Raw # 179 - October 7th, 1996

Tonight, Todd Pettengill says, Vader is here. His message is clear. He’s queer. Get used to it. Okay, I might have embellished a bit on those last two sentences. Also in the opening video package is Marlena, who is such a Hollywood aficionado that she appears to be wearing the molded nipples from  Joel Schumacher’s Batman films. All that, plus the fake Razor, the fake Diesel, and the Real Double J!

Raw #178 - September 30th, 1996

Raw opens with clips from last week’s shocking heel turn for Jim Ross. The month where one wrestler is scheduled to murder another wrestler on pay-per-view, JR is being pushed as the #1 heel in the main story line. Stone Cold Steve Austin faces Jake Roberts in a rematch from King of the Ring. Last time they wrestled, Austin cut his immortal “Austin 3:16” promo and the WWF has capitalized by putting out zero merchandise of it. Jerry Lawler, however, has brought something along for the occasion: a bottle of Jim Bean. Again. Every time The King calls it Jake the Snake’s tag team partner tonight, take a swig of a beverage containing a particular ingredient whose name eludes me. Water, maybe?

Raw #177 - September 23rd, 1996

Tonight’s show opens with a still photo from last night’s In Your House pay-per-view showing “Razor” and “Diesel” attacking Savio Vega. This no doubt intrigues any fans who don’t have access to the TNT network and can’t check out Nitro to see that Kevin Nash and Scott Hall are live on WCW TV and definitely aren’t going to be on this episode of Raw. Kevin Kelly says what a great night Mind Games was and says this Raw will be even better (meaning anyone who paid for last night’s event probably wasted their money).

Raw #141 - January 1st, 1996

It’s the Raw Bowl! The WWF’s first four-way match also happens to feature terrible commentary and unnecessary football elements. The challenge is to cover both the action and the countless puns spewed out by the announcers. Also, the very first “Billionaire Ted” skit airs tonight, while a pep band plays “You Can Call Me Al.”

Raw #104 - March 27th, 1995

It's that time of year again! Time for a throwaway episode of Raw. Back in the day, it was standard practice for the Raw before a big pay-per-view (especially Wrestlemania) to be a clip show to hype up the event. In 2013, WWE has the "go home" show; in 1995, the WWF had the "go away" show.

Raw #71 - July 11th, 1994

Raw comes to us taped from Bushkill, Pennsylvania. On commentary are Jim Ross and Randy Savage. Tonight's featured match is the 123 Kid-Bret Hart match for the WWF title, which the Kid earned by beating Nikolai Volkoff. No, really. The Kid comes to the ring with new lighting spelling out "1-2-3." "If this match lives up to one one-hundredth of its expectations," says Macho, "...we're gonna go on a magic carpet ride!" Jim Ross reminds us that his opponent, Bret Hart, was voted Superstar of the Year in 1993, much like John Cena in 2012, except Hart won the King of the Ring and actually held a title during those 12 months.

Raw #49 - January 24th, 1994

It's the first Raw after the Royal Rumble, so expect to hear the shocking results of Saturday's pay-per-view... that is, as long as the announcers aren't on camera. This episode was taped two weeks earlier, you see, so any would-be spoilers have been dubbed into the show in post-production. Lex Luger, who co-won Saturday's Rumble with Bret Hart, is in action first. Joining Vince on commentary this week is Jim Ross, who I predict will say the word "brudda" 35 fewer times than Crush did last week. This 49th episode of Raw is Jim Ross's first.

Raw #47 - January 10th, 1994

Monday Night Raw celebrates its first anniversary tonight, and what better place to do so than in Richmond, Virginia? Footage airs from last week of Marty Jannetty and the 123 Kid getting in Johnny Polo's face and getting a tag team title match. Tonight, the Quebecers defend against Marty Confetti and the Poster Boy for Pampers (Polo's words, not mine). The Macho Man's theme music plays, heralding the return of Randy Savage to the announce table.