WWF Monday Night RAW: January 23, 1995

Manatee Civic Center – Palmetto, FL

Announcers: Vince McMahon & Shawn Michaels

Prior to the intro, Vince McMahon, alone, addresses the television audience to issue a public apology to both Lawrence Taylor and his family on behalf of the entire WWF over the unprofessional conduct of Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow at the Royal Rumble PPV in Tampa, FL the night before. As a result of his actions, Vince says that Bigelow has been suspended without pay. Vince strikes a somber tone with the apology to really put over Bam Bam’s shoving of L.T. as a shoot and not a work. Given the “suspension” handed down to Bigelow as “punishment” I’m sure that back in 1995 a lot of people bought into this possibly being a rare shoot moment. The WWF wanted to milk it as that for as long as they could.

Following the intro, Vince introduces his broadcast partner, the man who promised he’d win the 1995 WWF Royal Rumble beforehand and win it he did, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. The “Boy Toy” gets a decent reaction from the live crowd off his Rumble victory considering he’s a heel. Once Shawn joins Vince outside the ring he boasts about fulfilling his Rumble prediction and getting to lock arms with Pamela Anderson. Michaels says Pamela is still in for the time of her life come WrestleMania when she gets to walk him to the ring and then walk out with him after he wins the WWF Championship.

WWF Tag-Team Championship:
The Smoking Gunns [Billy & Bart] -VS- The 1-2-3 Kid & Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly (c)

Result/Analysis: The Smoking Gunns via pinfall (15:21 shown) when Billy Gunn pins Bob Holly after The Gunns’ sidewinder finishing move which was pretty cool. The valiant Cinderella run by the underdog youthful champions comes to an immediate end after only 24 hours with the belts. You might not believe or think these four could wrestle a show-stealing match but a high quality title bout is exactly what this was. The live crowd popped for The Gunns winning their first (of three) tag-team championship as the booking all along was for Billy and Bart to win the titles here and not in the tag-team championship tournament completed at the Royal Rumble the night before. Storyline-wise it made far more sense to have The Gunns defeat the duo that took their place in the tournament as it also did to have the Bigelow angle with L.T. play out after he got pinned by The 1-2-3 Kid and was humiliated by it. To judge a one day title reign when it was a transitional period is silly to do. WWF fans rallied behind Holly and The Kid in their against all odds quest and in this title defense they pull out all the stops, even showing odd heel tendencies and a bending of the rules to overcome the much fresher Smoking Gunns. This is a very good back-and-forth match with each team showcasing their wares. I rated the Rumble match at *** with Holly and The Kid defeating Bigelow and Tatanka but this title bout is even better than that. Plus, we got to watch it on free live TV so there’s that bonus. Some of the match highlights include Holly and The Kid executing a double superplex on Billy, a rocker dropper by Billy on both Holly and The Kid, The Gunns successfully executing their side slam/leg drop combo before later landing a vertical suplex/dropkick combo. Holly also showcased his dropkick on a number of occasions which he always hit so perfectly. In the end, Holly and The Kid simply run out of gas with The Gunns’ experience a big factor in them going over to win the titles and start their first reign as babyface tag-team champions. If you don’t remember this match well or haven’t seen it at all, it’s worth a look.

Rating: ***1/2

Oddly enough, given his “suspension,” a Bigelow Slim Jim advertisement airs. Did someone in production forget to scrub these with Bam Bam on the shelf. I mean he was never “suspended” in actuality but at least pretend by removing him from all things.

In the post-match interview that Vince has with The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly, who’s noticeably concussed mind you, it’s agreed upon by all that despite giving it their all versus The Smoking Gunns here tonight, the tank did hit empty. The Kid tries to assert that he and Holly had only 24 hours notice before defending the titles but Vince cut that talk off telling them they knew last week The Gunns were receiving a title shot here on RAW against whichever team won at the Royal Rumble. The Kid asks The Gunns for the courtesy of a rematch on RAW next week believing that if he and Holly are both rested they can again become the tag-team champions. Vince congratulates The Kid and Holly on having a great match. Holly tries to speak upon them being still underdogs but The Kid knew he was struggling to stay with it so he cut him off.

Todd Pettengill files his post-Royal Rumble report to summarize all the happenings at the PPV from the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL. The report is solely Pettengill’s take with no SuperStar interviews or still photos from the event. Odd.

Back at ringside, Vince and Shawn have a chat while the fans start a Diesel chant. Michaels says he didn’t hear his name mentioned in the Royal Rumble report and thinks the WWF reeks of jealousy toward him. Shawn adds that he’s on the lookout for a new bodyguard to watch his back and claims he’ll find someone he can rely on and trust. That’s noteworthy. Changing gears, Vince highlights the remainder of RAW with both I.R.S. and The British Bulldog in action plus “Rowdy” Roddy Piper calling in. Hmm. What’s “Hot Rod” got to say?

Irwin R. Schyster “I.R.S.” (w/ “The Million-Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase & The Druids) -VS- Buck Quartermaine

Result/Analysis: I.R.S. via pinfall (2:20) following the write off clothesline. Yawn. The match is nothing but a backdrop to Roddy Piper calling in to speak upon his thoughts about the Royal Rumble, the SuperStars of The New Generation and specifically to give him a chance to go at Michaels for turning into a big jerk after starting off in his career as a decent kid. Piper’s telephone appearance was meant merely as a plug for his hosting the encore plus of the Rumble PPV in one week’s time with an interview with Michaels included. I.R.S. easily audits Quartermaine in this time filler.

Rating: DUD

A promo airs for Man Mountain Rock (Maxx Payne) who’s yet to have his WWF debut but will soon. No one cares.

The King’s Court w/ “Double J” Jeff Jarrett (and The Roadie):

Jerry “The King” Lawler congratulates Jarrett on his winning the Intercontinental Title at the Royal Rumble and says “Double J” was GREAT in his performance. Jarrett agrees that he was GREAT in winning the IC Championship as he promised he’d do beforehand but he also by humiliated Razor Ramon as he said he would do. Jarrett says he humiliated Ramon to the point that Razor couldn’t crawl, let alone walk away from the ring while he did more than walk away, he strutted to flashing lights as the NEW Champion. A re-match offer is extended by Jarrett to Ramon but “Double J” reminds Razor their roles are now reversed for he’s now the champion and Ramon is but the challenger. Lawler asks Jarrett what’s next for him now on the “Ain’t I Great ‘95 Tour”? Jarrett says he’s had a while to think about that as he’s been a champion now for quite a while now (Vince scoffs as “Double J” has only been the champion for over 24 hours) and he says, there’s one missing ingredient: the WWF World Title. Lawler responds with “that’s Diesel’s!” Jarrett answers that he knows such but it’s Diesel he’s calling out challenging him tonight if he’s got the guts to accept. Jarrett promises he’ll win the match by submission. Vince calls Jarrett out for his greed at the conclusion of the interview. I’ll be the contrarian and say that Jarrett was on a massive roll and this promo only added to his enhanced limelight as the NEW Intercontinental Champion. I’d like to see Diesel answer the challenge. Michaels casually says on commentary he won’t.

A promo for “WWF Mania” airs for the upcoming Saturday morning broadcast as the show will emanate LIVE from Hartford, Connecticut as ticket sales for WrestleMania XI begin at The Hartford Civic Center. Did anyone really tune into that show much ever let alone for WrestleMania ticket sales? I think not!

Vince and Shawn have a discussion at the announce table over the finish to the Royal Rumble match as Shawn gets Vince to finally admit to him in this broadcast that he was the winner and not The British Bulldog who’s in action next. Meanwhile, Vince announces a mini Royal Rumble match between Mabel and King Kong Bundy for RAW next week. Yeah Vince, the people are just dying to see that match play out as much as you are. Yawn. In other news, The Smoking Gunns have accepted the re-match proposal of The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly meaning the WWF Tag-Team Championship will be up for grabs, too. Holly was concussed earlier so will he be cleared by next week?

“The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith -VS- The Black Phantom

Result/Analysis: The British Bulldog via pinfall (3:13) following a running powerslam. Interestingly, The Black Phantom is Gangrel, someone that would become somewhat of a player for the WWF in 1998-99. Bulldog cries wolf to Michaels over getting short changed out of winning the Royal Rumble. Vince also plays up Davey Boy’s frustration over it only for Michaels to tout his superior athleticism as to why he avoided sure elimination to then achieve victory. Bulldog is victorious but he wrestles distracted as his mind remains on the final seconds of the Rumble. You’d think that between now and WrestleMania there can be a one-on-one match between Michaels and Bulldog but I’m not recalling one.

Rating: 3/4*

Vince promotes the WWF SuperStar Line for all the latest news coming out of the Royal Rumble. Did McMahon forget that pro wrestling geeks were already scarfing the internet for news leaks by 1995? No one was calling the SuperStar Line. The whole 18 years old thing just flew out the window then.

Bam Bam Bigelow is standing by in his civvies as Vince introduces him for a public apology to Lawrence Taylor, the WWF and WWF fans. There’s just one problem: audio difficulties. Bigelow does blurt out a complaint of “Can’t we get this over with”? Vince promises Bam Bam will issue his apology next week on RAW.

Vince and Shawn discuss next week’s RAW in closing which in actuality occurred taped following this LIVE show. Of note, other than the two previously announced matches, is the official WWF debut of Kama. In response to that, Michaels starts singing “Karma Chameleon” before Vince tells Shawn that has nothing to do with Kama.

The Verdict: The Smoking Gunns win their first WWF Tag-Team Championship in a damn fine match. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett is eyeing the WWF Championship next. The British Bulldog is a sore loser. Bam Bam Bigelow has no interest in apologizing to Lawrence Taylor despite being forced to in order for his suspension to be lifted. Shawn Michaels makes news with his announcement that he’s looking for a new bodyguard. Coming off the Royal Rumble the night before there were nuggets to chew on before the weekend with “WWF SuperStars” and “WWF Wrestling Challenge” to air. WrestleMania XI to be held at The Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut got no one excited as the venue.