Raw Deal - Raw recap for February 26, 1996

Jake "The Snake" Roberts beats Isaac Yankem, D.D.S.

We see last week's video package of the Warrior, interspersed with young fans asking for "Rowdy" Roddy Piper to bring him back.

Diesel beats Bob "Spark Plug" Holly. As Diesel is heading to the back, the lights go off. When they come back on, the Undertaker is in the ring. Diesel, noticing that 'Taker is in the ring, heads straight for it, but it goes dark again. When the lights come back on, The Undertaker has disappeared. The lights go dark a third time, then The Undertaker appears on the video wall. He says he hopes Diesel doesn't expect things to be that easy, and tells him that if Diesel wants to play mind games, he is the master. He then tells Diesel he will see him on the dark side.

Bret "The Hit Man" Hart takes on Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels takes on The 1-2-3 Kid...next week on Raw.

Ahmed Johnson beats Shinobi. During the match, Vince McMahon interviews Goldust via telephone, who makes fun of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper through poem and says he wants to "play his bagpipe."

We hear from Mankind again. He says the most beautiful woman in the world is his mother, who he claims always understood him until she sent her away. He says that Mankind is suffering and in agony, and that the time has come to release that pain, which will be wonderful for him and not very wonderful for everyone else. He says he's coming home.

Today's featured item in the WWF Store is the official WrestleMania 12 T-Shirt, only $18 plus shipping and handling. It even lists all the cities and venues to hold the first 11 WrestleManias on the back.

This past weekend on Superstars, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog beat Hakushi and Barry Horowitz to advance in the tag team tournament. Next week, The New Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy) take on The Godwinns (Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn) in another first-round matchup.

Vince McMahon interviews "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and Bret "The Hit Man" Hart in the ring. Shawn says that there is not a person in this building that has more respect for Bret than him, and that Bret is indeed the best there was and is, and possibly the best that ever will be, but he doesn't believe that Bret is the best there is because that title belongs to him. Bret says Shawn is one of the greatest wrestlers he's ever had the privilege of wrestling, and that the last five months have been the hardest of his own career, but he looks forward to getting in the ring with Shawn to show exactly why he's the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. He says it's not his job to beat Shawn, and as WWF Champion, it's Shawn's job to beat him. He has nothing but respect for him, but when the bell rings, he plans to hit Shawn with everything but the kitchen sink as he will be in the biggest dogfight in this life. Shawn says conditioning will play a big part in this match, and says Bret has had one tough opponent after another, but he's been holding his own lately, too. He tells The Hit Man that they do have a lot of respect for each other, but he's in the best shape of his life. As for Bret's condition, Bret compares himself to the Energizer Bunny. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper shows up, and says that he was listening to this interview and wanted to make sure the fans got a fair shake on every fight at WrestleMania 12, and says that you can't boo guys like Bret and Shawn. He says that March 31st is the night to fight, and if there's going to be a fight, there will be a winner. He then announces that Bret vs. Shawn at WrestleMania 12 will be a 60-minute Iron Man match. He tells both men to shake each other's hands now, as they'll be hating each other afterwards.

Yokozuna beats Owen Hart and The British Bulldog in a handicap match by disqualification after Vader attacks Yokozuna. Suddenly, Ahmed Johnson and Jake "The Snake" Roberts show up. Ahmed takes out Hart and Bulldog, then Ahamed and Roberts (the latter with his snake Revelations) force Vader to retreat.

"The Huckster" and "The Nacho Man" appear on "Larry Fling Live." Nacho says they left WWF because they were too old to wrestle and they couldn't keep up with the new generation. Huckster says their continuing careers are no charade. Billionaire Ted appears via satellite, and almost causes a ruckus when he says that if he's as overpaid as Huckster and Nacho Man, then maybe he should get in the ring like those "has-beens." The "has-beens" remark causes The Huckster to pull out a steel chair meant for Larry Fling, but Larry Flying pulls out a high heel to make him back off. When Huckster and Nacho are asked who will win their match at "WrestleMania," both of them say they will, causing Huckster to hit Nacho with the steel chair as well as a bunch of producers. Larry Fling has to keep the Huckster at bay with the high heel.