This is the go-home show before King of the Ring and it seems like we’re basically in a holding pattern until then. That being said, we do start off the show with an interesting first appearance by Kevin Nash as the unnamed bodyguard for Shawn Michaels. I’m curious to see how much he gets used and if that will be a character that gets developed or not. It also turns out that Shawn won the Intercontinental title back from Marty Jannetty at some point between this Raw and the last. Later in the episode we’re told that Jannetty will be up against Doink the Clown in next week’s episode, so I guess that awesome feud between him and Shawn is over before it even got started.
"This has been an amazing prom, Kevin."
We then move on to a match between Adam Bomb and (for some reason) “El Matador” Tito Santana. Tito used to be a big deal, but now he’s in the ring with guys like this. We haven’t even been introduced to Adam Bomb at all. He just showed up and we’re expected to love him or hate him. It’s sad seeing all these formerly great wrestlers seemingly being pushed aside for the new guys, even if the new guys do have cool looking contacts in.
I guess the radiation mutated his eyes? Worst. Super power. Ever.
To follow that up, we get Tatanka in his typical squash match, this time with Peter Weeks. This is pretty typical fare for Tatanka. I’m starting to wonder if he’s actually not a good wrestler or something. Why put him in matches against jobbers week after week if he could handle a real opponent? It might just be a case of the relatively small roster compared to the modern era, but I haven’t really been excited for any of his matches recently. There just aren’t any stakes and he’s not doing anything worth watching.
Speaking of not worth watching, we then get an interview with Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji. Conducting the interview is Jerry “The King” Lawler. Lawler at least is fun to watch. He criticizes Randy Savage and Vince McMahon’s mic skills, telling them that they “couldn’t even entertain a thought!” The crowd makes sure Lawler knows they don’t like him by lobbing “Burger King” chants at him. All in all, I wouldn’t mind having this be a recurring segment, but I just can’t stand Yokozuna.
Nobody is having any fun whatsoever.
The last match of the night is a mixed tag team match consisting of members of the Steiner Brothers & Smoking Gunns VS the Headshrinkers & Money Inc. I honestly have no idea why Money Inc. would team up with the Headshrinkers because they literally don’t even know what money is. When Ted DiBiase and IRS offer some to them, they just eat it. How did they even get this far in their relationship? It doesn’t really make sense but the match itself is pretty fun and has a lot of moving parts to it that keep things interesting.
Macho Man Ice Cream Sandwich (this makes sense if you say it out loud).
The night ends with Razor Ramon upping his offer to the “1-2-3” Kid to $7,500. I’m really glad they’re keeping this storyline going, even if it is taking so long. Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels are easily the most entertaining wrestlers in the company. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that they also happen to be the guys with storylines right now, too. I can’t help but notice there’s no talk of the Heavyweight Championship or any story involving it, likely due to the fact that Hogan has it and he just doesn’t appear on Raw. It’s honestly pretty detrimental to the product, which isn’t something you’d expect from Hogan, but maybe something changes after King of the Ring. Tune in next week to find out!