From The Network – A Raw Batch #4

Monday Night Raw #13
4-19-93
Poughkeepsie, NY

Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett (Fuck).

Money Inc. and the Beverly Brothers cut cold open promos to hype up their match on this show.

Razor Ramon vs. Virgil
Both men attempt the hammerlock to start and Ramon goes to the ropes to break. Small package by Virgil gets 2 and he works the hammer lock. Hip toss by Virgil and he misses a dropkick. Ramon stomps away and he chokes Virgil in the ropes. Abdominal stretch by Ramon but Virgil hiptosses out. Virgil misses an elbow drop and Ramon drops an elbow of his own. Slam by Ramon and he chokes Virgil in the ropes. STF by Ramon but Virgil makes the ropes to break. He takes Ramon down by the hair and he hits a second rope clothesline. Springboard crossbody misses and Ramon hits the Razor’s Edge for 3.
Winner- Razor Ramon ** (Solid contest to start with Ramon establishing his dominance against a big name opponent. He continues to be my favorite act on these early Raws. )

Giant Gonzalez w/Harvey Whippleman vs. L.A. Gore
Gonzalez pulls Gore in from the floor and he hits a clothesline. Big boot by Gonzalez and he hits the Chokeslam for 3.
Winner- Giant Gonzalez SQUASH ( Not much to this. Gonzalez is big, Gore is small, Gonzalez destroyed him. Simple and to the point. )

Luna Vachon cuts a promo about Sensational Sherri learning about her fury and she promises to wipe Sensational Sherri from this earth.

Tatanka vs. Art Thomas
Thomas attacks to start and he works over Tatanka in the corner. Back elbow by Thomas but Tatanka begins to work the arm to come back. Slam by Tatanka and he misses an elbow drop. Thomas hammers away but Tatanka comes back with Tomahawk chops. Samoan Drop by Tatanka gets 3.
Winner- Tatanka 1/4* (Thomas shockingly took most of the offense but at the end of the day, Tatanka took care of business. )

Money Inc. (Ted Dibiase and IRS) vs. Beverly Brothers (Blake and Beau)
Money Inc. attacks to start and Dibiase hits a back elbow on Blake. High knee by Blake and Dibiase bails. Back in, Blake works the arm of Dibiase and he slams Dibiase. Tag to Beau and the Beverly Brothers take turns working over the arm of Dibiase. The Beverly Brothers double team Dibiase in the corner when the ref misses the tag to IRS. Blake rams Dibiase shoulder first into the corner and Dibiase slams Blake to come back. Tag to IRS and now the Beverly’s work over his arm. Northern lights suplex by Blake gets 2 and its right back to the arm. The Beverly Brothers work over IRS in the corner as we go to break.
Back and IRS has a front face lock on Beau. Tag to Dibiase and he cuts off a Beau comeback. Beau kicks Dibiase in the chest to come back and IRS tags in. Clothesline by Beau and Dibiase tags in. Swinging neck breaker by Beau and Blake tags in. Blake cleans house and Beau tags in. Elbow drop by Beau gets 2. Back elbow by Beau and he hits a back drop for 2 as IRS saves. Beau goes for a clothesline but he misses and takes out Blake. Dibiase rolls up Beau for 3!!!
Winners- Money Inc. **1/4 (I was happy to see a longer match on the show, but this didn’t do much for me. The Beverly Brothers didn’t make for a hot baby face act and the work here was pedestrian stuff at best. )

Bret Hart comes out for an interview and discusses being an underdog. He says he has won and lost championships before and he’ll win it again. Bret Hart says he made a hit list, and on top of the list is Lex Luger, who attacked him at a pre-WrestleMania ceremony. He warns everyone on his list that he is going straight back to the top to get his title back.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Phil Apollo
Bigelow overpowers Apollo and he hits a flying forearm. Neck twist by Bigelow and he goes for an avalanche in the corner but misses. Dropkick has no effect and Bigelow hits a suplex. Doink the Clown makes his way out as Bigelow hip tosses Apollo. Avalanche in the corner by Bigelow and he stretches Apollo. Slam by Bigelow and he hits a back senton. Bigelow goes up and he hits the diving head butt for 3.
Winner- Bam Bam Bigelow SQUASH (Long, drawn out squash that basically got extended time so Doink could make an appearance. )

After the match, Bam Bam Bigelow hits a second diving head butt but FRIAR FERGUSON COMES OUT!!!!!! Ferguson cuts off Bigelow from Apollo and he dropkicks Bigelow in the back, knocking him out of the ring!!!

Monday Night Raw #14
4-26-93
New York City, NY

Your hosts are Vince, Savage, and Bobby Heenan. THE BARTLETT ERA IS OVER!!!!!

Damien Demento vs. Mr. Perfect
Dropkick by Perfect and Demeno bails. Back in, Demento hammers the back of Perfect and he pulls Perfect to the floor. Back in, Demento stomps away on Perfect and he sends Perfect hard into the corner. Demento chokes away and again, Perfect is forced back to the floor. Back in, Perfect fires back with chops and he hits a knee lift. Perfect neck snap and he charges but Demento catches him with an elbow to the midsection. Big splash attempt eats knees and Perfect hits the Perfect Plex for 3.
Winner- Mr. Perfect * (Demento’s offense sucks and it didn’t make me believe Perfect was in any real trouble at any point. Perfect gains a little momentum as he looks to enter the Intercontinental Championship picture. )

We see a little girl read an essay about drug use. On a WWF show in 1993. Yep.

Lex Luger vs. Crush
Test of strength to start and Crush breaks with a press slam. Luger bails and back in, he attacks Crush. Dropkick by Crush as we go to break.
Back and Crush has an arm bar on Luger. Luger escapes but Crush catches him with a belly to belly suplex for 2. Crush charges in the corner but misses and Luger hits a knee to the back knocking Crush to the floor. Luger rams Crush into the apron a few times and he rams Crush back first into the post. Back in, Luger stomps away and he grabs a bear hug on Crush. Crush fights out so Luger catches him with a power slam for 2. Luger goes for a suplex but Crush blocks and reverses into his own. Back suplex by Crush and he slams Luger into a leg drop for 2. Kona Clutch by Crush but he releases when he sees Doink in the balcony among the fans. A second Doink is seen on the other side of the building and the distraction allows Luger to catch Crush with the forearm, knocking Crush to the floor. Crush is counted out!!!
Winner- Lex Luger **1/2 (Well, Crush is a moron for releasing the hold when he saw Doink at a distance where he would have no impact on the match. Other than the stupid finish, this was actually a surprisingly good power match and Luger played a fun dynamic of being in fear of someone of equal power and strength as him. )

Mr. Hughes vs. Jason Knight
Hughes overpowers Knight to start and he slams Knight. Knight goes for a crossbody but Hughes catches him and he hits some rapid back breakers. Big boot by Hughes as we keep cutting away to Bobby Heenan watching other TV channels at ringside. Chokeslam by Hughes gets 3.
Winner- Mr. Hughes SQUASH (Yeah, they cared about Hughes enough that they spent more time following Heenan watches shows other than Raw. )

We see a vignette for the Smoking Gunns.

Shawn Michaels comes out and claims to be an equal opportunity defender and he hypes up his title defense against Jim Duggan next week. He begins to cut a promo on Mr. Perfect but Perfect comes out and wants a piece of Michaels. Michaels mocks him and gets a cheap shot in, so Perfect chases him to the back.

Typhoon vs. Von Krus
Krus rakes the eyes to start and he works over Typhoon in the corner. Backdrop by Typhoon and he hits a clothesline. Typhoon misses an elbow drop and Krus begins to work over Typhoon on the mat. Krus rakes the face of Typhoon and continues to work over Typhoon. Typhoon comes back with the Avalanche and another clothesline. Big splash by Typhoon gets 3.
Winner- Typhoon ¼ * (Typhoon was bigger than Krus, he withstood Krus’ simple assault and crushed him. This was what it was. )

Bobby Heenan helps out a fan with a marriage proposal while insulting them the entire time. This was actually pretty cool.

Monday Night Raw #15
5-2-93

WWF Intercontinental Championship- Shawn Michaels © vs. Jim Duggan
Michaels stalls to start and back in, Duggan catches him with some clotheslines, forcing Shawn to bail. Back in, Duggan throws some jabs and that knocks Shawn back to the floor. Shawn tries to leave so Duggan carries him back into the ring as we go to break.
Back and Shawn snaps Duggan’s neck off the ropes. Shawn chokes Duggan in the ropes and he jumps on Duggan in the ropes. Shawn works Duggan over and he goes up. Double axe handle off the top by Michaels and he chokes away on Duggan. Duggan fights out so Shawn drops some elbows to regain control. He covers for 2 and goes back to the chin lock. Duggan fights out again and Shawn catches him with a knee to the midsection. Shawn pulls Duggan to the floor and he hits a double axe handle off the apron to the back of Duggan. Back in, Shawn rakes Duggan’s face off the ropes and he goes back to the chin lock. Duggan fights out and he begins to fire back on Michaels. Punches in the corner by Duggan and he slams Michaels. Three Point Stance knocks Michaels to the floor. Michaels tries to walk out again but once again, Duggan stops him. They brawl on the floor and Duggan clotheslines Shawn into the crowd. Duggan enters the ring and Shawn is counted out!!! After the match, Duggan says the WWF gets a lot of things right, but they got this wrong. He refuses to leave until he gets another shot at Michaels.
Winner by Count-Out- Jim Duggan **1/2 (Decent match despite Shawn’s tendencies to go to the rest holds. The count-out finish didn’t bother me since it basically sets up the rematch on next week’s show. )

Doink the Clown vs. The Kamikaze Kid
Doink attacks Kid to start and he hits a belly to belly suplex. Clothesline by Doink and he grabs the STF. Doink rakes the face of Kid and he throws a back elbow. Doink drops some elbows and he locks in the Stump Puller. Kid gives.
Winner- Doink the Clown SQUASH (With that, we have the debut of Sean Waltman. He’ll become a bigger deal in the coming weeks. )

Bob Backlund vs. Dwayne Gill
Backlund sweeps out the legs of Gill and Gill begins to control Backlund on the mat. Hip toss into the short arm scissors by Gill but Backlund powers out of it. Backdrop by Backlund and he bridges Gill for 3.
Winner- Bob Backlund ¼* (Man, Backlund really doesn’t do much for me at this point and we are a long way away from Mr. Backlund. )

Jim Duggan comes back out and says after talking to President Jack Tunney, he got Shawn Michaels in a Lumberjack Match next week. He says Shawn spends more time outside the ring than inside the ring and Duggan says he’s taking the title away from him.

Smoking Gunns vignette airs.

The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) w/Afa vs. Jay Sledge and Jim Bell
Captain Lou Albano joins the commentary team for this match. The Headshrinkers attack to start and they press Sledge to the mat. Clothesline by Samu and he hits a gutwrench suplex. Samu dumps Sledge to the floor and Fatu slams him on the floor. Back in, Samu throws a super kick and Fatu tags in along with Bell. Super kick by Fatu and he throws a head butt. Tag to Samu and they hit a spiked pile driver on Bell. Slam followed by a dropping head butt by Samu and Fatu tags in. Second rope axe handle by Fatu and he rakes the face of Bell. Samu tags in and he works over Bell. Tag to Fatu and the Headshrinkers hit a double Stroke. Fatu goes up and hits a flying splash for 3.
Winners- The Headshrinkers SQUASH (Now this was an entertaining squash, as they beat the poor jobbers senseless. )

Kamala vs. Rich Myers
Hip checks by Kamala and he tosses Myers down. Super kick by Kamala and he tosses Myers down to the mat again. Back elbow by Kamala and he throws another super kick. Big splash to the back by Kamala gets 3.
Winner- Kamala SQUASH (This amounted to nothing, the announcers were hyping the Lumberjack Match next week. )

Shawn Michaels complains about the Lumberjack Match but he promises the Intercontinental Championship will stay with him.

Monday Night Raw #16
5-9-93

Outside the building prior to the show, Shawn Michaels was cutting a promo on Jim Duggan when Mr. Perfect attacked!!! They brawl on the streets of New York and Perfect tosses Shawn onto a car!!! Building officials finally separate the two.

King of the Ring Qualifying Match- Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon
Bigelow tries to overpower Typhoon but he can’t and Typhoon slams him. Bigelow rakes the eyes of Typhoon and he slams Typhoon into an elbow drop. Dropping head butt misses and Typhoon throws some head butts to the shoulder of Bigelow. Typhoon works the arm but Bigelow pokes the eyes to break. Back suplex by Bigelow but Typhoon hops back up and hits a clothesline knocking Bigelow to the floor. Bigelow sends Typhoon into the post and he prevents Typhoon from entering the ring. Back in, Bigelow grabs a chin lock but Typhoon backs Bigelow into the corner to break. Bigelow goes back to the chin lock as we go to break.
Back and Typhoon knocks Bigelow down with a clothesline. Avalanche in the corner misses and Bigelow catches Typhoon with a Samoan Drop. Bigelow goes up and hits the diving head butt for 3.
Winner- Bam Bam Bigelow ** (Rough and rugged yet an enjoyable big man contest as they continue to make Bigelow look strong and he now looks like a major threat in the King of the Ring Tournament.)

Smoking Gunns vignette airs.

Yokozuna w/Mr. Fuji vs. PJ Walker
Yokozuna overpowers Walker to start and he hits a belly to belly suplex. Leg drop by Yokozuna and he hits the hip check in the corner. Bonzai Drop by Yokozuna gets 3.
Winner- Yokozuna SQUASH (YOKOZUNA SMASH~!!! )

Mr. Perfect vs. Iron Mike Sharpe
Dropkick by Perfect knocks Sharpe to the floor. Perfect slingshots Sharpe back into the ring and he throws some chops at Sharpe. Snap mare and Perfect hits the Perfect neck snap. Sharpe rakes the eyes and he throws some chops at Perfect. They trade blows and Perfect wins that battle. Knee lift by Perfect Sharpe misses an avalanche in the corner and Perfect gets a jackknife roll-up for 2. Perfect works over Sharpe in the corner and he catches Sharpe with the Perfect Plex for 3.
Winner- Mr. Perfect * (Fun squash as Sharpe was game to take it to Perfect and Perfect was willing to dish it right back.)

Mr. Hughes w/Harvey Whippleman vs. The Cannonball Kid
The Kid has a new name this week. Clothesline by Hughes and he catches Kid with a power slam for 2. Hughes tosses Kid down and he sends Kid hard into the corner. Big boot by Hughes and he hits the Bossman Slam for 3.
Winner- Mr. Hughes SQUASH ( Vince referenced the name change for the Kid, so the hints were there that something was in store for him. )

Lumberjack Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship- Shawn Michaels © vs. Jim Duggan
Duggan actually attacks Yokozuna on the floor during his entrance. Shawn Michaels comes out on crutches but Perfect attacks Michaels and throws him into the ring. Michaels freaks out, showing he was faking the injury so Duggan clotheslines him to the floor. Perfect throws him back in and Duggan hits an atomic drop. Duggan rams Shawn into the corner a few times before slamming him. Elbow drop by Duggan gets 2. Rights by Duggan and he suplexes Michaels for 2. Clothesline by Duggan and he works over Shawn in the corner. Back elbow by Duggan and he grabs a sitting chin lock. Shawn fights out so Duggan grabs the bear hug. Duggan releases and slams Shawn for 2. Duggan fires away and knocks Shawn down with a head butt. Duggan hits some punches in the corner and Shawn is tied up in the ropes. Duggan dumps Shawn to the floor and he tries to run but Perfect and Backlund stop him as we go to break.
Back and Duggan slams Shawn. He misses a knee drop and Shawn nails Duggan with his boot, knocking him to the floor. Duggan is tossed back in and Shawn stomps away. Shawn chokes Duggan in the ropes and he jumps onto the back of Duggan. Duggan slams Shawn’s face off the mat to come back and Shawn rakes the face of Duggan. Duggan charges at Shawn in the corner but eats boot and Shawn covers for 2. Chin lock by Shawn but Duggan fights out. Duggan comes back with a clothesline and he back drops Shawn. Duggan chokes away and Shawn leaps off the second rope but Duggan catches him with a slam for 2. Chin lock by Duggan and he hits the Three Point Stance knocking Shawn to the floor as we go to break.
Back and Shawn charges in the corner but misses. Bigelow distracts Duggan on the apron, allowing Shawn to nail Duggan from behind. He dumps Duggan to the floor and Yokozuna hits a leg drop on Duggan on the floor!!! Back in, Shawn covers for 1 as Perfect breaks it up for the DQ. All the Lumberjacks brawl after the match but Duggan cleans house with the 2×4 to end the show.
Winner by DQ- Shawn Michaels **3/4 (All that build-up and all those shenanigans for that crappy finish. Match was solid but Duggan’s offense here was so one dimensional that I think the fans really had a hard time buying the idea of Shawn losing the title even with a stipulation in place that wouldn’t allow him to weasel his way out of the match. )

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

#13: 5.0 #14 6.0 #15: 6.0 #16: 6.5 Overall, not a bad collection of Raw but they were uninteresting and pretty much a waste in terms of anything of histroical value. We started to see The Kid begin his run in the WWF but his star making moment comes in the next batch. The only noticable thing from this batch was the confidence the company had in Shawn Michaels to be the focal point of the show with Hogan and Bret Hart not making requent appearances and it was kind of an early sign that he was meant for greater things down the line. Again, these shows were placeholders before the King of the Ring build but things would pick up rather quickly in the next couple of weeks heading into the summer months. These Raws aren't a waste of time but I don't urge to check them out right away either.