Raw Retrospective: Monday Night Raw 07.12.93

WWF RAW Episode Twenty Five
July 12, 1993
Taped from New York
Hosts: Randy Savage, Vince McMahon, and Bobby Heenan

WWF Heavyweight Championship – Yokozuna(c) Vs Crush
We kick the show off with Yokozuna making his way to the ring as the announcers discuss Luger bodyslamming the champion. Heenan says Luger has “one hundred pounds of iron steel.” Yokozuna is pissed about that whole situation as he throws down the lovely flowers he is given once he makes it to the ring. Savage is sporting his American flag outfit and waves a tiny flag constantly, not being annoying in the slightest. It’s weird to think Crush would join a motorcycle gang just four years later. Both men do a bunch of stalling to start things off, which really puts over the hatred these two have for one another. Huge “USA” chants to start as they finally lock up but come to a stalemate. Crush blocks a Yoko punch and answers with some of his own but gets caught in a bodyslam. Crush dodges an elbow drop and big boots Yokozuna out of the ring which earns a pretty good pop. Crush can’t shoulderblock the champion down, but he can hit a splash in the corner before going to the well one too many times and getting put down with a series of head chops. After a hotshot Crush is sent to the outside. Yoko pulls him back in the ring and chops him down “like a big giant oak tree.” I miss Vince’s exaggerated commentary…I mean, it wasn’t even a good chop or anything. We come back from commercial with Crush getting kicked in the throat and taken down with, you guessed it, a chop. They’re putting Crush over on commentary and saying how great he is but he really hasn’t been looking all that good in this match. Nerve hold nearly puts Crush out but the chants of “USA” power him up enough to break out of the mammoth’s grip, oh wait, nope, just another chop. Yoko misses a splash in the corner and gets taken down by the challenger with a clothesline. I always loved when Yoko would bump, because he always flapped his arms around and made it hilarious. Crush gets a two count following a flying shoulderblock, and decides another one would do the trick. While on the top rope, Fuji hits him with the flag and Yoko takes control once more. Yoko bodyslams Crush on the outside and gets a belly to belly back inside the ring. Leg drop and Banzai splash ends this awful mess at 11:05. *, and I’m being generous. Of course, the idea was to put Yoko over as a monster and it worked, but why give them 11 minutes? After the match, Yokozuna hits three more Banzai splashes. Various wrestlers try to help Crush but Yoko easily fends them off. Savage finally steps in and pulls Crush out of the ring with a little help thanks to Tatanka. Crush sells the attack as Heenan blames Luger for the “new” Yokozuna.
Winner: Yokozuna

The Headshrinkers Vs Aaron Ferguson and PJ Walker
I’ve never been a fan of the Samoan gimmick, and the Headshrinkers did little to change my stance. The jobbers get attacked from behind and nearly kill Ferguson with a double flapjack. Walker is forced to tag in and gets taken out with a clothesline and a headbutt. Walker goes to check on Ferguson but gets double chopped for his troubles. Double stroke and flying splash ends it at 3:20. Nothing particularly exciting outside of the flapjack, but the Headshrinkers definitely looked dominant. DUD.
Winners: The Headshrinkers

They advertise a rematch between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty for next week’s Raw.

Tatanka Vs The Brooklyn Brawler
Brooklyn is pissed off out of the gate and gets into a pushing contest with Tatanka. As you can imagine, this leads to Brawler getting his ass handed to him. Savage gives us an update on Crush saying, “he’s having trouble breathing, whatever that means.” Thanks, Doc Savage. Brawler, realizing he wasn’t doing so hot, takes a second to calm down outside. After collecting his thoughts and coming up with a well thought out plan, he comes back in and slaps Tatanka. Brawler tries to run and gets hit with a scoop slam as Vince apologizes for “ignoring the importance of this match” as they discuss Crush’s condition. Yes, without this match Monday Night Raw may not have existed. Brawler takes control with some stomps and even hits a wrestling move –a neckbreaker! Tatanka gets some chops in before rushing into the turnbuckle and getting nothing but pad. Brooklyn is surprisingly controlling most of the match so far. A half-assed snapmare gets a two count but he locks in a half-assed headlock to create a full ass move. Brawler makes a huge mistake by smashing Tatanka in the turnbuckle pad, which of course leads to chops, a chop off the top rope, and the Papoose to Go for three at 7:10. Was there ANY need for this match to be seven minutes long? *
Winner: Tatanka

Mr. Hughes Vs Tony Devito
This should bring the workrate of this show WAY up. Devito goes down with a forearm to the back and a punch as Hughes is distracted by a wreath that reads, “Rest in Peace.” Hughes yells a bunch of stuff I can’t make out (though Vince assures me it’s towards the Undertaker, and thus I can rest easily) and hits the Bossman slam to end it at 1:50. DUD. At least they knew to keep it short. Hughes reads the handwritten card on the wreath that reads, “Rest in the Peace – The Undertaker.” The Undertaker apparently writes like a high school girl. Speaking of high school girls, Hughes destroys the wreath like a bad tempered prom queen at a homecoming dance.
Winner: Mr. Hughes

Adam Bomb Vs Scott Amonte
And this, ladies and gentleman, is the main event of this terrific night of wrestling. Adam smashes Scott’s face in, kicks his guts in, throws him across the ring, and clotheslines his head off. Polo manages to cut about five different mini-promos throughout the match. Adam applies the dreaded gut grab before slamming Scott on the outside floor. Adam Bomb finishes thing with the flying clothesline and the Atom Smasher for three at 2:15. They cut to commercial as soon as the pin is made.
Winner: Adam Bomb

Next week features the debut of Men on a Mission, Tiny Tim on the King’s Court, the 1-2-3 Kid, as well as the Intercontinental Championship match between Michaels and Jannetty.

The 411: One of the worst RAWs thus far, and that’s saying something. Yoko and Crush went about six minutes too long, as did Tatanka and Brawler. Outside of the Yoko/Crush stuff, there was no progression on the show and was nothing more than a uninspired filler show.
Final Score:  2.0   [ Very Bad ]