Monday Night Raw
January 8, 1996
Newark, DE
Bob Carpenter Center

The current WWF Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Bret Hart (11/19/1995)
Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon (10/22/1995)
World Tag Team Champions: The Smoking Gunns (9/25/1995)

TONIGHT: Shawn Michaels makes a stunning revelation. Is he retiring from wrestling or not? Plus, is Billionaire Ted planning another “Raw rip-off”? It’s not just WCW that they take a stab at here tonight. Oh no! Vince then announces that the Bret Hart/British Bulldog In Your House PPV main event will air tonight for free! Screw you, paying customers! Also, Scheme Gene will be on the program. Okay, now let’s get RAW!

Cool new Raw intro on the THIRD anniversary show, by the way. Oddly enough for a promotion that cares so much about ‘milestones’, I don’t even think this was mentioned on the whole show.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler.

• Jeff Jarrett vs. Hakushi
  

Let Us Take You Back: In Your House, 12/17/95. Jeff Jarrett made his return to the WWF and attacked Ahmed Johnson by beating him with his gold record. Lawler even helped out a little with a steel chair. We’ll be seeing that Jarrett v. Ahmed encounter coming up at the Royal Rumble.

Seems like Hakushi should KILL Jarrett, right? Now that he’s being “Americanized”, it’s just not the same Hakushi and this is basically a JTTS match. He gets in a few of his cool moves like the Springboard Shoulderblock, but Jarrett doesn’t know what to think and bails. He trips up Hakushi from the floor and hits the Bossman Straddle inside before we go to break. When we return, Jarrett is cheating in an ab stretch. Hakushi makes his comeback and tries a Springboard Splash, but Jarrett hits knees and applies the FIGURE-FOUR for the submission victory. (6:15 shown) Never knew that knees to the ribs made the Figure Four so lethal! *½

Jim Ross is filling in for Dok Hendrix tonight for the Royal Rumble Report. Those announced to appear in the Royal Rumble are: Doug Gilbert, Jake Roberts, Jerry Lawler, “Makin’ A Difference” Fatu, Isaac Yankem DDS, Vader (we get a quick montage of him working out), Henry O. Godwinn, Marty Jannetty, Kama, Skip of the Body Donnas, and Takao Omari. No mention of Diesel for some reason. Scheme Gene says he knows of a superstar that was unmentioned that will be in the Royal Rumble. He can’t tell you now, but he can tell you later.

• Ahmed Johnson vs. Jeff Brettler
  

I believe Brettler’s pants were made at the last minute from the ugliest curtains you’ve EVER seen. Ahmed just destroys this idiot with his typical and possibly neck-breaking offense. Ahmed scores the PEARL RIVER PLUNGE for the win at 1:32. Jarrett BUM RUSHES THE SHOW trying to KABONG Ahmed, but misses and scurries away without the guitar before Ahmed can get his hands on him. As a form of retribution, Ahmed breaks the guitar over the ringpost. Feel the excitement!

The Brother Love Show with Ted DiBiase: DiBiase has been searching for a year to crown the new Million Dollar Champion and he has finally found his man in a WWF newcomer named the Ringmaster. Probably not that big of a deal at the time except to the smart kids on the internet who loved his work elsewhere. This Delaware crowd certainly didn’t really respond to him. Looking back, it doesn’t take a brain scientist or a rocket surgeon to realize this is historically BIG for the WWF this being Steve Austin’s WWF TV debut and all. He cuts a very convincing promo as a guy to watch in 1996. Let’s hope his career takes off at some point!

Ref Earl Hebner gets asked why he didn’t stop the match between Bret Hart and the British Bulldog when Bret was bleeding like a stuck pig? Because Bret was still responding to everything Earl asked him and he wanted to win.

• Goldust vs. Aldo Montoya
  

Another JTTS match. Montoya makes a short fiery comeback, but Goldust hits the CURTAIN CALL for the win at 2:17.

At some strange Dok Hendrix shrine with an undisclosed location, Jim Ross introduces the Shawn Michaels press conference that took place earlier today. Due to the crazy head kick Owen Hart gave him back in November, Shawn says the doctors think it would be best if he never compete again in the WWF. Screw medical advice though, because Shawn Michaels is entering himself in the Royal Rumble and he will win the match and then defeat whoever is the WWF champion at WrestleMania 12. Thank you, have a great day. It takes some convincing from Jim Ross, but Scheme Gene fills us in on what superstar he knows will be in the Royal Rumble. It’s Vader. WE ALREADY KNEW THAT, SCHEME GENE.

Diesel, Razor Ramon, and Owen Hart give their thoughts on Shawn Michaels coming back at the Rumble. They all advice against it.

• WWF World Champion Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith (w/Jim Cornette & Diana Smith)
  

Davey Boy Smith makes this match a little more interesting by bringing up his victory over Bret at SummerSlam 1992 to screw with Bret’s head. And with Jim Cornette there to help Davey Boy along with the screwing (pun not intended), this looks to be ALL bad for Bret. What’s even more awesome about this match is that Davey Boy is supposedly wearing the exact same tights he wore at Wembley Stadium in ’92. Diana Smith doesn’t stand with Cornette – she sits at ringside to give concerned looks every now and then much like at SummerSlam. Early on, Bret controls Davey Boy with an armbar. DBS tries to flip out every once and a while, but he goes right back into the hold. Cornette has a Santa Claus tennis racket cover! Davey Boy catches Bret with a kitchen sink and hangs him up in the tree of woe for a mudhole stomping. Hebner gets knocked back by DBS, but he helps Hebner to his feet to avoid any DQ. DBS works a chinlock for a bit. Bret fights out, but then he’s whipped in the corner for his chest-first bump. Back to the chinlock. Bret comes out of that again and launches Davey Boy with a monkey flip. Inverted atomic drop follows a running bulldog by Bret for two. Piledriver scores another nearfall for the Hitman. Russian legsweep sets up the vertical flying elbow drop. Davey Boy stops a superplex and drops Bret on the top rope to send him to the floor. Bret eats the stairs and as a result, the blood begins to flow from his forehead. Davey Boy rams Bret’s back into the ringpost and takes him back inside for more punishment. Piledriver gets two. Hourglass suplex by Bulldog gets another two. Press slam doesn’t even put Bret away. DBS connects with a flying headbutt to Bret’s lower back. Apparently he pulled something in his leg when he came off the ropes because he has to limp over to cover Bret for 1-2-NO! Bret escapes a bow-and-arrow and attempts the SHARPSHOOTER, but DBS turns out of it. Davey Boy knocks Bret out to the floor and then beats him on the apron. Bret counters a suplex back in and hits a bridging German suplex for 1-2-NO! Bret backdrops Davey Boy out to the floor. If his leg wasn’t hurting before, it is now. Bret follows him out with a pescado and unloads. He springs back off the ropes onto Davey Boy, who catches him in mid-air and gives Bret a RUNNING POWERSLAM ON THE FLOOR! Davey Boy pulls back the ringside mats and looks for a suplex, but Bret counters and drops Davey Boy crotch-first on the guardrail. Nice little bit of retribution for what Davey Boy did to Bret’s crotch earlier. Back in the ring, Bret hits a backbreaker for two. Superplex connects, but only earns Bret another nearfall. Bret rolls through Davey’s O’Connor roll attempt for 1-2-NO! Davey Boy runs into a boot in the corner, setting him up for la magistral cradle that gets 1-2-3! Bret retains. (21:12) Another great story from these two that was much more of a ‘blood and guts’ style match than their first classic. ****¼

Before we go, we hear from the Undertaker and Paul Bearer. The Creatures of the Night want the WWF title back, and he plans to deliver.

Here is tonight’s installment of Billionaire Ted’s Wrasslin’ Warroom.

Next week: The Undertaker battles Isaac Yankem DDS. Plus, Owen Hart takes on Marty Jannetty.