Raw #123 - August 7th, 1995

Last week, Razor and Savio Vega nearly defeated the tag team championship team of Owen Hart and Yokozuna, but time ran out on the episode (despite it being pre-taped). Tonight, they have a rematch. Also, Sir Mo promises part one of the Royal Plan tonight. I have a feeling that most of the parts to the Royal Plan involve losing to Diesel.

The Kwang & Mang Connection make their way to the ring, presumably just minutes after their previous match ended, since this match was taped right after the previous one. Vince points out the sullen look on Owen's "kisser," perhaps sucking up to new Interim Federation President Gorilla Monsoon. Monsoon, being fan-friendly (and Clique-friendly), changed Summerslam Intercontinental Title match from Shawn vs. Sid to Shawn vs. Razor in a ladder match, making sure Sid stayed out of the title and pay-per-view picture. If Razor can win the tag titles with Savio tonight, he could become a dual champion at Summerslam. Better yet, why not make two other Clique members dual champions and have them hold all the company's titles? Nah, I'm getting about a month ahead of myself. Yokozuna and Razor lock up early on, with the Samoan headbutting Razor in the "pectoral area" (or "chest"). Owen and Savio tag in and immediately ground themselves with wristlocks and headlocks. Razor tags back in and joins in on the fun with an armbar. Pretty smart, considering they've already wrestled for twenty minutes tonight. Owen evens the odds with a poke to the eye and tags Yokozuna back in. Fans chant "USA" to cheer on the Cuban and the Puerto Rican. Owen quickly tags back in and scores numerous near-falls after a DDT, a neckbreaker, and a Maneuver known as an enziguiri kick. Yokozuna phantom-tags back in to apply a nerve hold on Razor.

To everyone's astonishment, Razor is no longer in the nerve hold when Raw returns from break. Instead, Owen is in the ring, continuing to wear down Razor, who gets tossed over the top rope while trying to escape a sleeper hold. Owen gets in cheap shots on the outside, then rolls Razor back in, where he falls prey to another Yokozuna nerve hold. Ramon eventually battles out, but quickly gets hit by a spinning heel kick by Hart. Razor attempts a pin with a backslide, but Owen kicks out at two. Owen then mounts the ropes for a High-Risk Maneuver (#2), which ends up being a headbutt. He then locks in another sleeper on Razor who must Make a Maneuver (#3) to escape. Ramon feeds off the fans' energy to rise to his feet and break out with a Tremendous Maneuver (#4), a Desperate, Last-Minute Maneuver (#5 - belly-to-back suplex). Razor is slow to capitalize, finally running the ropes but bumping heads with Hart. Yokozuna tags in, but so does Savio, felling Yoko with a Kwang-like spinning heel kick. Owen Hart jumps in to try to double-team Savio, but ends up getting tripped and pulled out of the ring by Razor. Yokozuna then dumps Savio with a Samoan drop and a leg drop, making the pinfall while Razor lolly-gags and fails to break up the pin in time. Why didn't the 600-pounder do that right away on Razor instead of wasting time with nerve holds?

Dean Dougles immediately presents another edition of The Report Card, who somehow already has a VHS copy of the previous match. He critiques Razor & Savio's teamwork, grading them a "T" -- no, two Ts. That stands for "Terrible Twosome." That's still better than a terrible foursome, which we wouldn't see until 2003.

Jerry Lawler is back in Dr. Isaac Yankem's office in a segment filmed earlier in the day. Yankem fires his X-ray into a patient's mouth. He and the King both wear lead vests for protection, but they apparently don't work, because the cartoony X-ray animation that ensues shows their skeletons anyway. We can't see through the King's crown, though. I wonder what it's made of?

Make a Difference Fatu makes his first Raw appearance since remembering that he was born in San Francisco and can speak perfect English. Vince describes him as "giving up his barbaric ways" to "become a role model." His opponent, Tony DeVito, appears to suffer from microcephaly.  Fatu starts the match with his red knit cap still on. "Fatu, making a difference already," says Vince. "Yeah," says Jerry. "He's wrestling with a stupid-looking hat on." Very Heenan-esque, Jerry. Stick with that, and don't make any strained topical references tonight. Vince promotes "An Officer and a Gentleman" on USA. Fatu drops DeVito with a running cutter that Vince calls, I kid you not, a "Samoan bulldog." Mike Adamle didn't coin that term, after all. A splash off the top rope finishes off the jobber.

Todd Pettengill is here for a PPV report known as the Summerslam Insider. Insider? I hardly know 'er! The Toddster notes that his match against Mabel will be Diesel's sixth title defense on pay-per-view (which is a record at this point, by the way, thanks to the recent introduction of monthly PPVs). New Interim President Gorilla Monsoon speaks with Todd about why he is only "interim" president, claiming not to want to get involve in politics or "corporate %$#*." Wow, Monsoon doesn't pull any punches! Actually, I think the muted words were "WWF." Monsoon, as mentioned earlier, replaced Sid with Razor Ramon on the Summerslam card; so much for not playing politics. He announces that Alundra Blayze will defend her Women's Title against Bertha Faye (remember her?) at the event, as well. Undertaker will face Kama, as well, making this Taker's greatest Summerslam match yet, if only by default.

The same vignette for Goldust from two weeks ago airs before Kama comes to the ring to take on Troy Haste. The Undertaker's Creatures of the Night (none of whom are McMahon children) hang a black wreath and sit in the first row. Sid talks on the phone with Vince, and he is none too pleased about being bumped off the Summerslam card, claiming that Shawn had something to do with changing the match. You don't say? Kama beats Haste with a cross armbreaker as Sid calls Michaels a "hip-shaking idiot." Kama taunts the Creatures on his way out.

Sir Mo, enjoying all the privileges of knighthood, makes his entrance during a commercial break. Diesel enters with his new proto-Titantron video. Vince speculates that a win by the kinght would put Mo in contention for the WWF title. Don't tease us, McMahon! Mo knocks Diesel down with a Tremendous Maneuver (#6 - spinning heel kick). Lawler tells us that King Mabel taught Mo that move. Unlikely; both of Mo's feet actually left the ground. Diesel fights back with forearms in this technical classic before displaying his most scientific move ever, a scoop slam. Mo gets hit with a very crappy big boot and tumbles to the outside, but King Mabel soon comes to ringside. Mo then pulls Diesel rather unconvincingly by the tights over the top rope. Shawn Michaels comes to ringside to keep Mabel from getting to Diesel, but Mo takes advantage of the referee's distraction by ramming Diesel into the ring post.

After the break, Mo locks Diesel in a camel clutch to work over the "back area" of the champion. He then climbs the ropes for a High-Risk Maneuver (#7 - elbow drop), which misses. Diesel capitalizes with a side slam, a big boot, and a jackknife. Diesel gets the win, but Mabel runs in, only to get stopped by Shawn. Shawn launches onto Mabel on the outside of the ring, but gets caught and rammed into the ring post. Lawler is gleeful about the prospect of facing an injured Michaels next week. If Lawler beats Shawn for the title, will he then face Razor in the ladder match? I don't think that's the kind of fan-friendly match Monsoon was talking about.

Final tally:

7 Maneuvers (Year total: 142)