Monday Night Raw
April 24, 1995
Omaha, NE
Civic Auditorium

The current WWF champs were as follows:
World Champion: Diesel (11/26/1994)
Intercontinental Champion: Jeff Jarrett (1/22/1995)
World Tag Team Champions: Owen Hart & Yokozuna (4/2/1995)
Women’s Champion: Alundra Blayze (4/3/1995)

The first 90 seconds of the program is dedicated to the last 90 days of embarrassing moment after embarrassing moment for Bam Bam Bigelow. However, tonight he has a chance to redeem himself with a WWF championship title match. LET’S GET RAW.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler.

• The Smokin’ Gunns vs. The Brooklyn Brawler & Barry Horowitz
  

Check out Brooklyn Brawler on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. It’s a fun listen and he’s a pretty humble dude. Vince hypes the Gunns getting a tag titles shot at In Your House in a few weeks. Horowitz gets thrown around, then Brawler receives the same punishment. Double Russian Legsweep to the Brawler! A few more tags in and out before Brawler takes the back suplex and running neckbreaker combo to give the Gunns the quick win at 2:17.

Elsewhere, Bigelow (with a terrible looking black eye) stands beside Ted DiBiase backstage appearing confident and ready to sacrifice for the Million Dollar Corporation. Vince jokes to Bam Bam about his shiner. Bigelow just ignores all that and keeps his mind on Diesel.

After the break, Diesel reminds everyone that he’s going to follow in the footsteps of Bret Hart and turn down ZERO challenges.

• Bertha Faye (w/Harvey Wippleman) vs. La Pantera Serena
  

So Bertha goes from wearing all black and looking evil to looking like the female equivalent to the Adorable Adrian Adonis – in girth and style. Bertha Faye does most of the fat people moves to La Pantera. Loads of botches though. Things pick up with a decent sitout powerbomb followed by the GUERILLA PRESS SLAM for the win at 3:56. This was ugly in so many ways.

Todd Pettingell with the In Your House report. This show costs the same as taking the kids out to the movies, ya’ll. Besides, the top movie for Mother’s Day weekend 1995 is Crimson Tide. It’s rated R! Good movie, but you shouldn’t take your kids to see that. Stay at home, watch the PPV.

You know what I would have loved to have seen? Psycho Sid in a movie with Ernest P. Worrell.

• WWF Champion Diesel vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Ted DiBiase)
  

Vince and King both predict Bigelow as the winner, so that kind of gives it all away. Bam Bam bumps around for Diesel for a while. Diesel whips him corner to corner for avalanches. There’s the elbows and the signature boot choke. Bigelow goes to the eyes and chokes Diesel, but Diesel knees him and clotheslines Bam Bam for two. A slam and elbow drop gets another nearfall. Bigelow fights out of an armbar and starts up the headbutts. “Diesel” chants start up and he decks Bigelow with a jumping shoulderblock. Now they go to the floor where Bigelow runs Diesel back into the ringpost a couple times. Back in, Bigelow delivers a Samoan drop (and he’s not even Samoan!) for 1-2-NO! Commercials. Omaha is PRO-Diesel, let me tell ya. When we come back, Diesel breaks free of a chinlock only to run into a double-KO. Bigelow charges, but Diesel trips him up and levels Bam Bam with a running splash for two. Bossman straddle connects. Diesel counters a suplex into one of his own for two. Bigelow escapes a neck wrench and hits the suplex he wanted for further damage on the back. That gets two. Bigelow applies the chinlock again, which cues Tatanka. Diesel breaks out of the chinlock with a back suplex, but Bigelow remains in control. He drapes Diesel on the second rope allowing Tatanka to get a cheap shot in on the champ. Let’s take another break. TOO MUCH DRAMA. When we return, DiBiase provides the distraction to take Diesel off his game. As Bigelow whips Diesel into the ropes towards Tatanka, Diesel counters and Bigelow gets tripped up by mistake. With Bigelow all weirded out, Diesel whips Bam Bam in for a Big Boot to stagger him into the JACKKNIFE to retain the title. (12:58 shown) Afterwards, Diesel leaves Bigelow to DiBiase and Tatanka. DiBiase gives Bam Bam a tongue lashing for constantly failing, so he fires Bigelow and slaps him across the face. Even Charlie Murphy knows, you don’t slap a man. As Bigelow backs DiBiase into the corner, Tatanka attacks from behind. However, Tatanka can’t handle the big guy and gets wiped out. Man, Omaha is giving the WWF just the hot reactions they want. I love it. Now that Bam Bam has DiBiase all to himself, he grabs the mic and tells DiBiase that he can’t be fired because he quits. Well, there goes your unemployment benefits, dummy. The MDC go for plan C as Irwin R. Schyster joins the fray and kicks Bam Bam in the back of the knee. Now that he’s down and hurting, out comes Sid (in blue tights?). After he powerbombs Bigelow, finally Diesel makes the big save and cleans house. Not a very strong match, but this served its purpose putting Bam Bam Bigelow over as the new babyface. *½

• Aldo Montoya vs. The Black Phantom
  

Hey everybody, Justin Credible has a yellow jock strap on his face! And hey, that Black Phantom does the DDT just like Gangrel. Weird! Vince is more concerned with telling us all that Shawn Michaels will be back within a month’s time instead of worrying over Montoya’s condition. Anyways, the Ricky Steamboat-style comeback finishes off the Black Phantom with a crossbody out of the corner at 2:45.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley is on his way to the WWF real soon, folks. He says nothing in this vignette and just stares at you with his nose up in the air while sitting in his obvious makeshift swanky living room set and listening to some Masterpiece Theatre music.

Before we go, we get an exclusive! While we were stuck in a commercial break, Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow shook hands and the crowd applauds. Oh dear, Omaha. You guys are just too good. Also, Jerry Lawler is still trying to get Bret Hart to sign a contract for a match with him at In Your House, but he’s scared. We’ll see about that.

NEXT WEEK: Razor Ramon vs. (Not Yet Psycho) Sid!

WWF presents In Your House
LIVE on PPV
May 14, 1995
Syracuse, New York
Onondaga War Memorial

MAIN EVENT: WWF Champion Diesel vs. Psycho Sid
WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. The Smoking Gunns
Bret Hart vs. Hakushi
The 1-2-3 Kid & Razor Ramon vs. The Roadie & Jeff Jarrett