WWF April 1996

[Kimmel]

Free For All
Broadcast on the Preview Channel
March 31, 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon and Jim Ross

It is announced that Gorilla Monsoon is the new WWF President and will be dealing with the day to day issues in the WWF as CEO Shane McMahon will be dedicating himself more to the business end of things.

Jesse James Armstrong defeated The Sultan, Billy Gunn w/Sunny and Savio Vega in a Fatal Fourway match to earn the right to face the European Champion tomorrow night on Raw. Armstrong last eliminated Billy Gunn after Gunn missed a top rope legdrop and Armstrong used a Pump Handle Slam to pull up the upset and get the title shot!!!



Wrestlemania XII
Broadcast on Pay Per View
March 31. 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon and Jim Ross

Ahmed Johnson defeats Jerry “The King” Lawler in less than a minute with the Pearl River Plunge

Lawler joins the broadcast team after the match, claiming Ahmed did everything from pull his hair to pull his tights to use a foreign object!!!

The Road Warriors defeated Jim “The Anvil” Neidhardt and the WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart and The British Bulldog to become the new WWF Tag Team Champions when Hawk pinned The Anvil after a Doomsday Device!!! The Road Warriors were at a disadvantage the entire match but refused to back down and in the end took the WWF Tag Team Titles!!

Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated European Champion Jake “The Snake” Roberts when he pinned Roberts after a Pedigree. Roberts tried to give it his all and threw everything he had at Hunter, but Hunter is younger and faster and just was too much for the aging Superstar. Roberts slowly got up after the match and looked around, as if taking one last look at the place before waving to the fans and leaving. Dibiase was elated that Hunter won and was holding the European Title in the air, that Is until Hunter kicked him in the gut and gave him a Pedigree!!! Hunter called for a microphone, leaned down and informed Ted Dibiase he was FIRED!!!! Hunter then took a bow and left with the European Title over his shoulder!!!!

Michael Hayes speaks with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin who says he is going to kick Brian Pillman’s ass next!!!

“The Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman defeats “Stone Cold” Steve Austin after a bloody war that saw both men bleeding buckets and brawling all over the place. The referee could have called for the bell several times but instead let it go. Pillman stole the victory when Austin had him in the corner and was laying into Pillman with vicious punches, Pillman used a double leg take down to sweep Austin off his feet and into a pinning predicament!!! Pillman then got extra leverage by putting his feet on the top rope to steal the pinfall here at Wrestlemania XII!!!! He doesn’t get long to celebrate his win though as Austin is quickly to his feet and rewards the gloating Pillman with a Stone Cold Stunner, referee Teddy Long is next in Austin’s crosshairs, but Long knows better than to stick around and takes off!!! Austin then climbs all four turnbuckles and raises his arms. Once he has finished, Pillman has staggered to his feet and Austin gives him one more Stunner for good measure!!!

Todd Pettingill is backstage with Diesel, Razor Ramon and The Kid!!! The Kid grabbed the microphone away from Todd and asked if he looked like a kid? When Todd said he didn’t The Kid said he was tired of being called one, and being treated like one. He says The Kid is a corporate slave name created by a bunch of jerk offs trying to sell t shirts and action figures. He refuses to go by it anymore, from now on he is freeing himself of the corporate jerk offs, he says to call him XPac. Todd then asks about the match Diesel has tonight against Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon says this interview sucks, takes the microphone away from Todd and says he’ll conduct this interview. Ramon then asks Diesel how long it think it will take to beat The Heartattack Chump? Diesel says Michaels should have joined them when he had a chance because tonight he is going pay the price, and then it doesn’t matter if it’s Bret Hart or Hulk Hogan because they will have to face him next, and it all ends the same way, with him taking the WWF Championship

Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/ Debra retained the title against “Marvelous” Marc Mero w/Sable, but the finish of this match is going to be looked at by the officials in charge! Jarrett had his hands full with Mero the entire match, which was full of near fall after near fall, Jarrett somehow escaped German Suplexes, Super Hurricanranas, the Kiss the Don’t Miss and even a TKO, but when Jarrett pulled the referee into a dropkick to knock him out, that’s when Jarrett was able to change his fortunes, Debra gave Jarrett a guitar and he broke it on Mero’s head, allowing him to steal the three count when the referee made a very slow count. Debra and Sable ended up in a cat fight after the match with Sable ripping most of Debra’s clothes off before Jarrett could pull her out of the ring and escape the Hellcat known as Sable’s fury!!!

Todd Pettingill is backstage with ”The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels!!! Todd says in a few moments HBK is going to battle Diesel in the #1 contenders match!! Shawn says he is ready to do what ”The Heartbreak Kid” does best and that’s plays some Sweet Chin Music!!!! He says he hopes Diesel is ready because tonight he is going dance all over ”Big Daddy Cool”’s face!!!!

“Big Daddy Cool” Diesel defeated “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels in a match that saw a very scary finish. Early on Diesel’s companions, Razor Ramon and the newly christened XPac, were ordered away from the ringside area and back to the locker room to ensure a one on one battle. Shawn took the fight to Diesel, trying his best to hit and run, while Diesel used his power to toss Shawn around. Things looked to be going Diesel’s way when he dropped Shawn for a snake eyes, and then a sidewalk slam late in the match, but Shawn somehow kicked out. Diesel ended up getting knocked out of the ring and Shawn attempted a top rope bodypress onto Diesel on the floor, but Diesel CAUGHT HIM!! Diesel then rammed Shawn’s back into the ring post and dropped him face first onto the ring steps!!! Diesel rolled Shawn back into the ring and sent him into the ropes, but Shawn ducked a big boot and came back with a flying forearm!! Shawn kipped up, but as he started to taunt he began to stagger, he grabbed his head and dropped to one knee. Shawn looked out of it as he tried to struggle to his feet, Diesel got upright and blasted Shawn with a running big boot, followed by a Jackknife Powerbomb, Diesel didn’t pin Shawn after one Powerbomb and chose to give the limp Michaels a second powerbomb before pinning him and becoming the #1 contender to the WWF Title. Diesel left the ring in celebration while Shawn was taken out on a stretcher!!!!


Michael Hayes is backstage with Bret “The Hitman” Hart who says tonight he proves all the doubters wrong, last year he came in to Wrestlemania XI without the belt, but he left with it, and he will do the same here tonight!!!


Yokozuna and The Undertaker defeated Mortis and The Giant w/Jimmy Hart when Undertaker pinned Mortis after a Tombstone Piledriver. After the match, Yokozuna put an exclamation point on things when he gave Jimmy Hart a Banzai Drop!!!! The Giant flipped over tables at ringside before leaving the area while Undertaker remained in the ring, challenging the Giant to climb in and face him one on one.


WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart battled Five Time former WWF Champion Hulk Hogan in a battle for the ages. Hogan did his best to upstage Bret and no sell the Champion’s offense. Bret himself kicked out of the big boot and leg drop twice. Bret hits Hogan with a Superplex, but Hogan kicked out at one and started to Hulk Up, Bret cut the Hulk Up off and locked in the Sharpshooter, but Hogan powered out of it pretty quickly and started to Hulk up again. Bret and the referee looked a little confused on that one and the punches Bret started throwing had a bit of stiffness to them, which Hogan answered back. Finally Hogan threw Bret into the ropes, connected with a third big boot, but Bret rolled out of the way before Hogan could drop the leg. Bret then hooked Hogan up in the Sharpshooter again, and this time the referee called for the bell rather quickly, signaling Hogan had submitted. Several babyface wrestlers like Ahmed Johnson, Savio Vega, Yokozuna, Marty Jannetty, Bob Holly, The Road Warriors, and Marc Mero quickly came out to the ring to celebrate with Hart, putting him on their shoulders while Hogan slipped away.

[Kimmel]

WRESTLEMANIA FALL OUT!!
Dave Schemer reporting!


First some backstory, last year Hulk Hogan was doing everything he could to regain the WWF Title, while the McMahons saw Hogan as more of an attraction, someone that could help the gates when need be, he was looked at as taking the place of Andre The Giant in the WWF, protected but no longer someone that really chased the WWF Title. Hogan did the feud with Steve Austin, but tried to cut Austin’s legs out from under him several times. Finally, in return for putting Austin over, The McMahons promised Hogan would get a World Title shot and World Title program at King of the Ring 95. Hogan backed out of the deal when the McMahons refused to give the WWF Title to Hogan. Hogan then refused to put over Austin, The McMahon finally convinced Hogan to do so by promising to release Hogan from his contract while buying out the back half. Hogan then contacted Eric Bischoff and got himself a six month deal in ECW for a cost that strained the companies coffers and forced them to let talent like Jerry Lawler leave. Hogan competed in ECW, all the while talking to the WWF through his friend Jimmy Hart who was managing The Giant at the time. At the same time Hogan was negotiating a contract with ECW for a long term deal, Eric was so sure that Hogan would sign that they never planned on writing him out. Hogan even worked a few dates without a contract.



Then the day of The Royal Rumble, Hulk Hogan signed a 6 month contract with the WWF, the contract included a clause of reasonable creative control, so Hogan could keep the strength of his character up, something he demanded on because of how “disrespected” he felt by the Austin storyline. Hogan was given the Royal Rumble win and the Wrestlemania main event because it was felt that a dream match between Hogan and Bret would draw a huge buyrate, something that Hogan was happy to profit off of. Hogan even agreed to put Bret over, and said all the right things in regards to Bret’s future as Champion. The other clause was Hogan wanted his win back from Steve Austin, something Austin agreed to when The McMahon’s promised to take care of Austin.



Everything was going along fine until the Road to Wrestlemania began, and then Hogan decided he wanted the WWF Title. He pitched a storyline where he would be Bret Hart thanks to interference from the Wolfpac, Bret and HBK would then form a tag team where they hated each other but had to team to battle the Wolfpac and Owen and Bulldog, meanwhile Hogan would himself feud with the Giant. The storyline had the insane turn that the Giant was Andre’s illegitimate son and was looking for revenge on Hogan, it would go on to have Jimmy Hart turn on the Giant and join Hogan, while Undertaker and Paul Bearer would turn heel and hook up with the Giant, making it hard for Hogan, who would then have to battle Undertaker and The Giant on his own. He suggested to the WWF that they sign Brutus Beefcake and The Nasty Boys to team with Hogan to help him with Giant and Undertaker, only to later have Beefcake and Jimmy Hart turn on him. Hogan thought The Nasty Boys vs The Godwinns and The Nasty Boys vs Undertaker and The Giant would be money programs in the tag division as for the WWF Title picture, Hogan actually proposed a Hogan vs. Beefcake main event for the WWF Title for the 1997 Royal Rumble. The McMahons found the idea to be ludicrous.


In the other camps, Bret Hart did not want to lose the World Title, and especially didn’t want to lose it to Hogan only to get pushed into a tag team. He saw the writing on the wall that if Hogan got the WWF Title he would be pushed to the backburner and possibly out of the WWF again, Shawn Michaels saw the same thing happening to him and his friends. Shawn and Diesel also wanted to get their shots at the title and felt that the direction the WWF was heading in, with Bret-HBK-Diesel-Austin all battling each other for the top spot was the way to go. The Kliq felt betrayed by Hogan’s arrival in the WWF and felt that the Bret-HBK match and then the Diesel/Ramon-HBK/Bret match was telling a good story that Hogan put a speed bump in.



Undertaker and Yokozuna, the two men in charge of Wrestlers Court in the back and two of the most respected wrestlers in the company, arranged a compromise, one that they thought spoke to Hogan’s desire to be on top again. Hogan would turn heel and become the leader of the Wolfpac, he would not win the title at Wrestlemania, but would win it at King of the Ring 96. Hogan would then feud with Bret, HBK, Austin, and Undertaker while the Giant would join the Wolfpac as well later in the year so that he could later turn face to battle Hogan. Hogan just would not keep a steady hand on the title as the proposal was for Hogan to trade the title around with Bret and HBK. Even though Diesel was blocked out of the World Title picture for now, he signed off on it because he and Ramon would be getting the World Tag Titles and it set up a storyline for him for later where he would be able to feud with Hogan.



Everything seemed fine until the night Hogan was supposed to turn heel, he flat out refused and threatened to no show Mania. He had the McMahons over a barrell and they gave into his demands. Razor Ramon ended up without a Wrestlemania match and the trickles the decision made caused major portions of Wrestlemania to have to be rewritten, but also major storylines throughout the summer. The McMahons decided to get through Wrestlemania and then sit down with the major players again and try to hash out where to go from there.



Hogan arrived at Wrestlemania with his entourage of Jimmy Hart, The Giant, The Godwinns and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. He wasn’t happy with Roberts being scheduled to lose the European Title, nor was he happy about the Giant losing his tag match and he losing the WWF Title match, he felt his faction was being pushed down too far. He demanded to win the WWF Title and had a new plan, which was much like the old plan. The McMahons completely refused, there was no way they were going to do this, Hogan threatened to leave, the McMahons threatened to sue, but Hogan knew that the damage to the WWF Brand would be great if they didn’t deliver the Wrestlemania main event. Hogan finally agreed to lose the match, but only if the McMahon doubled his pay day, Vince agreed to it just to get the match off. Hogan did his best to sabotage the match, so much so that Vince sent a signal to the referee to end the match as soon as Bret locked in the second Sharpshooter, and then Gorilla Monsoon quickly sent several babyface wrestlers into the ring to keep an altercation from taking place. Hogan was not happy with how the finish happened and was very loud and angry about it in the back, going so far as to getting in Gorilla Monsoon’s face.




When the show was over and Hogan was in his dressing room with his friends, Vince showed up with The Undertaker, Yokozuna, Kama and The Road Warriors. Vince gave Hogan his pay out and told him that they would no longer need his services and that he was going to sit out the rest of his contract, which expired in June, at home. Vince swore that Hogan would never return to the WWF. Vince also fired Jimmy Hart, The Godwinns and Jake Roberts. Vince did not fire the Giant and hoped that now that the Giant was away from Hogan and his influence that he would be willing to negotiate a new contract, as Giant’s contract is also set to expire in June. However, the Giant has made it pretty that he is breaking off negotiations with the WWF and has no desire to resign with Titan Sports.


The Hulkamania Era in the WWF is surely over, and more than likely will never return, but the question now is what direction will the WWF now take? It is true ratings were up during the HBK-Bret-Wolfpac triangle, and the reactions to the tweener Steve Austin have been phenomenal. Bret Hart’s position as one of the top guys is solid as is Shawn Michaels and The Undertakers, Austin and Diesel have also won the respect of the McMahons due to their actions dealing with Hulk Hogan and going with the flow to help the company. The coming weeks will be telling and will give us a good idea as to the direction the WWF will be headed in. As for Hogan, only time will tell where he ends up next and if he brings any of his friends along with him..

[Kimmel]

Monday Night Raw
Broadcast on the USA Network
April 1, 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler

New WWF President Gorilla Monsoon opens the show by announcing that Diesel will challenge WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart for the WWF Title inside a 16 foot high steel cage at the next Pay Per View Extravaganza, In Your House: Rage in the Cage!

Crush defeats Scott Putski in his return to the WWF with the Cranium Crush. Vince reveals on commentary that Crush has been locked up and just got out of prison. Crush is sporting a new look, gone is the face paint and flashy tights, replaced by jeans, a T shirt and a scraggy looking beard.

Michael Hayes interviews “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Austin is not happy with how everything went down at Wrestlemania XII with Brian Pillman, and promises that this is far from over!

New European Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeats Jesse James Armstrong with a Pedigree and an assist from Billy Gunn. After the match Hunter and Gunn put the boots to Jesse James until Savio Vega makes the save.

“Marvelous” Marc Mero and Sable are interviewed backstage by Todd Pettingill. Mero says he has spoken with WWF President Gorilla Monsoon and that he wants a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship. Mero says that Jarrett knows he lost that match last night, and says that if Jarrett is any kind of a man he will face Mero for the belt!!

WWF Tag Team Champion The Road Warriors defeat The Hit Squad (Kama and Mabel) when Hawk pins Kama after a Doomsday Device. During the match, Vince brings in Jim Ross who reveals that he has heard rumblings that former Champions Owen Hart and The British Bulldog may be up to something and says to call the WWF Hotline and listen to the Ross Report to find out what!

Vince conducts via satellite a special interview with sports physician James Andrews on the condition of “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. Andrews says that Shawn is suffering from a severe concussion, and says another concussion could end his life. When asked if that means Shawn will never be able to return to the ring Dr. Andrews states that he cannot answer that.

The Undertaker defeats The Giant after a flying clothesline and a chokeslam in a battle that Vince plugged as the final confrontation between the two of them. Taker and Giant beat each other from pillar to post before Taker was able to take the victory. After the match while Taker was celebrating he was attacked by Crush and a steel chair!!! Crush laid Taker out with a brutal chair shot to close the program.

[Kimmel]

Monday Night Raw
Broadcast on the USA Network
April 8. 1996
Hosted By: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler


Vince McMahon opens the show in the ring with WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart! Vince congratulates Bret on his victory over Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania, and the buries Hogan for leaving after losing the match because he realized that he couldn’t cut it anymore. Bret takes more of a high road but does declare this a new era in the WWF. He says he has held the title for a year and has defeated everyone that has challenged him and plans to do the same for the next year. On cue The Wolfpac’s music hits and down the ramp comes Diesel, Razor Ramon and XPac. Diesel says they aren’t here to fight, he just wants to give Bret Hart a warning, Diesel has already sent Shawn out, and he says Bret is next. Diesel says only one man is walking out of the cage at In Your House, and the other is going to get carried out, Diesel says he’ll be the one walking out, with the title over his shoulder, while Bret will get carried out of the ring once and for all. Xpac then chimes in that he is healed up and ready to fight, and he wants a shot at Bret Hart, a non title match, here TONIGHT. Bret agrees to the match and says he’ll be happy to put XPac back on crutches!!!

Savio Vega and Jesse James Armstrong defeat European Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Billy Gunn w/Sunny when Vega pins HHH after a Caribbean Kick. Vega and Jesse James Arsmtrong celebrate and dance in the ring after the match while HHH throws the mother of all fits in the aisle.

Michael Hayes is with Crush, they replay Crush’s attack on the Undertaker last week and Crush says it is because the Undertaker was supposed to be his good friend, they were supposed to be close, yet Taker never called or visited Crush when he was in jail, no one did, everyone abandoned him, well now he’s back and he is going to make them pay for forgetting about him, and The Undertaker is first on his list!!!

Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/Debra defeats Duke Drose after a Nashville Front Legsweep. After the match Jim Ross tries to get a word from Jarrett in the aisle way about Marc Mero’s challenge for another match and WWF President Gorilla Monsoon looking into the way Jarrett won the match at Wrestlemania, Jarrett refuses to comment and says he beat Mero once already and doesn’t need to face him again!

Todd Pettigill is with “The Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman, Todd shows us pictures of Wrestlemania XII and Pillman pinning Austin with his feet on the ropes. Pillman laughs and says it’s not cheating unless you get caught. Pillman says he heard Austin crying like a bitch last week, saying it isn’t over between the two of them but Pillman says it is and all he is concerned about is titles, specifically the WWF World Title held by Bret Hart, Pillman starts to lay out a challenge to Hart when Austin attacks him from out of nowhere!!! The two men are brawling on the floor as we cut away!!!

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhardt and Ahmed Johnson battle to a Double Count out as the brawl all over the ringside area. Owen Hart nor The British Bulldog are at ringside, nor in the building. Lawler and Vince talk about this and say that Jim Ross has more information about what that is on the Ross Report and to call the WWF Hotline to find out what is going on!!!

WWF President Gorilla Monsoon announces that he is ordering Jeff Jarrett to defend the Intercontiental Championship against “Marvelous” Marc Mero, NEXT WEEK HERE ON RAW!!!!

WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart defeats XPac w/Razor Ramon and Diesel by submission after a Superplex, followed by the Sharpshooter. The WWF World Tag Team Champions, The Road Warriors, came down to the ring with Bret and kept an eye on Diesel and Ramon during the match, something Diesel and Ramon did not seem happy about. The Roadies got in the ring to raise Bret’s arms after the match and starred down the Wolfpac!!!

[Kimmel]

Monday Night Raw
Broadcast on The USA Network
April 15, 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler

Diesel and Razor Ramon with XPac defeat the Headbangers after Diesel hits Mosh with a Jackknife Powerbomb and covers him. After the match, Diesel demands Vince McMahon come into the ring to interview them, Diesel says last week The Road Warriors got involved in something that did not concern them, and they are going to pay for it. Ramon then talks and says he and XPac have decided that Diesel shouldn’t be the only person winning gold at In Your House: Rage in the Cage, THEY WANT A PIECE OF THE ACTION! So they are challenging The Road Warriors to face them for the WWF Tag Team Titles, if they got that the cojones to do it!!

Michael Hayes is with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin! Hayes asks about what happened last week when Austin attacked Pillman and Austin says that he meant what he said, it ain’t over between him and Pillman!! Austin says that he wants Pillman in the ring, and he doesn’t care what he has to do to get the match, he doesn’t care what kind of match it is, he just wants Pillman!!!


Crush defeated Marty Jannetty with the Cranium Crush, during the match we saw a cut in interview with Yokozuna who was not happy about what Crush did to the Undertaker two weeks ago, Yokozuna challenges Crush to face him at In Your House: Rage in the Cage! Yoko says let’s find out how tough Crush is face to face!!!

Todd Pettingill is with European Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsely, they take a look at footage of Helmsley being pinned last week by Savio Vega, HHH says it was a fluke and that kind of thing would never happen in a one on one match, HHH alludes to the fact that his partner last week was the one to blame for what happened. This leads to Billy Gunn and Sunny who were passing by to interrupt the interview, Gunn and HHH trade insults but before they can come to blows, Todd announces that HHH will have to defend the title against Savio Vega at In Your House: Rage in the Cage!!!!! Gunn and Sunny get a good laugh from that while HHH has a fit!!!

Ahmed Johnson defeats Doomsday with a Pearl River Plunge, an impressive bit of strength shown by Ahmed in getting the victory. Lawler says he has heard from his good friends, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog that they will be here next week and they have a BOMBSHELL to drop!!! Speaking of bombshells, Jim Ross has the mother of all bombshells to drop on the Ross Report in regards to the condition of “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, call the WWF Hotline and listen to the Ross Report to find out all the dirt!!!

Michael Hayes is with WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart and WWF Tag Team Champion The Road Warriors! The Road Warriors accept the Wolfpac’s challenge, but say why wait? Bret then challenges the Wolfpac to meet him and the Road Warriors next week here on Raw, that is if THEY have the cojones to do it!!!


“Marvelous” Marc Mero w/Sable defeats Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett for the title when he hits the Wild Thing and a second referee makes the count. The first referee was knocked out when Mero attempted the TKO and Jarrett’s legs caught the ref flush in the mush. Mero had Jarrett pinned there but no one could make the count. Mero tried to revive the referee while Debra tried to give Jarrett the guitar, Sable stopped her and we had a cat fight on the floor. Jarrett ended up grabbing the IC Title and bashed Mero with it! Jarrett made a cover and a second ref ran out, but Mero kicked out before three, fought back and eventually got the victory. Jarrett was distraught as Mero celebrated his victory.

Right before going off the air Vince announced that the Wolfpac had agreed to face Bret and the Road Warriors here next week!!!

[Kimmel]

Monday Night Raw
Broadcast on The USA Network
April 22, 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler

Show opens with footage from right after Raw went off the air last week, Mero was celebrating in the ring with the Intercontinental Championship when the second referee got up and took the IC Title away from him and gave it back to Jarrett, announcing that Mero had indeed won the match, but had done so by DQ!!! We then cut to Gorilla Monsoon in his office where he reveals that the first referee saw Jarrett use the IC Belt, and as a result, overturned the pinfall victory and gave Mero a DQ victory. Now Gorilla says that the lrad official in a match has the final say, so Jarrett is indeed still the Intercontinental Champion, HOWEVER, Jarrett would have to defend the title at In Your House: Rage in the Cage against Marc Mero and if Jarrett is DQed, HE WILL LOSE THE IC TITLE!! Not only that, Gorilla also is appointing a special referee to the match, AHMED JOHNSON!!!


Savio Vega defeats Billy Gunn with Sunny by DQ when European Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who was on commentary, left the broadcast position to attack Vega. Gunn wasn’t happy about losing by DQ but instead of attacking HHH he simply left, HHH laid Vega out with a Pedigree.


Michael Hayes is backstage with Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett and his personal assistant Debra! Jarrett is irate over having to defend the title against Mero again, and all the added stipulations! Jarrett says it is obvious that Gorilla Monsoon is out to get him, and Ahmed Johnson as the referee??? Jarrett doesn’t think Ahmed can even count to three!!! Jarrett says that they can stack the deck all they like, he is still coming out ahead at In Your House: Rage in the Cage!!!


Yokozuna defeats Mabel in a battle of the big men with a Banzai Drop, cut in promo from Crush during the match where he says he will take great pleasure in beating up Yokozuna at In Your House: Rage in the Cage!!!

Todd Pettingill is backstage with “The Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman, Pillman says that he heard Austin say he will face Pillman in any match Pillman wants, well Pillman was just going to ignore Austin’s desperate pleas for attention, but has decided instead he will grant him a match at In You House: Rage in the Cage, and he has the perfect stipulation, THAT’ HE’LL REVEAL RIGHT BEFORE THE MATCH!!!!

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin defeats The Sultan with a Stone Cold Stunner, Jim Ross interviews Austin in the aisle after the match about what Pillman just said and Austin says he doesn’t care what kind of stipulation Pillman comes up with, Austin is going to stomp a mudhole in Pillman and walk it dry!!! And that’s the bottom line, cause Stone Cold Said So!!!!

Jerry “The King” Lawler interviews Owen Hart, The British Bulldog and Jim Neidhardt in the ring. They produce an injuction that they filled stating that the Road Warriors cannot defend the WWF Tag Team Title against ANYONE until Bulldog and Owen’s case that the contract for their match at Wrestlemania was improperly worded, and thus should be null and void and that Owen and The Bulldog are still the WWF Tag Team Champions!!!!


Jim Ross gets a reaction to the news that Owen and Bulldog just broke from the Wolfpac as they head to the ring, they don’t care, they still will kick the Road Warriors’ butts at In Your House, and then they’ll beat up Owen and Bulldog for the Tag Titles. Ross gets a reaction from the Champions as they head to the ring and they say that Bulldog and Owen can pull all the tricks they want, the only way they are getting the Tag Titles back is if they come and take them!!!


WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart and WWF Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors defeated The Wolfpac when Hawk pinned XPac after a Doomsday Device. After the match the Wolfpac pulled Baseball Bats out from under the ring and attacked Hart and the Roadies with them!!!! The Wolfpac laid their opponents out and then XPac produced a can of red spray paint!!!! They proceeded to spray paint WP on the backs on Bret and the Road Warriors to end the show!!!!!!

[Kimmel]

Free For All
Broadcast on The Preview Channel
April 27, 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Billy Gunn with Sunny defeats Jesse James Armstrong with a DDT

A surprise right before the show went to Pay Per View, a commotion outside as Shawn Michaels had arrived at the arena but security would not let him in!! WWF President Gorilla Monsoon was seen arguing with Shawn telling him he was in no condition to be at the arena and to go home, Shawn refused and was in Monsoon’s face, yelling at Monsoon to let him in the building!!!!!

In Your House: Rage in The Cage
Broadcast on Pay Per View
April 27, 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

European Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Savio Vega with a Pedigree in an exciting back and forth battle to kick the Pay Per View off. Vega came close several times to taking the pinfall and the victory, but Hunter kept slipping out the back and kicking out at the last second.

Michael Hayes is backstage with “Marvelous” Marc Mero and Sable, he starts to interview Mero about his match coming up against Jeff Jarrett, but they are interrupted by a celebrating Hunter Hearst Helmsley as HHH comes through the curtain. HHH insulted Mero and then hit on Sable telling her to drop Mero and come home with him tonight, promising if she does so she won’t be disappointed, unlike every night in bed with Mero!!! Mero flips out and attacks HHH, as they brawl they knock over some rigging, HHH picks up a steel pipe from that rigging and bashes Mero is the knee with it!!! Mero is left lying on the ground clutching his knee!!! HHH tosses the pipe down and leaves.


Crush defeats Yokozuna after Yoko misses a Banzai Drop. After the match Crush keeps working over Yokozuna!!!! He only stops when the lights go out and the bell tolls!!!! Undertaker’s music starts to play and the dead man heads down to the ring!!!! Crush is motioning for Taker to come on and get in, Taker wastes no time getting into the ring, Crush and Taker start to brawl with Taker getting the better end of the exchange and sending Crush over the top rope and out of the ring with a big boot!!! As Crush is collecting himself on the arena floor, Taker runs the ropes and launches himself over the top rope onto Crush!!! Taker and Crush then start brawling until officials, referees and other wrestlers come out to break it all up!!!


Todd Pettingill is backstage with The Wolfpac. They have a good laugh at Shawn trying to get into the building, Ramon and XPac say they are going to beat the Road Warriors tonight, whether it is for the titles or not, Diesel once again says that two men are walking into that cage tonight, but only one will walk out, and that person will be him, “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, the new WWF Champion!!!

Michael Hayes is in the trainer’s room where they are wrapping up Mero’s knee, the trainer can be heard telling Mero that he shouldn’t wrestle but Mero grabs him by the shirt and tells him to wrap it up because he is wrestling!!!


“Stone Cold” Steve Austin meets Brian Pillman in the next match and Pillman has a helluva stipulation for their match, Austin has to wrestle Pillman with ONE HAND TIED BEHIND HIS BACK!!! Austin isn’t very keen on this at first, but realizing it’s a way to get Pillman into the ring, Austin agrees. Pillman dominates a good portion of the match, but Austin kept fighting back, Pillman finally lost it , grabbed a steel chair and blasted Austin with it giving Austin the win by DQ!!! Pillman hit Austin again and again with the chair, Austin refused to lie down however and kept trying to get to his feet!! Pillman finally tossed the chair away and left as Austin tried to use the ropes to get to his feet. When the referee tried to help Austin, Austin responded by giving the ref a Stunner!!!!!


Promo plays for the next time the WWF will be on Pay Per View, May 26th for In Your House: Collision Course!!!!


Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/Debra defeats “Marvelous” Marc Mero w/ Sable to retain the title. Mero was in obvious pain the entire match and could barely walk, he struggled to put any pressure on his leg and Jarrett targeted it from the moment the bell rang. Mero gave it a hell of a try and Ross put over his heart as Mero was trapped in the Figure Four in the center of the ring and refused to give up, finally Sable ran away from ringside crying only to return with a towel that she threw into the ring, giving the match up for Mero. Special referee Ahmed Johnson called for the bell. Jarrett celebrated and tried to go back after Mero, but Ahmed got in the way, Jarrett poked Ahmed in the chest and told him to get out of the way because he was the IC Champion, Ahmed refused to move so Jarrett slapped him!!! That was a HUGE mistake as Ahmed kicked Jarrett in the gut and dropped him in the ring with the Pearl River Plunge!!!!!


Michael Hayes is backstage with WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart. He has no idea why Shawn Michaels would be trying to get into the building, but he is glad Gorilla Monsoon kept him out because all Shawn would have done is caused problems. Hart says Diesel has been telling everyone that Bret won’t be walking out of the cage, well Bret sees it differently, he says he will be walking out of the cage, still the WWF Champion, while Diesel will be on the left lying!!!


Before the next match begins, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog come down to the ring, dressed is suits they produce a piece of paper that they give to the referee which Lawler says in the injunction keeping this from being a title match. They have words with both the Road Warriors and The Wolfpac before leaving the ringside area.


Razor Ramon and XPac defeat WWF Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors in a non title match after Ramon pins Hawk with a Razor’s Edge. The Road Warriors dominated most of the match, especially when they had XPac in the ring, Pac was being tossed around like a rag doll, but he proved to be the catylst for the Wolfpac’s win as he sprayed Hawk in the face with his can of spray paint behind the referee’s back, allowing Ramon the chance to hit the Razor’s Edge and get them the victory. Animal chased XPac and Ramon out of the ring.


The WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart put his title on the line against #1 contender “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel in the Main Event, inside a Steel Cage! Bret did not back down from his much larger opponent, and both men ended up tasting the cold hard steel of the cage several times. Bret even brought Diesel off the top of the cage with a Superplex, but somehow Diesel was able to stop Bret from escaping the cage. The brawl intensified, and Diesel removed a turnbuckle cover, he attempted to drop Bret face first on the turnbuckle, but Bret slipped out and ran Diesel’s sternum into the turnbuckle, Bret went to escape the cage via the door, but found his way blocked by the Wolfpac who rushed down to the ring to stop Bret’s escape!! The Road Warriors soon appeared and ran the Wolfpac off, but it gave Diesel enough time to attack Bret from behind and then whip him chest first into the exposed turnbuckle!! Diesel dropped his straps and was about to grab Bret for the Jackknife WHEN SHAWN MICHAELS REPELED FROM THE CEILING DOWN INTO THE RING!!!!! Shawn clocked Diesel flush in the mush with Sweet Chin Music!!!!!! Big Daddy Cool was out cold!!! Shawn then tugged on the line and was pulled back up into the rafters!!!! Bret slowly crawled to the door, referee Earl Hebner opened it and Bret was able to escape and retain the title!!!!! The show went off the air with Bret holding the belt and Diesel still laying spread eagle in the center of the ring!!!!!

[Kimmel]

Monday Night Raw
Broadcast on the USA Network
April 29, 1996
Hosted by: Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler


Show opens with Jim Ross talking to Gorilla Monsoon who announces that tonight, Ahmed Johnson will face Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship, he also announces the at In Your House: Collision Course, The Road Warriors will put the WWF Tag Team Titles on the line against Owen Hart and The British Bulldog so that we can settle this lawsuit nonsense. Just as he is finishing up, The Wolfpac appears and they are angry, Diesel says all three of them should be holding belts right now, but some stupid lawsuit screwed XPac and Ramon out of the tag titles, and Shawn Michaels screwed him out of the WWF Title, Diesel says Monsoon better do something about this OR ELSE! Monsoon asks if Diesel is threatening him, and Diesel says that he is, so MONSOON GIVES THE WOLFPAC THE NIGHT OFF!!! He says security will escort them out and tells them not to let the door hit them in the butt!!!


“The Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman defeats Savio Vega by DQ when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin runs into the ring and attacks Pillman!! Austin and Pillman brawl into the crowd, Austin throws Pillman onto the commentary table and beats on him, Austin then suplexes Pillman through the Spanish Announce table!!!The brawl is finally broken up by officials.

Gorilla Monsoon is irate and is yelling at Austin, Austin is yelling right back!!! Monsoon threatens fines and suspensions and Austin doesn’t care he says he’ll fight Pillman in the parking lot if he has too!!! Monsoon says he has had enough and if Austin and Pillman want a Street Fight, then they can have one In Your House: Collision Course!!!!!


WWF Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors defeat Doomsday and The Sultan when Hawk pins Doomsday after a Doomsday Device! Jim Ross catches the Road Warriors in the aisle and they say that they look forward to crushing Owen Hart and The British Bulldog at In Your House: Collision Course and they aren’t done with the Wolfpac, especially that XPUNK!!!!!


Michael Hayes is backstage with Ahmed Johnson, talking about his shot at the IC Title later tonight, as they discuss it, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog and The Anvil walk by and the Anvil bumps Ahmed. Ahmed doesn’t like that one bit and grabs The Anvil, they start arguing and then brawling, Owen and Bulldog then jump on Ahmed too and it’s a three on one beat down until the Road Warriors run them off.

Billy Gunn w/Sunny defeats Duke Drose, while the match is going on we see a cut in promo from Ahmed Johnson who is PISSED and he is gunning for the Hart Foundation!!!!!

Vince McMahon brings out WWF Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Bret says he had no idea Shawn Michaels did what he did until he watched the replay later that night, and Bret is not happy about it. Bret says that he is sick of Shawn and everyone else getting involved in his matches, Suddenly to everyone’s surprise, including Vince’s. Shawn Michaels comes though the crowd!!!! He rolls into the ring and says he guess expecting a thank you from Bret was just a little too much. Bret is no amused. Shawn says Diesel robbed him twice of his title match, so he decided to repay Diesel in kind. Shawn says he wants a shot at the WWF Title, Bret says he can have it next week, Vince says that cannot happen that Shawn is still suffering from post concussion syndrome, Shawn says he’ll sign anything they want him to sign, he doesn’t care, he just wants a shot at the title!!!!


Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/Debra defeats Ahmed Johnson to retain the title after The Hart Foundation comes down to the ring, Owen and Bulldog acted like they were going to get into the ring, distracting the referee while The Anvil hit Ahmed from behind with the ring bell!!! Jarrett got the pin fall but when the Hart Foundation was escaping up the aisle they were cut off by the Road Warriors!!!! Ahmed had also gotten back to his feet and blocked their other escape route!!!!! Ahmed and the Road Warriors attacked the Hart Foundation and all six men started to brawl as the show went off the air!!!!

[jackknight]

Hated seeing both Jerry Lawler and Ted DiBiase taken out like Chumps at Mania. However even though I'm not a Diesel fan; I really enjoyed the ass-whooping he handed out to Shawn Michaels. Great stuff. Pillman vs. Austin was a great match as was the defeat of Owen and Bulldog by the Road Warriors. Really screwy finish to the Main Event, looks like Hogan got the ol' WWF screwjob. Good show.

Speaking of screwy though, while we can't speak toward the WWF side of things; whoever has been "reporting" on the goings-on within ECW should be fired. Jerry Lawler wasn't even under contract with ECW when he ran off to the WWF. He was signed in XPW. And if a squash at Mania and a seat behind a desk is the best Vince could offer him; "The King" should've stayed put.  As for Hogan clearing out Bischoff's coffers, that's a pretty bold statement to be made considering Eric Bischoff also signed "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Barry Windham; and Tully Blanchard to deals around the same time to name a few. And Hogan was released from his ECW contract for the very same reason the WWF let him go; he wanted the ECW Title and it wasn't what was "best for business." Perhaps the WWF should stop reading the dirt sheets for their "facts."

[Captain Charisma]

I hated to see King squashed at Mania, but I can also see it turning into something, not sure what exactly, but I can see that being used for bigger things. Pillman and Austin definitely were the stand out performers here. I swear I could hear Jesse Ventura from WCW 93 calling the original Hollywood Blondes break up, and I swear it could seriously hear sadness in his tone. I didn't like the finish to the Mania Main Event, but I understand how it sets up an entire year of angles for you, well that came out wrong, I loved the outcome of the main event, I didn't particularly care for the execution, though I understand it.

The Mania Fall Out was fun. I was just listening to some Nash shoots about the mid-90's and how BSK and the Kliq were rolling, and wrestler's court. I would hate to have to defend myself over perceived wrongdoings before the court of Yoko and Taker. Eff that, I'd rather turn in my notice and head to the Indy's.

[Kimmel]

I was talking to a good friend of mine who worked allot of WWF and WCW show in the mid/late 90's and he would tell me about all the backstage bullshit, and it hit me that having to force something like that on myself would make things more compelling. If Hogan didn't want to do a job he would make his opponent look bad, so I thought I would throw all that in, I knew it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it made it more fun, it gave me a challenge, what would Vince do? And where would things need to go? I know working political backstage drama into this was never really a part of fantasy wrestling, but I thought I would try something different and write the entire world instead of just what happened in front of people, maybe it will do well, maybe it won't go over, but I figured I would give it a shot.

[Chitohausen]

I really like the addition of the backstage bullshit, it really adds an extra element to the shows. Kayfabe was dead and buried by this point anyways, and it's kinda cool to get a peak behind the curtain and see what's going on!

I'm intrigued by Crush and Taker, I don't know if they wrestled much IRL, I'm sure around Survivor Series '93 they would have met at least a few times, but I'm really looking forward to them squaring off here.