Jesse Ewiak

You'll most likely get all of them anyway, but... Doh. Forgot that rules. OK, Kama it is. For now.

The WWF swoops in and signs The Headbangers, Kama, Konnan, and Miss Texas.

WWF Monday Night RAW – October 3rd, 1995 Taped September 26th, 1995 For the first time in a while, Monday Night RAW began with a match as we had the beginning of the WWF World Tag Team Tournament, as in an opening round contest, Doink & Fatu faced off against The Million Dollar Corporation team of IRS & Tatanka.. Early on, it looked like the Clown Prince of the WWF and the latest in the Samoan lineage of talent in the WWF would use quick tags and big moves to pick up the big win and move on to the quarterfinals, but one quick trip from The Million Dollar man allowed the rulerbreakers to regain the advantage. There was more back 'n' forth action, but the damage was done, as Tatanka pinned Doink with the Renegade Drop in a little over seven minutes to advance on to take on The Steiner Brothers in the Quarter Finals. IRS & Tatanka defeated Doink the Clown & Fatu – (Tatanka p. Doink – 7:23) After the match as The Million Dollar Corporation celebrated their victory, we went backstage where Dok Hendrix stood with The Macho Man and Crush. Savage explained that he'd been impressed with how Crush had changed since returning to the WWF and went to Gorilla Monsoon and offered himself up as partner for the big Hawaiian. He said that he and Crush had some big battles, but time heals most wounds, oooh yeah, and that together, they'd be the cream that rises to the stop, starting on Superstars. Next up, Ahmed Johnson defeated a local wrestling quite easily, pinning him with the Pearl River Plunge in a little over three minutes. However, the real fireworks came after the match, when Ahmed challenged Ted DiBiase to bring out any member of the Million Dollar Corporation to take him on during Superstars this week! Ahmed Johnson pinned Local Talent in 3:05. After that, we had Gorilla Monsoon come out to make an official announcement about the next WWF Pay Per View, Devil's Night. He announced that due to how the match ended and the fact that Diesel had outed him as the man who masterminded the attack that he had no choice but to give the WWE Championship match to Razor Ramon! That got a round of cheers from the crowd and it looked like Monsoon's work was done, but the crowd was shocked to see The Gangsta's come in from the crowd and face off against the WWF President. Security came down to ringside, but Monsoon waved them off. From there, New Jack of the Gangstas' asked Monsoon why they, newly signed talents were being blackballed from the WWF World Tag Team Title Tournament. Monsoon explained that they had a spot in the tourney, but their actions last week led Monsoon to 'X' them out of the tournament. That did not make either Gangsta happy, as they claimed this was just part of the long bias the WWF has had against black wrestlers. New Jack said, “Gorilla, men like you laughed all the way to the bank when Vinny Mac took over, but what did the new boss do? Throw away men like Atlas & Johnson, make JYD into a cartoon, and make sure no real powerful black men got a shot in the WWF. 'Dis is continuing today. That's why we're not leaving this ring until we get put in the tournament.' Monsoon shrugged that off and said whether or not The Gangstas like it, every wrestler in the WWF had an equal oppurtunity. Look at Ahmed Johnson! New Jack snorted and said, 'Uncle Tom cracka butt kisser.' Gorilla responded, 'well, he had a match tonight. You weren't even here. This may work down in Smoky Mountain, but this is the WWF. So, let's make a deal. I'll find you suitable competition at Devil's Night if you agree to leave the ring.” New Jack & Mustafa conferred, then said they didn't like it how they “had to work twice as hard as two white men like Cracka Crush & The Not So Macho Man to get a chance”, but they'll take it. Gorilla nodded, the went to leave when New Jack grabbed MONSOON, PICKED HIM UP FOR A MOMENT, THEN PUT HIM BACK DOWN. As the crowd buzzed with Monsoon confused, New Jack took the mic, “just remember, that was a gift, Monsoon. Next time, I won't be puttin ya' down so nicely” then left the ring with his partner. Up next after that interesting segment and a video hyping up the debuting Hector Garza, Ray Lloyd was in the ring, trying to get on the winning track in the World Wrestling Federation. However, it looked like any chance of that ended when Steve Austin came out to the ring. Austin, with Ted DiBiase dominated Lloyd, before making him submit to the Eminence Front in a little under four minutes. After the match, Austin kept the hold on as DiBiase ranted how Austin, not Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, The Steiners, or even Diesel was the future of the WWF. Steve Austin SUB Ray Lloyd with the Eminence Front in 3:52. Before the main event, there was a short interview with The Steiner Brothers, who said they were afraid of no team and they'd prove it by beating IRS & Tatanka in the Quarter Finals, no matter who they brought with them, even Austin. In the main event match of the evening, the Smooth Operators of Bonanno and Hughes faced off former WWF Tag Team Champions, The Smoking Gunns. in a Quarter Final match in the WWF World Tag Team Tournament. The Gunns obviously had the experience advantage teaming together, but with Rick Rude at ringside, the newcomers to the World Wrestling Federation were able to keep The Gunns from getting into a groove. In addition, quick impressive power moves allowed both Operators to be effective in the ring. Near the end of the match, Billy Gunn had hit a big time DDT, but Rude put Mister Hughes' foot on the ropes. Billy then went to argue with the former I-C Champ, but that allowed Hughes to nail Billy from behind and not too long after, the Smooth Operator's were hitting their finishing maneuver of the Clean Sheet to pick up the upset victory in this Quarter Final bout. The Smooth Operators d. The Smoking Gunns – (Bonanno p. Billy Gunn – 10:03) To close the show, Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow came out to the ring. After Bam Bam promised he'd take out Shawn Michaels and become I-C Champion since “Shawn, you may be the Heartbreak Kid, but I'm a Man who will kill your boyhood dream,” Diesel took the mic and after taking a shot at Vinny Mac and 'Old Man Roderick' at ringside, he told the fans that they could dream that Razor Ramon was going to end his reign at In Your House, but he was bigger, stronger, and most importantly, sexy, so everybody, including the Corporate Suits would be very unhappy the night after Devil's Night. However, as Diesel continued to talk, the crowd cheered as Razor Ramon came down to ringside, alone. Diesel smiled big and motioned for Razor to come down. What Diesel & Bam Bam didn't notice as they were watching Razor is Shawn Michaels coming down through the crowd, sneaking in the ring, then DRILLING BAM BAM IN THE HEAD WITH SWEET CHIN MUSIC FROM BEHIND. Bam Bam fell through the ropes to the outside while Razor rushed in the ring after Diesel as the WWF Champion went after his former employer and friend. It was a short-time two-on-one advantage on Big Daddy Cool before Bam Bam slid back in the ring and went after Michaels. While Bigelow sent Michaels into the corner, Razor & Diesel brawled over the top rope to the ringside area. As WWF Officials came down to ringside, Razor had the advantage and was trying to set Diesel up for a Razor's Edge through the Spanish Announce Table, but various referees and corporate suits stopped Ramon before he could pick Diesel up. RAW ended with all four men involved in the singles title matches being separated from each other.

Oops, life got in the way for a bit there. Anyway, here's Superstars, RAW from last week, and Superstars. Will post RAW tomorrow, hell or high water.

Goldberg vs. Lesnar isn't a match to sell to the current crowd, who'd be more entertained by Zayn vs. Kendrick in a flippy match. It's to appeal to the 35 year old Dad who was downing beers and watching Goldberg spear fools as a teenager and watched some of the Lesnar UFC matches. In other words, to juice the Network numbers in the 4Q instead of just WM. I also question why Lesnar's end should be Nakamura. Nak's great, but he's a mid to late 30's non-English speaking guy who's already kinda broken down who will be likely out of the WWE within a few years. The guy who takes down Lesnar should be somebody who will be around at WM in 2025 in the main event.

Monday Night RAW – Thw Quick 'n' Dirty Version for September 26th, 1995 Grand Rapids, MI – (1,500) McMahon, Lawler, and Piper welcome us after a very exciting In Your House that shows that truly anything can happen in the WWF. We're then showed pictures of the PPV, including Diesel jackknifing the hell out of HBK, Razor running in, and the heels standing tall at the end of the match. McMahon announces that both Michaels & Ramon were checked out at a medical facility after the show. After that, we get hype for the main event tonight – The Steiners & Randy Savage vs. Yokozuna, Sid, and Tatanka Now, we actually go to the ring where it's the in-ring debut of Ahmed Johnson, as he absolutely runs over Local Talent in about two minutes with a modified Tiger Driver that McMahon calls a Pearl River Plunge.. After the match, Ahmed grabs the mic that's a little rough to understand but ends with him saying, “DiBiase, you and the rest of your Corporation are going down![/b] After that, we head to the In Your House: Devil's Night Control Center, with Dok Hendrix, who announces that Shawn Michaels will defend the Intercontinental Title at Devil's Night against Bam Bam Bigelow!. Coming back from commercial, it's a relatively big time match as Earthquake takes on Crush.. An OK back 'n' forth power match as Crush gets some offense in, but eventually, the big Canadian is able to splash Crush against the barricade after reversing an Irish Whip. 'Quake then hit the big Earthquake Splash in about eight minutes to pick up the big win. There's then a quick promo with Randy Savage and The Steiner Brothers who call out The Million Dollar Corporation, say they're going to kick butt in the main event and essentially say it's a preview for the end of the tag team tournament. Coming back from commercials, there's a Paul Orndorff backstage promo where he explains that he came back to the WWF to wrestle real men and prove that he's one of the greatest athletes in the world, but instead, he saw a disgrace like Fatu getting cheers from the crowd. So, he had to get in that ring and prove the world that Fatu was nothing but a joke and instead, the fans of the WWF should cheer a man of greatness such as himself. Next up, Stone McCready, formerly known as Van Hammer came down to the ring to get interviewed by Vince McMahnon. McCready explained that he'd been a big fan of the WWF for years, so he was happy to announce that he was coming to the World Wrestling Federation to compete! That got muted cheers, until The Nasty Boys came down to the ring. They called McCready a joke and said he was about to turn a trip to Nastyville, when the man formerly known as Ice Train rushed to the ring and backed up McCready. He called himself Havok Hogue and said that he was here to backup McCready and prove that Rock 'n' Rap could work together. There was a stand off and than the Nasty Boys stepped back away from the fair fight. After another commercial breaks, we were kicked to Jim Ross interviewing Jake Roberts. Roberts was wearing a cross and they went over his early life, including his abuse from his father Grizzly Smith and how he broke into the business. They also went into that's how his drug and alcohol abuse started and how in Robert's words, “that's when I began to fall down a dark dark hole that I never really got out of for years.” Ross then said the 2nd part of his interview with Jake would air next week. Next up, Rick Rude came out to introduce his new charges, Hughes and Bonanno, otherwise known as The Smooth Operators. Rude insulted the crowd, talked about how these two men were going to dominate the WWF just like he did, then they killed two local talents in a little over two minutes after the former Big Titan drilled one of the jobbers with a gutwrench-style power bomb and Hughes hit a splash from the 2nd rope. Finally, after a set of commercials, the six man main event started. Overall, it was a fun main event with The Steiners doing some impressive power stuff on the big men, Yoko tossing Savage around a bit, Tatanka being a kind of scumbag continually attacking people from the ringside apron. However, the big moment was the end of the match after about 12 minutes (including a commercial break) when The Gangstas came out with a basket full of plunder as the PA blared out Natural Born Killaz. An edited version, but it was blaring nonetheless as Mufasa and New Jack came in the ring, drilling The Steiners and Savage with chairs, a hockey stick, and a garbage can. That got a big heel pop that confused into a more confused pop as then The Gangsta's went off on The Million Dollar Corporation as well. By the end, all six men were down and out on the mat before WWF officials ran out, but they got taken out as well. Finally, police officers (or at least indy dudes dressed as police officers) ran out and actually handcuffed The Gangstas! In this scene of chaos, McMahon threw it to commercial, audibly pissed off.

Good stuff going a little more angle heavy than RL All Japan. A good option to do since you have Tenryu to use and don't need Misawa, Kawada, and Kobashi to be against each other.

Awesome/Tanaka will be a match that many future CZW wrestlers will steal spots from. Awesome tournament. Order was kind of what I expected it to be, but it was done in a fun way.

I'm still kinda waiting for Martel to turn on Tito and form a three man crew with Mero & Holly.

(OOC: Sorry for the delay on this - RAW will be up tomorrow. Probably a q 'n' d version with only one big angle completely written out.) In Your House : Million Dollar Takeover Free For All The normal shilling and such occurs, but the only important thing is the Free for All Match, near the end of the 30 minute preview show. The only other major news was the announcement that Stone McCready (Van Hammer) would appear on Monday Night RAW. Fatu vs. Jacques Rougeau – Free For All Match Starting from the bell, Fatu was a house of fire, going after the former Mountie with headbutts, forearms, chops, and even a big slam. The former Headshrinker even attempted a big second rope legdrop, but Rougeau got his foot up, then went to work on Fatu, taking him down with a drop toe hold, and keeping Fatu down on the mat with various holds and quick strikes on the fallen Headshrinker. With Fatu down on the mat, Rougeau locked in on a sleeper in the middle of the mat, which Fatu slowly fought out of, including hitting several quick elbows, then knocking Rougeau back into the corner with a savate kick. Fatu then nailed Jacques with a running elbow drop and went for the pinfall, but only got a two count. The former half of the Headshrinkers then went for a belly-to-belly suplex, but Rougeau blocked it, went low, then took Fatu down with a dropkick, then nailed the Samoan with a nasty kneedrop, then went for the pinfall. After a two count, Rougeau grabbed Fatu and went for a piledriver, but the big Samoan blocked it, then backdropped Jacques! With the crowd on his side, Fatu hit several headbutts on Jacques in a row, then took him down with a side suplex. Fatu went to the top rope, but Jacques got up and started arguing with the referee about the former Headshrinker cheating to take him down. However, as Jacques argued with the referee, Paul Orndorff hopped the rail and sent Fatu crashing from the top rope to the mat with a shove. As the referee questioned Rougeau about Fatu's mysterious fall, the former Quebecer locked on the Quebec Crab in the middle of the ring. With nowhere to go, Fatu had to submit! Jacques Rougeau SUB Fatu – (7:37 – Quebec Crab) After the mat, as Rougeau celebrated to a booing crowd, Orndorff rolled in the ring, grabbed Fatu and absolutely drilled him with a PILEDRIVER! WWF Officials hit the ring as Orndorff calmly rolled out of the ring, raised his hands to a booing Pay Per View crowd, then called for his ladies to join him heading to backstage. One more shill from Dok Hendrix, then the countdown goes to zero for the official Pay Per View! In Your House : Million Dollar Takeover September 25th, 1996 – Saginaw, Michigan LIVE on Pay Per View – (4,746 paid) After the opening video and the trio of Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Roddy Piper welcoming us to the show, it's off to the action as Crush heads to the ring and then calls out Ted DiBiase. The camera cuts to DiBiase outside of a limo. The Million Dollar Man then talks about how he has signed the hottest free agent in professional wrestling to The Million Dollar Corporation, so the World Wrestling Federation better be ready for the future of the WWF, an athlete without parallel in all of the World Wrestling Federation, with an intelligence only rivaled by men such as himself – 'Superstar' Steve Austin! Austin then walked out of the limo, looking much closer to WCW Steve Austin (no haircut yet) and the camera followed Austin through the arena, before finally walking down the aisle to the ring. Crush vs. 'Superstar' Steve Austin w/ Ted DiBiase Entering the ring to a mixed reception, Austin gets the crowd firmly against him by quickly taking the mic from the ring announcer and saying, “I'm not being paid by the minute, so let's make this quick, so I can get out of this piece of trash town.” Once the bell rings, Austin circles Crush a few times before locking up, which the Hawaiian native gets an advantage from, sending Austin into the corner. As DiBiase looks proud on the outside, Austin grabs the ropes, forcing Crush to make a clean break. As Crush backs up, Austin charges in with a quick armbar takedown, then locked on an armbar of his own. The big man powered out of the hold though, throwing Austin into the ropes, then dropping the World Wrestling Federation newcomer down with a spinebuster slam. The big Hawaiian then picked up Austin and to a pop from the crowd, grabbed him in a Gorilla Press, then dropped him to the mat with a mighty slam. The former member of Demolition then grabbed Austin by his shaggy blond hair and went for a suplex, but Austin got his knees up twice, then nailed Crush with several knees and right hands, forcing him back into the ropes. An Irish whip later, The Million Dollar Man's latest charge hit Crush with a clothesline, followed by several quick armdrag takedowns. Austin then waited for Crush to slowly get up, then brought him back down to the mat with a Thesz press. With Crush down on the mat, Austin went for the Standing Figure Four, which was yet to be named by either Ross or McMahon, but Crush kicks Austin away into the corner. Coming out of the corner, Austin runs straight into a kneelift, followed by a big time powerslam from Crush. The big man from Kona then goes to lock on the Cranium Crunch, but Austin wiggles, powers, and generally does whatever he can to avoid Crush from locking on the hold. Finally, Austin is able to get a vertical base and drill Crush with a mule kick to get completely out of the hold. Austin then waits for Crush to stumble over – MODIFIED HOTSHOT INTO A NECKBREAKER! Austin goes for the pin while holding the tights just cause - ONE! TWO! THREE! Steve Austin p. Crush – (8:12 – Modified Hotshot into a neckbreaker) With Crush down on the mat, DiBiase celebrates on the outside while Austin continues the beatdown, drilling the big Hawaiian with stomps. As the crowd continues to boo, the Million Dollar Man's newest charge locks on the Standing Figure Four, which DiBiase comes over and tells Ross is called the Eminence Front! Backstage, there is a quick interview with Paul Orndoff, who brushes off Dok, explainin that he has a very busy night and will explain all on Monday Night RAW! Dok then tries to find an interview and runs straight into Rick Rude, who gets a big pop from the WWF faithful here in Saginaw. As the camera settles, there are two men behind Rude, both clad in dark suits. The Ravishing One explains that his time in the ring is over thanks to some bad luck, but he still has the ability, the knowledge, and the body to make waves in the World Wrestling Federation. As a result, he has scouted the world and would like to reintroduce the world to Mister Hughes and introduce the World Wrestling Federation to Mister Bonanno (Big Titan/Rick Bogner). With his expertise, they were coming to the WWF for one reason – to become WWF Tag Team Champions as a pair of Smooth Operators. The Steiner Brothers vs. The Nasty Boys As you'd expect after last weeks RAW, the Steiner Brothers were ready to fight from the bell and that's exactly what happened, because as soon as their theme music hit, The Steiners rushed to the ring and the fight was on. Rick took Sags out of the ring with a big Steinerline while Scotty took Knobbs in the ring with several stiff shots, followed by simply grabbing Knobbs and taking him down with a nasty Belly to Back Suplex which shook the ring and brought the WWF fans at In Your House to their feet. While the referee tried to restore some order inside the ring as Scott Steiner unleashed some well deserved payback on Knobbs, Rick tossed Sags into the ringside barrier at ringside, then sent him into the crowd with an insane running clothesline which sent both men into the second row of the audience. Back inside the ring, Scott has fallen trap to Knobbs hitting him with an eye poke while the referee were trying to get both men to act like civilized moves. Knobbs shows that he can toss some large men around as well as he nails Scott with a side suplex, then a leaping knee drop on the younger Steiner, before going for the pinfall that gets only two. As Rick Steiner slowly gets to the corner after taking out Sags on the outside, Knobbs sends Scott into the corner, but that's a bad idea as Steiner gets his knees up as Knobbs rushes in, then Steiner grabs him – TILT-A-WHIRL BACKBREAKER! GERMAN SUPLEX! Scott tags Rick in, the Dog Faced Gremlin goes to the top rope – BULLDOG! ONE! TWO! SAGS OUT OF NOWHERE WITH THE BIG ELBOW ON RICK! Sags and Knobbs team up on Rick for a moment, taking him down with a big vertical suplex, before the member of the Nasty Boys attached to the hip with Hulk Hogan in real life grabs Rick and locks on a Camel Clutch in the middle of the ring. As the crowd boos, Knobbs keeps the hold locked on, laughing and screaming to the crowd while occasionally nailing Rick with forearm smashes from above. But, ever so slowly, Rick powers out of the hold and gets Knobbs in the electric chair position, before dropping him directly on his back (or neck, depending on the angle you're looking at). Both men are slow to get up, but unfortunately for Jerry Sags, Rick is just a little quicker than Knobbs and as a result, as soon as he steps in the ring, he's eating the offense of one Scott Steiner. Clubbering blows and shots lead to an Irish whip and what looks like was going to be a big-time belly-to-belly suplex, but Knobbs drills Scott in the back, which allows Sags to grab Scott and take him down with a pumphandle slam, then follow it up with a diving legdrop. As the crowd continues to boo, Sags goes to the 2nd rope for his diving elbow drop, but Scott rolls away. One quick tag and the Dog Faced Gremlin is back in the ring, going right after Sags. The older Steiner grabs Sags and absolutely nails with a side suplex, followed with a big time bulldog. Rick Steiner then waits for Sags to get up, sends him to the rope – BIG TIME POWERSLAM! ONE! TWO! NO! Rick goes to the corner to wait for Sags to get back up, but as he goes to Steinerline Jerry, Knobbs holds his leg. As Rick turns around to yell at Knobbs who is down on the floor, Sags attacks Rick from behind, then goes to work on him in the corner. After an extended beatdown involving kicks, chokes, and forearms in the corner, Sags tags Knobbs and both members of The Nasty Boys come in. Double team Irish Whip into the corner, but The Dog Faced Gremlin ducks under – FLYING STEINERLINE ON BOTH MEN! Rick sends Sags to the outside of the ring, places Brian on the top rope, then tags in Scott – FRANKENSTEINER FROM SCOTT! ONE! TWO! THREE! The Steiner Brothers d. The Nasty Boys – (14:03 - Flying Bulldog) As The Steiners celebrated and The Nasty Boys collected themselves, another cut to backstage to a promo with Shawn, Diesel, and Bigelow. As has been happening, Shawn took over, talking about how it didn't matter that Razor had been taken, that these three men would lay down for nobody as it didn't matter who Ted DiBiase had in his back pocket. Diesel then simply said, by the end of tonight, nobody will even remember The Million Dollar Corporation was in the main event and they'll be reminded why the WWF runs on Diesel power. 'The Macho Man' Randy Savage vs. I.R.S. w/ Ted DiBiase As the bell rings, Savage is still pacing like a caged animal, looking for a way to go after IRS, but the former WWF Tag Team Champion simply slips out of the ring every time it looks like The Macho Man will have a chance to go after him. Savage gets frustrated and begins to yell at The Million Dollar Man at ringside, but all that does is give IRS an opening to attack Savage from behind. After gaining the advantage, IRS nails Savage with a back suplex, followed up quickly by a kneelift and a fireman's carry down to the mat once Savage recovered. The Macho Man was then locked in a Half Crab by the taxman, but Savage quickly powered out of the hold. Unperturbed, IRS simply did the easy thing – choked Savage the hell out. The referee almost got to five multiple times, but each time, Irwin broke the count before the referee had the chance to call for the DQ. With Savage worn down thanks to IRS standing in the grey area of the rules, IRS locked on the abdominal stretch to the boos of the crowd. Slowly, but surely, The Macho Man fought out of the hold, finally powering out of the move and tossing IRS to the mat, even despite the former WWF Tag Team Champion trying to hold on to the ropes illegally. Savage hits a few right hands, sends IRS to the ropes, and takes him down with a big clothesline. A body slam later, Savage has gone to the top rope – FLYING AXEHANDLE AS IRS STANDS UP! Savage measures IRS up and goes for a kneedrop on the taxman, but Irwin barely rolls out of the way. As The Macho Man tries to steady himself on his injured knee, IRS immediately goes on the offensive, taking Savage down with a legsweep, then kicking and stomping the hell out of that knee. Irwin then waits for his opponent to get up, takes him down with another Fireman's Carry, then comes off the far rope and nails Savage with The Write-Off. Irwin tries to go for the pinfall to ruin Savage's in-ring return to the World Wrestling Federation, but Savage strongly kicks out at two. Irwin plays to the booing crowd, and waits for Savage to get up. The former WWF Champion is slow to his feet as IRS grabs him, sends him to the ropes – ANOTHER WRITE OFF! NO! Savage moved out of the way and Irwin lands throat-first on the top rope. The Macho Man grabs Schyster – DDT! Pop from the crowd as Savage roars to the crowd, then picks IRS up and nails him with an Inverted Atomic Drop to add insult to injury. A big body slam from Savage, then he swishes his finger around, taunting both IRS and DiBiase, who is fuming at ringside. Savage climbs up – FLYING ELBOW DROP! ONE! TWO! THREE! Randy Savage p. Irwin R. Schyster – (9:15 – Flying Elbow Drop) After the match, The Macho Man celebrated while the announcers wondered if IRS would be ready to possibly tag with Tatanka later in the night. Then, Dok Hendrix had a quick WWF merch shill before there was a video package on the assault on The Undertaker at the end of last week's RAW. The Smoking Gunns vs. Psycho Sid & Yokozuna w/ Ted DiBiase I hate to do this, but well, I'm running late and not a lot of ideas about this match. So, let's go in recap mode. Sid & Yoko come out with the tag belts they refuse to give up, Smoking Gunns start out a house of fire, but slowly fall victim to the fact they're facing off against a former WWF Champion and a Psycho with The Million Dollar Man at ringside. We get some cheating, some distractions, some massive double team power moves on both Billy & Bart. Near the end of the match, Bart actually is getting some offense in with some big solid right hands and even a big time bulldog on Yoko, but sooner than later, DiBiase is able to distract the ref to allow Sid to come and drill Bart with a big boot. A minute or two later, and Yokozuna has just splattered Bart with a leg drop after a Psycho Sid powerbomb. A three count later and the big-time team of Yokozuna and Psycho Sid look very impressive as they attempt to reclaim the WWF Tag Team Titles. Yokozuna & Psycho Sid d. The Smoking Gunns – (12:03 – Legdrop after a Powerbomb) After the match, it looked like Yokozuna was going to do a Banzai Drop on both Bart and Billy after the two behemoths continued the assault on the Smoking Gunns, but Ahmed Johnson made his debut in the World Wrestling Federation by running out, chasing Sid and DiBiase out of the ring, then SLAMMING YOKOZUNA TO THE MAT! Another video package aired, focusing on the attack on Ramon, the reorganization of the Million Dollar Corporation, and Bam Bam being added to the match last week. Diesel ©, Shawn Michaels ©, and Bam Bam Bigelow versus Tatanka and ??? Diesel, Shawn, and Bam Bam come out first to the cheers of the crowd. As all three men are in the ring, they're all waiting for the Million Dollar Corporation to come down to the ring. Shawn is leaning on the ropes, making the universal 'bring it on' hand gestures. After a moment, there's still no Tatanka while Diesel and Bigelow trade a look. Shawn turns around and shrugs his shoulder, but only for a moment as HE WALKS STRAIGHT INTO A KICK IN THE GUT FROM DIESEL! WHAT THE HELL? DIESEL RAISES HIS GLOVE TO THE CROWD, THEN TAKES SHAWN UP AND DOWN WITH THE JACKKNIFE POWERBOMB! NOW BAM BAM GOES UP TOP – FLYING HEADBUTT ON SHAWN! The crowd is confused, but is beginning to rain both Diesel and Bigelow down with boos, as Shawn slowly tries to get up to his feet, but is booted back to the mat by Diesel. Diesel picks him up and slams him down to the ground again, then signals toward Bam Bam to go up top once again - IT'S RAZOR RAMON! Ramon rushes down to the ring to the cheers of the crowd and he goes right after the WWF Champion, both men sprawling out of the ring thanks to a clothesline from Da Bad Guy. Bam Bam gets down from the top rope and goes to help out Diesel, but is stopped by WWF Officials, who also disentangle Diesel and Ramon from each other. After a moment, while Shawn is being attended to by medical professionals in the ring, Ramon grabs the mic from the ring announcer at ringside and says, pointing at Diesel and Bigelow, who are standing on the other side of the squared circle and says, “Hey Yo! I don't know why you did this and man, I don't really care at the moment. Right now, chico, I just want to kick your ass from one end of this arena to the other! I see Shawn is still standing, so he's ready to fight. So, Bam Bam, Big Kev, you want to take the night off like [bLEEP]ies or do you want to actually prove to the WWF fans you've got some huevos?” Really big cheer from the small Hispanic contingent. On the other side of the ring, Diesel and Bigelow talk to a couple of WWF Officials, then both nod and head to the ring. All three men in the announce booth are totally confused, but a referee gets in the ring and the bell rings so it looks like we actually have a main event. Razor Ramon & Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel © & Bam Bam Bigelow Well, in theory. Shawn Michaels was standing on the apron, but he looked very much like a man who'd just tasted a powerbomb and flying headbutt in quick succession. As the bell rang, Bigelow came in, guns blazing, but Ramon was just as ready, trading with Bigelow blow for blow right in the middle of the ring. Ramon got the slight advantage, tossing Bigelow into the ropes and knocking him asunder with a spinning elbow, followed quickly by a series of right hands that sent Bam Bam into the corner. Once in the corner, Ramon whips Bigelow into the corner, but Bam Bam reverses it and the big man splashes the former I-C champ in the corner with a big time avalanche. The current resident of Miami stumbles out, only to pick up Ramon and to a heavy heel response, drop him to the mat with a thud thanks to a Samoan Drop. Bigelow doesn't go for the pin, instead choosing to calmly tag in Diesel who gets boos from the crowd for the 1st time in months as he enters the ring over the top rope. Almost lazily, the WWF Champion picks up Razor and hits him with several forearms before extending his long legs out and choking Ramon right in the corner with his boot. Razor Ramon tries to fight back, but there's only so much you can do with a size 14 boot in your throat. After doing this several times, Big Daddy Cool weakens Ramon even more in the corner with several kneelifts, before grabbing the former I-C champ and slamming him down to the mat with ease. Pointing to Shawn Michaels, Diesel yells something unintelligible (bleeped) and then grabs Razor – SNAKE EYES! NO! Ramon blocks it, ducks under a wild right from Diesel – BACK SUPLEX ON THE SEVEN FOOTER! Hall goes right to work on Diesel, peppering him with punches on the mat before the referee stops him, almost dragging Ramon off the WWF Champion. Diesel takes this opportunity to get to his feet, only for Ramon to charge him. This time though, Diesel is ready and catches Ramon and slams him to the mat with a big time body slam. Again, Big Daddy Cool goes for the Jackknife – Ramon slips out and clotheslines Diesel to the mat! Both men are slow to get to their feet, but Razor is a little quicker and tags in The Heartbreak Kid! Shawn is an absolute house of fire despite his condition, as he leaps in the ring, knocks Diesel to the floor from the apron, ducks under an attack from Bigelow, and drills the flame headed monster with a dropkick, followed by a flying forearm, then finished up things with a DDT! Bigelow got up to his knees, only for HBK to hit him with a dropkick to the knee, then a quick elbow drop once he was back on the mat. The Intercontinental Champion then grabbed Bigelow, hooked him up and nailed him with a Slingshot into the corner. One Teardrop Suplex later and HBK goes for the pin – ONE! TWO! DIESEL BREAKS IT UP! HERE COMES RAMON! Both men are brawling and then they crash outside the ring while Michaels waits for Bigelow to get up – SWEET CHIN MUSIC! NO! BIGELOW GRABS HBK'S LEG AND SLAMS HIM TO THE MAT! The Asbury Park native lays in the beatdown on Michaels, then picks him up and slams him to the mat with a nasty belly-to-back suplex. The pain doesn't end here as Bigelow continues the assault on Shawn's back with a double underhook backbreaker as both Ramon and Diesel continue to brawl on the outside to the walkway heading back toward the locker room area. They slowly brawl back to the ringside area as Bigelow picks Michaels up and bruises a few more vertebrae with a Samoan Drop. The crowd continues to boo as Bigelow plays to them, while Diesel tosses Ramon over the timekeepers table, followed quickly by Ramon nailing the WWF Champ with a kneelift, followed by an Irish Whip over the Spanish Announcer's Table! Back inside the ring, Bigelow picks Shawn up – GORILLA PRESS! NO! Shawn slides down into a sunset flip that gets a two, followed by a quick dropkick, then another slingshot that feeds into a big time backdrop from The Heartbreak Kid. The Intercontinental Champion then slowly gets to the top rope as Ramon sends Diesel up and back over the Spanish Announcer's Table – MOONSAULT BY SHAWN! NO! BIGELOW CATCHES HIM! A big time running powerslam right in the middle of the ring by Bigelow gets boos from the crowd, then Bam Bam goes up top – FLYING HEADBUTT FROM BIGELOW! ONE! TWO! THREE JUST AS RAMON ROLLS IN THE RING! Diesel © & Bam Bam Bigelow p. Shawn Michaels © & Razor Ramon – (18:51 – Flying Headbutt) Bigelow rolls to the outside, raising his arms in victory as Diesel slowly gets up as well, recovering from taking a ride over the announcer table a few too many times. As Ramon checks on Michaels, both newly turned heels celebrate, Diesel raising his black glove with the WWF title in his hand as the WWF logo comes up and the Pay Per View ends. TITAN SPORTS - COPYRIGHT 1995

Yes, it'd be horrible for a podcast to accept money on Patreon so that the donator then can appear on it. Hi, Bix and Kris!

Well, I'm not saying this is all the reason for the dumb booking, it's the extra hour. With an extra hour of RAW, the WWE now has to fill an extra six months of RAW's with product every year. And since the fans don't want to see the same 1 vs 1 or 3 vs 3 or 2 vs 2 matches between feuding wrestlers every week, you have to do wacky crap since your roster is too thin to actually keep people off TV or at least out of the ring for a few weeks.

WWF Monday Night RAW - September 19th, 1995 Manhattan Center - New York, New York Taped on September 12th, 1995 The rooftop opening kicks off, then we're to ringside with Vince McMahon, Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Roddy Piper as they go over the two huge matches tonight, plus other action. Lawler talks about how tonight we'll learn that “money always wins in the end – even over death” while Piper snarks “even the River Styx takes a coin at the end, King, so you better be ready when you're bloated belly is six feet under” before McMahon sends it to the ring. The Smoking Gunns vs. Bert Centeno & Buck Quartermaine – Both Bert & Buck try some quick tags right at the start of the match to attempt to get some sort of advantage on the Gunns, but a double suplex is blocked by Bart who elbows out of it, then drops B with a big time side suplex. Billy comes in, hits a few big time moves of his own, including a body slam and big time lariat before both Gunns finish things off with the Sidewinder to pick up the victory. The Smoking Gunns d. Bert Centeno & Buck Quartermaine – (Sidewinder – 2:47) After the match, Billy Gunn picks up the mic and says, “ya' know, Ted DiBiase has been running his mouth about how Yokozuna deserves to keep the tag belts just because his fat kiester is still around. Well, the truth is, Bart and I don't care that Psycho Sid is Yokozuna's new partner. Sure, he's big, he's bad, and a little crazy, but we're blood and that'll always win out over two big guys thrown together by some rich SOB who thinks he should run things just because he has some cash to throw around.” Bart takes the mic and says, “what my brother is saying, we know that you're looking for a team to fight at In Your House, Million Dollar Man. So, bring your sumo wrestler. Bring your psycho. We'll be your huckleberries!” McMahon, Piper, and Lawler talk about the Gunn's challenge with Lawler saying it's some sort of suicide wish from the Gunns as he says, “this isn't a shootout at the OK Corral. You're not allowed to bring your six shooters in the ring with Psycho Sid or Yokozuna.” Piper responds, “well, it would be helpful. And I'm not going to criticize two young wrestlers for shooting rocks at some big targets. Would be kind of hypocritical from this galoot, don't ya' think?” From there, we're backstage with Dok Hendrix who is standing beside Razor Ramon. Dok asks Razor if he's ready for the match tonight and Razor snatches the mic away from the former Freebird and says, “Mang, just walk away. Tatanka, you're nothing but a fraud. Yeah, I've been a bad guy in my life. I've done some pretty terrible things in my past. But, I was always upfront with who I was and what I did. Nobody could say I knifed them in the back.” After a pause, Razor continues, “unlike you, ya' turncoat Injun. You took the money, thinking it'd fix all your problems, but let's be honest, mang. Da Bad Guy knows all the gold, all the women, all the riches in the world doesn't help you at night, when you're tossing and turning in your comfortable hotel bed. It doesn't get rid of that little voice in the back of your head, telling ya' what a sad sack you are. So, Tatanka, when you're going back to the hotel tonight in the back of Ted DiBiase's well acquainted limousine after getting your butt kicked from pillar to post by The Bad Guy, think if this is really the man you want to be, Jack. Or should I say Geronimo?” At that, Razor simply walks away as McMahon throws it to commercial while talking about Razor Ramon looks very focused tonight. COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, we get the same Ahmed Johnson video we've gotten for the past few weeks, involving Ahmed running up and down stairs, doing some work with the weights, tossing around tires, looking all buff 'n' strong and generally making Vince McMahon very, very happy. Tatanka comes out first, with The Million Dollar Man as the crowd boos. Before Ramon can be introduced, DiBiase takes the mic and it looks like he has something to talk about. “Well, well, well, it seems like the little people of New York still don't understand that men such as myself will and always have ruled this city. So, just accept it!” More boos as DiBiase says, “but, I'm not out here to point out the obvious. There is business to attend too. So, first of all, Smoking Dolts, you're on. You'll simply be the first victims among the tag team roster of the World Wrestling Federation for Psycho Sid and Yokozuna as they relcaim the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Titles that should still belong to them.” Mixed reaction as the crowd is receptive to the match, but less receptive to Sid & Yoko. DiBiase waits a moment, then says, “also, over this past weekend, that jailbird Crush decided that he wants to get involved in corporate business. So, Crush, at In Your House, you will face off against the hottest free agent in professional wrestling, as he makes his debut in the World Wrestling Federation.” Another mixed reaction, then DiBiase finishes off by saying, “Jailbird, you will see that everybody has a price for the Million Dollar Man, but Razor Ramon, you get to know that right now! HA HA HA HA!” Razor Ramon vs. Tatanka w/ Ted DiBiase – Ramon comes down to the ring, a house of fire, going right after Tatanka with forearms and kicks sending Tatanka into the corner. A quick Irish whip later and Tatanka's spine gets slammed into the turnbuckles, followed quickly by a running knee from Da Bad Guy. Razor waits for the turncoat Indian to stumble out and takes him down with a bulldog to a pop from the crowd but only gets a two count. Ramon tries to lock on an abdominal stretch, but Tatanka powers out of it, helped quite a bit by Tatanka going low on a kick. The big Indian then takes Ramon down with a big kick, then locks on a sleeperhold. Tatanka has Da Bad Guy in the center of the ring and the referee goes to check, but Ramon elbows out of the hold, but then the Million Dollar Man's charge drops him again with a few big Tomahawk chops followed by a huge high knee, then as Ramon slowly gets up, Tatanka dives off the second rope with a shoulderblock that gets a near fall again. While the crowd boos, Tatanka goes to lift Razor up for the Renegade drop, but the big man from South Beach nails Tatanka with an elbow, slips out and takes the big Native American down with a clothesline to the back of the head. Slowly, Tatanka gets up and walks straight into a scoop slam from the former I-C Champ, who then grabs Tatanka in posiiton for The Razor's Edge, but as he goes to pick Tatanka up, IRS runs in a clubs him from behind with a chair shot to the back and the referee calls for the bell! Razor Ramon DQ Tatanka - (7:56 - Tatanka DQ's for IRS' interference) Tatanka & IRS immediately begin the beatdown on Ramon as the crowd boos and Lawler congratulates the Million Dollar Corporation on softening up Ramon before In Your House. The boos turn to raucus cheer as Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels head out from the locker room to save Ramon, but it's just a moment too late as Tatanka nails Razor with a RENEGADE DROP ON THE CHAIR! The Million Dollar Corporation clears out quickly, with DiBiase cackling like a madman as medical officials tend to Ramon, putting him on a stretcher as WWF Officials try to calm down HBK and Savage at ringside. McMahon says they'll keep fans updated, then throws it to a repeat of the Hector Garza video from last week before we cut to commercials. COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, we see video of Razor Ramon being loaded up on the ambulance, while Diesel, Shawn Michaels, and The Smoking Gunns watch on. Cut to the ring, where The King's Court has been built and Jerry Lawler is standing inside the ring with a pacing Macho Man. Piper says, “Lawler's a braver man than I thought if he's getting in that ring beside Savage while he's amped up like that.” McMahon cooly responds, “no, he just doesn't get paid for the segment if it doesn't happen.” Piper deadpans, “ah, that makes a lot more sense.” Lawler starts off by saying, “Yes, yes, we're all sad about a guy with more gold around his neck than at a Brighton Beach community meeting is injured. But, it's on to the important matters now, which means The King's Court and my guest at this time – 'The Macho Man' Randy Savage!” Big pop for Savage who looks less than enthused to be in the same ring as Lawler. “Now, last week, Macho Man, you explained to the WWF fans why you were back and who you wanted to face at In Your House. But, let's be honest here, Savage. Let's talk about the real reason you've come back, crawling, hat in hand, to the World Wrestling Federation.” Savage, who has been pacing around the ring, immediately turns around and stares a hole through The King, who looks cool as a cucumber. Savage steps up right to the mic, and grabs it from Lawler and says, “Burger King, you better be careful. There may be a throne, you may have a scepter, but we both know brother, this isn't your Kingdom. So, say what you want to say, but ya' better walk carefully or else, Vinny Mac and Piper will have to get Lord Alfred out of cryogenic storage cause you'll be in traction. Dig it?” Lawler seems momentarily taken aback, but then continues, saying, “you're right, Savage. But, this isn't your kingdom any more, either. You walked away, thinking you could claim fame and fortune somewhere else, but it didn't work out that way, did it? Because you ran into the same problem you always do and you always have, going way back from when you started in this business, Macho Man. That you always come up...just....that...short.” 'Oooohs' from the crowd as Savage gets right in Lawler's face and says, “Lawler, you think I've come up short. You think I came up short when I held the WWF Title in my hands? You think I came up short when I elbow dropped The Million Dollar Man in front of God and everyone? You think I came up short when I beat Ric Flair – yeah, I said his name – at Wrestlemania? Yeah, I walked away for a bit. Cleared my head. Took some time to wander around the grass that I thought eas greener. Because people in this company here thought The Macho Man should be put out to pasture. And oh yeahhhhh, I know in the back of their head, they still got that feeling. But until somebody stronger, faster, or smarter than myself comes around, the Madness will be in the World Wrestling and brother, that's a promise you can take to the bank.” Lawler laughs and says, “I wonder what some people from your past would say about prom – UGHHHK!” MASSIVE POP AS SAVAGE GRABS LAWLER'S NECK, then says, “YOU DON'T GET TO MENTION HER! YOU DON'T GET TO THINK OF HER! THAT'S MY FAILURE! THAT'S MY BURDEN!” Then Savage tosses Lawler down to the mat and The King rolls out of the ring to safety as Savage kicks away the accoutrements of the King's Court and then says, “I got one more thing to say, then the Burger King can take back his fake set, his fake throne, and his fake teeth. Ted DiBiase, I know you're back there, feeling reallllllll goooooood about what you just did. Well, I can't get my hands on you yet, brother, because you decided to retire. But at In Your House, I'm sick 'n' tired of the games. Bring on the Taxman. Irwin, you're ass is about to pay a refund for all the crap the Corporation has been dishing out. OHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH!” Savage slams down the mic and walks back to the locker room as Lawler complains about Savage's actions. COMMERCIALS Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Avery – So, on another week, this would be the opportunity of a lifetime for Avery. Not tonight. For perhaps the first time in his World Wrestling Federation career, Shawn Michaels looked dangerous. Not talented. Not charismatic. Not flashy. But dangerous. Shawn, along with Diesel for the ride didn't allow his theme music to get thirty seconds in, as he ran in, dived into the ring and absolutely nailed C with a flying forearm. The I-C Champion's opponent slowly got up, only to get driven into the corner with a Slingshot Suplex, then as he stumbled out, absolutely drilled with a SWEET CHIN MUSIC that immediately KO'd Avery for the pinfall. Shawn Michaels p. Chris Avery – (Sweet Chin Music – 1:40) After the match, Shawn Michaels didn't even wait for The Fink to make the announcement of his victory, taking the mic from him and saying, “I'm sorry Finkmeister, but we'v got some business to attend too.” The Heartbreak Kid then continued, saying, “Earlier tonight, Ted DiBiase, along with his little cronies thought they'd finished the job. Ooops, take out Razor Ramon, give him a back injury so that WWF Officials won't clear him for Sunday. Job finished. Easy victory on Sunday. After all, ole' HBK and Diesel aren't so crazy they'd show up a man down against three mystery members of the Million Dollar Corporation, right?” Mixed cheers and confusion from the audience as Michaels continues, “I mean, it could be anybody being paid off by Ted DiBiase. Hell, he might be giving money to Vinny Mac under the table. Now, the truth is, of course we would. Diesel and I, we're the top dogs in this company for a reason. We're the main event. We're what everybody else in this business has to measure themselves against, whether they're wrestling in front of 100 folks in a high school gym or over on that 'other show' pretending to care about what happened with a bottled blonde and his chubby best friend. SHOOT POP FROM THE NEW YORK FANS! “Ya' see, Big Daddy Cool and I would walk into the firing line on Sunday night, live on Pay Per View, against The Million Dollar Corporation, all by ourselves. Not because we're stupid, but because we're just that good. However, we aren't stupid, so thankfully, we're allowed a substitution. So, New York, give a warm welcome to our new third man, who will be every happy to help us eat the rich....BAM BAM BIGELOW!” Bigelow's theme music hits to a pop as Bigelow comes out to the ring and joins Diesel and Michaels. As the crowd cheers, The Heartbreak Kid says, “that' right, you got The Beast from The East, Big Daddy Cool, and me, The Showstopper! Bring whoever you want, DiBiase, it won't be enough!” Diesel raises his fist and Shawn does a little shimmy as his theme music plays again while the announcers react to Ramon's replacement. We then cut to file footage from various riots in the 60's, civil rights marches, Malcolm X speeches, and Black Power salutes before 'Natural Born Killaz' (a highly edited version) cuts in as there's newer video footage of the L.A. Riots, various street gangs, cops busting down a door, high speed chases, and people arguing with cops in the streets during a protest before a graphic that says – 'THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED.' Then, another pops up the says 'THE GANGSTAS ARE COMING NO MATTER WHAT THE WWF WANTS' COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, a graphic comes up that says 'MOMENTS AGO', showing Diesel, Savage, and Michaels leaving in an oversized truck to join Ramon at the hospital, while The Steiners are in the parking lot. As they turn to head back to the arena, the camera suddenly shudders and stumbles and when the video is steady again – THE NASTY BOYS ARE ATTACKING THE STEINERS IN THE PARKING LOT! After they leave The Steiners laying, they come up to the camera and Sags says, “Steiners! We heard you talking about wanting some competition here in the WWF. Well, we didn't want you to be lonely all the way up here in New York, so we'rrrrrrreeeeeee baaaaaaaccccckkkkk!” Knobbs then adds in, “Welcome back to Nastyville, WWF!” Coming back from that video, McMahon says tonight has truly proved that anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation, then throws it to the ring for the introductions of the main event. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer vs. Psycho Sid w/ Ted DiBiase – Now, let's be honest here. This match would be no good. And it'd be really boring to write. So, let's pretend I did. We all know what would happen here – some chokes, some clubbering, a ropewalk by 'Taker, some blatant interference by DiBiase, Bearer getting involved, Sid going for a Powerbomb and failing, then a spot where 'Taker sat up and Sid freaked out. Sounds good? Good. Anyway, after a commercial break, the finish of the match is The Undertaker hitting the big running clothesline on Psycho Sid and it beginning to look like he's going to go for the Tombstone. However, the moment he goes to lift Psycho Sid up for the finish, IRS, Tatanka, and Yokozuna head out to ringside...with a CASKET! Seeing what's happening, The Undertaker drops Sid to the mat with a slam and readies himself for a fight. Tatanka comes in first, and gets some Soupbone's for his pleasure as the referee rings the bell and ends the match officially, but things are just getting started here on Monday Night RAW. As soon as Tatanka is laid out, IRS runs in, who also gets beatdown, but then Sid nails 'Taker from behind with an axehandle. The Man from the Darkside tries to fight off both men, but then Yokozuna hits the ring and well, it's not just fair. The numbers game overwhelms Death Valley's favorite son and he is quickly laid out on the mat, thanks to kicks, punches, stomps, and a big waistlock suplex from Yokozuna. Ringside, McMahon explains to the thickest of fans that Ramon is injured, The Steiners are being looked at, and the trio of Savage, Diesel, and Michaels have left to join Ramon at a local medical facility. The boos from the crowd turn to cheers as The Smoking Gunns and Bam Bam Bigelow head out to ringside, but before they can get to the ring, the five evil SOB's beating down The Undertaker take the time to block their way, then take all three men down temporarily. Meanwhile, The Million Dollar Man has slapped Paul Bearer down and grabbed the urn from the pale faced mortician. While the Manhattan Center continues to boos, The Undertaker slowly sits up to a pop, only to get NAILED RIGHT IN THE SKULL BY THE URN! The Deadman still slowly gets up, only for Psycho Sid to kick him in the gut - RING SHAKING POWERBOMB! Then, Psycho Sid drags 'Taker's body over – BANZAI DROP! DiBiase cackles at ringside as Yoko slowly climbs back to the 2nd rope – ANOTHER BANZAI DROP! While IRS, Tatanka, and Sid make sure neither The Gunns or Bigelow can get to the ring, Yokozuna slowly gets to the 2nd rope one more time – A THIRD BANZAI DROP! The boos turn to a hush as the heels slowly drag 'Taker over to the side of the ring and deposit him into the casket. For a moment, the Million Dollar Corporation laughs and celebrates at their accomplishment, when suddenly the LIGHTS GO OUT IN THE ARENA! The Undertaker's gong sounds and LIGHT COMES OUT OF THE URN FOR ONLY A MOMENT, then the arena is shrouded in darkness once again. After a second, the lights come back on. Immediately, almost sensing something, DiBiase goes over and opens up the casket – ONLY THE UNDERTAKER IS NO LONGER THERE! As The Million Dollar Corporation question where 'Taker went, we get one final hard sell for In Your House, then the credits come up! TITAN SPORTS – COPYRIGHT 1995

For some reason, I'm still thinking Funk ends up in the finals somehow. It'd be somehow wrong not to have Terry around in the hunt for things, even at his advanced age.

Fun stuff. At least that's my actual OOC response. My IC, both as an Internet nerd and as the WWF will be slightly different. That Four Horsemen squad does seem pretty awesome, even though I'm not sure that tossing your top 2 possibly babyfaces off air for long periods of time (Bret & Sting) is among the best plans. I'm sure you've got an idea though.

I think the only way to do an alternative version of All Japan is to be a little more angle heavy than in RL, since simply saying "these four guys had another awesome match that the crowd loved" would get old after a while.

Yeah, man, don't feel the need to keep up with crazy people like me. Just keep on doing what you're doing!

Fun stuff - both the Godwinns and Hunter being in SMW make perfect sense, for opposite reasons. Honestly, somebody like Mark Canterbury was talented enough that he could be a top guy for you in the long run.

Fun stuff, setting up next week and slowly building up all the characters. From some weird reason, I don't completely trust Konnan.

OBSERVER NEWS & NOTES Before last weeks RAW, the WWF finalized a deal that will take them to a schedule that will tape only once every two weeks instead of the once a month that was happening prior to this. The McMahon's pointed to the turbulent RAW's they had to tape this past weeks as a reason for this to Viacom officials, who seem to be possibly helping out a bit with the extra costs. At local house shows, Sid & Yokozuna are still not teaming up, as obviously, the Million Dollar Corporation were not set to be the top heels before the Hart's split town. Expect a few more of the gimmicky workers in the company to get repackages. According to sources, Vince Russo who currently heads up the RAW Magazine has been getting in Vince's ear about how the WWF has to change and get more 'edgy' and without wrestlers like Bret defending 'old school' practices, it's possible Russo, along with the Clique may be able to get even more of Vince's ear than they already do. Jacques Rougeau is coming back under his real name to fill out the numbers on the heel side. Expect him mostly to be somebody in the middle of shows during House Show tours and appearing on Superstars for now. Ahmed Johnson, Hector Garza, Curtis Hughes, and Rick Bogner are all expected to be at In Your House, but it's unknown whether they'll be debuting or shooting more hype videos. House Show Results - September 13th – Lakeland, FL Doink the Clown d. Ray Lloyd Smoking Gunns d. Harold Hogue & Curtis Hughes Earthquake d. Rick Bogner Psycho Sid d. Fatu Bam Bam Bigelow d. Jacques Rougeau Diesel, Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels d. IRS, Tatanka, Yokozuna when Diesel pinned IRS September 14th – Palmetto, FL The Steiners d. Curtis Hughes & Rick Bogner Psycho Sid d. Rick Bogner Razor Ramon d. Ray Lloyd IRS & Tatanka d. Fatu & Doink The Smoking Gunns d. Jacques Rougeau & Paul Orndorff BBB DCO Earthquake Diesel p. Yokozuna in a Cage Match with HBK & DiBiase handcuffed at ringside September 15th – Montreal, Quebec The Gangstas d. Rick Bogner & Ray Lloyd Roddy Piper had a special edition of Piper's Pit with Randy Savage – Ted DiBiase came out to argue w/ The Macho Man and the segment ended with Savage KOing DiBiase with one punch The Smoking Gunns d. Curtis Hughes & Harold Hogue Crush d. Tatanka Yokozuna d. Fatu IRS d. Doink BBB DCO Earthquake Shawn Michaels & Razor Ramon fought The Steiners to a 20 minute draw Jacques Rougeau CO Diesel © when Rougeau whalloped Diesel with the title belt on the outside September 16th – Quebec City, Quebec The Gangstas d. Ray Lloyd & Curtis Hughes Rick Bogner d. Harold Hogue Yokozuna d. Fatu The Steiners d. The Smoking Gunns Earthquake d. Doink BBB d. Paul Orndorff The Undertaker DQ Sid when Yoko interfered Diesel & Razor Ramon d. IRS & Tatanka Shawn Michaels © p. Jacques Rougeau after laying him out w/ the I-C belt September 17th – Toronto, ON The Gangstas d. Ray Lloyd & Curtis Hughes Rick Bogner d. Harold Hogue Yokozuna d. Fatu Roddy Piper had a special edition of Piper's Pit with Randy Savage – Ted DiBiase came out to argue w/ The Macho Man and the segment ended with Savage KOing DiBiase with one punch The Steiners d. The Smoking Gunns Earthquake d. Doink BBB d. Paul Orndorff The Undertaker DQ Sid when Yoko interfered Shawn Michaels & Razor Ramon d. IRS & Tatanka Jacques Rougeau DQ Diesel © when Diesel nailed him with the WWF Title

WWF Superstars - September 17th, 1995 From the Manhattan Center in New York, New York Taped on September 12th, 1995 Superstars opens up with Jim Ross and Dok Hendrix hyping up matches tonight with Earthquake, Jacques Rougeau, Crush, and a big main event of Doink the Clown taking on Yokozuna!, then also go over the big six-man match for In Your House. Jacques Rougeau vs. Rick Myers– Rougeau comes out to the old Quebecer theme and gets a healthy heel response and basically throws his opponent around. The overmatched competition tries to fight back a little with some punches and kicks, but to no avails as Jacques drops him with a big clotheslines in the corner, bulldogs him down, then locks on the Quebec Crab to pick up the win a little after three minutes. After the match, Jacques keeps the hold on, when Fatu runs out from the back and knocks Rougeau out of the hold. Rougeau rolls to the outside, complaining to the ringkeeper and referee while Fatu helps [x] up from the mat. We get a recap of The Undertaker defeating Kama at Summerslam, then a promo from Psycho Sid w/ Ted DiBiase who says that other employees of his may have failed, but now he has the the most vicious competitor in the World Wrestling Federation and that on Monday, the Undertaker will be the one to Rest in Peace, because everybody, even Psycho Sid has a price! Coming back from commercials, we get the same Ahmed Johnson hype package from the last few weeks, including Ahmed looking strong, running up and down stairs at a football stadium, throwing large tires around, and being ripped. Crush vs. Mike Bell – An absolute masscare as Crush's opponent tries to attack him from behind, only to get grabbed by the big Hawaiian, thrown around, and hit with a massive big boot. Crush hits a few more solid moves, including a side suplex before locking on the Cranium Crunch to get the submission win in about two minutes or so. After the match, Crush grabs the mic and says that it doesn't matter who Ted DiBiase's new charge is, at In Your House, we'll take him on, then leaves the ring! Ross and Hendrix question whether DiBiase will answer Crush's challenge, then throws it to a hype package for upcoming house shows. Before the commercial, it's a RAW Recap focusing on the big standoff to end RAW last week, including the Undertaker's dong hitting, but no Undertaker. Also, we get hype for Tatanka vs. Razor Ramon this week on RAW. Out of the commercials, a replay of the Hector Garza hype package from this week's RAW plays, with some more video of Garza doing impressive things in lucha rings. Earthquake vs. Ray Lloyd – 'Quake actually is a little slow out of the gate and that allows his opponent to hit a few moves, including a quick dropkick or three in a row on 'Quake, but then Lloyd backs up and goes for a savate style kick, but Quake grabs the leg and throws Ray into the corner. Lloyd stumbles out into a big belly to belly suplex from the former sumo and one Earthquake Splash later, the big man from Canada picks up the win after about three minutes. From Earthquake's win, we go to a video shown in black 'n' white, where we see somebody who WCW fans would know as Van Hammer, dressed up like an OK imitation of a grunge rocker of the time. Let's call it .8 Raven. Hammer, still unnamed talks to an unseen interviewer about how with the recent breakup of his band, he's been thinking about what he's going to do with his life, especially with the fate of his record contract up in the air. He says that he still needs to hear the adoration of the crowd, but where else can you get that? The unseen interviewer says, “well, you're a big guy”, which Hammer laughs at and says that is a little odd for somebody in the music business, but it's never hurt him so far. He finishes off by saying maybe that's something for Stone McCready to think about before the camera fritzes to snow. Doink the Clown vs. Yokozuna w/ Ted DiBiase – From the opening bell, Doink plays a little stick 'n' move, throwing a few shots in, but moving away from the former WWF Champion when he tries to go on the attack. The WWE's resident jester even is able to knock Yoko down with a quick kick to the knee, followed by a legsweep, but the big man powers out of a Doink attempt at a submission hold. Doink still tries to stay on offense with a dropkick, followed by a second rope bulldog attempt, but Yoko moves out of the way and from there, Doink is an appetizing target for the former champ and Yoko picks up Doink and absolutely kills him with a huge belly to belly suplex that flattens the clown. One big legdrop later, Doink is dragged over and falls to the Banzai Drop for the pinfall victory at around eight minutes. After the mat, DiBiase calls for Doink to hit another Banzai Drop but once again, Crush runs out to the ring and blocks Yoko's way. For a minute, there's a staredown, but DiBiase calls for his charge to walk away as Superstars ends. IN YOUR HOUSE: MILLION DOLLAR TAKEOVER Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon face off against Tatanka & Two Members of the Million Dollar Corporation Yokozuna & Sid Vicious will debut as a tag team! Crush has made the challenge, but will Ted DiBiase allow the big Hawaiian to be his new signing's first opponent? Randy Savage will take on a member of the Million Dollar Corporation! Fatu will take on Jacques Rougeau!

WWF Monday Night RAW – September 12th, 1995 LIVE from the Manhattan Center in New York, New York September 12th, 1995 – New York, NY – (1,100 – 700 paid) Straight from the opening WWF graphic, we get the famous 'roof' opening, except certain people (hello Hitman) have been already cut out from the video cut only weeks ago. After that, the actual show starts up with Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, and Jerry 'The King' Lawler ringside, with Vince announcing that Jim Ross will do special in-ring interviews with the superstars of the WWF while he's joined ringside by two of the most controversial Superstars in World Wrestling Federation history – 'The King' and the 'Rowdy Scot.' The announcers went over tonight's special main event – Diesel defending his WWF Championship against a returning WWF Superstar who will be revealed at the main event. After some virtual jousting between Lawler and Piper over whether they could be the surprise return, ”Pomp and Circumstance” started up and the New York crowd goes wild as The Macho Man comes down to the ring, slapping hands and basking in the adoration of the Manhattan crowd. Once in the ring, Savage simply stands and accepts the “MACHO MAN” chants from the RAW crowd for a moment before taking the mic and beginning to speak. “Ohhhhhhh Yeahhhhhh! That's right, The Macho Man has come back to the WWF and I couldn't be happier. Ya' see, a little while ago, I had a little disagreement with the officials here about just exactly what The Macho Man should be doing here. I wanted to be in this ring, scrapping and crawling, fighting and brawling with anybody who'd step across the ring from the Madness!” Big pop from the crowd as Savage continues by saying, “The brass though that my day was done and it was time for some new blood to rise to the top. That a better spot for the Macho Man would be right there in the announcing booth beside ole' Vinny Mac, but I had another idea. So, I walked away - “ Some boos from the Manhattanites, then Savage says, “ - but the truth is, sometimes the grass is not so green on the other side. There's the same old problems, the same old politics, the same old folks who get off and having all the power. If ya' get me, brother!” Smart fan pop. “So, I walked out the doors from down South, called up Gorilla Monsoon and told him, you big SOB, the Macho Man wants back in the World Wrestling Federation, but he doesn't want to sit at ringside wearing a pair of headphones. He needs to be in that ring, against the best Superstars in the world, focusing on one thing – getting back to the top of the mountain and recapturing the WWF Championship!” POP! “But last week, as I was stalking backstage, I saw the Million Dollar Punk with the rest of his employees putting a beatdown on a man that didn't deserve, so I threw on some boots, ran into that ring and did the only thing I could and that was reminding Ted DiBiase that it doesn't matter if it's 1985, 1995, 2005, or the year 3000, he's always going to be a second rate wannabee compared to The Macho Man, so if anybody from that derelict Corporation wants to show up at In Your House, the Macho Man will be in the ring waiting for you. OHHHH YEAHHHH!” As Savage gets up on all four turnbuckles and raises his arm to the crowd, McMahon wonders if any member of the Corporation will accept The Macho Man's challenge for In Your House, while Lawler responds that of course anybody The Million Dollar Man employs could easily take out an old fossil like The Macho Man! From there, cut to another video of people protesting, police clashing with protestors, Malcolm X speaking, and athletes raising their arms in the Black Power salute as a cleaned up version of “Natural Born Killaz” plays before a graphic comes up that says, “THE GANGSTAS – COMING SOON!” COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, Rich Myers is already in the ring, then Razor Ramon's music hits to a large response from the New York crowd. 1. Razor Ramon vs. Rich Myers – X tries to charge Ramon before the bell, but Ramon is ready for him and lets him run into the corner. A few shots later, Ramon hits the Fallaway Slam, then picks up his opponent for the evening and absolutely nails the Razor's Edge to pick up the pinfall victory. Razor Ramon p. Rich Myers – (Razor's Edge – 1:50) Razor then takes the mic after getting his arm raised and says, “Hey Yo! This one goes out to the punks in the back cowering behind Teddy DiBiase and all his dough. Ya' see, at In Your House, Diesel, HBK, and I will take out any three members of the Corporation that decide to get out from behind The Million Dollar Man's jacket and take us on! Because when you're taking on The Bad Guy, The Heartbreak Kid, and Big Daddy Cool, you don't go no change, mang!” Another video is shown of Ahmed Johnson, running the stairs at a football stadium, doing more weightlifting, throwing tires around in a gym, and generally looking like a very strong man doing very impressive things. COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, McMahon throws it to Superstars this past week and the end of the Undertaker vs. I.R.S. match, where Tatanka ran in to cause the DQ, then of all people. Crush ran in from the crowd to make the save and run off both members of the Corporation. We then get a promo from Crush, dressed up like his 'Jailbird' persona from the RL WWF, but without the weird Manson-y tattoo on his forehead. He says, “I've made mistakes in my life. That's why I've had to serve my time. But, I've learned and now that I'm back in the World Wrestling Federation, I'm going to side against those taking advantage. That's why I saved The Undertaker, because I don't mind a fight, but it better be one on the level or I'm going to come up and Crush some folks!” Back in the ring, McMahon hails Crush's change of heart while Piper responds, “I don't know, man. Crush is a guy like me who spent a lot of time in the forest of the Northwest and folks like us never really get all right in the head.” 2. Fatu vs. Earthquake – Fatu comes to the ring, trying to make a difference by slapping the hands at ringside before 'Quake's theme music hits and the former WWF Tag Team Champion comes down to the ring, looking as large and in charge as ever. Once the bell rings, Fatu tries to stick and move and even gets a few solid moves such as a dropkick and a couple of solid elbows in on the big man. However, Fatu risks everything by going up to the top rope and diving for a cross body block, but Earthquake catches him, and crushes the Samoan with a massive powerslam. A few dropped elbows and then Earthquake finishes things off with the Earthquake Splash! Earthquake p. Fatu – (Earthquake Splash – 5:53) After the match, as the crowd boos the result, 'Quake pushes the referee away and it looks like he's about to nail the fallen Fatu with another Earthquake Splash, but as he's going off the far rope, Crush rolls in the ring and stands over Fatu. Earthquake simply stares Crush down, before shrugging his shoulders and walking away to the boos of the Manhattan crowd. COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercial, The Million Dollar Man is already in the ring, flanked by Psycho Sid and Yokozuna, who still has both WWF Tag belts draped over his expansive shoulders. “It seems that the World Wrestling Federation will go to the ends of the Earth to stop The Million Dollar Corporation from taking their rightful spot at the top of this company. Because, despite the fact that this man, a former WWF Champion, never lost the WWF Tag Team Titles in the ring is being forced to go through a tournament to keep the title that he never lost. Unlike other champions, who have been given extensions on how often they needed to keep the titles or even given the chance to choose a different partner, they're too scared of Yokozuna continuing to destroy the tag team division. They think that they'll be able to get rid of him and as a result, the power of The Million Dollar Corporation by stacking the odds against him.” A slight pause as DiBiase looks across the audience and sneers a bit before he says, “while, the WWF forgot that everybody has a price, so I've dug deep in my pockets and convinced one man to team up with Yokozuna to become the most dominant team in the history of the World Wrestling Federation and his name is PSYCHO SID!” Big boos as Sid does Sid things in the ring while McMahon goes crazy, saying that the idea of any team stopping these two men seems impossible. Piper jokes to Lawler, “I don't know, we've both taken down some monsters in our time, King. How about it?” Lawler says, “I'm not crazy like you, Piper!” As the crowd dies down, DiBiase finishes off by saying, “money can make men do dangerous things and that's why I've procured two opponents for Yokozuna & Sid – right now!” At that, Tony DeVito and Mike Bell come down to the ring to face off against Yoko & Sid. 3. Yokozuna & Psycho Sid vs. Tony DeVito & Mike Bell – Punches. Kicks. Slams. Splashes in the corner. Powerbomb. Legdrop. Goodnight. Yokozuna & Psycho Sid w/ Ted DiBiase d. Tony DeVito & Mike Bell – (Legdrop – 1:55) After the match, the other competitor tried to help his fallen partner, but Sid grabbed him, threw him in the corner, took him down with a big boot, then Yokozuna climbed to the 2nd rope – BANZAI DROP! While all three announcers all put over how tough it would be to survive a match against these two giant men, let alone defeat them, the camera focused once again on Paul Orndorff, still dressed well, clad by two beautiful women. Lawler said Orndorff might be Diesel's mystery opponent, but Piper responded, “pal, if I had those two ladies by my side, the last thing I'd be thinking about is getting in the ring.” Cut to another In Your House report with Jim Ross who hypes up the six man main event, then announces that WWF officials have confirmed with Ted DiBiase that Randy Savage in his return to the WWF rings will face off against IRS! There's some more hype for local Live Events, then we cut to commercial. COMMERCIALS Another video with a Latin beat plays as we see Hector Garza in the streets playing soccer with teenagers, arriving to a club in a sports car and walking to the front of the line with two beautiful women on his arm, executing beautiful technical maneuvers in the ring, swimming laps in an Olympic sized swimming pool, and speaking to reporters in a tuxedo as graphics that say 'MEXICO'S MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR', 'THE HOTTEST ATHLETE IN LATIN AMERICA', 'THE NEXT GREAT LUCHADORE' come up before saying, “HECTOR GARZA – COMING TO THE WWF!” Coming back from the video, a graphic is shown of Psycho Sid and The Underaker and Vince McMahon confirms that will be the main event for Monday Night RAW next week before throwing it to the ring. Lawler said maybe Diesel's mystery opponent tonight in The Undertaker, but Piper simply laughed him off. 4. Doink the Clown vs. Tatanka w/ Ted DiBiase – Shockingly, the beginning of this match was relatively clean as Doink put on various holds and attempts at submissions, but Tatanka powered out of them and went on offense, clubbing the clown before tossing him in the corner. Doink got out of the way of the blind charge, then took the turncoat Native American down with a side suplex and hit a nasty kneedrop before getting a two count. Doink slapped on the Stump Puller, but Tatanka was too close to the ropes. As Doink broke the hold, Ted DiBiase argued with the referee that the clown was taking too long to break the hold. That allowed IRS to sneak out and drill Doink in the back with a running knee, then roll outside and head toward backstage once again. Back on offense, Tatanka hit a few big slams and a running leg drop before finishing with the Renegade Drop to gain the pinfall victory. Tatanka p. Doink the Clown – (6:09 – Renegade Drop) DiBiase stuffed some dollar bills in Doink's mouth as Lawler joked, “that's better pay than the children's parties Doink will have to work at once he leaves the WWF like the loser he is” which allowed Piper to come back, “at least children aren't afraid of Doink like they are of you, King!” Backstage, Diesel is standing alone and says, “Ya' know, a lot of people say I don't deserve this belt. That I got lucky to be taking on an old man a few days after he wrestled for nearly thirty minutes against one of the toughest men to ever wrestle in this company. A lot of people say that because of how damn good looking I am and how tall I am, I got chances that other people wouldn't. A lot of people like to say that if I wasn't Shawn Michael's friend, I wouldn't even be in the World Wrestling Federation and I sure as hell wouldn't be standing here today as the champ.” Diesel chuckles, then says, “well, people can say a lot of things. I appreciate the compliments, even if certain people try to act like they aren't. The truth is, I am the champ. I am the man. I am who everybody in this business has to measure themselves against. So, in the main event, I don't care who walks down that aisle – it could be a certain Canadian suddenly having second thoughts. It could be a former champion. Hell, it could be Buddy Rogers climbing out of his grave to take on Big Daddy Cool. Doesn't matter, boys and girls. Because whoever it is, I just need one Jackknife to end it all because the World Wrestling Federation still runs on Diesel power.” COMMERCIALS Coming back from commercials, Diesel hits the ring first with Shawn Michaels. Both men get cheers from the crowd, as Diesel raises the WWF title high in the air and the Heartbreak Kid dances with the I-C belt. After a moment of silence, some very familiar music hits and the crowd pops surprisingly loud as Jacques Rougeau comes out to the ring, all by himself. As Diesel and Michaels confer in the ring, McMahon puts over Rougeau as one of the most successful tag team wrestlers in the history of the WWF, then throws it to Piper who talks about how winning the I-C belt from Rougeau was one of the toughest matches of his life. As Rougeau gets in the ring, HBK takes the mic and says to a pop, “I thought we were done with whining Canadians. Ah, big man, let's make this a quick night,” before giving Diesel a high five. 5. Diesel © vs. Jacques Rougeau – WWF Championship – At first, even with his confidence, Diesel seems obviously thrown off as Rougeau is able to avoid the big man's power moves and hit a few quick shots in on the WWF Champion. The former member of one half of The Quebecers hit several big clotheslines and even a spinning back elbow that dropped Big Daddy Cool to the mat. However, Rougeau got a little greedy and went to the 2nd rope for an elbowdrop, but Diesel got his foot up and the former Mountie stumbled back into the corner. From there, the WWF Champion went on offense, tossing Rougeau all around the ring including absolutely nailing him with the Snake Eyes into the corner. However, as Diesel went for the Jackknife, Rougeau went low, forcing the big man down to his knees. Then, the former I-C champ hit several hard shots to the sides and back of Diesel before taking him down with a bulldog. Rougeau then went for the Quebec Crab (“via Boston” in the words of Piper), but Diesel powered out once again, sending Jacques into the corner. The French Canadian superstar stumbled out, right into a kick in the gut and a Jackknife to end things. Diesel p. Jacques Rougeau – (7:30 – Jackknife Powerbomb) After the match, Diesel & Michaels celebrated to the cheers of the New York crowd until the entire Million Dollar Corporation headed down to ringside. However, before the fivesome could get to the squared circle, Razor Ramon and Randy Savage came from the crowd to join Michaels and Diesel in the ring. That didn't seem to stop the Corporation, but as the crowd buzzed, the lights went out – DONG! DONG! DONG! The purple smoke filled the entrance and The Undertaker's music played, but as RAW went off the air, the man from Death Valley did not show up! COPYRIGHT 1995 - TITAN SPORTS 9/18 RAW TAPING RESULTS - SPOILERS!

Vince McMahon would like to categorically state that Barry Horowitz is not an employee of the World Wrestling Federation and we do not endorse his actions. Also, Konnan has to be thinking, I left main eventing in AAA for this?

Yeah, this is really cool stuff. And it works since the way 95% of fans in the US even heard of M-Pro back in those days, especially before Barely Legal '97, was either reading the Observer or random tapes they got.