Dark Pegasus Video Review: Monday Night Raw (05.03.93)

Monday Night Raw (05.03.93) by J.D. Dunn Twitter.com/jddunn411 Facebook.com/jddunn411 May 3, 1993 From New York. Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan and Randy Savage. Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan was revitalized in Hogan’s absence, and he was actually a great opponent for Shawn. Michaels stalls forever as Duggan starts “U.S.A.!” chants. Shawn tries to run, but Duggan tracks him down. Back in, Shawn snaps Duggan’s neck off the ropes and takes over. Duggan makes the comeback but runs into a boot. Michaels knees him in the gut and delivers an ax-handle off the apron. A long chinlock follows. Duggan makes the big comeback, but his 3-point clothesline sends Shawn to the floor. Duggan clotheslines him into the crowd, and Michaels takes off for the countout at 11:19. Duggan demands a rematch where Shawn can’t run. He grabs a chair and hi-jacks the show five years before rebel Steve Austin did the same thing. **1/4 Vince announces Hogan vs. Yokozuna II for the King of the Ring. Doink vs. The Kamikaze Kid. The Kid is some high-flying jobber who gained a reputation in Minnesota. He would go on to be a major player. If you don’t already know the story, stay tuned to the Monday Night Raw recaps. Doink jumps him right away and locks in the STF. The Stump-Puller finishes at 2:06. Pfft. Take a hike, Kid. Ya got no future. 1/2* Bob Backlund vs. Dwayne Gil. Vince is irate that Bobby Heenan would whistle at the ring girl and give her a catcall. Yeah, you’re not doing your degradation right. Toss vomit on her and make her bark like a dog. Vince announces a Lumberjack Match between Shawn Michaels and Jim Duggan. Gil, who you might remember as Gillberg, actually traps Backlund in a headscissors for a good bit. Backlund powers out of a keylock and finishes with a state-of-the-art-in-1977 O’Connor Roll at 3:40. Didn’t really demonstrate Backlund’s wrestling acumen. * Jim Duggan returns to hype his rematch with Shawn Michaels. Vince reminds Duggan that any of his enemies could interfere on the outside. Duggan responds that it’s “just like my football days… where you can’t trust anybody.” Jesus, what kind of teammates did he have?! The Smoking Gunns do their novelty cowboy act. The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) vs. Jim Bell & Tony Roy. Capt. Lou Albano comes out for reasons of convenience. The Headshrinkers are there. He used to manage the Wild Samoans. It’s a whole thing. The jobbers were announced, but Vince was talking over it and we didn’t get any graphics, so the names come from prowrestling.wikia. It doesn’t matter. The Headshrinkers give the lime green jobber a spiked piledriver, which looks remarkably devastating when you haven’t seen one for years. The Front Leg Sweep sets up Fatu’s Superfly Splash at 5:44. Capt. Lou distracted from anything that happened in the ring. * Kamala vs. Rick Myers. No Reverend Slick tonight, which briefly proves costly as Kamala can’t figure out how to pin Myers. Finally, the fans tell him how to do it and he gets the pin at 2:29. I hate it when Smart Marks tell wrestlers how to wrestle. 1/2 Shawn Michaels can’t believe Duggan gets such preferential treatment.

The 411: Duggan vs. Shawn is at least a nominally interesting feud, given that Hogan went Galt for the summer. Plus, there was the debut of the Kid. Everything else was Snoozeville.
Final Score:  4.5   [ Poor ]