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From The Network – A Raw Batch #5

September 28, 2015 | Posted by Dylan Diot
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From The Network – A Raw Batch #5  

WWF Monday Night Raw
5-17-93
New York City, NY

Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage.

Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) vs. Glenn Ruth and Tony Vajda
Bart and Vajda start. Hip toss by Bart and Billy tags in along with Ruth. Billy dominates Ruth and Bart tags in. Double side Russian leg sweep by the Gunns and Bart slams Ruth. Tag to Billy and he hits an elbow drop. Knee drop by Billy and the Gunns hit a drop toe hold into an elbow drop to the back. Suplex by Billy and he drops the leg onto the arm of Ruth. The Gunns begin to work over the arm of Ruth and Billy catches him with a powerslam. Tag to Bart and Billy backdrops Ruth into a piledriver for 3!!!
Winner- The Smoking Gunns SQUASH (Well, I’ve never seen a finish like that before, that was sweet. The Gunns were a tad awkward in the beginning but they put it together toward the finish, so they showed potential in their first Raw appearance. )

Shawn Michaels comes out and claims to be a man of his world. He won the Intercontinental Champion, defended the title all over the world, defended the championship in a Lumberjack match against Jim Duggan, and he took Mr. Perfect’s best shot. Shawn claims he fears no man and challenges anyone to face him anytime. Someone in a hoodie and sunglasses walk into the ring and it’s MARTY JANNETTY!!! Jannetty asks if Shawn is truly a man of his word and he wants a title shot. Shawn tries to back off but Jannetty holds Shawn to it, so we have a title match tonight!!!

Razor Ramon vs. The Kid
The Kid doesn’t have a cool nickname this week. Razor tosses Kid away and chops away in the corner. Hip toss by Ramon and he grabs the abdominal stretch. He releases and catches Kid on a cross body attempt. Fall-a-way slam by Ramon and he charges in the corner but misses. Kid goes up and hits a moonsault press for 3!!!!!!
Winner- The Kid * (This is one of the more famous moments in Raw history. Razor made The Kid a star in one night by putting him over in an upset. This was great stuff. )

Tatanka vs. Scott Taylor
Backdrop by Tatanka and he backdrops Taylor to the floor. Tomahawk chop off the apron by Tatanka and he knocks Taylor down with a chop. Back in, Tatanka slams Taylor and hits an elbow drop. Powerslam by Tatanka and he hits a back elbow. Slam by Tatanka and he hits a hip toss. Taylor rakes the eyes but Tatanka comes back with a tomahawk chop. He knocks Taylor down with a chop and hits the Samoan Drop for 3.
Winner- Tatanka SQUASH (Total destruction by Tatanka, as he moved toward a showdown with Lex Luger in the King of the Ring tournament. )

Kamala vs. Yokozuna w/Mr. Fuji
They try to overpower the other to start and Kamala seems to have the early advantage. Kamala throws some tomahawk chops but Yokozuna comes back with a head butt. Yokozuna throws some thrusts and he hits a leg drop. Kamala fires back and Fuji grabs the leg, allowing Yokozuna to hit a super kick. Avalanche by Yokozuna and he follows up with a hip check. Bonzai Drop by Yokozuna gets 3.
Winner- Yokozuna *1/2 (This was a impressive performance from Yokozuna, just crushing one of the bigger members of the roster and looks like an unstoppable force heading into the match with Hulk Hogan. )

WWF Intercontinental Championship- Shawn Michaels © vs. Marty Jannetty
Shawn fires away to start and he charges in the corner but misses. Roll-up by Jannetty gets 2. Sunset flip by Jannetty gets 2. Clothesline by Jannetty and he clotheslines Shawn to the floor. Baseball slide by Jannetty and he hits a slingshot pescado to the floor!!! Back in, Jannetty with a head scissors take over for 2 and he maintains the hold. Shawn misses an elbow drop and Jannetty hits a back drop. He sends Shawn to the corner and Shawn crashes all the way to the floor. Shawn tries to walk out with the belt but Mr. Perfect is blocking his way out as we go to break!!!
Back and Jannetty slingshots Shawn abck into the ring. Jannetty goes for a head scissors takeover but Shawn counters with the hot shot. Shawn chokes away and hammers Jannetty in the corner. Shawn jumps on Jannetty in the ropes and he goes to the chin lock. Jannetty fires out so Shawn catches him with a dropkick. Jannetty blocks a second dropkick and he slingshots Shawn into the corner. Jannetty covers for 2!!! Jannetty takes Shawn down by the hair and he hammers away on Shawn. Back elbow by Jannetty and he hits a powerslam for 2. Jannetty goes up and hits the springboard crossbody for 2. O’Connor roll by Jannetty gets 2 as Shawn rolls through with the tights for 2. Super kick by Michaels and he taunts Perfect. Perfect throws a towel at Shawn, and Shawn walks into a small package for 3!!!
Winner and NEW WWF Intercontinental Champion- Marty Jannetty ***3/4 (I loved everything about this. They went at a lightning quick pace, the crowd was on the edge of their seat for the nearfalls, and Shawn got his comeuppance after weeks of trying to run out on matches. I was a little sour on the finish but this was a hot match and ended the most famous episode of the early stages of Raw. )

5-24-93

King of the Ring Qualifier-Doink the Clown vs. Mr. Perfect
There seems to be two Doinks tonight, as there is also one giving an interview outside the building with Lord Alfred Hayes. Doink attacks to start and he chokes Perfect with his towel. Perfect clotheslines Doink with the towel and they trade slaps. Perfect begins to work the leg of Doink and he wraps Doink’s leg off the post as we go to break.
Back and Perfect stomps on the leg of Doink. Doink dumps Perfect to the floor and he jumps onto the back of Perfect. Doink slams Perfect’s head off the post and he knocks Perfect off the apron as he attempts to come back. Back in, Doink hits the fireman’s carry take over but Perfect catches him in the head scissors. Doink escapes and he stomps away on Perfect. Doink goes to the arm of Perfect but Perfect is able to break away. He snaps Doink’s leg and he grabs an inverted Figure-4. Doink rakes the eyes of Perfect to break and they head to the floor, where Doink sends Perfect shoulder first into the post. Doink slams Perfect’s arm off the post and he chokes Perfect with his boot. Key lock by Doink and he stomps on the elbow of Perfect when he refuses to break. Hammerlock slam by Doink gets 2 as we go to break.
Back and they trade slaps. Atomic drop by Perfect and he follows up with a clothesline. Doink pulls Perfect into the turnbuckle but Perfect clotheslines Doink to the floor to come back. Doink rolls under the ring and the second Doink pops back out. Back in, Doink hits a monkey flip and Perfect catches him with the Perfect Plex for 3!!! After the match, both Doinks attack Perfect but Crush comes out for the save.
Winner- Mr. Perfect ***1/2 (Really good match that featured some great limb work and I really liked how Doink picked up the intensity and the aggression as the match progressed. The two Doinks gimmick didn’t bother me here since it backfired on them and gave them their just desserts.)

Money Inc. (Ted Dibiase and IRS) vs. Tony DeVito and Mike Bell
Dibiase gets a fan to shine his shoes for $100 prior to the match but it ends up being $30 after taxes. Dibiase and Bell start. Dibiase slams Bell’s face off the mat and IRS tags in. He works over Bell and DeVito tags in. He gets worked over and Dibiase tags in. Double axe handle off the second rope by Dibiase and he clotheslines DeVito to the floor. Tag to IRS and he drops the leg on the sternum of DeVito. Back elbow by IRS and Dibiase tags in. He chokes DeVito in the ropes and he hits a suplex for 2. Tag to IRS and he hits a double underhook suplex. Tag to Dibiase and he catches DeVito with a powerslam. Tag to IRS and he hits a flying clothesline for 3.
Winners- Money Inc. SQUASH (A dominant win for the champions. Not much else to point out.)

Crush vs. Bobby Who
Crush powers out of a full nelson to start. Who fires away but it has no effect and Crush hits a spin kick. Delayed suplex by Crush and he hits a leg drop. Who bails to recover and back in, Crush grabs the bear hug. He turns it into a belly to belly suplex and he hits a press slam. Kona Clutch and Who is done.
Winner- Crush SQUASH ( This was the most boring squash of the batch so far. Very uninteresting and one of Crush’s lesser efforts to date.)

Razor Ramon comes out and claims no one can beat the bad guy. He offers The Kid $2,500 to face him one more time. Bret Hart comes out and says if Ramon is as good as he says he is, he shouldn’t be losing to some of the undercard guys. He says it’s going to be 1-2-3 again at King of the Ring.

Adam Bomb w/Johnny Polo vs. Phil Apollo
Bomb attacks to start and he hip tosses Apollo. Dropkick by Bomb and he hits a back suplex. Back elbow by Bomb and he dumps Apollo to the floor. Bomb sends Apollo into the railings and back in, Bomb goes up. Flying clothesline by Bomb and he hits a powerbomb for 3.
Winner- Adam Bomb (A good debut squash for Bomb, as he showed scary power and intensity. Too bad he never developed as a worker in the long run.)

Bam Bam Bigelow says he is ready for his Intercontinental Title shot next week and he says he has Luna Vachon with him to deal with Sensational Sherri, who will be in the corner of Marty Jannetty.

5-31-93

WWF Intercontinental Champion- Marty Jannetty w/Sensational Sherri © vs. Bam Bam Bigelow w/Luna Vachon
Sherri attacks Luna prior to the match and Bigelow attacks Jannetty during the chaos. Bigelow hammers away and he overpowers Jannetty. Clothesline by Bigelow and Jannetty comes back with some rights. Jannetty goes up and hits an axe handle off the top for 2. Bigelow rakes the eyes to come back and he grabs a bear hug. Bigelow rams Jannetty into the corner but Jannetty coems back with a sloppy head scissors takeover. He connects with another one and Bigelow catches him with the Electric Chair on the third attempt as we go to break.
Back and Bigelow has a chin lock. Jannetty starts to fight out so Bigelow rakes the eyes to kill the momentum. Dropkick by Bigelow and he hits an Avalanche into the corner for 2 as Jannetty gets his foot on the ropes. Second rope clothesline by Jannetty gets 2. Back elbow by Jannetty and he drives Bigelow’s head into the mat. Super kick by Jannetty and he hits a dropkick for 2. Bigelow rakes the eyes to come abck and he slams Jannetty. Double under hood back breaker by Bigelow and Sherri grabs the leg of Bigelow. Jannetty knocks Bigelow to the floor to save her and he hits a baseball slide. Jannetty goes up and hits a crossbody to the floor onto Bigelow!!! Bigelow sends Jannetty into the post and Sherri distracts Bigelow, causing him to get counted out!!! Bigelow lays out Jannetty with a back senton after the match.
Winner by Count-Out and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion- Marty Jannetty ***1/4 (That distraction finish does work a big better when it’s the heel coming out as the ignorant idiot. The match was good despite some clunky spots with Jannetty uses his speed and aerial ability to withstand the mighty Bigelow.)

Sensational Sherri calls out Luna and she makes her way out. The ref prevents Luna from getting in the ring so Sherri attacks and lays out Luna with a slam. Bam Bam Bigelow comes out and grabs Sherri from behind, allowing Luna to attack. Tatanka comes out and goes after Bigelow, clearing the ring of him and saving Sherri.

Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) vs. Rich Myers and The Executioner
Rick and Executioner start. Tilt-a-whirl back breaker by Rick and he hits an elbow drop. Rick begins to work the arm and he hits a clothesline. Myers tags in and Rick rams him sternum first into the corner. Tag to Scott and he hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Tag to Rick and he works over Myers. Snap mare and Rick goes to the chin lock. Pump handle slam by Scott and he slams Myers. Screwdriver by Scott and the Steiners hit the Doomsday Bulldog for 3.
Winners- Steiner Brothers SQUASH (Oh man, they just destroyed poor Myers. Steiner squash matches are like the ones the Road Warriors did in the 80s, they just cream their opponents in the most brutal way and it’s always fun to watch.)

Mr. Hughes vs. Bert Centeno
Slam by Hughes and he hits a powerbomb for 2. Big boot by Hughes gets 2. Clothesline by Hughes and he chokes Centeno with his boot. Chokeslam by Hughes gets 3.
Winner- Mr. Hughes SQUASH (Dull squash as Mr. Hughes barely got any type of reaction from the fans.)

Jim Duggan vs. Mark Thomas
Thomas attacks to start and Duggan catches Thomas on the crossbody attempt with a slam. Knee drop by Duggan and he hits some punches in the corner. Backdrop by Duggan and he hits a suplex. Slam by Duggan and he hits the Three Point Stance for 3. Jim Duggan leads the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance post match.
Winner- Jim Duggan SQUASH (Did we really need to have a squash match for Jim Duggan in 1993? I know it was because it was Memorial Day and all, but come on.)

1-2-3 Kid is unsure of whether he wants to take up Razor Ramon on his now $5000 challenge.

Razor Ramon vs. Tony Roy
Roy rolls Razor up for 2!!! Clothesline by Ramon and he works over Roy in the corner. Fall-a-way slam by Razor and he grabs the STF. Roy rolls Razor up again for 2 and he stomps away on Roy in the corner. Back elbow by Ramon and he grabs the abdominal stretch. Ramon puts Roy on top and hits the back suplex off the top. Razor’s Edge by Ramon gets 3.
Winner- Razor Ramon SQUASH (I loved the roll-up spots playing off of Razor’s upset two weeks ago and it progressively made Razor more pissed off.)

Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji come out and he says at King of the Ring, we will celebrate Memorial Day as Hulkamania will die. Jim Duggan waves the US flag in the balcony while Fuji waves the Japanese flag on the floor as we go off the air.

6-7-93

Shawn Michaels w/Diesel vs. Russ Greenberg
Shawn Michaels has regained the Intercontinental Championship from Marty Jannetty and we are introduced to his new insurance policy, Diesel. Shawn works on the arm of Greenberg to start and he slams Greenberg. Small package by Greenberg gets 2 and Shawn throws some jabs at Greenberg in the corner. Delayed suplex by Michaels and he hits a back breaker. Rear chin lock by Shawn but Greenberg fights out. Swinging neck breaker by Michaels and he hits a second rope elbow drop. Piledriver by Michaels gets 3.
Winner- Shawn Michaels SQUASH (Entertaining squash from Michaels and it features the historical debut of Diesel.)

Shawn Michaels promises to show what he is made of at the King of the Ring, frustrated after finding out his match with Crush is now for the Intercontinental Championship.

Adam Bomb w/Johnny Polo vs. El Matador
Matador works the arm to start but Bomb goes to the ropes to force the break. Powerslam by Bomb and he misses an elbow drop. Matador goes back to the arm and he gets the sunset flip for 2. Bomb works over Matador and hits a sidewalk slam. Rights by Matador and he hits the flying forearm for 2. Dropkick by Matador but Bomb blocks the O’Connor roll and he hits a slingshot Northern lariat for 3.
Winner- Adam Bomb ** (OK match. Bomb got a strong finish over an establish star but compared to the squash match he had two weeks ago, his offense was messy and not fully polished.)

Tatanka vs. Peter Weeks
Chops by Tatanka and he hip tosses Weeks to the floor. Tatanka follows out and he knocks Weeks down with a chop. Back in, Tatanka slams Weeks and follows up with an elbow drop. Backdrop by Tatanka and he knocks Weeks down with a chop. Tatanka goes up and hits the tomahawk chop off the top for 3.
Winner- Tatanka SQUASH (I’m shocked Vince actually allowed someone looking like Peter Weeks on TV. This was a typical Tatanka squash. )

Jerry Lawler comes out to host the King’s Court and introduces his guest, Yokozuna. Mr. Fuji claims he is up to 550 lbs and he promises to reclaim the WWF Championship that Hulk Hogan stole at Wrestlemania IX.

Billy Gunn and Rick Steiner w/Bart Gunn and Scott Steiner vs. Fatu and IRS w/Samu, Afa, and Ted Dibiase
Gunn and Fatu start. Drop toe hold followed by a dropkick by Gunn. Swinging neck breaker by Gunn gets 2 and Steiner tags in. Steiner catches Fatu with a powerslam for 2. Clothesline by Fatu and IRS tags in. He charges but misses and he crashes all the way to the floor. Back in, Steiner hits a clothesline for 2. Tag to Gunn and he works over the arm of IRS. Tag to Rick and Fatu. IRS goes to nail Rick but misses and he knocks Fatu to the floor. Afa and Samu argue with IRS as we go to break.
Back and Steiner grabs a side headlock on IRS. IRS dumps Steiner to the floor and back in, IRS stomps away. He dumps Steiner to the floor again and Dibiase and Samu work him over. Back in, Fatu and IRS double team Steiner. Clothesline by Fatu gets 2. Slam by Fatu and he goes up. Vader Bomb eats knees and Gunn tags in. He cleans house and IRS clotheslines Gunn from behind after he knocked Dibiase off the apron. IRS covers for 3.
Winners- Fatu and IRS **1/4 (This match was kind of a mess but it served its’ purpose of building up the eight man tag at King of the Ring.)

Razor Ramon comes out and says next week he gets his rematch with 1-2-3 Kid, with $7,500 on the line. He claims the only 1-2-3 you will hear at King of the Ring is the one he’ll have on Bret Hart.

7.0
The final score: review Good
The 411
5-17: 9.0 5-24: 7.0 5-31: 6.5 6-7: 5.0 Just want to point out that these Raw Batches will become more frequent as I plan to do these until I get to the Nitro era and then I'll go toward a Monday Night Wars type format. I'm also going to follow the PPVs along with these shows going forward, so I'll have a review of King of the Ring 1993 coming up. This is the best batch of Raws to date. This features one of the best episodes in the show's histoy, as the Kid's upset and the Intercontinental Championship change finally gave Raw that "can't miss" element that it was missing since the show's inception. The rest of the batch has some quality matches and some good build to the King of the Ring and only the final episode felt like a waste, so this is a good collection of episodes to check out.
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From The Network, RAW, WWE, Dylan Diot