RAW vs Nitro #26 (3/25/96)

Welcome back to another edition of RAW vs Nitro. Click here to read the last edition if you missed it. So let's get into it, this is RAW vs Nitro #26.

RAW

• Shawn Michaels vs Leif Cassidy-Before the match, Shawn Michaels brings out his trainer Jose Lothario, who will be in his corner at WrestleMania. Lothario says Michaels will bring the WWF Championship to San Antonio. Michaels & Cassidy lock up before Bret Hart comes down to ringside and takes a seat at the commentary table. Jerry Lawler immediately leaves commentary because of that. Back in the ring, Michaels & Cassidy go back and forth before Michaels locks in an armbar off an arm drag. The two trade holds again before Michaels flips out of a belly-to-back suplex and hits a crossbody for a near fall. Michaels locks in another armbar off an arm drag, but Cassidy fights out and hits a sit out spinebuster. Cassidy hits a side slam before his tag partner Marty Jannetty comes down to the ring. Cassidy locks in a surfboard stretch before the commercial break. We come back to see Cassidy hit a suplex for a near fall. The two trade near falls off of roll ups before Cassidy pokes Michaels in the eye. Cassidy badly botches a powerbomb, falling over backward and almost having Michaels land on his own head. Man, Al Snow had a rough year in 1996. Every time he's shown up on the Worst in the World he's botched at least one move. Cassidy sets up Michaels on the top rope and hits a superplex for a near fall. The two trade blows before Cassidy sets Michaels up on the top rope again. Michaels blocks the superplex this time and hits a diving clothesline. Michaels kips up, hits an atomic drop and an inverted atomic drop before hitting the ropes, only to get tripped by Jannetty. Jannetty tries to hold Michaels in the corner by his tights, but Hart leaves the commentary table to stop him. Michaels dodges a Bronco Buster by Cassidy and hits Sweet Chin Music for the win. Pretty good match. After the match, Michaels shoves Hart out of the way to get to Jannetty. Hart & Michaels argue and get in each other's faces before Lothario calms them down. Hart explains to Vince McMahon that he doesn't consider Michaels an enemy, but he's going to have to beat him bad at WrestleMania.
• Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Aldo Montoya-Like a babyface, Montoya holds the ropes open for Helmsley's valet when she leaves the ring. This causes Helmsley to rush Montoya before the bell, but Montoya takes control with a hip toss and a body slam. Montoya goes for a splash, but Helmsley blocks it with his knees and proceeds to beat down Montoya. After Helmsley dominates for the majority of the match, Montoya hits a corner crossbody for a near fall followed by a dropkick. Montoya takes Helmsley down with tilt-a-whirl headscissors and hits a clothesline before going to the top rope for a diving crossbody for a near fall. Helmsley then hits a Pedigree for the win. Nothing match, not worth watching.
• Goldust cuts a promo in a Hollywood backlot. He talks to & caresses a mannequin dressed up as Roddy Piper. He then destroys the mannequin.
• A vignette hypes up the debut of Mankind next week.
• Vince McMahon interviews the Undertaker & Paul Bearer. Bearer says that Diesel robbed Taker the WWF Championship at the Royal Rumble, so Taker did the same thing at In Your House. Bearer says what Diesel saw last week was his future and Taker says that Diesel will be battered at WrestleMania. Taker says that after Diesel attacked Bearer, he plans on doing much more than just beating him.
• Owen Hart with Jim Cornette vs Ahmed Johnson-Owen Hart flexes at Ahmed Johnson at the start of the match. This is his response.
  
  Ahmed doesn't flex back. Instead, the two lock up, with Johnson easily overpowering Hart. The British Bulldog come down to ringside as Hart & Johnson go for a test of strength, but Hart is too short to reach Johnson's hand.
  
  So, in order to make it fairer. Johnson gets down on one knee.
  
  That was nice of him! Hart takes this advantage of this kind gesture, however, and beats down Johnson. Hart locks in a front facelock, but Johnson lifts him up onto the top rope. Hart tries to dive at Johnson, but Johnson catches him and hits a spinebuster for a near fall. Johnson locks in a bear hug on Hart, who instructs Bulldog to distract Johnson. This makes Johnson break the hold, allowing Hart to hit a spinning heel kick before the commercial break. We come back to Johnson hit a spinebuster and call for the Pearl River Plunge. Johnson sets up for the Plunge, but Bulldog attacks Johnson from behind, causing a DQ. Johnson fends off Hart & Bulldog, but Vader comes down to the ring and the numbers become too much for Johnson. Yokozuna & Jake Roberts come down to the ring and even the odds, booting the heels from the ring.

That's it for RAW. Onto Nitro

But first! A quick recap of Uncensored, which happened the night before this Nitro.

• Konnan retained the United States Championship against Eddie Guerrero after Eddie flew dick-first into Konnan's head.
  
  Konnan covered Guerrero right after that for the win.
• The Belfast Bruiser defeated Lord Steven Regal by disqualification after Earl Robert Eaton & David Taylor attacked the Bruiser.
• Col. Robert Parker defeated Madusa. Madusa hit a German suplex, but Dick Slater pulled her out of the cover, allowing Parker to cover her for the win.
• The Booty Man defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a match where if DDP won, he'd get his money and Kimberly Page back. If he lost, he would quit. In a great touch by DDP to sell that's broke, he comes out in tights that don't fit right and have holes in them & mismatched elbow pads, along with his unkempt hair.
  
  The Booty Man won with a high knee after Kimberly slapped DDP, who force-kissed her, forcing DDP to quit. He'll be back in a month because this company makes no sense sometimes.
• The Giant defeated Loch Ness with a leg drop. This would be Loch Ness' last match in WCW.
• Sting & Booker T defeated The Road Warriors in a Chicago Street Fight. What? Well, Lex Luger was supposed to be Sting's partner, but Jimmy Hart took him out of the match so he could be in the Doomsday Cage match, so Booker T took his place. Booker T tries to leave the match, but Animal follows him and continues the fight backstage. During the fight, Animal accidentally hits Luger, who was posing in front of a mirror.
  
  This causes Luger and Stevie Ray (who just pops up out of nowhere) to attack Animal and handcuff him to a pole. Meanwhile, Sting & Hawk are still fighting at ringside before Booker T comes back to the fight. Hawk avoids the Harlem Hangover, but gets clobbered with a chair in the back by Stevie Ray. Booker makes the cover for the win. Stevie then goes back just to hit Animal with a chair.
• The Doomsday Cage match...good God. Just read this. I've already explained this match as well as I can there.

Nitro

• The Belfast Bruiser vs Randy Savage-The two go back and forth to start before the Bruiser takes control. Bruiser starts uppercutting Savage, but Savage fights back and knees Bruiser out of the ring. Bruiser counters Savage when he tries to throw him into the ring post and throws him into the ring post instead before dropping him on the barricade. Bruiser continues to beat down Savage at ringside, at one point throwing him into the crowd.
  
  Savage is able to get back into the ring, where the Bruiser gets a near fall off a clothesline. The Bruiser continues to beat down Savage until Savage dodges a spear in the corner and hits the diving elbow drop for the win. Nothing match, pretty lame.
• We get an ad for Mean Gene's hotline where he spies on wrestlers having conversations. The only reason I bring this up is because Johnny B. Badd is in it having dinner with Sting, who is in full gear...at a restaurant. As you probably know, Johnny B. Badd isn't in WCW anymore. So how do they avoid showing him on camera? Just cut his part out of the commercial, right? Nope. Instead, they just smack a black bar on the screen over his face.
  
  It's hilarious. 
• Mean Gene interviews Ric Flair. Flair comes out with Woman & Miss Elizabeth. Flair says he'll slay the Giant tonight. Flair says Lex Luger wants to be in his position and now he can't style & profile with him. Elizabeth says that Flair is more man Luger and Woman says he has a better body.
• Konnan (c) vs Mr. JL-WCW United States Championship-I've got to ask...what is Konnan wearing?
  
  I don't even know what it looks like, but it's a total eyesore. The two have a quick handshake before Konnan starts chopping JL in the corner. JL follows up with headscissors followed by tilt-a-whirl headscissors that send Konnan out of the ring. The two go back and forth with holds & arm drags before Konnan dropkicks JL's leg. Konnan hits a standing senton bomb before locking in a surfboard stretch. Konnan switches to a wristlock, but JL fights out and locks in an armbar. Konnan hits a wheelbarrow arm drag, which JL follows up with one of his own, along with a spinning back elbow. Konnan back body drops JL onto the apron, only to take a missile dropkick, somehow hurting his knee in the process. Konnan blocks a hip toss before hitting a gut wrench powerbomb for a near fall before going for Splash Mountian, a crucifix powerbomb, but JL rolls through and gets a near fall off a roll up. The two trade near falls off of roll ups before Konnan body slams JL and goes to the top rope. JL catches him up there and hits a draping DDT for a near fall. Konnan catches JL on a leapfrog in the corner and hits an Alabama Slam for the win. Good match, these two worked well together.
• Disco Inferno vs The Booty Man-Booty Man quickly hits two atomic drops and a back elbow before Kimberly Page, now called the Booty Babe (I'm not kidding), comes down to the slaps Booty Man's ass. I guess this inspires Booty Man enough to hit the high knee on Disco Inferno for the win.
• American Males vs Sting & Lex Luger-In a fantastic moment, Lex Luger only gives fans high fives when Sting turns around and looks at him. When Sting turns back, he stops doing. It's awesome, Lex Luger is great. Luger and Riggs start off going back and forth, with Riggs getting the better of Luger with dropkicks and a back body drop. The two continue to go back and forth until Luger knocks Bagwell off the apron, prompting Bagwell to pull him out of the ring. The two brawl until Sting & Riggs break it up. Bagwell tags in, but Luger refuses to face Bagwell, instead tagging in Sting. Sting & Bagwell go back and forth before Bagwell hits a back body drop. Bagwell goes for a body slam, but Sting blocks it and body slams him twice. Riggs tags in, so Sting tags Luger back in. Riggs body slams Luger before tagging Bagwell in for a double hip toss and a splash for a near fall. Luger dodges a corner crossbody and starts stomping away and beating the piss out of Bagwell. Bagwell comes back with a forearm, prompting both men to make tags. Sting & Riggs go back and forth before Sting hits a crossbody. Rather than attempt to break up the fall, Bagwell decides to instead step through the ropes and watch his partner get pinned for the loss.
  
  Stupid idiot. Regardless, this was a pretty good match. After the match, Sting raises Bagwell & Riggs' hands in respect while Luger celebrates outside the ring.
• Ric Flair (c) with Woman & Miss Elizabeth vs The Giant with Jimmy Hart-During Flair's entrance, Elizabeth & Woman starting throwing Macho Man's money, which Elizabeth got from their divorce, to the crowd. Giving people free money...how dare they? This angers the Macho Man, who attempts to run out after them, only to be stopped by security & other wrestlers.
  
  Woman takes the opportunity to slap Savage while he's being held back before returning to ringside. Flair & Giant stare eachother down before Giant shoves Flair to the other corner. Flair immediately leaves the ring, only to come back in and get floored when he goes for a shoulder tackle. The Giant continues to no-sell all of Flair's offense before gorilla press slamming, followed by another one. Flair leaves the ring again and tries to leave, but Giant follows him out and carries him back to the ring. More no-selling from the Giant, prompting Flair to beg for mercy. Giant suplexes Flair before throwing him over the turnbuckle onto the apron. Flair goes to the top rope and goes for a crossbody, but Giant catches him and hits a backbreaker. The Giant goes to the top rope and goes for a top rope splash, but Flair rolls out of the way...also, Giant jumped about a foot too far anyway. Flair then dodges a splash in the corner, sending the Giant to the outside. Elizabeth distracts the referee while Woman hands Flair some wires, allowing Flair to choke the Giant. Back in the ring, Flair jabs Giant in the eyes with his thumbs before Flair starts punching away at Giant. Flair then low blows the Giant before distracting the ring, allowing Woman to choke the Giant with wires of her own. Flair goes to the top rope, but Giant meets him up there and throws him to the mat. Giant hits the chokeslam, only for Elizabeth & Woman to run in and stop him from pinning him. Suddenly, Arn Anderson runs down to the ring and smashes a chair across the Giant's back. Kevin Sullivan runs down and takes the chair away from Anderson as Giant turns around. Thinking Sullivan hit him, the Giant chokeslams him before chokeslamming Anderson. This prompts the referee to call for the bell, ruling the match a no contest.

And that's about it. Nitro was better. The matches were better overall and the whole show felt more important than RAW. Give the point to Nitro.

RAW: 12

Nitro: 14

That's it for this edition of RAW vs Nitro. Stay tuned for the next one.