Raw #127 - September 18th, 1995

The 123 Kid faces Razor Ramon in tonight's first match. We see clips of the Kid's first victory against Ramon two years ago. As Razor enters, the announcers promote his confrontation with Dean Douglas this Sunday at In Your House. The Kid takes it to Razor right off the bat, hitting him with a Maneuver (#1 - spinning back kick) and setting a record for earliest use of a maneuver in Raw history.

Raw #125 - August 21st, 1995

Tonight's episode brings us 1/8 of the way to 1000 shows! Raw opens with the announcement that Kama vs. The Undertaker at Summerslam will now be a casket match, courtesy of Gorilla Monsoon and the finest computer graphics 1995 has to offer. This comes after Kama tore up the Creatures of the Night's black wreath on Superstars, then slammed one of them to the canvas after he tried gathering up the pieces. Tonight, Kama's fellow Corporation member faces Taker, hoping to soften him up enough so that the Supreme Fighting Machine can pick up the stable's first pay-per-view victory of the year.

Raw #113 - May 29th, 1995

Tonight's Raw comes to you taped from Binghamton, New York, where Double J is running his mouth about beating the Undertaker tonight in the King of the Ring qualifying match. the lights go out, causing Jarrett to panic in fear of Taker while his electronic hat continues to flash. Instead of the man from the Dark Side, we get the opening theme of Raw.

Tonight on History's Mysteries: Was Double J the inspiration behind the Mothman legend?

Raw #109 - May 1st, 1995

Vince and Jerry are at ringside in the flesh to open this taped edition of Monday Night Raw, perhaps marking the end of the brief but unfortunate era of green screen technology on Raw. Our opening match is the Allied Powers versus George Anderson and Ron Hagan, two jobbers who probably still make a better team than Davey Boy and Luger. For one thing, I bet you that Hagan won't accidentally powerslam his opponent on top of his own partner like Luger did at Wrestlemania. McMahon and Lawler discuss the events of yesterday's Action Zone, in which Bob Holly (filling in for the newly-injured 123 Kid) appeared to defeat Jeff Jarrett (who had his foot on the rope) for the Intercontinental Title. As a result, the title was vacated instead of just immediately restarting the match or returning the belt back to Jarrett.

Raw #105 - April 3rd, 1995

It's time for the fallout from the greatest Wrestlemania ever to be held in a shopping mall, Wrestlemania XI! First, we get a recap of the event through video stills, Vince McMahon's narration, and the cheesy Wrestlemania theme that Linda McMahon would later use. It's a homecoming of sorts for Raw, as tonight's episode emanates from the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, the home of Raw after it left the Manhattan Center.

Raw #98 - February 6th, 1995

Raw begins in much the same way as last week, with Shawn and Vince in front of a green screen and Mabel entering first. He is joined by Mo and later Lex Luger for the six-man match against the Million Dollar Corporation. With this being Black History Month, Vince wonders if Men on a Mission will make history tonight.

Raw #97 - January 30th, 1995

Raw opens with Mabel's music and Vince and Shawn in front of a green screen, well-lit despite the darkness of the arena and occasional flashing lights. Tonight's Raw features Kama in action, a rematch from last week for the tag team titles, and a two-man battle royal between Mabel and King Kong Bundy.

Raw #58 - April 11th, 1994

After last week's disgraceful green-screening, Vince McMahon welcomes us to Raw, which emanates live tonight from an arena he is actually standing in. Macho Man is back on commentary tonight, and he's looking to burn Utica to the ground a la Michael Scott. Raw gets colored lights over the ring and a smoke machine tonight. Diesel comes down the aisle with Shawn Michaels to open the show. His opponent in this battle of the bodyguards is the wrestling superstar himself, Virgil.

Raw #53 - February 28th, 1994

Tonight's Raw comes to you taped from Bushkill, Pennsylvania for its first-ever out-of-sequence episode, shot one month ago. The "Hall of Fame-bound" Randy Savage comes to the ring first to take on Yokozuna for the WWF title. Harvey Wippleman is on commentary tonight. Vince McMahon notes Yokozuna's hesitation to enter the ring, possibly as a psychological ploy against the Macho Man, who, according to McMahon, "does not like to wait for anything." A lesser blogger would suggest that Vince is referring to his daughter Stephanie's eighteenth birthday.

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 #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 #39 - November 8th, 1993

Raw's thirty-ninth episode emanates from the exotic locale known as Bushkill, Pennsylvania. Nothing says exciting action like the Poconos. Once again, it seems that the production crew can't get the regular graphics on screen for this live episode, so we get the same dated-looking logos and lettering (even for the early 90s) that we've come to expect from Raw's non-Manhattan Center events.  Tonight's advertised main event is Scott Steiner, who is looking to wrestle yet another country, versus Finland's Ludvig Borga.

Raw #37 - October 25th, 1993

Tonight's Raw features Ludvig Borga, Diesel, and Men on a Mission, as well as a Superstar vs. Superstar match (finally) between faces Marty Jannetty and the 123 Kid. But first, we get a recap of the Savage-Crush summit, which ended with Crush attacking his very own brudda, Macho Man Randy Savage. Could this signal the return of Lanny "The Genius" Poffo to team with brother Randy against Crush and Yokozuna? No, of course not. What kind of stupid question is that?

Raw #30 - August 16th, 1993

IRS is a butt-patter. He loves patting boys' butts.

Raw's big 3-0 comes to you from Poughkeepsie, NY, home of the second-rate Raw graphics and a population well over a thousand people, unlike Alexandria Bay, where Raw has been held the past two weeks. Ted Dibiase comes down the aisle of the Mid-Hudson Civic Center to avenge his upset loss to the 123 Kid. Neither Razor Ramon nor IRS are allowed at ringside tonight. DiBiase pounds the Kid from the start. Razor, who is on the phone, says that the 123 Kid has a few surprises for the rich mang. The Kid is silent on the offensive front until launching a series of body presses and quick moves on DiBiase a few minutes into the match. DiBiase quickly regains control, but gets caught with a top rope body press. The Kid then attempts the Very High Risk Maneuver (#1) again, but it pushed off the top rope by IRS. The Steiners, who face Money Inc. in a cage match next week at the Summerslam Spectacular special on USA, make the save and clear the ring of the rich mang and the tax mang. The 123 Kid wins by disqualification. Vince McMahon argues with Bobby Heenan, insisting that there are only two columns, a win column and a loss column, and that this match would be entered into the "loss" column for Ted DiBiase. Curiously, the WWF has never published any win-loss columns, anywhere, ever.

Raw #26 - July 19th, 1993

Raw's twenty-sixth episode starts off with Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty in a rematch for HBK's Intercontinental title, a match I didn't know existed until yesterday. Raw girl Themis Klarides holds up yet another suggestive sign in the ring. Meanwhile, Michaels is accompanied by his fashion-challenged insurance policy, Diesel. Shawn's belt (excuse me, championship) now has a black strap, replacing the white strap, which replaced the blue strap. Diesel stands silently by in his rhinestone jacket and cowboy boots, perhaps mentally thanking Vince for at least not dubbing him "The Rhinestone Cowboy." Vince does, however, call him a "cool dude in a loose mood." WWF lost out on a great merchandising opportunity right there. Marty shows up Michaels' bodyguard by wearing an even more hideous outfit straight out of the early 90s (which, incidentally, is when this match took place).

What could have been.

Raw #24 - July 5th, 1993

The twenty-fourth Raw starts off with a brief recap of the Stars & Stripes Challenges from the previous day, presented without commentary but with austere military music playing over top of footage of guys not picking up Yokozuna. After the Raw theme hits, the fans with miniature American flags chant USA and Vince shows a more complete recap with commentary. We first hear a voice-cracking rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner by Lee Rouson, followed by a shot of the Chevrolet Silverado, which is white, not blue as promised. Lee Rouson, former running back of the New York Giants, is the first to attempt a slam. Bobby Heenan advises him "to keep running and get some singing lessons." The Charlotte Hornets' Scott Burrell gives up without even attempting to lift the champion, while Bob Backlund, Scott Steiner, and other professional athletes all give a "gallant effort." Yokozuna at one point takes a break to eat rice. Tatanka attempts to fight Yoko, but the champion counters with a Devastating Maneuver (#1), a savate kick to the chin area (I say "chin area" because it clearly did not connect), followed by a leg drop. Crush lifts Yokozuna quite easily, but then just gives up, perhaps remembering that he's not booked to win. Randy Savage is the last contestant, but he doesn't come close to lifting the champion.