10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 1995
WCW's impact and sticking two fingers up at government...
There's no escaping the truth.
1995 was a sh*te year for the WWF. All-important pay-per-view buyrates were down, live attendance was in the toilet, barely anybody was moving the ratings needle and everything had this low-rent, 'bloom off the rose' feel. Somehow, despite occasionally looking like it was being filmed on a Sony Handycam, Raw managed to survive arguably the worst period in Federation history.
Unlike 1994, there was no pretence from Vince McMahon that fans were seeing the best "sports entertainment" of all the times. It was like the boss knew he was struggling to turn his promotion back into a titan - that's maybe why big Vin threw so many debuts at '95 in the hopes that someone, anyone would catch on.
48 episodes of flagship programming pinned down a year that genuinely threatened to ruin everything McMahon had built, but there were glimmers of hope. Shawn Michaels turned babyface, and the threat of competition would eventually help the WWF realise that they had to adapt.
The alternative was hoping Mantaur was going to become a box office sensation...