-Hype video for tonight’s tag team championship match between Owen Hart & Yokozuna and Razor Ramon & Savio Vega.
-We’re back in Louisville, Kentucky and our hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry “the King†Lawler
–King Mabel (w/Sir Mo) vs. Nick Barbery:
Mabel is carried to the ring by his servants. The throne is teetering to the left and it makes me worry that Mabel is about to tumble into the crowd. I feel bad for all of those guys that have to carry him to the ring. Mabel screams out that he is the king and the crowd doesn’t take too kindly to that. Mabel chokes the jobber to start and takes Barbery to the buckle. Barbery does the 360 degree sell off of a Mabel clothesline and Mabel slams him twice. Barbery fires back only to be hiptossed across the ring by Mabel. Mabel whips Barbery chest first into the corner and nails him with a spinning heel kick. Mabel tosses Barbery to the floor and follows him out there so he can toss him into the ring steps. McMahon announces that SummerSlam will see Sid against Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental championship. Back in, Mabel misses a running elbow drop and Barbery tries a series of dropkicks but Mabel swats him aside. Mabel throws Barbery into the corner, hits him with an avalanche against the buckles, and finishes with a belly-to-belly suplex at 3:12. This squash went on a minute too long. Afterwards, he announces to the crowd that after SummerSlam he will be the WWF Champion.
-“Making a Difference†Fatu showcases some of the positive graffiti in his neighborhood.
-Clips are shown of Lawler confronting Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels last week near the end of the show.
-Lawler catches up with Michaels backstage and says that he is going to ask Michaels the tough questions. Lawler tells Michaels that the fans want to see Sid destroy him at SummerSlam. Michaels responds by challenging Lawler to a match and then eggs him on. Lawler says that he cannot fight him due to a journalistic oath that he took.
-Goldust vignette where Howard Finkel just announces his name.
–Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Bob Cook:
Cook opens with an eye rake and hits Bigelow with some shots. Bigelow whips Cook into the ropes and Cook slides outside thinking he has escaped Bigelow’s grasp but Bigelow reaches down to the floor and drags Cook back in. Bigelow tosses Cook around but Cook is able to get Bigelow in a chinlock. Cook releases it, which is absolutely stupid, and Bigelow responds by nailing him with a suplex. Bigelow with a snapmare and chinlock of his own. Cook uses a jawbreaker to escape as McMahon announces that the WWF is going to be going online and activating its American Online account prior to SummerSlam. Oh, the good old fashioned advertising plugs. Bigelow unloads on Cook in the corner, whips him into the opposite corner with authority, and floors him with a clothesline. Bigelow slams Cook and then hits his trademark flying headbutt off the top rope for the pin at 3:20. This squash turned an excited crowd into a dead one.
-The Report Card with Dean Douglas. In this edition he critiques Bam Bam Bigelow’s match. He defines beast for us as “a contemptible person†and he says Bigelow’s facial features resemble that of a sea lion so he is a beast. He gives him a failing grade for his looks alone.
-Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler interview WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna with Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji. Cornette says his team is the Rolls Royce of tag teams.
–Skip (w/Sunny) vs. Major Yates:
Sunny berates the crowd for chanting for Barry Horowitz. Skip then claims that he’s still undefeated and that his loss to Horowitz three weeks ago on the Action Zone does not count. Skip slams Yates to start and kicks away. Skip does jumping jacks and Yates schoolboys him for two. Skip recovers quickly and whips Yates into the corner but Yates floats over on a blind charge. Yates goes on the offensive but Skip quickly kills it with a release German suplex and a snapmare. Yates gets a fluke sunset flip for two off the ropes as Skip starts to freak out in the ring. Skip gets a falling clothesline and a superduperplex finishes at 2:21. Afterwards, Sunny says Horowitz will pay for defeating Skip.
-Todd Pettengill gives us the Stridex SummerSlam report. Diesel cuts a promo against Mabel and says that he gets respect in the ring, not by demanding it. We then get an Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler promo where they call Bret Hart’s career rotten.
-Call 1-800-TITAN-91 to get our Razor Ramon t-shirt for $16! At least its available in all sizes this time. Where’s the free gift? I feel cheated.
–WWF Tag Team Championship Match: Owen Hart & Yokozuna (Champions w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji) vs. “The Bad Guy†Razor Ramon & Savio Vega:
Savio starts with Owen and Owen gets a slap before hoisting his hands in victory to the crowd. I love that spot. Savio doesn’t take kindly to that and whips Owen into the corner with authority and gets a backdrop. Savio floats over an Owen backdrop and when Owen won’t go through with a rollup from behind, Savio gives him a backdrop. Tag Razor and he works on Owen’s arm. Owen flips out of an armlock but that just gets him clotheslined by Ramon. Owen, dazed, falls to the arena floor where Jim Cornette furiously fans him with his tennis racquet. We then head to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break Owen and Ramon are back in the ring and Owen slugs away on Ramon. Owen flips out of an atomic drop attempt but a flying bodypress off the ropes gets him caught in a Ramon fallaway slam for two. Owen tags Yokozuna, who is booed heavily by the crowd, and he pushes Ramon down out of a lockup. Yokozuna then backs Ramon into a corner but Ramon unloads with some right hands and tags in Savio. Savio works the arm and then abandons that to fire away. A dropkick sends Yokozuna tumbling to the floor and the tag team champions regroup. After some stalling, Yokozuna gets back in and backs Savio into the heel corner but Savio quickly gets out of there. Tag Owen and he applies a headlock and takes down Savio with a shoulder block only to be hiptossed and armdragged. However, Owen sends Savio into the corner chest first and then gives him a spinning heel kick to the back of the head. Tag Yokozuna and Owen catches Savio with a drop toe hold while Yokozuna delivers a legdrop to the back of Savio’s head. No cover, though, and Yokozuna just kicks Savio to the arena floor which is really all he can do if Owen is not in there to guide the action. While the referee is distracted, Owen slams Savio and then rolls Savio back into the ring. Yokozuna gets Savio in a nerve hold as Lawler finally decides to accept Shawn Michaels challenge for a match. We head to our second commercial break of the match.
We return and Savio gets the momentum swinging tag to Ramon and he fires away on Yokozuna. Yokozuna reverses a whip into the corner but a blind charge eats boot and Ramon gets a second rope bulldog for two before Owen interrupts the count at the last second. The referee loses control as everyone brawls and the tag team champions are whipped into each other. Ramon and Savio double clothesline Yokozuna and then Owen. Owen ducks his head too quickly on a whip as the referee clears the ring and Ramon hits the Razor’s Edge for the pinfall and the championships at 8:48. Jim Cornette immediately hops into the ring and chews out Earl Hebner for counting the pinfall on the wrong man. Hebner orders that the match has to continue and then orders Cornette to leave ringside. Why? What did Cornette do other than point out that an injustice has been done? No wonder Cornette is upset.
So we restart with Ramon and Yokozuna and Ramon fires away. Owen for some reason is on the top rope so Ramon tosses him off and onto Yokozuna. The challengers double team Yoko as several officials have to forcibly take Cornette back to the locker room in a funny bit. Savio and Owen are tagged in and Savio gets a two count off an elbow off the ropes. Savio whips Owen chest first into the buckles for two. Savio takes Owen to the buckle ten times and small packages him for two. Owen whips Savio into the ropes and Yokozuna nails Savio in the back of the head as we go to yet another commercial break.
When we return, Owen gets a two count on Savio and then Savio pulls out a fluke sunset flip for two. Owen delivers a snapmare and tags in Yokozuna. The champions make a wish with Savio’s legs and then clotheslines Savio off the ropes. Yokozuna misses a running elbow drop and we have to head to a promotional announcement for thirty seconds. Really? I understand that the bills have to be paid and all but this is getting a little ridiculous.
When we return Ramon gets the momentum swinging tag as Yokozuna tags Owen and he slugs away. Owen rakes Ramon in the eye but Ramon crotches him on the top rope and tries to hit the side suplex but Owen reverses and falls on top of Ramon. However, Ramon reverses that and gets a two count. Ramon hits a clothesline for two as McMahon says that if Raw goes off the air without a winner the match will restart next week. Ramon hits a chokeslam out of a reversal sequence but is too exhausted to cover and signals for the Razor’s Edge as Raw goes off the air at 13:28 shown to basically make this a time limit draw. Not the best way to finish but at least it’s better than WCW having a match begin and then go off the air and promise to tell you who wins later (or sometimes not even do that). Grade: B- for the whole affair thanks to Owen carrying the entire match for the heel team and the crowd getting into it after the first several minutes.
-Next week tune in to see WWF Champion Diesel square off against Sir Mo and I guess a rematch for the tag team championships.
The Final Report: After a slow start of boring squash matches, this Raw was saved by the main event. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a cop out finish but you do feel jilted by the result. We’ll see if they can replicate the feel of this same match next week.
