SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 30 years ago this week in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter paper copy…
KELLER’S WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW REPORT
FEBRUARY 26, 1996
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER (ISSUE #377)
(Taped 2/19 in Cincinnati, Ohio)… Even WCW fans are watching the first minute of Raw these days as for the second week in a row a provocative beach shot of Sunny opened the show. The Undertaker-Diesel feud was recapped… Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler introduced the program…
(1) Jake Roberts pinned Isaac Yankem with the DDT at 3:41… A music video aired of Ultimate Warrior including little kids saying, “Please bring him back Rowdy Roddy Piper.” Afterward McMahon said, “We just hope he’s coming back”…
(2) Diesel defeated Bob Holly at 5:12. Lawler said before the match began that Diesel missed house show dates over the weekend with a shoulder injury, thus why is he risking his health against Holly. Diesel walked around the ring looking for any bumps or movements under the mat, paranoid that Undertaker was going to reach up and grab him again. When Holly went on offense, the fans booed. After a commercial break, Diesel was into his finishing sequence with a jackknife and pinfall. Afterward the Undertaker mind games angle took place with Diesel… Bret Hart vs. Hunter and Shawn Michaels vs. 1-2-3 Kid were plugged as next week’s main events…
(3) Ahmed Johnson beat Shinobi at 1:49. Goldust was interviewed on the phone. Goldust read a poem. Excerpts: “They call you the Hot Rod, what do they mean?… Under that skirt you are anything but mean… All those sexy temper tantrums, you turn me on… You are so hard and so ripe… When does Goldust get to play that bagpipe.” McMahon talked about Ahmed’s community work against gang violence… Another Mankind segment aired. He talked to a big black rat. He said Mankind is suffering and he is going to release his pain, which won’t be enjoyable for everyone else. “Keep the light on, I’m coming home”… Lawler asked McMahon if Mankind is actually getting in the ring. McMahon said, “That’s what they claim”…
Vince McMahon interviewed Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. Michaels hugged McMahon upon entering the ring. Roddy Piper interrupted the interview, shooed away McMahon, and announced the 60 minute marathon stipulation in the Michaels-Bret main event… In what had to be a spoof on Gene Okerlund (I hope), Jim Ross teased his 900 segment saying, “Are Goldust and Roddy Piper an item? Find out on the WWF hotline”…
(4) Yokozuna beat Owen Hart & British Bulldog via DQ when Vader interfered. A three on one attack followed until Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts made the save. Roberts cleared the ring by pulling his snake “Revelations” out of the bag. (Is this where Paul E. and Shane Douglas run to the ring? Oh, wrong angle)… The show closed with the latest edition of Larry Fling Live (see pg. 6)…
The wrestling wasn’t especially strong, but the Hart-Michaels interview was strong as was the mind games angle with Undertaker and Diesel. The Larry Fling Live segment was very well done… [WK]
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