Raw #143 - January 15th, 1996

Tonight’s Raw opens with an intro honoring Martin Luther King and his dream, which is good news for the Federation’s one black wrestler, Ahmed Johnson. Mabel and Mo will be gone after Sunday’s Royal Rumble. Dok Hendrix tells us that Razor Ramon is on his way to the arena to confront Goldust, who has an interview tonight. Plus, a new Billionaire Ted skit will air. Also, some guy named The Ringmaster will debut, but that doesn’t make the intro package.

April Fools and 14th Anniversary Extravaganza at Wrestlecrap.com!

In lieu of a Raw recap today, head over to Wrestlecrap.com, where yours truly has posted not three, not four, but two brand new inductions!

First, there's a special guest induction by my cousin Rocky Melvin, who doesn't care for this fake stuff.

Then, there's the first-ever all-pictorial induction that has Vladimir the Superfan stoked!

Raw #142 - January 8th, 1996

On tonight’s Raw, Shawn Michaels makes a “stunning” announcement at a press conference. What could it possibly be about? I have no idea, but that is a very nice Royal Rumble logo hung up right behind the Heartbreak Kid. Raw debuts its new opening video, using its original theme song and an updated roster that doesn’t include Dean Douglas.

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 #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 #138 - December 4th, 1995

Bob Holly faces the number one contender for the WWF title tonight. Sparky's mullet is at its most glorious tonight, but will it help him knock off Davey Boy? Holly floats over Bulldog for the night's first Maneuver en route to delivering a flurry of offense. Bulldog fights back by lifting Bob up for a press slam and dropping him crotch-first onto the top rope. He follows this up with a delayed vertical suplex, a Maneuver (#2) that causes the blood to rush to Plugg's head. Holly makes a number of surprise pin attempts, but none are successful. The race car driver also hits a number of the best dropkicks in the business, but still can't put Smith away. Finally, Bulldog catches Holly in the corner and delivers a running powerslam for the victory.