Monday Night Raw: January 11th, 1993
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett
Main Event: The Undertaker vs. Damien Demento
Welcome everyone to the very first edition of the Monday Night Raw Review. We are going to take a walk back through time as I review each and every Monday Night Raw from the beginning… until I get tired of doing this. This review will be Uncooked. Uncut. & Uncensored. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
We open up with the very first Raw from the Manhattan Center in New York City on January 11th, 1993. Ratings for Prime Time Wrestling were dwindling and Vince McMahon felt like there needed to be a change with their Monday night timeslot. So, on January 11th, 1993 Vince McMahon debuted Monday Night Raw. The commentary team consisted of Vince McMahon, Macho Man Randy Savage, and comedian Rob Bartlett.
The show opens up with Sean Mooney standing outside the entrance to the Manhattan Center on the NYC sidewalks for the debut episode of Monday Night Raw. Bobby Heenan tries to get in to Raw to host the show, but Sean Mooney says he has been replaced and he is not permitted inside for Monday Night Raw. Unfortunately, for all of us, Bobby Heenan was replaced at the commentary booth by Rob Bartlett who was a member of Don Imus’s morning radio show. Thankfully Bartlett doesn’t last long.
The very first match in Monday Night Raw history features Yokozuna vs. Koko B. Ware.
Match 1: Yokozuna vs. Koko B. Ware
The match starts with some stalling while Yokozuna gets warmed up in the corner. Some dry comedy by Rob Bartlett while Yokozuna gets warmed up is already annoying. Yokozuna starts out by showing off his power by throwing Koko around outside of the collar and elbow tie up. Koko is selling like a champ early and making Yokozuna look good. Koko tries a flying shoulder block and Yokozuna just brushes it off and doesn’t even move an inch. Koko gets a few drop kicks in and goes to the wale once too often and goes for a flying clothesline and Yokozuna moves out of the way and Koko gets clotheslined by the top rope. Yokozuna drops the humongous leg on Koko then nails him with the huge back splash in the corner. Yokozuna then drops the Bonzai Drop on Koko B. Ware and gets the 1-2-3 in 3:45. Savage gives us this classic line as the show goes to commercial break “Koko B. Ware could be slid under the locker room door.”
(Post match thoughts: Nothing more than your typical squash match here. Koko sold like a champ and Yokozuna just looked awesome. You could already tell this guy was going to be WWF Champion sooner rather than later. Yoko was awesome at this point because he wasn’t too far overweight and he could actually move in the ring. Pretty good opener for Raw and not a bad squash either)
Next up we have the Raw girl walking around holding up a Monday Night Raw sign. Vince McMahon talks about Bobby Heenan being left out of the building which segues us to a promo by Bobby Heenan hyping up the incoming Narcissist. This is a very good promo talking about how the Narcissist (or as he was first referred “Narcissus”) is better than Mr. erfect and that Perfect will pay once “Narcissus” makes his way to the World Wrestling Federation.
Match 2: Steiner Brothers vs. The Executioners (Pain & Agony)
For the record, the Executioners were Duane Gill & Barry Hardy. The match opens up with Scott Steiner in the ring going up against one of the Executioners. Scott and the Executioner start out in a collar and elbow tie up then Scott drops to one night and trips him. Scott thing picks him up and throws him into the ropes and gets him in a very nice title-a-whirl side slam then drops him with an elbow. Scott tags in Rick and Rick nails the Executioner with a knee. The Executioner tries to whip Rick into the ropes but Rick reverses it and the Executioner stumbles into the ropes and kind of clotheslines himself on the middle rope. Rick then picks him up and irish whips him into the ropes again and this time Rick nails him with a huge Steiner line. During the match Doink is out in the crowd walking around messing with the fans. Steiner picks up the Executioner on to his shoulder then he runs him into the turnbuckle stomach first. The Executioner rolls outside and the other Executioner walks over to check on him. Scott goes over and gets the Executioners in a double noggin knocker. The Executioner gets rolled back into the ring and gets whipped into the ropes. He tries a leap frog but Rick catches him and just dumps him to the mat in a spine buster type move. Rick tags in Scott who comes in and gets the Executioner in an overhead belly to belly suplex. Scott makes the Executioner tag in his partner. When the other Executioner gets into the ring Scott gets him in a double underhook suplex. Scott then puts the Executioner on his shoulders and Rick comes off the top rope with the bulldog. The Steiners get the pin in 3:01 via pin fall.
(Post match thoughts: The Steiner Brothers just demolished the Executioners in your prototypical squash match. I believe the Executioners got in two kicks during the whole match. Not much you can say about this match but the Steiners were always awesome and had a lot of great moves. They were stiff as hell and were just a joy to watch during squash matches.)
Up next, we have Sean Mooney outside where Bobby Heenan attempts to get inside by acting like Rob Bartlett’s aunt. Heenan adjusts his wig and Sean Mooney exposes him. This would be one of the main themes of the show, Heenan dressing up in different disguises to try and get into the building.
We come back from commercial break with Vince McMahon in the ring waiting to interview Razor Ramon. Razor Ramon talks about his upcoming match with Bret Hart at the Royal Rumble for the World Wrestling Federation title. Razor is in full blown Tony Montana mode at this point, and it is awesome. Razor says that it took Bret Hart 8 ½ years to become the WWF champion and it only took him 8 ½ months to get a shot at the gold. They also show footage of Razor Ramon attacking Owen Hart from WWF Mania. Razor with the classic line “squashing your baby brother like a cockaroach was fun mang.” Razor throws his toothpick at Vince McMahon as he leaves the ring.
(Thoughts on the interview: This promo was pretty good. It hyped up the match and you really get a good idea of what the Razor Ramon character was all about. It was full blown Tony Montana at this point with the say hello to the bad guy line and just the demeanor. This is a character that could get over just as much today as it did back then.)
“Macho Man” Randy Savage and Rob Bartlett talk about the WWF’s Headlock on Hunger. Tatanka has a promo talking about how all of the WWF Fans can help with the Somalian relief efforts by donating to the American Red Cross.
Match 3: WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Max Moon
Shawn starts the match by getting Max Moon in an arm drag takedown. Max gets up and they get in another collar tie up. Shawn puts him in a headlock then goes into a standing side switch. Max reverses it and gets Shawn in a standing reverse arm bar. Shawn nails Max with a nice elbow then Shawn hits the ropes while Max drops down. Max does a leap frog, Shawn then comes off the other ropes as Max goes for another leap frog but Shawn stops and tries to kick Maxx. Max grabs Shawn’s leg and spins him around and goes for an atomic drop but Shawn rolls out of that and grabs Max from the back. Max reverses and runs Shawn into the ropes again. Shawn runs at Max but Max dunks and then does a leap frog over Shawn. On the way back Max hits Shawn with a single arm takedown. Awesome fast and fluid action at the start of this match. Max hits Shawn with a hip toss then a body slam. Shawn lays down in a corner to take a break and Vince says “Shawn is taking a powder.” After taking a short break Shawn hits Max with a knee to the stomach then he irish whips Max into the ropes and goes for a back elbow but Max rolls underneath Shawn’s elbow. Shawn runs at Max who lays down and Shawn jumps over him and hits the other rope. Max catches Shawn in an arm bar in mid-air and slams him down to the mat and locks in an arm bar on the ground. The match goes to commercial. When we come back Shawn irish whips Max into the turnbuckle. Shawn tries to hit Max with a splash but Max moves out of the way and Shawn goes shoulder first into the top turnbuckle. At this point Bartlett on commentary says “You missed it folks, during the break Shawn Michaels pulled a knife.” Vince chimes in and “scolds” Bartlett by telling him to stop. Pretty funny if you ask me.
Shawn then gets Max back in the corner and he irish whips him into the other corner, Max tries to jump over Shawn but Shawn catches him and clothesline him across the top rope. Shawn gains control of the match at this point. He nails a nice dropkick on Max then takes his time to adjust his hair for the camera while Max is laid out in the ring. Doink shows up again during the match. Max tries to pull a quick on Shawn as he rolls him up and gets a 2 count. Shawn then knees Max in the mid-section to regain control of the match. Shawn viciously irish whips Max into the turnbuckle who falls down on impact. Shawn then takes the time to look into the camera and says “This face has broken so many homes.” Shawn gets Max in a reverse chin lock. Max elbows his way out of the chin lock and bounces off the ropes. Shawn goes for a leap frog but Max catches him and sling shots him to the outside. Max then runs off the apron and nails Shawn with a butt drop type move to the outside. Max rolls Shawn back and gets the upper hand. Max nails Shawn with the spinning heel kick in the turnbuckle then gets him in a rolling senton type move and gets a 2 count. Max goes for a flip splash but Shawn gets out of the way. Max gets Shawn in a side chin lock but Shawn goes for his belly to back suplex finisher but Max gets out of it. Max goes for another move and Shawn finally nails him with the Belly to Back suplex for the 1-2-3 in 9:56.
(Post match thoughts: This match was pretty awesome. There wasn’t a lot of down time and the pace kept up at a pretty high speed. There was a lot of chain wrestling and back and forth action that kept the crowd into it. I loved the way Shawn played off his gimmick here and you can really see how far he came in 1992. Max Moon put on a pretty good performance and had some pretty nice moves for the time. I really liked his spinning heel kick in the corner spot and the slingshot to the outside was pretty solid as well. I’m sure most, if not all, have seen this match before, but if you haven’t then I would check it out. It is a nice little TV match that is entertaining to watch. Shawn & Max (Paul Diamond) go way back as a tag team in the mid-1980’s. Thumbs up on this one.)
There is a quick commercial break then it comes right back to the Royal Rumble report. Mean Gene Okerlund announces that Shawn Michaels will fight Marty Jannetty at the Royal Rumble for the WWF Intercontinental Title. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty both cut a promo talking about the match as well as whose corner they think Sensational Sherri will be in. Gene Okerlund then goes over the participants for the Royal Rumble match. There are promos by the following wrestlers talking about the Royal Rumble match: Mr. Perfect, Yokozuna & Mr. Fuji, and then Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Gene Okerlund then talks about the WWF Title Match.
Sean Mooney is outside talking about how the fans are already lining up for next week’s show. Bobby Heenan is dressed up as an Amish guy named Marty. Heenan tries to walk into the building but Mooney grabs his beard and pulls it down to expose Bobby Heenan again. Heenan then looks up and says he can get in through the roof.
They show highlights of what happened between Kamala, Kimchee, Harvey Whippleman, and Reverend Slick from this past week’s Superstars. Vince McMahon says that after this incident Kamala has “seen the light thanks to Reverend Slick.”
Match 4: The Undertaker vs. Damien Demento
The match starts off with Damien Demento acting like he is going to attack the Undertaker from behind but he stops and starts looking and pointing to the sky as if voices are going off in his head. Undertaker turns around and stalks Demento and then they go into a stare down. Demento nails Undertaker with 4-5 straight right hands then he irish whips him into the ropes. Demento lowers his head like he is going for a back body drop but Undertaker stops and slams him to the mat. Undertaker doesn’t waste anytime grabbing the arm of Demento and going up to the top rope to nail him with his jumping right hand after walking the top rope. Undertaker keeps control then irish whips Demento into the turnbuckle. Demento puts his foot up and nails Undertaker then he climbs to the top rope and hits Undertaker with a double axe handle. Demento then nails Undertaker with a shoulder block but he sits right up. Demento irish whips Undertaker again but Undertaker dunks the clothesline and nails Demento with a huge diving clothesline. Undertaker looks over to Paul Bearer and Bearer gives Undertaker the signal for the tombstone. Undertaker nails Damien Demento with the Tombstone and gets the 1-2-3 in 2:25.
(Post match thoughts: Really not much to this match at all. It was quick and over before a blink of the eye. It was a squash match and nothing really good happened. Demento was just there to make Undertaker look good and he did a good job of that. Nothing else to say really.)
We come back from commercial break and Vince McMahon is standing ringside with Doink the Clown. Vince McMahon tells Doink that Crush has warned him about making kids cry but Doink just laughs it off. Crush comes out and confronts Doink. Crush tells Doink that he better stop making the kids cry and that this is just a warning and if he keeps it up he will take care of him. Doink sprays water in the face of Crush and Crush chases him down. Crush gets in the ring while Doink lays down on the outside laughing about what he has done to Crush.
We go outside where Sean Mooney and Bobby Heenan are on the roof of the Manhattan Center. Sean Mooney tells Bobby Heenan that he can go in now as the show goes off the air.
Overall thoughts on the show: It was definitely different than the Prime Time wrestling format that most fans were accustomed to on Monday nights. The show was pretty decent. It wasn’t your standard Superstars or Wrestling Challenge because it had a different feel to it. I don’t know if it was the building or what, but it just seemed to come across as different than the other shows. The matches themselves, outside of Shawn Michaels vs. Max Moon, are nothing of merit but for historical purposes this show is definitely worth checking out if you have never seen it.
That is all for this week. Join me next time as I review the January 18th, 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw. Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, and Tito Santana are just some of the names that you will be seeing next time right here on the Monday Night Raw Review.
