Raw Retrospective: Monday Night Raw 06.21.93

WWF RAW Episode Twenty Two
June 21, 1993
Live from Poughkeepsie, New York
Hosts: Randy Savage, Vince McMahon, and Bobby Heenan
Approx. Run Time: 43 minutes

We kick the show off with footage of the 123 Kid pinning Razor Ramon six weeks ago, and the rematch is our main event of the evening with Ramon putting up ten grand of his own money to get the match. Tonight features another rematch, that being a two out of three falls match with Doink and Jannetty. Heenan checks the ring and finds it hilarious.

The Steiner Brothers Vs Barry Hardy and Reno Higgins
The Steiner Brothers come out with the WWF Tag Team Championships, who defeated Money Inc since the last show. Two time champions if you count the fast switches they did, but it’s probably best not to. Scott starts things off with Higgins and hits a nasty looking t-bone suplex. Hardy gets the tag and immediately seems to regret that choice as he gets taken down and forced to grapple with Rick. Hardy has a comeback spot but gets destroyed in the corner for his effort. Scott gets the tag and locks in an overly aggressive headlock. He fucking hates Hardy…and continues his hate with a belly to belly. Hardy receives the tag but gets taken down with another slam and a nasty looking Frankensteiner for the three at 3:47. Steiners looked like world beaters out there, which was the point. *
Winners: The Steiner Brothers

2 out of 3 Falls: Doink the Clown Vs Marty Jannetty
This should be awesome…and Doink confirms it by coming out on a unicycle. Why would you ever turn this man face? He gets heat on a unicycle! Doink tries to lure Jannetty in the corner, but apparently Jannetty has fallen for that one too many times and refuses to. They lock up but gets broken up by the ropes. Doink tries to lure him back into the ring again, and once again Jannetty refuses. Another lock up and another break up, this time Doink attacks though. Doink applies the headlock tight but gets tossed by Jannetty, but Doink uses the “Greco-Roman hair pull” to stop the momentum. Hennan is awesome on commentary here…and compares Doink to Michael Jordan. Doink gets right in Jannetty’s face and challenges him to hit him. Jannetty thinks about it, ducks Doink’s attack, they criss cross, and Jannetty this a facecrusher! Nice sequence there. Both men trade arm bars but Doink gets to the ropes and takes a break outside. Back inside, both men stare one another down and Doink attacks in the corner with some vicious punches. Jannetty reverses an irish whip and nails the monkey flip for two. Jannetty crotches himself on the turnbuckle and Doink capitalizes with a whoopee cushion for the three at 7:10.
Winner of First Fall: Doink the Clown

We come back from a commercial with Doink rushing Jannetty in the corner and whips him into the opposite corner and it looked vicious. Doink mocks Jannetty quite convincingly and hits an axehandle smash to the outside. Back in the ring, Doink gets a two count. Jannetty tries to kick a bent over Doink, but in a reversal from their match last week, Doink dodges, trips Jannetty up, and gets a two count before going for the headlock. Jannetty gets a roll up for two and hits a snap suplex. Jannetty climbs the top rope but thanks better of it, much to the crowd’s chagrin. Doink makes his way to his feet before taking a brutal superkick but he’s too close to the ropes! Jannetty hits another facecrusher, goes to the top, and hits a fist drop for three at 12:10.
Winner of Second Fall: Marty Jannetty

The third fall begins with Doink begging for forgiveness, while looking like a Smurf just blew its load all over his face. Jannetty this a HUGE atomic drop and a clothesline for two. Doink rolls outside and smashes Jannetty’s knee against the ringpost. That damn desperate clown! Doink locks in the figure four and Jannetty taps out, but due to it being 1993 that doesn’t count as a submission. Jannetty reverses it after a good minute or so, and Doink manages to get to the ropes forcing the break. Both men stumble to their feet, though Doink has the obvious advantage. Doink works the leg over in the corner but Jannetty manages to fight him off and hit a back body drop before getting taken down by Doink again and trapped in an STF. Jannetty doesn’t quit, so Doink pounds the leg in the ground for good measure. Doink climbs the top rope but gets thrown off! Jannetty hits a flying back elbow and pounds away in the corner. Another Doink comes out and hides under the ring and Jannetty is completely unaware. The fans alert Jannetty to the flummery going on outside and this gives the real Doink enough time to dropkick Jannetty. Doink sends Jannetty into the ringpost and they head back in the ring. Jannetty misses an elbow, leapfrogs, and dropkicks Doink to the outside. Doink crawls under the ring when the ref isn’t looking, though he comes back out. Jannetty sends him out with a shoulder block and this time we get the switch of Doinks. The new Doink gets rolled up for two but rakes the eyes to take control once more. New Doink hits a piledriver and gets the three at 21:13. Awesome match that had great psychology, nods to the previous match, and great storytelling. I’m absolutely shocked they gave these guys nearly half of the show, but I’m glad they did. The finish sucked, and Savage, one to not deal with bullshit, comes out and attacks both Doinks much to the fan’s liking. Savage proves to the ref that there were two Doinks, and the ref reverses the decision. ****
Winner of Third Fall and the Match: Marty Jannetty

Mr. Hughes Vs Bobby Who
Hughes comes out with Undertaker’s urn. Absolutely nobody cares about Hughes and the fans chant boring pretty early in the match. Hughes hits some uninspired kicks and a lazy punch to begin the match. Hughes does hit a semi-impressive dropkick then yells something at Bobby Who. Tossing suplex and a running elbow would have lead to the three but Hughes, who apparently loves to torture wrestling fans, decides that wasn’t enough. Hughes hits the bossman slam for three at 2:55. Hughes brings nothing to the table and this was a waste of time. DUD.
Winner: Mr. Hughes

$10,000 Challenge: Razor Ramon Vs 123 Kid
The crowd erupts in a huge “123” chant before he comes out though it does little to calm his nerves. Ramon’s facial expressions during the match are awesome. Ramon tries to attack Kid before he gets into the ring and a sunset flip nearly gets three to kick things off. A spinning wheel kick takes Ramon down but the Kid gets caught in a fallaway slam. Ramon chops away in the corner and tosses the Kid before hitting a sloppy clothesline. Kid takes one of the more painful chokeslams I’ve seen and looks to be knocked out cold. Ramon locks in the abdominal stretch but the Kid refuses to quit. Ramon slaps him while he’s down and hits a powerslam. They go to the top and Ramon hits a stalling backdrop off the second rope. The Kid gets thrown outside of the ring and Ramon rips the padding off the floor. Ramon goes for the Edge but the Kid back body drops him on the floor! The Kid climbs the top rope and takes a nasty dive straight to the floor. That looked nasty and completely accidental. Somehow he survives though and manages to surprise Ramon with a top rope moonsault for two. Realizing he should quite while he’s ahead, he grabs the money and leaves the ring. Ramon chases after him while both men are counted out at 5:16. The Kid had a limo waiting for him outside and gets away from the Bad Guy! Fun little match that was more angle than anything. ** After the match, Ramon says that nobody rips off the bad guy and he’ll catch the Kid.
Winner: Draw (Double Count Out)

Next week it’s Shawn Michaels Vs Kamala for the Intercontinental Championship and Yokozuna defends his WWF Heavyweight Championship against an unnamed opponent!

The 411: You should really check out the 2 out of 3 falls match if you haven't - definitely a hidden gem that has been forgotten. The Ramon/Kid angle is still interesting and just like last week, everything was good except the Hughes stuff.
Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]