Arn flying out of the ring.

Flair whips Arn hard into the guardrail. Flair tries to chop down Arn, but gets another thumb to the eye and a back body drop to the mat. Arn throws Flair into the ring as Flair begs off Double A. Arn hits more strikes, including a headbutt to the midsection. Flair gets in a thumb to the eye of his own, but Arn comes back with a spinebuster. Slow cover only gets a two count. Arn locks in a chicken wing arm bar. Flair turns things around into a sleeper, only for Arn to go for one of his own. Flair easily escapes and lands a back suplex.

Flair takes Arn to the corner, but eats an elbow to the face. However Flair is quick to get a back elbow in and locks in the figure four, only for Arn to quickly grab the rope. Flair goes up top, but Arn gets a shot to the midsection. Arn tries a piledriver to the outside, but Flair gets in a back drop, landing hard into the mat. Arn goes for a DDT back in the ring, but Flair grabs the rope to avoid it. He drives in some fists to the face of Arn and struts. Arn gets an elbow to the back of Flair's har and goes to the second rope. However Flair gets a chop in and locks in the figure four again.

Pillman shows up again and attacks Flair, causing the disqualification. Both Arn and Pillman attack Flair, stretching and stomping him down. The duo leave, satisfied with their assault. After the break, we learn that Ric Flair and Arn Anderson will wrestle again next week on Nitro inside a steel cage.  Plus Sting takes on Shark, plus Sabu vs Mr. J.L and Hark vs Big Bubba.

Another excellent episode of Monday Nitro. Savage and Luger served as a great brawl between two bitter rivals that continued to throw in the question of what Luger's ties to the Dungeon of Doom are. Eddy Guerrero and Dean Malenko put on a great technical showcase that sadly felt way too brief and was even more sadly interrupted by Hulk Hogan. Part of me got a great sense of joy watching his mustache get shaved off as we continue to see the Giant be built up as an unstoppable force. Arn and Flair was another solid match, though not as good as Fall Brawl, and ultimately just felt like the same outcome as that match. Overall, Nitro was a great show, an easy sit, and definitely worth the watch. Not perfect, and with some annoyances that bogged it down for me, it gets an A-.

WHO WON THE WAR WEEK #4: RAW

I feel Raw was a far better use of their hour this week. Mainly due to how I liked the continuing destruction of the Razor Ramon/1-2-3 Kid match as well as the excellent Bret Hart/Jean Pierre LaFitte match. It also flowed at a much better pace, making for an easier sit admittedly than Nitro this week. So, at this point, Raw is coming back, tying up Nitro in this war. Will things change next week as Raw has a big six-man tag and Nitro features Flair and Arn again inside the cage?