Raw 135
Today’s show starts off with Vince telling us that the 123 Kid will be refereeing the main event tonight between Razor Ramon and Sycho Sid. However, Razor and the Kid have been butting heads recently so interim WWF President Gorrilla Monsoon has decided that Razor’s Intercontinental title will not be on the line since it’s unclear whether the Kid will be harboring any ill will towards The Bad Guy. More on that later.
The first match of the night is Hunter Hearst Helmsley against Henry O. Godwin. Soon after the bell rings, the hog farmer picks up his slop bucket. But rather than throwing it on his opponent as we’ve seen so many times before, he instead dumps it on his own head, covering himself in disgusting pig slop. This is just too much for the Connecticut Blue Blood who runs away to the locker room area before the match can really even begin. This is all pretty funny, but it makes for a pretty bad wrestling show.
This is a metaphor for what the WWF is doing to itself every week.
Luckily we get a bit of fresh air with the next match featuring the debut of Ahmed Johnson. He’s fighting a jobber named Jake Steel so we don’t get to see a ton from Ahmed, but he does hit a spinebuster right into a double underhook powerbomb for the win. It’s refreshing to see a big man doing good work like that. This could be a good shot in the arm for the WWF, especially if he can talk well.
For some reason, the WWF decides that now is the perfect time to air a 10 minute interview with both Diesel and Bret Hart ahead of their scheduled match at Survivor Series. With only 45 minutes of actual content per episode currently, I have no idea how they can justify doing that.
Finally, the match of the night between Razor Ramon and Sycho Sid. The 123 Kid seems like a fair referee, although at one point he gets distracted and allows Ted DiBiase and Dean Douglas to beat up Razor behind his back. Well that’s not too crazy. After all, that happens to regular referees too, right? Well unfortunately, the Kid shows his true colors when he pulls Sid out of Razor’s arms just before he can hit the Razor’s Edge, allowing Sid to powerbomb him. The Kid then delivers the fastest 3 count I’ve ever seen, giving Sid the win. As Razor Ramon lies unconscious in the ring, The Million Dollar Man comes out and shoves money into his mouth, which the Kid promptly retrieves and sticks in his own pocket. This is the kind of story-telling that we need from Raw. Hopefully they actually allow it to develop into something.
The official Razor Ramon Piggy Bank, only $21 plus $3.95 S&H!
Nitro 11
Meanwhile on Nitro, Hulk Hogan cuts a promo on the Dungeon of Doom while dressed as some sort of dark cultist. He’s wearing a hooded robe and wearing a black half-face mask, ala Phantom of the Opera. He pulls out a huge sword and vows to dismantle the Dungeon of Doom one by one, starting tonight when the Macho Man “brings Meng’s head to him on a silver platter”. He also calls out Sting, wanting to know if he’s "on the dark side of Hulkamania, or the light side". I literally have no idea which one is supposed to be the right choice.
2 weeks late, but he finally got his Halloween costume together.
And why wait around? The first match up is Randy Savage and Meng. Savage gets the victory, but is rewarded with a beatdown from Shark and Luger who don’t seem too happy with Hogan’s plans. I’m loving the legs this story has. The Million Dollar Corporation never felt this interesting.
We then get three cruiserweights in a row, but paired up with non-cruiserweight opponents. This is an interesting move, although not one I’m sure I agree with. On the one hand, getting them in the ring with bigger names will probably help them, but they also won’t be able to showcase their talents as well.
First up is Chris Benoit VS Kensuki Sasaki. Benoit wins and Eric Bischoff just casually drops the fact that he’s also the newest member of the Four Horsemen. I have no idea why that wasn’t made into a bigger deal.
Second is Eddie Guerrero VS Johnny B. Badd with the World Television Championship on the line and a ten minute time limit. The match gets super intense and heated and when the time limit expires, it devolves into a bit of a brawl until Eddie can regain his composure and shake Johnny’s hand.
The final match sees Dean Malenko facing Sting. Sting obviously wins, but it’s great to see these smaller high-flying guys get some more recognition.
Sting ends the night by telling us if Hogan wants to find out where he stands, he can get in the ring with him next week and get beat just like everyone else who’s ever tried to get in Sting’s face. I would like to see that fight, but I have to point out that Sting still didn’t give a straight answer on his allegiance.
He doesn't look crazy or evil at all...
Verdict: Raw is starting to show some promise with the introduction of Ahmed Johnson and the potential storyline between Razor Ramon and the 123 Kid, but Nitro’s excellent elaboration of the Dungeon of Doom / Hogan feud along with elevating the status of three of their best technical wrestlers into the spotlight puts them ahead of Raw once again.
Winner this week: Nitro
Score to date: Nitro 10, Raw 0
(Television Ratings: Raw - 2.6; Nitro - 2.0)