Raw #185 - November 18th, 1996

Steve Austin arrives on Raw to face Mankind in a “tough man contest.” Originally, Vader was pencilled in as Stone Cold’s opponent, but he was injured by the 700-pound (“I would suggest,” says McMahon) Yokozuna the night before at Survivor Series with a uranage. The shoulder injury is said to only sideline Vader for a few days, but that’s enough time to keep him off television all month thanks to the compact taping schedule.

Wrestling + Morton Downey, Jr. = Wrestlecrap

Read my latest induction on Wrestlecrap.

Raw #61 - May 2nd, 1994

Tonight, Monday Night Raw debuts in Vermont, the fifth state to host the prime-time wrestling program. Tonight's episode features the long-awaited tag team title match between the Quebecers and the Headshrinkers.

Raw #60 - April 25th, 1994

It's Raw episode #60, and How Much Does This Guy Weigh? post #100! The Macho Man opens Raw by telling Nikolai Volkoff to "come on down" a la Rod Roddy of the Price is Right. His mic isn't broadcasting over the PA, though, so Nikolai, who is Jerry Lawler's guest on the King's Court tonight, does not hear him. Razor Ramon, who defends the Intercontinental title this weekend against Diesel, faces Jeff Jarrett in a non-title match to open the show.

Raw #59 - April 18th, 1994

Monday Night Raw comes at you taped from the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The show opens with a replay of Jerry Lawler's mishap from last week, perhaps in an effort to promote a new "Bloopers, Bleeps, and Blunders" tape from Coliseum Video, which Macho Man references. This week's King's Court features the WWF's female wrestler, Alundra Blayze, who sits atop the Federation's one-person women's division. Also, Bret Hart faces off against Kwang in a thankfully non-title match, which leads Savage to suggest that he himself get a title shot.

Raw #55 - March 21st, 1994

Tonight, for the first time ever, Raw is airing live the night after a pay-per-view, thanks to Wrestlemania X taking place in New York City. Tonight's episode is in Poughkeepsie, the new de facto home base of Monday Night Raw. The Macho Man is back on commentary after having defeated Crush last night (after nine consecutive losses in falls-count-anywhere matches on house shows). New WWF champion Bret Hart will be interviewed tonight.

Raw #44 - December 20th, 1993

December 20th's Raw is already shaping up to be an historic one. We see the first ever non-white Raw girl in the ring, plus this episode is a "special holiday edition." Since this is pre-Attitude era, there will be no Santa's Helper bra and panties matches, just as there was no gravy bowl match around Thanksgiving or costume battle royal around Halloween. Instead, we're wasting time with "matches." Damn New Generation era. Shawn Michaels joins Vince to commentate matches including Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett, and Ludvig Borga vs. Tatanka.

Raw #43 - December 13th, 1993

Tonight's Raw is the first post-Heenan episode. Fortunately, there will be no Rob Bartlett to replace him. Instead, we get the patron saint of Botchamania, Jim Cornette, who is sporting a Santa Claus tennis racket. The Macho Man enters the ring to take on Fatu, delivering an important message to the fans in attendance: "Oooooh yeeeaaah!"

Raw #15 - May 3rd, 1993

We open the fifteenth episode of Raw with the entrance of Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Michaels, the IC champion, is already in the ring. This is supposed to be Duggan's first shot at any WWF title. His most recent shot was to have been a shot at the tag titles in 2008, with Jerry Lawler as his partner, but he would be replaced with Michael Cole at the last minute. The fans chant "USA" during the match between the New Yorker and the Texan. Michaels keeps getting knocked out of the ring, eventually trying to flee the match altogether. Hacksaw brings him back to the ring with a fireman's carry.