RAW vs Nitro #12 (11/27/95)

Welcome back to another edition of RAW vs Nitro. Click here to read the last edition if you missed it. Now let's get into it, this is RAW vs Nitro #12!

RAW

• Rad Radford vs Ahmed Johnson-We kick off the show with Rad Radford taking on Ahmed "Mushmouth" Johnson. Radford attacks Johnson from behind, but Johnson no sells it and quickly takes control. Johnson clotheslines Radford out of the ring, but Radford pulls him out of the ring right after. Radford slams him into the apron before throwing him back into the ring. Johnson quickly regains control and hits a scissor kick followed by a bicycle kick. Johnson hits a spinebuster before hitting the Pearl River Plunge for the quick win.
• After the match, Jerry Lawler interviews Johnson. Lawler says that Dean Douglas said he'll beat him at In Your House. Johnson says that Lawler "better get me some respect" before saying something completely unintelligible. Not even the closed captioning on the WWE Network could tell what he said:
  
  Dean Douglas comes out as Johnson says more indistinct things and says Johnson could become a superstar but says the road to superstardom takes place in "his classroom", so Johnson challenges him to a match right now. Douglas starts to get in the ring, but the referees stop him.
•  We get a medical update on Shawn Michaels after he fainted last week. We find out that he was suffering from post-concussion syndrome after being beaten up by "nine thugs". Vince McMahon brings up that he took a beating at Survivor Series the night before his collapse on RAW. McMahon says Michaels will need time to re-cooperate, but that Michaels has said he'll return.
• Aja Kong & Tomoko Watanabe vs Alundra Blayze & Kyoko Inoue-Prior to the match, Jerry Lawler makes a fat joke about Kong, saying that you don't have to worry about her having bulimia. Classy.  Kong & Watanabe blindside Blayze & Inoue before the match, but the babyfaces recover quickly, double dropkicking Kong to the ground. Inoue chops at Kong, but Kong no sells and screams before knocking her down. Kong hits a splash before tagging in Wanatabe. I guess she borrowed one of Jannetty's singlets for this match, as there are a ridiculous amount of tassels on it.
  
  Watanabe beats down on Inoue until Inoue dodges a springboard crossbody and locks in a surfboard stretch, only letting go to avoid pinning herself. Blayze tags in, flips over the turnbuckle, slams Watanabe's head into the turnbuckle, and hits a top rope wristlock arm drag. Kong & Inoue tag in and Kong kicks the sh*t out of Inoue. Kong hits a delayed vertical suplex before the commercial break. We come back to see Watanabe misses a flying nothing before getting clotheslined by Inoue. Inoue bodyslams Watanabe and hits a double jump back spring elbow to Watanabe's knee for a near fall. Watanabe connects with the springboard crossbody for a near fall and goes to the top rope, but Inoue runs up to her and hits an overhead belly-to-belly superplex, but Kong breaks up the pin. Blayze tags in and goes for a German suplex, but Kong kicks. Kong tags in and goes for a spinning back fist, but Blayze dodges it and hits a step up enziguri. Blayze hits two-second rope missile dropkicks but misses the third attempt. Watanabe body slams Blazye, who dodges the second rope splash and tags in Inoue. Now, around this time in the match, McMahon & Lawler, for whatever reason, bring up the fact that Aja Kong is a advocate for safe sex. Why? That's an excellent question...Inoue goes for a powerbomb, but Kong blocks it and hits a big side suplex. Kong hits the spinning back fist for the win. Pretty good match. The commentary was pretty awful though, especially Lawler, who only chimed in to talk about the women's looks or how bad looking they were. One of his lines is "I used to think there was nothing uglier than a bowling shoe." This would end up being Blayze's last appearance in the WWF until her Hall of Fame induction 2015. But don't worry, she'll be back pretty soon...hint hint. In fact, Kong is the only one of these three who makes another appearance after tonight.
• It's time for the Brother Love Show! Love brings out Bret Hart. Love says that Hart is a marked man and everyone in the WWF wants the WWF Championship. Love asks Hart a question about his match against Diesel at Survivor Series, but cuts him off and starts talking again. He asks him about the Undertaker, but cuts him off again. He says that Hart doesn't know love, which is a ridiculous claim, has he not heard Bret's love ballad?...That's not a joke, Bret Hart actually recorded a love ballad for one of those WWF Albums where the wrestler's sing. You have to listen to it, it's hilarious, simply for the fact that it's Bret Hart sing-talking a love ballad. Love says that Hart makes his own mother cry by fighting his own brother & his brother-in-law. Love tries to cut him off again. but Hart forcefully brings the microphone to his mouth and says that you have to live like you're never going to die to achieve great things. He says that what Diesel did after their match was cheap and that it'll be a different story the next time they wrestle. He then admits that British Bulldog beat him at SummerSlam 1992 and that it's been in his mind for a long time. He says he'll redeem himself at In Your House and defeat the Bulldog. After he finishes, Bob Backlund appears out of nowhere and slaps on the Crossface Chickenwing. Love & Backlund say that Hart is a disgrace before the referees break up the hold. 
• Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs John Crystal-Before the match, Henry O/ Godwinn introduces the audience to his pigs in a picture-in-picture promo. Helmsley easily wins with the Pedigree.
• We find out that Razor Ramon & Marty Jannetty will face the 1-2-3 Kid & Sycho Sid at In Your House.
• Backstage, Jim Cornette & Owen Hart cut promos. Cornette throws out an open challenge to anyone on the roster before Hart gloats about injuring Shawn Michaels
• Kama with Ted DiBiNOPE! Kama comes out on crutches as Dibiase announces that Kama is injured and can't compete. Instead, we get Sir Mo.
• Before the actual match, we get a hype video promoting Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs Dean Douglas for the title next week on RAW.
• Sir Mo with Ted Dibiase & Kama vs The Undertaker with Paul Bearer-Undertaker quickly takes control, kicking Mo and throwing him into the corner. Undertaker body slams Mo before hitting the ropes and getting tripped up by Dibiase. This allows Mo to clothesline Undertaker out of the ring. Taker lands on his feet and grabs Dibiase by the throat, only for Kama to attack him from behind while the referee is focused on Mo. Mo goes to the outside and throws Taker into the ring apron before the commercial break. We come back to Mo beating down on Taker. Mo hurts his hand by punching Taker's face mask before ramming Taker's head into the corner. The mask prevents Taker from being hurt, allowing him to throw Mo into the corner and choke him. Taker hits a big boot followed by a jumping clothesline. Taker goes to the outside and attacks Kama before going back in the ring. Taker hits a bodyslam as Dibiase & Kama go to the back. Taker hits a chokeslam for the win. Pretty nothing match, not very important. After the match, Mabel comes down to ringside to grab Kama's chain that was made out of Taker's urn. Why Kama took off his chain when he wasn't wrestling, I'll never know. Taker grabs it before Yokozuna & Jim Cornette come out. Yokozuna & Taker stare eachother down before Taker hands Bearer the chain. Mabel attacks Bearer and runs off with the chain as Taker follows after him.

And that's it for RAW, onto Nitro!

But first, a quick recap of World War 3 1995, which happened the day before this episode.

• Johnny B. Badd defeated Diamond Dallas Page with a slingshot leg drop to retain the WCW World Television Championship and (I guess) won his wife Kimberly as well(?) Like, I could understand if it was like he won her as a manager, but Bobby Heenan on commentary is like "Pack your bags, you belong to Johnny B. Badd." So did he actually like, win Kimberly Page? Even stranger...well, strange as well, despite DDP being a prick to her all the time before this, Kimberly doesn't seem to excited that she doesn't have to be with him anymore.
  
  Maybe Kimberly only agreed to be put on the line to motivate DDP to win his title back and didn't really want to get away from him, thus creating a complex story and character development for herself...or maybe Kimberly's just really bad selling emotion...it's probably the second one.
• Big Bubba Rogers defeated Jim Duggan in a Taped Fist match. VK Wallstreet ran down during the match with a tiny chain. Duggan stopped the interference from Wallstreet with his 2x4, but Bubba took the tiny chain and used it himself. Duggan couldn't answer the 10-count and Bubba got the win.
• Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto defeated Mayumi Ozaki & Cutie Suzuki in a tag match after a diving leg drop by Nakano. This match featured commentary by Mike Tenay.
• After their three minute match on Nitro, Kensuke Sasaki defended the WCW United States Championship against Chris Benoit. How did Sasaki get the belt? Sasaki defeated Sting for the title at WCW World in Japan 13 days before this show. Sasaki retained the title after hitting a scoop brainbuster called the Northern Lights Bomb.
• Lex Luger defeated Randy Savage in only about six minutes with an armbar. Just need to say it, Luger's selling goes next level in this match, and it's honestly the loudest and funniest I've ever seen. In similar fashion to a few weeks ago on Nitro, Luger keeps the armbar locked in until Sting ran down and convinced Luger to release the hold.
• Sting defeated Ric Flair by submission with the Scorpion Death Lock.
• It's the 60-Man, 3 Ring Battle Royale for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship featuring some of the biggest stars in WCW; Savage, Sting, Luger, Flair, Giant, and the biggest star of them all...THE YETAY!!!
  
  ...oh, and Hulk Hogan is there. Any mystique the YETAY! had is instantly destroyed as he's the first man eliminated. It comes down to the final six; Hogan, Savage, Sting, Luger, Giant, and...the One Man Gang. Sting & Luger attempt to double team the Giant and eliminate him, which is odd, because aren't Luger & Giant stable mates? Remember, Luger's still technically in the Dungeon of Doom. Why would he try to get his stable mate out? Doesn't make a lot of sense. Hogan runs over and eliminates all three of them, so the Giant pulls Hogan out UNDER the bottom rope in retaliation. Hogan bodyslams the Giant on the outside. What the camera doesn't show you is that Savage eliminated the One Man Gang and the referee declared Savage the winner, not seeing that Hogan went under the bottom rope. You'd think they'd have more than one referee paying attention in a match with 60 PEOPLE...but nope. Hogan gets back in the ring to protest the decision, illustrating his point by constantly going to the ropes and sliding under them.
  
  He does this about six or seven times. Savage doesn't even get a chance to celebrate his victory because of Hogan's bitching. And somehow this ends with Savage raising Hogan's hand.What a confusing show.

And now let's go to Nitro.

Nitro

• Johnny B. Badd (c) with the Diamond Doll vs Diamond Dallas Page-WCW Television Championship-We kick off the show with a rematch from World War 3. DDP comes out with a bouquet for Kimberly. He then blindsides Badd and beats him down in the ring. Page hits a spinning tombstone slam for a near fall. Kimberly looks through the flowers and finds a tiny chain. Page hits a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam for a near fall before Badd takes Page down with a headscissor takedown. Page manages to get up first and tells Kimberly to give him the chain. Kimberly throws it between his legs to Badd, who uses it to get the win and retain the championship. After the match, Badd questions Kimberly over who she was actually throwing the chain to.
• Mean Gene interviews Kevin Sullivan & Jimmy Hart on the entrance ramp. Sullivan brushes off Mean Gene's question and questions Hart over Luger's alliance with Sting. Hart says that Luger & Sting go back a long time, but he has a plan.
• Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki vs Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto with Sonny Onoo-Quick note, Hokuto's entrance gear is awesome!
  
  She looks a bit like Yoshimitsu from Tekken & Soul Caliber.  Hokuto charges at the Suzuki & Ozaki when the match starts but gets taken down with a double clothesline. Nakano pulls Suzuki out of the ring as Hokuto hits a chokebomb on Ozaki. Nakano tags in during a great looking spot where Hokuto chokes Ozaki and dangles her from the second rope.
  
  Nakano throws Ozaki around the ring by her hair before hitting a chokebomb with an assist by Hokuto for a near fall. Ozaki hits a top rope bulldog on Hokuto before Suzuki hits a dragon suplex for a near fall. Hokuto catches Suzuki off a running crossbody attempt and hits a fallaway slam. Nakano goes to the top rope, which the crowd pops big for, but Suzuki dodges the diving leg drop and gets a sloppy-looking victory roll for a near fall. Suzuki & Ozaki hit a double-double foot stomp for a near fall before Nakano tries to suplex Ozaki. Suzuki tries to stop her, but Nakano just grabs her and double suplexes both of them. Bull Nakano is pretty dope. Hokuto hits a splash on both women before barely getting Ozaki up for a gut-wrench powerbomb, but Suzuki breaks up the pin. Ozaki counters a powerbomb attempt with a roll through for a near fall before setting up Hokuto for Suzuki to hit a diving clothesline on. Hokuto dodges, sending Suzuki into Ozaki, before hitting a Northern Lights suplex on Suzuki for a near fall. Suzuki flips out of a powerbomb attempt and goes for a roll up, but Nakano sits down on it for a pin, only for Ozaki to break it up. Nakano goes to the top rope, but Ozaki & Suzuki dropkick her to the outside. Hokuto sends both them out and goes for a somersault dive to the outside on Suzuki, but Suzuki dodges and Hokuto hits Nakano. Back in the ring, Nakano takes the babyfaces down with a double clothesline followed by a double missile dropkick by Hokuto. Hokuto hit the Northern Lights Bomb on Suzuki for the win. She actually innovated that move and her husband Kensuke Sasaki adopted the move from her. I just that thought that was an interesting fact. The match was pretty good. It seemed like the crowd liked Nakano & Hokuto more than Suzuki & Ozaki, going aginst the face-heel divide.
• Hugh Morrus vs Hulk Hogan-Ah yes, Hugh Morrus. AKA disgraced former NXT trainer and a-hole Bill DeMott. Here he is under the first of two bad gimmicks WCW gave him. As Hugh Morrus, he would laugh...and that was it. That's why he's called Hugh Morrus! Get it, Hugh Morrus...humorous! Yeah...it's not that funny. However, it's still better than his next gimmick, but that's a story for...whenever I get to the episodes of Nitro from 2000. Also, Hulk Hogan is back to being normal, red & yellow Hulk Hogan and not brooding, angsty Hulk Hogan Dark anymore.
  
  Now, for no reason whatsoever, Hogan throws his t-shirt & bandana at Morrus before the match starts because he's a bit of a c*nt. Like wow, what a babyface! Hogan takes Morrus down with a shoulder tackle before locking a hammerlock and taking Morris to the ground.  Morrus fights to his feet and rakes Hogan's eyes. Hogan dodges an elbow drop and hits a clothesline before biting Morrus' head. What the f*ck. Hogan clotheslines Morrus in the corner before Morrus counters a whip into the corner and hits a step-up springboard clothesline. Morrus bodyslams Hogan before barely connecting with a moonsault (or as Morrus called it, No Laughing Matter) for a near fall. In perfect Hulk Hogan fashion, Hogan no sells a finishing move and Hulks Up, hitting the big boot and the leg drop for the win.
• Mean Gene brings out Randy Savage for an interview on the entrance ramp. He says he's ecstatic to be the WCW World Heavyweight Champion and he's ready to face everybody one by one. Hogan comes out and reiterates that he was never eliminated from the battle royal at World War 3. Hogan has the footage from World War 3 shown, only for the video to cut to static before it shows Hogan being pulled under the ropes. The Giant comes out and attacks Hogan & Savage, giving Savage a chokeslam on the concreate. Giant throws Hogan into the ring before Sting runs down and grabs him by the leg. Giant grabs Sting and pulls him onto the ring apron, only for Hogan to reappear and beat down Giant with a chain. Hogan knocks Giant out of the ring before elbowing the referee. Hogan continues to beat down Giant with the chair at ringside and up the ramp before being stopped by Sting. Hogan & Sting check on Savage before the camera cuts to the commentators.
• Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman vs Sting & Lex Luger-For some odd reason, Luger's entrance music doesn't start until he's about 3/4 down the entrance way. Anderson & Sting start with Anderson hitting a very quick spinebuster. Luger quickly breaks up the pin before Anderson & Pillman beat down on Sting. Luger gets knocked off the ring apron after Anderson hits the ropes before Sting hits a bulldog followed by another one on Pillman. Luger gets in the ring and he & Sting hit tandem-Gorilla press slams before Pillman & Anderson roll to the outside. Anderson says he wants Luger to get in, so Luger tags in. Luger dominates the Horsemen before clotheslining Anderson to the ground. Sting tags in and hits the Stinger Splash on Anderson before locking in the Scorpion Death Lock. Pillman goes to the top rope to dive & stop it, but Luger throws him off the top rope into Sting, breaking up the hold. Anderson continues to beat down on Sting while Luger chases Pillman at ringside, missing an opportunity to get a tag. Luger doesn't wait for the tag and starts to beat down on Anderson & Pillman. The referee makes Luger leave as Sting pins Pillman with a roll up. As soon as the bell rings, Ric Flair runs down and beats up Luger. The Horsemen beat down on Sting & Luger before Hulk Hogan runs down to even the odds. Hogan Hulks Up on Flair until Anderson & Pillman pull him out of the ring. Hogan turns his attention to Luger, but Sting stops him and lets him leave the ring. Hogan & Sting argue before they hug it out to close the show.

And that's about it. Both the women's tag matches were the best on each show in my opinion, and Nitro's was better. Also, Nitro had a second good match in the main event. RAW didn't have that.

RAW: 4

Nitro: 8

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for the next edition of RAW vs Nitro!