WWF 1996.09.30 - Monday Night Raw

Watch Movies TV -

Location: Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Kevin Kelly

The show opens with a recap of Jim Ross's speech last week.

Match 1. Steve Austin vs Jake Roberts.

Throughout the match Jerry Lawler is waving a bottle of Jim Beam whiskey to distract Jake. There's probably a running storyline about him being an alcoholic. Eventually Jerry takes a swig of whiskey and spits it in Jake's face. This enables Steve Austin to pin him.

Triple H enters the ring and challenges Mr. Perfect to a match.

Match 2. Tag teams, The Grimms vs The Godwinns.

The Godwinns come to the ring carrying farmyard animals. They win after a short match.

Match 3. Savio Vega vs "Razor Ramon".

This seems to be the continuation of an ongoing storyline. The wrestlers Razor Ramon (real name Scott Hall) and Diesel (real name Kevin Nash) left the WWF earlier in the year to wrestle for the WWF's main competitor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Jim Ross has repeatedly promised to persuade them to return to the WWF. Now Jim claims he's succeeded, but the two wrestlers that he introduces are obviously imposters. The fake Razor Ramon is actually a good imitation, the same hair and roughly the same height, though slightly pudgier. The fake Diesel looks nothing like the real Diesel, apart from his costume. Throughout the match Jerry Lawler insists that it isn't the real Razor Ramon, while Jim Ross contradicts him, eventually conceding that "even if it isn't the real Razor Ramon, he's a great athlete". Savio Vega wins by disqualification when the fake Diesel intervenes.

There's a curious feature about the former WWF wrestler Jeff Jarrett, who also left WWF to join the WCW earlier this year. For some reason the WWF feels it necessary to discredit him. In 1995 Jeff Jarrett performed as a musician at a PPV. It's now finally revealed that he wasn't the singer. He was lip syncing to a song sung by The Roadie.

There's another vignette with the Undertaker promising to bury Mankind alive.

Match 4. Tag teams, Vader/Jim Cornette vs Shawn Michaels/Jose Lethario

This is a strange tag team match. Jim Cornette isn't a wrestler, while Jose Lothario is a retired wrestler who's no longer in shape. Is it the result of an ongoing storyline? Most of the match is fought by Vader and Shawn Michaels. Their partners only enter the ring for comic effect. Vader's team wins.

After the match Psycho Sid enters the ring to threaten Vader. Goldust enters the ring to attack Goldust. Shawn Michaels stands up and attacks Goldust. This sounds like the preparation for a new friendship between Shawn Michaels and Vader.