10 Things You Didn't Know About Stone Cold & Brian Pillman Gun Angle
3. It Was Filmed Live While The Rest Of RAW Was Taped
A common cost-cutting measure of Vince McMahon's early years running the WWF was to feature multiple television tapings on the same night. It wasn't unusual for the WWF to run a show that ran in excess of four hours that they used to turn into 3-4 weeks worth of television shows.
While WCW's Nitro aired live every week on TNT, Monday Night RAW was often aired on tape delay. Such was the case on 4th November, 1996 when Goldust battled The Stalker, The Sultan took on Alex "The Pug" Porteau, and Rick Bognar's Razor Ramon wrestled Marc Mero.
The matches that took place in the arena were weeks old, but the footage of Austin invading Pillman's home was filmed live as it happened.
Vince had originally considered taping the segment a few days before airing it, but later thought that shooting it live was more in line with the nature of the segment and would give it a more realistic feel. He was right.
When RAW came to television homes on 4th November, the matches were all pre-recorded, but the segments that featured the Austin/Pillman angle, including the night's commentary track laid down by Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, guest caller Kerwin Silfies, and on-the-scene correspondent, Kevin Kelly, was all done live.