Raw 139
Today’s episode starts with Owen Hart facing a young jobber named Jeff Hardy. I doubt he’ll go very far. After Owen pins the kid, Yokozuna drags him over to the corner and Banzai Drops onto his chest before Owen grabs him again and puts him into the sharpshooter. Luckily for Jeff, Diesel’s been watching from the back and he’s seen enough. As he runs out to the ring, Owen Hart drops Jeff and takes off. Smart move, considering there’s bad blood between Diesel and Owen since the King of Harts is the one that put Diesel’s best friend Shawn Michaels out of commission. Hopefully Raw will follow up on that.
Next up is another Aja Kong fight, this time in a singles match against Chaparita Asari. Chaparita puts up a good fight and has a lot of cool moves, but she just can’t compete with the much bigger and stronger Aja. This is a really great match for two people who I don’t expect to see much more of. Despite Chaparita’s best efforts, Aja just whales on her. She finishes the fight with a brutal spinning backfist that busts Chaparita open good.
Woof. Strong Style indeed.
We take a break from the action for an interview between Todd Pettengill and Shawn Michaels that was taped earlier in the day. Shawn seems in good spirits and has some playful banter with Todd, up until he’s asked if he’s considered an early retirement. Shawn’s mood instantly shifts and he asks if the whole interview was just a set up to get his reaction to that question. He tells Todd that wrestling means more to him than anything else in the world and he refuses to dignify that question with a response. It’s at this point that the tape ends. We're left wondering: could this actually be the end for Shawn Michaels?
The last thing I’ll mention is an interview with Ted DiBiase, Sycho Sid, and the 123 Kid. I’m not sure what happened to the rest of the Million Dollar Corporation. They must have downsized. Anyway, I think this might be the Kid’s first lengthy promo, certainly as a heel. He does okay, but he could definitely use some more practice.
A for effort at the very least.
Nitro 15
Remember Disco Inferno? Remember Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff? No? Well let’s put them together in a match! Paul’s so old school that his finisher is a side suplex. I kind of feel bad for the guy even though he wins. It just seems like he’s being left behind.
Afterwards Gene Okerlund interviews the Four Horsemen. At least, that’s what they’re calling themselves despite only having three members as far as I can tell. I keep hearing that Chris Benoit is the fourth member, but I’ve never seen anything to prove it. He must just be a member on paper, like for tax purposes. Anyway, Brian Pillman starts running off at the mouth, specifically insulting Mr. Wonderful who comes down the ramp to rebut him. Pillman tells Orndorff that he’s “reached the height of mediocrity” and slaps him in the face, naturally starting a fight right there. Unfortunately for Orndorff, if you mess with one Horseman, you mess with them all. The three men precede to beat Orndorff senseless, culminating in an assisted piledriver onto the concrete. Woof. What a way to go. Medical personnel have to come out and Mr. Wonderful is taken out on a stretcher with a neck brace on.
Yikes. I thought I felt bad for the guy before!
The final match of the night is Ric Flair & Arn Anderson VS Hogan & Sting who end up winning. But when you win against the Four Horsemen, you still lose. Brian Pillman rushes in out of nowhere and starts putting the boots to Sting while Flair and Double A take care of Hogan. Lex Luger runs in and pulls Pillman off of his buddy, but lets him go over to work on Hogan instead. Luger’s just here to protect his friend, everyone else be damned. Randy Savage decides to run in to help though and gets coldcocked by Sting for his trouble. The Horsemen, their job done here, scurry off and let these three “friends” try to figure out what’s going on between them. Honestly, I'm not sure if we'll ever know.
Verdict: Raw is beginning to take baby steps with their story, but it’s still not enough. Besides that, nearly every match was a squash. In contrast, Nitro is really starting to lay out just how bad the Four Horsemen are, even using them to sow chaos amongst Luger, Hogan, Savage, and Sting. They also make a lot more sense than the Dungeon of Doom which is basically just a bunch of losers and also the Giant.
Winner this week: Nitro
Score to date: Nitro 13, Raw 1
(Television Ratings: Raw - 2.5; Nitro - 2.6)