WWF Monday Night Raw Results
June 24, 1996
Green Bay, Wisconsin (Brown County Expo)
Commentary: Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler
Results by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
We are live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and we go right into the Brown County Expo to see Hunter Hearst Helmsley heading to the ring.
Replay: Last night at the WWF King of the Ring event, Ahmed Johnson defeated Goldust to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Footage is shown of Johnson going backstage and being showered in champagne before WWF Champion Shawn Michaels embraced him.
Non-Title Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson
Referee: Harvey Wippleman
The bell rings, and some fans in the crowd hold up signs that say “Eric B sucks…” Well, anyway, Johnson and Helmsley lock up, and Johnson immediately throws him down to the canvas. Helmsley pops up and charges him, but Johnson throws him down again. Helmsley kicks Johnson and applies a side headlock, but Johnson powers out with an overhead wristlock. Johnson applies an armbar, but Helmsley pokes him in the eyes. Helmsley kicks him and applies a side headlock, but Johnson whips him off and shoulder tackles him. Johnson celebrates. Helmsley begs Johnson off in the corner, and Wippleman makes Johnson back up.
The commentators are running through the other matches we’ll see tonight, such as King of the Ring “Stone Cold” Steve Austin against the Undertaker, Sunny on commentary for a Tag Team Match, and a 6-Man Tag Team Match with Barry Horowitz, Aldo Montoya, and Bob Holly against Camp Cornette. Vince McMahon mistakes someone for Savio Vega, who isn’t shown in the graphic.
They lock up, and Johnson applies a side headlock. Johnson digs in with the headlock. Helmsley tries to whip him off, but Johnson keeps the headlock applied. Helmsley soon backs him into the ropes and finally whips him off. Helmsley drops down and goes for a hip toss, but Johnson blocks it and clotheslines him down. Johnson is fired up. Johnson punches Helmsley and charges, but Helmsley pulls the top rope down to get him out of the ring. Helmsley sizes him up and hits a baseball slide. Helmsley goes outside and drives Johnson into the steel steps. Helmsley’s female escort is shown seated by Jerry “The King” Lawler. Helmsley stomps Johnson and hits a falling forearm off the apron. Helmsley then drives Johnson hard into the ring post. Helmsley gets Johnson into the ring and goes to the top rope for a double ax handle to the lower back. Helmsley covers for a two-count. Helmsley mounts Johnson and punches him in the head several times.
Video: Goldust and Marlena are shown backstage. Goldust quotes Terminator and says, “I’ll be back.” Last night at King of the Ring, he made the mistake of his life by trying to save Ahmed Johnson’s. Now, he’s going to end it. Vince McMahon asks Goldust about facing The Undertaker at the next PPV. Goldust says he already buried him in his own casket. This time, he’ll drop him in the ground and shovel dirt on his poor, pathetic soul. Goldust hisses.
Back to the action, Helmsley has been taking it to Johnson. Johnson fights up from a rear chin lock.
-Commercial Break-
Back from the break, Helmsley is attacking Johnson in the corner. Helmsley chops him and slaps him in the face a few times. Johnson fights back, but Helmsley powers him into the corner. Johnson eventually fights out and punches Helmsley down. Helmsley quickly stuns him with a kick to the midsection. Johnson reverses a whip to the corner and charges, but Helmsley sidesteps him. Helmsley heads to the top rope and dives, but Johnson catches him in a bear hug. Johnson then hits an inverted atomic drop.
Johnson sends Helmsley into the corner, and Helmsley rolls up the turnbuckles. Johnson military presses Helmsley and slams him down for a two-count. Johnson ducks a punch and hits an atomic drop, followed by a spinebuster. Johnson sets Helmsley up for the plunge and signals for the end, but Helmsley counters with a back body drop. Helmsley fights up to his feet and backs Johnson into the corner. Helmsley viciously forearms away at Johnson’s skull, and Johnson drops to his knees. Helmsley elbows him in the head and does a Blueblood Bow. Helmsley slaps him in the head twice and pushes Johnson down. Helmsley keeps slapping his head. Helmsley backs him into the ropes and talks trash before slapping him in the face. Helmsley sends Johnson into the ropes, but he lowers his head. Johnson then catches him with the Pearl River Plunge for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: WWF Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson
Dok Hendrix gets in the ring to interview WWF Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson. Hendrix says Johnson had the greatest victory of his career last night at the King of the Ring. Johnson has to be proud of the reception he got tonight, but he’s got to be super proud about being the first African American Intercontinental Champion. Johnson says he’s very proud to be the first African American Champion of the world. That means he made history. Johnson wants everyone to understand that he’s not just defending the belt for African Americans. He’s defending it for everybody, whether you’re black, white, red, or green. This belt has been around the wrong waist for a long time. Johnson will defend it for the people from now on. Hendrix mentions Goldust will want a return match. Johnson says if “sweet lips” wants some more, he’s not hard to find. He can come here or go to the hood. Johnson will be there.
Mike’s Thoughts: A decent match to feature the new Intercontinental Champion, Ahmed Johnson. Hunter Hearst Helmsley is in the midst of being punished for the Curtain Call, but you can see he’s pretty eager to prove himself again. He made Johnson look great, flailing around, taking big bumps, etc. Johnson is still super rough around the edges. The promo was damn near unintelligible (the guy always spoke like he had a mouthful of marbles), but the intensity is truly unmatched. What Johnson lacks in polish, he makes up for in aura. Johnson was a focus during the incredibly short tenure of “Cowboy” Bill Watts, and they’re going all in with him at the moment. Let’s see how far it goes.
Video: Highlights are shown of last night’s WWF King of the Ring event. The encore presentation will air on pay-per-view tomorrow night.
Sunny makes her way to the ring to be on commentary for the next match.
-Commercial Break-
Footaction Slam of the Week: Last night at the WWF King of the Ring Free for All, Marty Jannetty hit Skip with a powerbomb off the top rope!
Monday Night Raw is brought to you by Burger King, where you can get your burger’s worth. Footaction is also providing sponsorship.
Sunny is at the commentary table with Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler. McMahon mentions she’ll be ringside for The Smoking Gunns vs. The Bodydonnas. Why are the Smoking Gunns not putting the WWF Tag Team Titles on the line? Sunny says they can defend the titles against anyone. The match will be on her terms.
As the Bodydonnas head to the ring with Kloudy, they show photos, letters, and videos of people who applied to be their manager. Lawler and Sunny make fun of the submissions.
Tag Team Match
The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) w/ Kloudy vs. The Brooklyn Brawler and Jerry Fox
Referee: Jimmy Korderas
The Brooklyn Brawler starts against Zip. Brawler kicks and chops him to start the match. Brawler sends him into the ropes, but Zip ducks a clothesline and hits a hip toss. Zip follows up with a scoop slam. Zip wrenches the arm and tags Skip in. Skip comes off the top rope with a double ax handle to the arm. Skip wrenches the arm, but Brawler pokes him in the eyes. Brawler hooks a side headlock, but Skip whips him off. Brawler shoulder tackles him, but Skip fires back with a head-scissor takeover. Skip gets up and celebrates, so Brawler clotheslines him down. Jerry Fox tags in and clubs Skip before applying a side headlock. Skip whips Fox off and punches him in the midsection before hitting a swinging neckbreaker.
Sunny teases that she’ll be bringing in a singles wrestler who can beat anyone, perhaps even Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship. Zip tags in, and the Bodydonnas hit a double-team flapjack. Skip tags back in and hits a vertical suplex. Skip hits a pair of leg drops before tagging Zip in. Zip hits a sit-out powerbomb before tagging Skip in. Skip puts Fox on the top rope and hits a super hurricanrana. Brawler runs in, but Skip clotheslines him. Zip, who tagged in at some point, comes off the top rope with a cannonball for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: The Bodydonnas
Kloudy happily dances and taunts Sunny. Sunny flips out at ringside. Kloudy chases Sunny around the ring and to the back.
Mike’s Thoughts: There truly aren’t enough adjectives to describe how God-awful this storyline is with Kloudy. While WCW has Scott Hall and Kevin Nash starting up the most innovative angle the United States had ever seen (the invasion angle was taken from a storyline in Japan), the WWF is sending out The Bodydonnas to absolutely ZERO reaction with Kloudy, a man dressed as a woman doing all of Sunny’s mannerisms as a “gag.”
This company absolutely deserves to get stomped into the ground ratings-wise at the moment. This is Vince McMahon’s creative in its purest form. The Austin 3:16 promo that happened just one night earlier wasn’t the result of some grand creative vision. It happened organically. McMahon deserves credit for recognizing it and running with it, but many of the WWF’s biggest successes came from talented performers taking something mediocre and making it work. Most of Vince’s original ideas looked a lot more like Kloudy than they did Steve Austin.
Video: The history of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty is shown. Next week on Raw, WWF Champion Shawn Michaels will battle Marty Jannetty.
The Bodydonnas bring Kloudy over to Jerry “The King” Lawler, who hops over the barricade to avoid her.
-Commercial Break-
6-Man Tag Team Match
Savio Vega, Aldo Montoya, and Barry Horowitz vs. Camp Cornette (Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog) w/ Jim Cornette and Diana Hart-Smith
Referee: Tim White
Jim Cornette joins the commentary team. Cornette wants the truth to be told about what happened at the King of the Ring.
Camp Cornette talks in the corner as the match starts. Owen Hart will start against Barry Horowitz. Hart kicks Horowitz and punches away at him. Horowitz reverses a whip and drops down twice before hitting a hip toss. Horowitz connects with a running knee. Hart quickly kicks him, but Horowitz reverses a whip to the corner. Horowitz connects with a monkey flip and wrenches Hart’s injured arm. Savio Vega tags in, so Hart quickly tags in The British Bulldog. Bulldog kicks and forearms Vega. Vega ducks a clothesline and hits a running crossbody block for a two-count. Vega connects with a pair of dropkicks, followed by an arm drag. Bulldog quickly punches Vega before tagging Vader in. Vader headbutts Vega into the corner and clubs away at his chest. Vader hits a short-arm clothesline and growls around the ring. Vader hits Vega with a throat thrust and punches away at him in the corner. Vega quickly ducks a short-arm clothesline and takes Vader down with a spin kick. Vega hits a thrust kick, and Vader falls into the corner.
Aldo Montoya and Hart tag in. Montoya hits a pair of dropkicks. Montoya punches Hart. Hart reverses a whip, drops down, and hits a spinning heel kick. Bulldog tags in and hits a delayed vertical suplex. Vader tags in, and he crushes Montoya with a chokeslam. Bulldog tags back in. Vader sends Montoya to the corner, and Bulldog whips him into Montoya. Bulldog then hits Montoya with a Running Powerslam. Bulldog goes to cover, but he gets up and tags Hart in. Hart applies a Sharpshooter, and Montoya submits.
Winners by Submission: Camp Cornette
Mike’s Thoughts: A pretty basic squash 6-Man Tag win for Camp Cornette. I thought it was goofy as all hell and totally backward to see Vader being knocked around by Savio Vega. Vader should not be bumping at all. It probably should have been Owen Hart taking any and all of the punishment before British Bulldog cut it off, and then Vader finished them off. It’s no wonder that Vader didn’t get over like the company wanted. Their booking didn’t allow him to.
Video: Highlights are shown of last night’s WWF King of the Ring event. The encore presentation will air on pay-per-view tomorrow night.
Brian Pillman makes his way to the ringside area on crutches. Pillman has a wild look on his face. We’ll hear from him next.
-Commercial Break-
Video: Footage shows a man working out before it is revealed that he uses a wheelchair. Unleash the Warrior in you.
The 1996 King of the Ring, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, is already in the ring. His lip is swollen and showing a nasty split from his match against “Wildman” Marc Mero last night.
Vince McMahon is at ringside with Brian Pillman. McMahon says people’s worst fears about what Pillman would do or say were realized. Pillman wants to know who the hell he has to talk to about getting his “god damn money.” He’s been with the promotion for over a week, and it’s time for him to reap the windfall of his signing. McMahon says Pillman hasn’t been in the ring. Pillman says he doesn’t need to get into the ring. He just needs to get into McMahon’s face and find out if he has the guts to do anything about it. McMahon says he’s sure they’ll get to the bottom of it. McMahon walks away and apologizes for Pillman’s words.
Mike’s Thoughts: They’re definitely trying to get Brian Pillman over as a “Loose Cannon” by having him come out to confront Vince McMahon about not being paid by the promotion yet. They’re trying to capitalize on Pillman blurring the lines between fiction and reality in WCW, but the WWF doesn’t quite understand what made the Loose Cannon gimmick work yet.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
Referee: Mike Chioda
As Undertaker heads over to Paul Bearer and the urn, Austin attacks him from behind. Austin punches away at Undertaker before bouncing him off the top turnbuckle. Undertaker stands straight up and angrily stares at Austin. Austin begs him off. Undertaker kicks and punches Austin down. Undertaker uppercuts Austin and bounces him off the top turnbuckle. Undertaker whips Austin hard into the corner and clubs him down to his knees.
Jerry “The King” Lawler goes over to Paul Bearer. Lawler accuses Bearer of intentionally costing the Undertaker the match against Mankind last night. Lawler demands to know what happened. Bearer says nothing.
In the ring, Undertaker punches Austin out of the ring. Austin pulls Undertaker out of the ring and punches him. Undertaker quickly shoves Austin into the ring post and bounces him off the steel steps. Undertaker gets Austin in the ring and chokes him on the middle rope. Undertaker then chokes him in the corner with his boot. Undertaker bounces him off the top turnbuckle, so Austin rolls out of the ring to recover. Austin tries to pull Undertaker out of the ring, but Undertaker kicks him into the barricade. Austin limps around the ringside area and seems to be heading to the back. Undertaker grabs him and headbutts him down.
Undertaker gets Austin back into the ring and connects with a scoop slam. Undertaker goes for an elbow drop, but Austin moves. Undertaker sits right up. Austin punches Undertaker to the corner. Austin whips him to the opposite corner and charges, but Undertaker big boots him down.
-Commercial Break-
Video: See it… feel it… live it live! The WWF Attitude Adjustment Tour continues this week. Tomorrow night, they’ll be in the Lacrosse Center in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. On Wednesday, they’ll be in the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin. This Thursday, they’ll be in the Louisville Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky. On Friday, it’s the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. This Saturday, they’ll be at the world-famous Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Back from the break, Undertaker walks the top rope and comes down with a big club to the spine. During the commercial, Austin tried to hit him with a chair, but Undertaker booted him away. Undertaker puts Austin in the corner and chokes him. Austin quickly chop blocks the Phenom before kicking away at his knees. Undertaker goes down as Austin drags him to the ring post and snaps his leg off it. Austin gets in the ring and bends Undertaker’s leg over the middle rope. Undertaker is struggling to get to his feet. Austin lays him down and comes off the second rope with a falling forearm for a two-count. Austin goes outside and snaps Undertaker’s leg off the apron. Undertaker is hobbling around before he falls to the mat. A “Rest in Peace” chant picks up. Austin stomps on Undertaker’s leg and taunts the crowd. Austin applies a spinning toe hold before stretching the leg.
Goldust and Marlena head to the ringside area. Goldust heads over to the commentary table and sits down before putting on a headset. Another “Rest in Peace” chant picks up as Austin stretches Undertaker’s leg. Undertaker gets out by chopping Austin’s face with his good leg. Undertaker struggles to get to his feet and punches Austin. Austin avoids a big boot, then chop-blocks him again.
-Commercial Break-
Video: The WWF Superstar Line is open. Call 1-900-737-4WWF. On Option 6, why would Paul Bearer cost the Undertaker a victory last night at the WWF King of the Ring? It’s only $1.49 a minute!
Back from the final break of the evening, Austin kicks Undertaker in the knee and sends him into the ropes. Undertaker ducks a clothesline and goes for a leaping clothesline, but Austin ducks it. Austin puts Undertaker on the middle rope and goes for an avalanche, but Undertaker moves. Undertaker goozles Austin and hits a massive Chokeslam! Undertaker lifts Austin for a Tombstone Piledriver, but Goldust gets on the apron and throws gold dust into his face!
Winner by Disqualification: The Undertaker
Austin wildly punches away at Undertaker. Undertaker, still blinded by the gold dust, turns Austin around and punches him out of the ring. Undertaker looks over at Paul Bearer.
Jerry “The King” Lawler gets up from commentary as Undertaker and Bearer pose in the ring. Lawler gets on the apron and tells the Undertaker to ask Bearer what happened last night. Undertaker needs to make Bearer tell the world why he cost him the victory. Where was Bearer a few minutes ago when Undertaker needed help? Undertaker scares Lawler away. Lawler shouts, “It’s him! It’s him, Undertaker! It’s him!” Bearer holds Undertaker back as the show comes to an end.
Mike’s Thoughts: As I said in my King of the Ring review, the Austin 3:16 promo didn’t turn him into an overnight success. He’s definitely in the ring with the Undertaker because he’s the King of the Ring, but it’s not like he’s being treated like a main event talent in waiting at the moment. He looked good, but it was clear he was going to lose before Goldust’s interference. Contrary to the legend, there were no Austin 3:16 signs to be seen the night after the promo. It was a decent match, but not much more than that. They spent a lot of time focusing on Paul Bearer and whether or not he intentionally cost the Undertaker the match against Mankind.
This match is only truly notable because it’s the first televised meeting of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the Undertaker. They’d go on to have some marquee matches in the years to come. Tonight, no one would know that this was a future PPV main event.
Quick Match Results
— WWF Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a Non-Title Match
— The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) def. The Brooklyn Brawler and Jerry Fox in a Tag Team Match
— Camp Cornette (Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog) def. Savio Vega, Aldo Montoya, and Barry Horowitz via Submission in a 6-Man Tag Team Match
— The Undertaker def. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin via DQ
Mike’s Wrap-Up: What We Learned from Raw
This is an episode of Raw that was actually pretty important for the WWF, but they swung and missed.
Coming off King of the Ring, the WWF had every reason to feel optimistic. Steve Austin had just delivered the most famous promo of his career. Ahmed Johnson had captured the Intercontinental Championship. Mankind continued to establish himself as one of the most unique and compelling characters in the company. On paper, there were plenty of reasons to believe the WWF was building momentum.
The problem is that very little of that momentum was actually visible on this show.
Austin may have become King of the Ring, but he was still being presented as a midcard heel rather than a future franchise player. Mankind wasn’t even on the show. The Bodydonnas and Kloudy received more television time than some of the company’s most promising acts. Even Vader, who should have been steamrolling people on his way to the WWF Championship picture, was stuck in a 6-Man Tag Team Match, trading offense with Savio Vega.
That’s what makes the summer of 1996 so fascinating. The pieces that would eventually define the company’s future were all here, but the WWF doesn’t quite seem to realize what it has yet.
Meanwhile, WCW continues to gain momentum. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash have arrived. The Outsiders angle is beginning to generate enormous buzz. While the WWF is still relying on gimmicks and comedy acts that feel increasingly outdated, WCW is presenting itself as unpredictable and must-see television.
The irony is that thirty years later, we know exactly where many of these stories lead. We know Steve Austin is about to become the biggest star in the business. We know Mankind will become one of the defining performers of his generation. We know Brian Pillman, despite his physical limitations, is going to help push wrestling in a new direction. We know the WWF will eventually survive this war.
The people sitting in Titan Towers in June of 1996 knew none of that. All they knew was that Razor Ramon and Diesel were gone, WCW was gaining momentum, Scott Hall was showing up on Nitro pretending not to be Razor Ramon, and Vince McMahon seemed more interested in fighting the battle in courtrooms and legal letters than in figuring out how to respond creatively. While the company was busy reading disclaimers on television and presenting acts like Kloudy, some of the performers who would ultimately save the WWF were already standing right in front of them.
That’s what makes this period so fascinating to revisit. We know where the story ends. They don’t.
WWF Raw (USA Network, live): 2.7 (Record: 19-17-2)
WCW Nitro (TNT, live): 3.2 (Record: 17-19-2)
Winner: WCW Nitro (2-week streak)
The ratings gap isn’t enormous yet, but the momentum has clearly shifted. The WWF may have accidentally stumbled onto the biggest star of the next decade 24 hours ago, but the problem is that they don’t seem to know it yet.
Email – mike@wrestleview.com
X – @MikeTedescoWV
King of the Ring 1996 | Last week’s Raw | Last week’s Nitro
Thanks for reading!
Part of Wrestleview’s Monday Night War: 30 Years Later series, with weekly Raw and Nitro recaps every Thursday.