Raw #173 - August 19th, 1996

Raw is live the night after Summerslam, with Kevin Kelly making his Raw announcing debut. Another guest at the announcers’ table is Jim Ross, as it takes two announcers to replace Vince McMahon. It looks like no maneuvers tonight. The British Bulldog faces his own Camp Cornette partner Owen Hart in the first round of the Intercontinental Title tournament.

Raw #163 - June 10th, 1996

Yokozuna wrestles his third-to-last televised match, facing former tag team partner Owen Hart in a King of the Ring match-up. Last year, Yoko fell victim to the awesome power of Savio Vega to be eliminated from the tournament. How will he fare against Owen? Jerry Lawler also shows off the portrait of the Ultimate Warrior he painted to patch things up with the man from the Parts Unknown. The picture is impressive, especially since he must have painted it in less than two hours at the announce table, since that’s how long ago in real time that he and Warrior’s feud started.

Raw #154 - April 8th, 1996

With Jerry Lawler facing Shawn Michaels in tonight’s main event, the King has been replaced on commentary. You could say that tonight’s announcing will be “perfect.” You’d be wrong, though, as Vince is still at the announce table. Our opening contest is Vader vs. Yokozuna, the match that was originally scheduled for Wrestlemania.

Raw #151 - March 18th, 1996

Vince’s opening narration announces Diesel’s heel turn, which occurred at last night’s house show at Madison Square Garden. We are also promised another Billionaire Ted segment, this time involving the FTC. Oh boy!

Raw #150 - March 11th, 1996

It’s the hundred-fiftieth episode of Raw, and it kicks off with history in the making. Yes, that’s right, Savio Vega is in action! But that’s not the historic part, of course. The historic part is that it is the Ringmaster’s first night as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, although Vince is still reluctant to give up calling him “Ringmaster” altogether. Still, the transition to his now iconic moniker is a sort of mea culpa for the lame nickname he got saddled with in his first few months.

Raw # 148 - February 26th, 1996

Sunny warns us of the (porno)graphic nature of tonight’s Raw. These pre-show vignettes by Tammy Sytch really do make Raw look filthier than it is. I do like the resulting thumbnails it creates for my blog posts, though.

Raw #146 - February 5th, 1996

Vince speculates that this Raw could be “one for the books,” perhaps because it’s already been taped and he’s seen the whole thing. Or maybe it’s because he booked the whole thing. Either way, Two Dudes with Attitudes take on Yokozuna and the British Bulldog in a rematch of the Triple Header match, except no one has a title anymore. Vince plays up the dissension-in-the-ranks angle for Camp Cornette by showing footage from last week, while a fan holds up a steamy poster of Shawn Michaels to show how much he loves dudes. With attitudes.

Raw #145 - January 29th, 1996

Raw does not get off to an auspicious start, as Vince announces a match between Yokozuna and the “incredulous” Shawn Michaels. HBK is incredulous, I tell you! He won’t believe anything. In addition, Diesel takes on the British Bulldog, who is at least not labeled “bizarre.” The WWF will also bravely air another of its increasingly hypocritical “Billionaire Ted” skits, “despite the threat of legal action.”

Raw #140 - December 18th, 1995

In a live episode of Raw, one night removed from In Your House, Jeff Jarrett makes his return to the ring. Just don't blink, because Double J will be out of the Federation once again after the Royal Rumble. Will his unexplained five-month absence from competition make a difference? Speaking of making a difference, Fatu is his opponent tonight. "It's time to clean it up!" says the former Headshrinker's entrance theme, suggesting a future tag team venture with Duke "The Dumpster" Droese.

Raw #139 - December 11th, 1995

The last Raw before In Your House opens with the statement that "tonight, ER comes to the World Wrestling Federation." We are then subjected to a bunch of medical metaphors about Bob Backlund's chickenwing being a disease, Bret Hart being Patient Zero, and the Hitman attempting to "inoculate" Backlund. So Mr. Backlund will become immune to the crossface chickenwing? Owen Hart, who faces Diesel this Sunday, takes on Jeff Hardy in the opening bout.

Raw #137 - November 27th, 1995

Tonight's taped Raw is filmed right after the Shawn Michaels collapse. Tonight, The Undertaker faces Kama one last time with the urn on the line. In case you've forgotten, Undertaker's urn was stolen by IRS at the Royal Rumble, regained at Wrestlemania and immediately stolen back by Kama, and melted down into a gold chain. Taker has been so occupied with getting his urn back that he has been nowhere near the title picture. In other news, Brother Love will make his return tonight to interview Bret Hart.

Raw #133 - October 30th, 1995

It's a Halloween Raw, introduced with a WWF Jack O'Lantern and a Dracula-like voiceover by Todd Pettengill. Finally, someone in the WWF acknowledges that Todd sucks. Vince McMahon is dressed as a jailbird, which Jerry Lawler jokes about ("I heard you got that outfit about a year ago, and this is the first time you got to wear it!"). Vince resists making the same crack about Jerry Lawler, given his legal woes in late '93. Lawler, by the way, is dressed as a doctor, later revealing his costume to be a proctologist. At least it's not a pediatrician or gynecologist.

Raw #130 - October 9th, 1995

It's a "very special holiday edition" of Raw, taking place on Columbus Day. Starting off the show is a six-man tag match, with three men on each team to represent the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa María. I guess. Otherwise, I don't see anything having to do with Columbus Day on this episode. Diesel, Shawn Michaels, and Undertaker take on Camp Cornette. Only one of the three faces will even make it to the pay-per-view in a few weeks.

Raw #128 - September 25th, 1995

It's the first live Raw in over a month, and everyone is dying to know who the new champion or champions are after last night's Triple Header match. Remember, Gorilla Monsoon guaranteed a title would change hands. Skip and Sunny are in the ring, waiting for their opponent, the returning Marty Jannetty, who was not advertised. Jannetty will set a record with this comeback, as he will last over a year before getting fired, a post-Rockers personal best for the former Intercontinental Champion. After a vague reference to last night's Triple Header match, Vince excitedly says that the titles could change hands yet again tonight, notwithstanding the British Bulldog/Undertaker match. It's taken me over a year of watching Raws, but I have finally figured out that Vince doesn't know what "notwithstanding" means. He seems to think it means, "not to mention" instead of "regardless or in spite of." Lawler says that Bulldog will use Taker as a fire hydrant. "A what!?" says an indignant Vince. If anyone's going to the bathroom on the Undertaker, it's Sid, not Davey Boy.

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 #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.

Raw #120 - July 17th, 1995

Shawn Michaels aims to slap the taxman across the face in this last televised match of IRS's. But first, the tag team championship combination of Yokozuna and Owen Hart make their way to the ring for a warm-up match before their title defense against the Allied Powers. If you'll recall that Lex Luger never won a title in the WWF, you can pretty well guess how that match turns out. Their opponents tonight are Jim Dimitri and Gus Kantarrakis. "Sounds like a law firm," says Jim Cornette at ringside. "Who are these two jokes?"

Raw #115 - June 12th, 1995

Raw kicks off with a recap of Lex Luger and Yokozuna's ongoing feud, which comes to a head tonight in a King of the Ring qualifying match. We see the tournament bracket, with faces written first and heels written second for each match. Razor Ramon, a face, gets top billing in the final match, which spells misfortune for Lex Luger.

Raw #114 - June 5th, 1995

Footage from Bob Backlund's campaign rally earlier today airs to kick off Raw. Mr. Backlund calls the crowd "lazy" and "infamous individuals" who need an education. I'm used to people misusing the word, "infamous," but not like this. Tonight, Owen Hart faces the British Bulldog in the "last" qualifying match for the King of the Ring (in a match taped 22 days earlier at In Your House. Also, Savio Vega wrestles his first non-Kwang match tonight, while the Bodydonnas debut as well. And don't forget about Jean Pierre Lafitte, whom Jerry Lawler is rooting for based solely on his name: LaFeet. That's because Bret Hart accepted Lawler's challenge this weekend to a "Kiss My Foot" match.

Raw #111 - May 15th, 1995

In tonight's cold opening, IRS vows to put a lien on Bam Bam's tattoos. What if Bigelow won't pay his taxes? Will he have to repossess the Beast from the East's scalp? If so, who's going to do the dirty work, the Repo Man or Tatanka?