The WWF is still reeling from the actions of Vader last week as he took out Gorilla Monsoon. Tonight we'll see a replacement for the WWF president. Also in action is the British Bulldog taking on Diesel, plus Shawn Michaels vs Yokozuna. And despite threats of legal action, the WWF are still going to waste our time with Billionaire Ted. Because god forbid we go a week without this garbage.
Opening action is Bulldog vs Diesel. Part of me really hopes this is a far better result than In Your House 4. Knee to the midsection of Bulldog to start as Diesel takes him to the corner with more knees and elbows. Whip to the buckle and a clothesline follow. Diesel remains aggressive, catching Bulldog for a slam. He then clotheslines Bulldog over the top rope. Davey grabs the leg of Diesel and slams it into the steel post. He begins to stomp down the knee and works the leg. The then headbutts Diesel, but Diesel tries to fight back with some headbutts and strikes. Bulldog comes back by continuing the leg work. Yokozuna makes his way to ringside as we go to break.
When we return, Bulldog has Diesel in a half crab until Diesel grabs the ropes. Yoko gets in a cheap shot to Diesel while the referee is distracted. Bulldog pummels Diesel and chokes him with his boot. More leg work, but Diesel boots his face to escape. Bulldog returns to offense, throwing Diesel into the corner and pummeling him out of the ring. Bulldog then exposes the turnbuckle while Yoko throws Diesel back in. Bulldog tries to throw Diesel into the exposed buckle, but Diesel reverses it, slamming Bulldog into the buckle. He then follows up with a snake eyes, sending Bulldog into the buckle again. Cover...
Yoko tries to hit a leg drop on Diesel, but accidentally lands on the Bulldog. Cover gets the three for Diesel. This was definitely a better match than In Your House 4. Mainly because it was far more brief, and it felt like it didn't focus forever on leg work. Just the right amount of time.
It's the Slam Jam for In Your House 6. We get an interview with Bret who has no respect for Diesel anymore. The WWF isn't running on Diesel power, but Hitman power. He's ready to settle things once and for all in the steel cage. Bret has never lost a steel cage match. He promises to wipe Big Daddy Cool out. Also on the card is Owen Hart vs Shawn Michaels, with the stipulation of if Shawn loses, Owen takes the Wrestlemania title shot. Freshly added as well is the Cry Baby match between Razor and the 1-2-3 Kid. Stipulation is that the lose has to be diapered, powdered, and given a baby bottle. Also, Hunter Hearst Helmsley will face Duke "The Dumpster" Droese. This built up after Hunter attacked Droese with the trash can and cut the trash man's hair.
On to the Billionaire Ted stuff. According to Dok Hendrix, a Turner official said they loved the Billionaire Ted skits, but then sent them a legal document threatening legal action. But the WWF is like, "well, screw that, we're going to keep doing this crap."
Cut to a press conference as Billionaire Ted says that he's not a hillbilly that wears cheap suits. We also get digs that Turner is trying to put WWF out of business, and cuts advertising rates for his television. Ted just stutters and won't answer the questions. We get our first hint at a Huckster vs Nacho Man match at Wrestlemania, but the Huckster tells us that it's "Not in his contract to lose, brother!" This literally just boils down to "Waaaah! Why Ted? Why would you put your show on the same time slot as Raw? Why are you trying to put the WWF out of business." that latter part is particularly hypocritical considering the WWF had zero problems with running the territories out of business in the 80s. If anyone's a cry baby in this company, it's not Razor or the Kid, it's Vince. And no, we're still not done with this!
Up next, it the Body Donnas taking on Henry Godwinn, and his new tag partner, his relative Phineas I. Godwinn. Hog and Pig. Who got the paycheck for that idea? They're being managed by Hillbilly Jim, who presents Phineas with a horseshoe on a chain. Skip and Henry start things off. Shoulder block by Henry followed by a couple rights. He presses up Skip, but Zip takes the leg out. Zip stomps down Henry and throws him to the corner, and to the boot of Skip. Tag to Skip as the pair hit a double suplex. Tag to Zip while Sunny flirts with Hillbilly Jim. Henry avoids contact from a splash while Jim chases Sunny off with a slop bucket. Tag to Phineas who hits a slop drop for the win in a quick tag match.
Sunny is in a rage in the ring over her team's loss, but ends up cornered by the three hillbillies. I had some bad vibes going in to a moment like this, but they just do-si-do her until she escapes.
We get a recap of Vader's actions since his Royal Rumble debut. from the mayhem he caused in the Rumble match, to his assault on Gorilla Monsoon on last week's Raw. Cornette is with his lawyer Clarence Mason who says the suspension of Vader is unconstitutional. Since Monsoon put his hands on Vader first, this could be chalked up to self defense. He has already prepared a motion to vacate this illegal act and will prosecute if need be. So, Vader may be back sooner than we thought. But who will be the new acting president until Monsoon recovers?
Why it's just "Rowdy" Roddy Piper of course! He's happy to be the boss of Vince in particular. He says that everyone's scared to death at the thought of the Hot Rod in power. He reminds us about the infamous coconut spot. He's kicked Cyndi Lauper, knocked out Mr. T, chased Dick Clark back to the dressing room and took ten of New York's finest on in a single minute and didn't go to jail. When it comes to the the new crop of stars, he praises the roster for being faster, stronger and smarter. But they're a little confused. He goes after Newt Gingrich for the government shutdown. He then grabs a piece of paper with some rules, but since he's never followed them, he doesn't need them. Piper says that the WWF fans are in good hands with Roddy and the superstars have to pay the piper.
He then proceeds to airplane spin Vince. Other than being on the rambling side, this was a strong way to bring Roddy Piper back on television as the new authority figure.
We get a vignette for a shadowy figure with a mutilated ear. He ponders life's great questions. Why is the sky blue? What happened to his ear? Why is he the way he is and why are people so frightened of him? He doesn't know. Have a nice day. I thought it would be a little later, but we finally get to talk about Mankind.
Mick Foley was a longtime wrestling fan. From his infamous home videos as his early persona of Dude Love, to the moment that cemented his decision to enter the business, hitchhiking to Madison Square Garden to witness Jimmy Snuka dive off the steel cage on Magnificent Don Muraco. Foley cut his teeth in the independent scene and creating his other most infamous character of Cactus Jack, a deranged sociopath with a love of violence and pain. This brought him to WCW where he would have a memorable run, which included a feud with Vader that led to a match in Munich, Germany that saw Foley get his head caught between the ropes and a chunk of his right ear.
After leaving WCW, Foley would be a bit of a journeyman. Working in Japan's IWA, where he would engage in his legendary ultra-violent battles with Terry Funk. He would also wind up in ECW where the more charismatic side of Cactus would be represented. After seeing a sign that said "Cane Dewey", believing it to be in reference to his son, Foley cut a scathing shoot on the ECW fans, calling them unappreciative and heartless and shooting hard on the hardcore life. Foley would finally get a real opportunity with the WWF in 1996. The plan was to make him a deranged lunatic with a face mask akin to Hannibal Lecter. Among the many terrible names for this character was Mason the Maniac, which is just a career death sentence if there ever was one. Eventually the name Mankind was chosen, and here we are now with the Mankind character right now in the vignette stage, but due to debut after Wrestlemania.
It's main event time up next.Shawn Michaels takes on Yokozuna, a man who hasn't exactly been beneficial for Camp Cornette tonight. Shawn has the crowd compare who they love more. Big pop for Shawn. Big boos for Yoko. Yoko shoves Shawn to the mat early on. Headlock attempt by Shawn is turned into a shoulder block by Yoko. Shawn ducks a clothesline, slides under Yoko and lays in some stiff rights that send the big man tumbling out of the ring. Owen Hart makes it to Yoko's corner as Shawn plays to the crowd.
When we return from commercial, Shawn avoids a splash in the corner, goes up and hits an ax handle. He follows with a moonsault that takes Yoko down. Cover only gets a two. Yoko reverses a whip and sends Shawn flying over the ropes hard. Cornette distracts the ref as Owen gets in some cheap shots. He then throws Shawn back-first into the post. As Shawn tries to get into the ring, Owen gets in another blow to the back. Shawn makes it back in eventually and ends up caught in a snapmare. Yoko locks in the nerve hold to both of Shawn's shoulders, but Shawn breaks free. He ducks a clothesline, but Yoko catches him with an elbow to the face as we go to another break. When we return, Yoko goes for the leg drop, but Shawn escapes.
Shawn goes up for a splash, but Yoko rolls out of the way, causing him to crash and burn. Loud "USA" chants as Yoko gets back to his feet. Shawn blocks a right and lays a few of his own. Yoko reverses a whip, but Shawn comes back with a flying forearm. He lands a second that takes the big man down. Stomp the face by Shawn who then goes up, only to be caught and slammed into the corner. He calls Owen in, but Owen accidentally spin kicks Yoko. Sweet Chin Music by Shawn gets the win in a decent main event that helps build the feud between Shawn and Owen for In Your House 6.
Post-match, Owen and Yoko are angered with one another. Bulldog comes in to play peace maker as they all decide to focus on Shawn. Diesel comes in to make the save. The heels make their retreat as the two friends celebrate in the ring. Vince talks to Cornette who says that there is no dissension in this camp. He says that if the two of them want to watch each other's back, then why not have a tag match next week against Yoko and the Bulldog. Shawn and Diesel easily accept this challenge.
Another excellent edition of Raw as it definitely feels like all the right directions towards Wrestlemania are being taken. Granted, the Billionaire Ted stuff was garbage, and the tag match was okay at best (a good way to debut Phineas on Raw), but everything else worked great. From bringing Roddy Piper back in a major role as president of the WWF, to continuing the crumbling of Cornette's camp as it seems that none of them can get on the same page. It makes for a compelling hour that used their time particularly well. Strong enough to give Raw this week a B+.
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