Grilling JR - Raw Bowl 1996 Watchalong [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Welcome back to Grilling JR! Today we’re going back in the way back machine for one of the most…interesting Monday Night Raw episodes of all-time. Raw Bowl on January 1st, 1996.

Vince is notorious for not really paying attention to anything outside the WWF. Is a football concept a hard sell for him?

We are taped - from Newark, DE on December 18, 1995 to air on January 1st, 1996. Do you remember if you had to be in studio live for this or was it all done ahead of time?

We’re headed to Season 4 - episode 1. Fire up the Peacock machine and let’s get started!

3-2-1!

We open with the Raw Bowl itself - we have the Smoking Gunns vs. Savio Vega & Razor Ramon vs. Sid & the 1-2-3 Kid vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna.

Goldust sends flowers to Razor and it’s delivered by Goldust’s usher who gets beat up by Razor. Look hindsight is 20/20 but having a program here with these overtones isn’t the best then let alone now. But pushing forward with a program that obviously makes Scott Hall - the person - uncomfortable, just wedges a bad story into a worse hole does it not?

Did anyone ever raise their hand and say, Vince, we need to do better with Goldust or these talents?

From the Observer: “Razor Ramon is complaining long and loud about his program with Goldust. The babyfaces in the clique hate the gimmick and unfortunately have taken it out on Dustin Rhodes the person rather than accepting him as someone saddled with a bad gimmick who is just trying to do his job. Granted, the angle is really lame. Ramon is trying to get the program switched to working with Hunter Hearst Helmsley.”

Do you think this is where the heat for Hunter begins? What were the Clique doing to Dustin the person?

There are…football rules…for this match which are really ridiculous when you look at it. Delay of Game flag, timeouts, who the hell put this together?

Does this enhance the viewership experience with this type of format?

Not for nothing - we know Jerry Lawler knows football - but my goodness Vince doesn’t know that much. Is this just wedging bad creative into a wrestling match which is a 4-way which especially back then was a foriegn concept and hard enough for the guys to put together?

How much did you have to help Vince with the football terminology he was using?

Does this just remind viewers that there is a major football game going on at the same time with the Citrus Bowl of Tennessee and Northwestern going on?

Just a reminder though earlier in the day Alabama beat Michigan in Outback Bowl while Oklahoma was not in a bowl game that year so roll tide on that.

Over on the other episode of Nitro Randy Savage vs. Arn Anderson is going on and during it Eric Bischoff announces that the Smoking Gunns win the Raw Bowl so don’t change that channel. This is the type of shit that used to get up Vince’s crawl. What did you think of the practice?

This match goes a very long time and bleeds into Nitro having their second match - Steven Regal vs. Chris Benoit - going on and again Bischoff announces that the Gunns win. Nitro is running live from the Omni that day and have announced Hogan vs. Flair in the main event for the WCW Title as the main event. Discuss the advantage Eric has promoting and formatting a show going against a taped show.

There’s our friend Bruce in the back preaching to no one preparing for his return for next week in a major announcement of the new Million Dollar Champion - as we discussed a couple weeks ago - which would be the Ringmaster - Steve Austin.

There’s a timeout called but DiBiase distracts the ref which amounts to really no time out and Razor hits the Razor’s Edge but Sid clotheslines Razor and puts Kid on top for the 1-2-3 and the first elimination.

Yokozuna accidently hits Owen with the Banzai Drop which is a very contrived spot and the Gunns take advantage to eliminate Owen.

Gunns get the win with Billy rolling up Sid after Razor interferes. Eric would refer to this on Nitro as the “Toilet Bowl”...would you disagree?

There’s a woman at ringside - Ashley the Raw Queen - who is on commentary during this just rambling occasionally and saying, “This is Wild!” What the hell is this Jim?

It’s time for the halftime show and here’s our Doot Doot Doot friend - let’s get up the audio for this because it’s fucking great how you just no sell being called Jimbo Jim.

We go back to In Your House 5 and we re-air Triple H - excuse me Hunter Hearst Helmsley - against Henry Godwinn in a Hogpen match. This is before the Curtain Call so this almost seems like a punishment to Hunter in this match does it not? Or is it really just used to bring Hillbilly Jim back into the fold?

Do you know if the taping for this show just went super short and we had to fill the spot with this match?

From the Observer: “Xanta Klaus (John Rickner) has already been fired because he was told the gimmick wasn't working (after all of one television taping although with a seasonal deal like that, it sounds to be if they should have known that going in) and worked the NWA show on 12/29 throwing out presents to fans, like chocolate with cigarette butts in it, Barbie's with a penis put on the Barbie and other tasteless and tacky things like that.”

Shit like this will get you fired won’t it? The future Balls Mahoney in this costume - this is one of the all-time worst gimmicks is it not?

During this we get a brief preview of the Huckster and Nacho Man but we haven’t been introduced to this concept yet. When you hear the idea of this…what did you think of it?

Hunter gets the win but this concept is rarely seen again. Did it just not work?

Next week on Raw it’s Bret vs. Bulldog which is a big match at the time to put on Raw, Jeff Jarrett vs. Hakushi and a Shawn Michaels press conference. Are you feeling the heat of Nitro so you gotta start loading up on Raw?

There’s Jeff Hardy … struggling … to help carry King Mabel to the ring as it’s Mabel vs. Diesel. Diesel hits a big boot and gets the win in 10 seconds and then Mo gets a powerbomb. This is the new and improved Diesel as the heel edge is there without actually being a heel yet. Was this the better way to present Kevin Nash compared to when he was booked as champion?

Now we have the Lombardi Trophy presentation - and it’s Steve Lombardi presenting it instead of the Vince Lombardi Trophy and it’s his face on a bowling trophy. Haha? The babyfaces beat him up and yup…that’s the payoff of the Raw Bowl.

Now probably the second biggest news of this show as we have a bunch of people talking about the Royal Rumble and the last man…is the Man they Call Vader. Leon White coming in here at the Rumble - how big a deal was this to you and were you excited to see him come into the fold after leaving WCW?

From the Observer: “The two sides haven't signed a contract or even agreed to all details although they've come to an agreement that Vader will start at the Rumble and be in as a regular. He'll continue to work major Japan shows. Vader has already left for Japan for the Tokyo Dome show and is also booked against Antonio Inoki on 3/3 in Los Angeles--the same city as Wrestlemania--on the multi-promotion show that, ironically enough, WCW is helping promote. There are lots of details to be worked out regarding worldwide merchandising rights, etc. Vader was wanting to do the deal but for various reasons (a scheduled shoulder surgery date on 1/9 being the main one), was leaning against coming in at the time, but Vince McMahon worked hard all weekend because he wanted a bombshell announcement for the 1/1 show and Ultimate Warrior wasn't going to be it. The Warrior deal is dead. Warrior was supposed to come in for interviews and never showed up and the two sides had other big problems having to do with Warrior wanting a guaranteed contract with astronomical figures and there were also policy problems that might force WWF into having a major double standard if he was brought in.”

Are you part of this discussion and everything that went with it?

Warrior would come back at WrestleMania anyway but do you think he would’ve been able to do anything for the Rumble at this point?

Bruce has said before the WWF got a shell of Vader and after getting beat up by Paul Orndorff in a shower he wasn’t the same. Is that something you’d agree with?

Dory Funk Jr. is announced for the Rumble. This is a nice nod to the old school - and considering Funk is still around the really old school - but did he fit here? Was this a way to bring Dory into the fold for his ability to train wrestlers?

And now the debut of Billionaire Ted’s Rasslin Warroom. There’s Ted and his execs showing footage of the WWF guys doing powerbombs which Hogan & Savage can’t do but they can pose. Hogan. Must. Pose. This isn’t as personal and mean spirited as the later skits would be. Is this just harmless fun Jim or is this is a waste of valuable TV time to go against the competition?

From the Observer: “WWF did a skit on Raw where they had guys dressed up like Ted Turner, Bill Shaw, Harvey Schiller in "Billionaire Ted's Wrassling Warroom with a very old skinny guy dressed to be Hogan and a guy dressed to be Savage complaining how they need more action in their matches and showed clips of Ramon, Michaels, Diesel, etc. and showed Hogan and Savage's face cringing when they showed them doing their finishers. The Hogan character said he was too old and his feet don't leave the ground and that he was too old to be doing new moves (earlier in the show during one of the bumpers they showed the Hogan character asleep) and when Ted asked them what they could do to improve, the Hogan character started cupping his ear and doing lame poses and WWF started 1996 with its new slogan, "The New Generation, Still on top of the hill, not over the hill." Most who called here thought the skit was hilarious. Even those in WCW. The one thing that should comfort everyone that doesn't like all the name calling (as if this is something unique in wrestling and you don't see it in every phone company commercial) is they should realize that if Hogan or Savage were to call Vince tomorrow, they'd be on top there the next day (and visa versa with top WWF talent), and that some day if WWF survives, Hogan and Savage will be back there and they'll all be best friends again. Hogan and Savage prove that. Bischoff then came back during a promo for the movie that followed Nitro which was set in the land of myth and fantasy and he said that must be Stamford, CT, and then also said that the numbers talk and everything else walks. Supposedly WCW will do something on 1/8 to respond to the WWF skit.”

Meltzer isn’t wrong here is he Jim?

Raw ends up winning the ratings with a 2.6 compared to Nitro’s 2.5. That has to be a victory at the time does it not?