Razor Ramon © vs Goldust
WWF Intercontinental Title Match
01/21/1996
The emergence of Goldust in 95 and 96 WWF was interesting to see. Still technically in the much maligned ‘New Generation’ era, Goldust signified one of the first of many steps that WWF would take into a much edgier direction. This reached its peak during the Monday Night Wars from 97 onwards, but the Goldust gimmick began to show the willingness of Vince McMahon to think outside the box to challenge and defeat his main rivals.
Having spent the tail end of 95 playing flirtatious mind games with the Intercontinental Champion, Razor Ramon, things came to a head at the 96 Royal Rumble. Though the gimmick of Goldust often didn’t lend itself to the quality of in ring action that we knew Dustin Rhodes was capable of, it was more about the behaviour and theatrics surrounding the character that made him much watch. Goldust left us wondering to what extent he might go to unnerve his opponent, as well as playing on the latent (and for some, blatant) homophobia of certain types of wrestling fan. He was effectively an Adrian Street for the new generation.
The entrance of Goldust alone sold anyone that McMahon was all in on this character. The lights, the music, the lavish gown and wig; everything was pitched perfectly to rile the fans up. In addition to this, a reluctance to lock up with Ramon for any prolonged period of time, punctuated by the intermittent stroking of his own chest just served to frustrate the champion. The first five minutes or more focused on the mind games of the challenger. A go behind led to him rubbing Ramon’s chest; a clean break is ruined by him rubbing Razor’s hair. Each time Ramon gets his hands on Goldust, the bizarre one was quick to escape to the outside or use the ropes to not allow the champion any momentum.
From bell to bell, most of the match is centred around stalling and posturing. Whilst this might normally get a poor reaction from the crowd, their desire to see Ramon truly get at Goldust seemed to keep the fans on tenterhooks. Several times, Marlena (as yet unnamed in WWF canon) was used as a human shield, with the final time actually allowing Goldust to jump Ramon and finally unleash some offense. Shades of Dustin see a bulldog used for a two count, but Rhodes shifted his offense enough to make Goldust feel unique; a slingshot back suplex a cool addition to his moveset that picks up a two.
Even McMahon’s commentary dwells somewhat in the gutter, playing on the fears of a section of the audience watching. As Goldust slips on a sleeper hold, Vince debates what might happen if Ramon is put to sleep, as the bizarre one would be able to do anything he wants. Uncomfortable rhetoric, sure – but it worked.
A low blow after blocking the ref’s view by backing him into the corner gives Ramon a chance to fight back, and fight back he does. A chokeslam gets a two count, as does his trademark fallaway slam. The crowd are fully behind what feels like Ramon’s push towards the finish, yet it was never going to be that easy.
Marlena, as Ramon lands a back superplex on Goldust, steps into the ring and feigns an ankle injury. With Tim White distracted, the 1-2-3 Kid hits the ring and clips Ramon off of the top with spinning heel kick. That was enough to put Ramon down for the three count and give us a new Intercontinental Champion.
Arguably, an Intercontinental Title run was probably the upper limit for a gimmick such as Goldust in the long run. However, by having him win the title so soon after his arrival into the Federation, the company sold the idea that not only is this guy weird, but he can get it done in the ring when necessary and is willing to go to great lengths to win. Though it was difficult to look past the gimmick for many, a prestigious title win was the least that Rhodes deserved for making Goldust work.
