wrestling / Video Reviews
From the Network- A Raw Batch #3
Loading...WWF Monday Night Raw
3-15-93
Poughkeepsie, NY
Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and “Not” Vince McMahon (Fuck Rob Bartlett).
Razor Ramon vs. Russ Greenberg
Razor attacks to start and he tosses Greenberg across the ring. Greenberg goes for a crossbody but Razor catches him and hits a fall-a-way slam. Abdominal stretch by Razor and he converts it into an STF. Chokeslam by Razor and he puts Greenberg on top. Razor follows up and hits the back superplex. Razor’s Edge by Razor gets 3.
Winner- Razor Ramon SQUASH (Not much to this squash but man, the Razor Ramon gimmick was a winner from the get go. It was a rare hit for this era of gimmicks.)
Typhoon vs. L.A. Gore
Typhoon overpowers Gore and Gore rakes the eyes to come back. Gore throws some shoulders to the gut in the corner but Typhoon comes back with a corner clothesline. Hip toss by Typhoon and he hits a back elbow. Suplex by Typhoon and he hits a powerslam. Typhoon walks on Gore and he hits the avalanche in the corner. Big splash by Typhoon gets 3.
Winner- Typhoon SQUASH (Another squash, but this is probably one of the better in ring efforts I’ve seen from Typhoon. He actually looked like a competent worker and wasn’t his usual crappy self.)
Bobby Heenan introduces Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Whippleman for an interview. Harvey says everyone fears Giant Gonzalez and claims Undertaker was destroyed by Gonzalez at the Royal Rumble like never before. Gonzalez warns the Undertaker of a giant surprise.
Papa Shango vs. Bob Backlund
Backlund avoids Shango to start and he sweeps the legs of Shango a few times. Test of strength but Backlund escapes and begins to work the arm of Shango. Shango takes Backlund down by the hair and Backlund drop toe holds Shango. Shango catches him with a back breaker and he rakes the face of Backlund in the corner. They go to the floor and Shango rams Backlund into the apron. Back in, Shango hits a dropping head butt to the midsection of Backlund. Chinlock by Shango and Backlund tries to fight out so Shango ends that. Back breaker by Shango and he hits some elbow drops. Back to the chinlock and Shango uses the ropes for leverage. Backlund fights out so Shango hits a knee to the midsection. Slam by Shango gets 2. Backlund catches Shango with the small package for 3!!!
Winner- Bob Backlund ** (This was fine but I was distracted by Gorilla and Bobby on commentary freak out over Bartlett’s stupid antics. Also, I don’t know what a fluke win does for Backlund or what it does for Razor at Wrestlmania as it makes his win over Backlund meaningless if Backlund doesn’t head into the match looking strong.)
Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) vs. Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu)
Samu and Knobbs start. Samu attacks and hits a corner clothesline. Knobbs comes back with a clothesline and Saggs tags in. Double backdrop by the Nasty Boys and Fatu attacks from behind. Double clothesline by Saggs gets 2 as Fatu saves. Knobbs tags in and he hits the Divorce Court. Tag to Sags and he grabs a hammerlock. Samu breaks it up and Sags hits a hip toss. Tag to Knobs and he works over the arm of Samu. Tag to Sags and he eats a super kick as we go to break.
Back and Fatu rakes the face of Sags. He dumps Sags to the floor and Samu slams him on the floor. Back in, Samu hits a powerslam. He goes up and misses a diving head butt. Tag to Knobbs and he backdrops Samu. Knobbs cleans house and he eats a double head butt. Double DDT by Knobbs and all four men brawl. They brawl in the entrance way and both teams are counted out!!!
Match ends in a double count-out **1/4 (Really crappy finish which sucks because I was enjoying the match, as it was a good heavyweight clash and the crowd was into everything they were doing.)
They air a video showing all their charity work so even 21 years later things don’t really change.
3-22-93
Manhattan, NY
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob Barlett.
Damian Demento and Repo Man vs. The Bushwackers (Luke and Butch)
Demento and Butch start. Demento hammers Butch in the corner and the Bushwackers ram their opponents into each other. Double clothesline to Repo Man and they bail. Back in, Repo attacks Luke from behind and they double team Luke. Demento stomps away and he rakes the face of Luke. He bites the head of Luke and he knocks Luke down with a shoulder block. Leg drop to the midsection by Demento and Repo tags in. He hammers away and Demento tags in. They collide mid-ring and both men are down. Tag to Butch and he hammers away on Repo Man. Butch cleans house and he rams their heads together. Repo trips up Luke and Demento attacks both Bushwackers. Dementon goes for a slam but Luke breaks it up. Repo goes for an elbow drop but misses and hit Demento. Battery Ram to Repo gets 3.
Winners- The Bushwackers * (Man, after the Bushwacker’s entrance the crowd DIED. Like you can hear a pin drop during the match. The match wasn’t good at all, the Bushwackers had gone stale and you can’t rely on Repo and Demento to put on something decent. )
Tatanka vs. Reno Riggins
Riggins attacks Tatanka to start and Tatanka fights back with chops. Backdrop by Tatanka and Riggins catches him in a sleeper. Tatanka sends him into the corner to break and he hits an atomic drop. Monkey flip by Tatanka and he knocks Riggins down with a chop. Tatanka works the arm but Riggins backs him to the corner to break it up. Chops by Riggins but Tatanka returns the favor. Tatanka misses a springboard cross body and Riggins hammers Tatanka on the mat. Riggins hammers away but this fires Tatanka up. Tatanka knocks Riggins down with a chop and he hits a powerslam. Papoose to Go by Tatanka gets 3.
Winner- Tatanka ¼* (Riggins got in enough offense to not consider this a complete squash but Tatanka did enough to set himself up strongly for his Wrestlemania encounter with Shawn Michaels.)
Andre the Giant is announced at the first member of the WWF Hall of Fame.
Money Inc. (Ted Dibiase and IRS) vs. Scott Rich and Jeff Armstrong
Dibiase and Rich start. Dibiase overpowers Rich and he hits a clothesline. Knee to the midsection by Dibiase and he clotheslines Rich to the floor. Back in, Armstrong tags in and IRS hits a suplex. Elbow drop by IRS and Dibiase tags in. Back elbow by Dibiase and he knocks Armstrong down with a chop. Tag to IRS and Money Inc. hits a double clothesline. Flying clothesline by IRS gets 3.
Winners- Money Inc. SQUASH (Just a squash to build Money Inc. up for Wrestlemania.)
Doink the Clown vs. Kamala w/Slick
Doink takes Kamala down and works on the arm to start. Kamala fights back with tomahawk chops so Doink takes Kamala down again. He goes back to the arm but this time, Kamala powers out. Kamala fires back and he hits an avalanche in the corner as we go to break.
Back and Doink is working the arm again. Kamala fights back and he knocks Doink out of the ring with a chop. Kamala chases Doink and Doink offers Kamala a present. The distraction allows Doink to enter the ring and beat the count!!! Kamala chases Doink after the match but Doink hides under the ring. Doink escapes through the other side and he grabs a chair to protect himself. Kamala comes out from another side of the ring and he nails Doink from behind. He chases Doink to the back with the chair.
Winner by Count-Out- Doink the Clown DUD (The finish was horrible as was the match, so this was not the way to send us off into Wrestlemania. This was total garbage.)
Rob Bartlett makes out with fat girls. Yep.
4-5-93
Manhattan, NY
Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Randy Savage. NO BARTLETT!!!!!
The week before was a Wrestlemania special so it wasn’t listed on the network as an official episode.
Virgil vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
Bigelow overpowers Virgil and Virgil comes back with a dropkick. Bigelow charges in the corner but misses and Virgil works the arm as the crowd chants “Virgil Sucks”. Slam by Bigelow and he misses a dropping head butt. Roll-up by Virgil gets 2 and he goes for the crucifix but Bigelow falls back to block. Snap mare and Bigelow goes to the chinlock. Bigelow works over Virgil in the corner and he grabs a half nelson. Virgil starts to fight out so Bigelow knocks him down. He knocks Virgil down with a head butt and he goes to a chinlock. Virgil attempts to fight out again so Bigelow goes to the bear hug. Virgil finally fights out and he hits a flying forearm off the second rope. He goes up again and hits a missile dropkick for 2. Jabs by Virgil and he goes for a springboard crossbody but misses. Lariat by Bigelow and he goes up. Diving head butt by Bigelow gets 3.
Winner- Bam Bam Bigelow ** (Decent start to the show. Bigelow looked good and Virgil got some hope spots in that got the crowd hot so this served its purpose.)
Jerry Lawler comes out for his match and says the crowd should bow down to his feet. He promises to walk out if the crowd doesn’t stop chanting “Burger King”. The crowd chants it and Lawler walks out.
Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna put in a complain to Jack Tunney about the events of Wrestlemania IX.
Kim Chee vs. Bob Backlund
Backlund sweeps the legs of Chee and he bails. Chee nails Backlund as he was coming outside and back in, he slams Backlund for 2. Chinlock by Chee but Backlund arm drags out. Sunset flip by Chee gets 1 and he slams Backlund’s face off the mat a few times for 1. Chinlock by Chee but Backlund breaks with a back suplex. Chee misses an elbow drop and Backlund hits a hip toss. Slam by Backlund and he blocks the monkey flip with a bridge for 3.
Winner- Bob Backlund * (Man, pre-crazy Bob Backlund kind of sucked. He struggled against Kamala’s old second so no wonder he didn’t get over again until he turned on Bret a year later.)
Damian Domento vs. Jim Brunzell
They grapple to start as Vince and Randy are on the phone with Rob Bartlett who is stuck in Vegas. Damn, this was almost a Bartlett free show. Rights by Domento and Brunzell catches him with a small package for 2. Knees to the midsection by Domento and Brunzell gets a sunset flip for 2. Domento knocks Brunzell down and he stomps away. Snap mare and Domento hits a leg drop. Domento clubs away and hits some elbow drops for 2. Domento stomps away in the corner but Brunzell begins to fight back. Atomic drop by Brunzell and he hits a dropkick for 2 as Domento gets his foot on the ropes. Sitting neck breaker by Domento and he hits a knee drop for 3.
Winner- Damian Domento * (Again, nothing match and Domento is pretty terrible so the crowd didn’t care for this at all.)
Jerry Lawler attempts to come back out but the crowd is still giving him crap so he leaves again.
Beverly Brothers (Blake and Beau) vs. Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott)
Scott and Beau start. Scott works the arm of Beau but he goes to the ropes to stop that. Scott goes for a hip toss but Beau breaks with a knee to the midsection and he pulls Scott down by the hair. Scott comes back with the butterfly power bomb and Blake tags in. Rick also tags in and Blake works him over in the corner. Powerslam by Blake and Rick comes back with one of his own. Tag to Scott and he hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Beau pulls Scott down by the hair and the Beverly Brothers do the leap frog onto the back spot on Scott. Tag to Beau and he hits a double axe handle to the back of Scott. Backbreaker by Beau gets 2 as we go to break.
Back and Blake has a sitting chin lock on Scott. Rick gets the tag but the ref missed it so the Beverly Brothers work over Scott in the corner. Blake snap mares Scott and grabs a bear hug. He goes for a suplex but Scott reverses to one of his own. Tag to Beau and he snap mares Scott but misses the leg drop. Tilt-a-whirl slam by Scott and both men are down. Tag to Rick and he cleans house. Clothesline by Rick gets 2 as Beau saves. Blake goes for a double axe handle off the top but misses Scott and hits Beau. Frankensteiner by Scott on Beau gets 3.
Winners- Steiner Brothers **3/4 (This was a rock solid match with Scott playing a good face in peril but they still got to toss the Beverly Brothers around and continue to look strong. They have probably been the best booked act since Raw debuted.)
Jerry Lawler vs. Jim Powers
Powers comes out and attacks Lawler to prevent him from leaving this time. Powers sends Lawler into the post and back in, he hits an axe handle off the top. Clothesline by Powers and Lawler bails. Back in, Powers hits a hip toss and he slams Lawler. Lawler bails again and he gets into it with Randy Savage on the floor. Back in, Powers backdrops Lawler. Dropkick misses and Lawler chokes Powers in the corner. Back elbow by Lawler and he hits a fist drop. Lawler charges in the corner but eats boot and Powers slams Lawler’s head off the turnbuckle multiple times. Knee lift by Powers and he hits a backdrop. Lawler catches Powers with a piledriver for 3.
Winner- Jerry Lawler *1/2 (They spent the whole show putting over Lawler’s character and he came across as a big deal, so all in all it was a success. Powers had enough name value left to give Lawler a competitive match without hurting Lawler in the long run.)
After the match, Lawler tells Randy Savage he doesn’t have the guts to get in the ring with the King.
4-12-93
Poughkeepsie, NY
Rob Bartlett is back with Savage and McMahon this week.
Money Inc. pays the Beverly Brothers for information on the Steiner Brothers.
IRS w/Ted Dibiase vs. Scott Steiner w/Rick Steiner
Scott goes for the hammerlock to start so IRS quickly goes to the ropes to break. Enzuigiri by IRS and Scott comes back with a powerslam. IRS bails and back in, Scott overpowers IRS. Drop toe hold by IRS but Scott catches him in the hammerlock to come back. Clothesline by Scott gets 2 and he goes back to the arm. IRS fights back and he goes for a suplex but Scott reverses to his own for 2. IRS bails and back in, he pokes the eye of Scott. He dumps Scott to the floor and Dibiase clotheslines Scott on the floor as we go to break.
Back and IRS hits a piledriver for 2 and he goes to the chinlock. Scott tries to fight out so IRS takes him down by the hair. He goes back to the chinlock but Scott fights out again and they slug it out. IRS pokes the eye to end that and he hits a back breaker. IRS goes up and leaps but eats boot on the way down. Back elbow by Scott and he hits some punches in the corner. Scott snaps IRS’ neck off the ropes using his tie and he hits a backdrop. Butterfly powerbomb by Scott gets 2 as Dibiase breaks it up for the DQ!!! Rick and Scott go after Money Inc. and they go for the Doomsday Bulldog on Dibiase but the Beverly Brothers save. The Beverly Brothers go for a double clothesline on Scott but miss and they nail Dibiase!!! The Beverly Brothers check on Dibiase who begins to shove them. Money Inc. and the Beverly Brothers have a stand-off and they clear the ring of IRS. Dibiase begs off long enough to finally get out of the ring and Money Inc. finally leave.
Winner by DQ- Scott Steiner **1/2 (Slow to start but it eventually became a solid contest but the finish was crap. I liked all the post-match stuff and it already puts two teams into the tag title mix and sets up some fresh programs between Money Inc., the Beverlies, and the Steiners for a few weeks. )
Tatanka vs. Von Krus
Von Krus rakes the eyes to start and Tatanka comes back with a monkey flip. Hip toss by Tatanka and Von Krus bails as Doink comes out. Back in, Von Krus pokes the eye and he chops away at Tatanka in the corner. Tatanka returns the favor and he sends Von Krus hard into the corner. Slam by Tatanka and he hits an elbow drop. Suplex by Tatanka and Von Krus comes back with a back elbow. They slug it out and Tatanka hits a backdrop. Shots to the back by Von Krus have no effect and Tatanka knocks him down with a tomahawk chop. Papoose to Go by Tatanka gets 3.
Winner- Tatanka ¼* (Tatanka keeps his undefeated streak going which is the only noteworthy thing here.)
Rob Bartlett introduces Luna Vachon who debuted at Wrestlemania IX. Luna claims she walks the line between beauty and beast. She calls Sensational Sherri a witch and says the only thing strong about Sherri is her breasts. Sherri comes out and claims bringing Luna into the WWF is a disgrace. Luna claims she rules the ring and she will wipe Sherri across the ring. Sherri attacks Luna and she suplexes Luna on the floor!!!! Bartlett attempts to separate them to no avail. Sgt. Slaughter is finally able to get them separated. However, after the commercial break, Luna attacks Sherri while she is being interviewed by Randy Savage. They separate them again and Sherri officially issues a challenge to Luna.
Papa Shango vs. Scott Taylor
Rights by Taylor and he hits a dropkick. He misses a second one and Shango tosses Taylor across the ring. Back suplex by Shango and he rakes the face of Taylor. Slam by Shango and he hits a dropping head butt to the midsection. Rob Bartlett comes out and collapses from the beating he took during the Sherri/Luna brawl. Shango hits the shoulder breaker on Taylor for 3.
Winner- Papa Shango SQUASH (A worthless squash match which only served to highlight Bartlett’s “comedy”. )
Friar Ferguson vs. Chris Duffy
Ferguson shoves Duffy to start but Duffy rakes the eyes to come back. Ferguson counters a piledriver with a backdrop and he hits a leg drop. Duffy bails and back in, Ferguson slingshots Duffy right back to the floor. Back in, Ferguson hip tosses Duffy and hits a clothesline. Head butt by Ferguson and he slams Duffy. Big splash by Ferguson gets 2. Avalanche by Ferguson and he hits a back elbow. Backdrop by Ferguson and he chokes Duffy in the ropes. Duffy goes for a sunset flip but Ferguson blocks for 3.
Winner- Friar Ferguson SQUASH (I can’t believe Friar Ferguson made it to TV. In an era of god awful gimmicks, this is way up there among the worst.)
Money Inc. accepts the challenge of the Beverly Brothers for next week. The Beverly Brothers appear and they brawl to end the show.
Episode 9: 5.0
Episode 10: 2.0
Episode 11: 6.5
Episode 12: 5.0
Look at the first two episodes of this batch. It was no wonder WrestleMania IX is regarded as one of the worst WrestleMania's of all time. Nothing from those two episodes made me care about the show going in. Episode 9 was saved by a couple of OK matches but Episode 10 is the worst Raw I have watched to date and is possibly one of worst Raw's ever. The post Mania Raw's at least introduced new characters for better or for worse (Lawler, Luna, FRIAR FERGUSON) and is focusing on the tag division with the Steiners/Beverly Brothers/Money Inc. all in the mix. As a batch of episodes, this was not good at all and you can skip this bunch without missing anything of real significance.
