Raw Retrospective: Monday Night Raw 03.22.93

Posted by Trace Aber on 08.29.2009

Includes bonus reviews of three matches from March to Wrestlemania!

WWF RAW Episode Ten
March 22, 1993
Live from the Manhattan Center
Hosts: Randy Savage, Vince McMahon, and Rob Bartlett
Approx. Run Time: 40 minutes

Tonight we're going to see the Bushwhackers, Kamala take on Doink, and Money Inc will be there too. This is the last Monday Night Raw before Wrestlemania IX, so let's see if they knew how to do a hard sell in 1993.

The Bushwhackers Vs Damian Demento and Repo Man
This would be Repo Man's last appearance for eight years which gives me hope that he just might pull off the upset. Then again, Damian Demento is probably going to do more harm than good to those odds. The Bushwhackers enter the ring through the balcony and fondle as many small children as possible. And, after seeing the ring girl for this match, I'm curious as to why sometimes they would be attractive and other times they would be…well, not so attractive. Outside of a couple of instances, it just seems random and pointless. Oh, wait, never mind, the Bushwhackers lick the ring girl, answering all of my questions with a flick of the tongue. Butch and Demento start things out in the corner and has his ass bitten. Repo Man runs in to stop the biting but gets bit himself. Some double-team hijinks see the Bushwhackers confusing Demento and Repo Man, which isn't really saying much. Demento looks to the sky and during this Repo Man attacks Luke from behind, which totally makes sense. Luke gets tossed into the corner and then stomped on by team Demented Repo Men. Demento hammers away at Luke in the corner but both men bump into one another, sending them down. Demento no-sells this and gets right back up and tags in Repo Man so he can lay in some stomps. Another tag that leads to another awkward double shoulder tackle spot, this time Luke botching. Butch gets tagged in and sends DRM down with clotheslines and a double headbutt. Repo Man goes to the outside and trips up Luke on a double-clothesline attempt. Bushwhackers get back up though and hit the Battering Ram on Repo Man for the three at 5:28. DUD Completely disjointed and perhaps the worst match I've seen on Raw thus far.
Winners: The Bushwhackers

Tatanka Vs Reno Riggins
Riggins attacks from behind for the early advantage but Tatanka hops over him, hits a couple of chops followed by a big backdrop. Tatanka poses which allows Riggins to cut him off with some kicks and a sleeper hold but eventually gets slammed face-first in the turnbuckle and monkey-flipped. Tatanka continues the onslaught with an arm drag and armbar but gets lazy. Riggins hits some chops in the corner which only seems to piss off Tatanka who returns the favor. Riggins ducks a cross body and chokes Tatanka while he's down. Reno smashes Tatanka's face in the turnbuckle which allows him to channel various Native American Spirits and you get the typical finish - a bunch of chops, a powerslam and the Papoose to Go for three at 3:30. * Decent enough match that wasn't a total squash.
Winner: Tatanka

They announce the formation of the World Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame with the first inductee being Andre the Giant. Various clips are shown, most of which are still used today.

Money Inc Vs Scott Rich and Jeff Armstrong
I.R.S. reminds us that the deadline for taxes is coming up - just don't get caught cheating on them. Dibiase starts off with Rich and sends him down with a shoulder tackle and short-arm clothesline. Scott goes into the ropes and runs into a Dibiase knee before getting sent over the top rope with a clothesline. They show Rob Bartlett flipping through channels on the TV at ringside to "check out the competition." How does this help anyone? Armstrong gets tagged in and IRS works him over in the corner. IRS hits a suplex and elbow drop and tags in Dibiase who hits a couple of chops. IRS is tagged back in and Money Inc hit a double clothesline. Dibiase back in with a powerslam. Armstrong, who's just getting his ass kicked, gets taken out with a flying clothesline for three at 3:02. ½* Not much going on, just tag-move-tag-move.
Winners: Money Inc

Wrestlemania IX Report with Mene Gene. Next weekend on Superstars and Wrestling Challenge you'll be able to see the official contract signing between Yoko and Hart. Mene Gene puts over the toga party. That was…informative. I know sometimes WWE is lacking in their build but the build to Wrestlemania IX has been absolutely terrible.

Kamala Vs Doink the Clown
Doink has a present that he initially offers Kamala but Doink turns out to be nothing more than a tease. Kamala goes towards the box allowing Doink to take the beast down and work in a top wristlock. Kamala tries to get up but Doink keeps working on it. Kamala fights out of the wristlock with some brain chops but gets taken down once again after Doink rakes the eyes. Doink regains control with the armbar until he is tossed off, chopped and splashed in the corner. We take a break and come back with Doink back in control until he gets chopped out of the ring. Kamala takes chase but stops once Doink offers him the present. Doink slips back in the ring as Kamala gets counted out at 3:40. * Of course, there's nothing in the box. Kamala chases Doink under the ring and it appears as though Kamala is right behind him, so Doink keeps hitting the ring with a chair. Kamala sneaks out the other side, however, and attacks Doink from behind who runs to the back. Match wasn't too terrible until the lame finish.
Winner: Doink the Clown

Vince is with three of the unattractive ring card girls who are apparently a part of the Rob Bartlett fan club. Fat jokes are made. The president of the club loves Rob, however, and in one of the most disgusting acts in professional wrestling history - they make out.

Vince puts over the March to Wrestlemania which features Macho Man Vs Yokozuna and The Undertaker Vs Bam Bam. Thanks to the invention of Daily Motion, I can check out some clips from this show. So, BONUS REVIEWS!

Yokozuna Vs Randy Savage (March to Wrestlemania)
Heenan and Vince are on commentary, for those wondering. Heenan suspects that Savage was paid off by Bret Hart to take out Yoko, but Savage is also the same man who tried to pin Yoko at the Royal Rumble. They stall for a bit with Yoko doing the Sumo stuff while Savage points to the crowd while constipated. They circle and Savage ducks a charge from the big man. Savage ducks another one but then gets pushed aside when he attempts a grapple. Savage tries a headlock but gets pushed off and knocked down with a shoulder block. He makes the mistake of getting up, which Yoko fixes with a headbutt and throwing Savage over the top rope. Yoko follows him outside and tosses him around ringside - aiming for anything steel. The crowd is pretty into the match, despite little going on. They go back in the ring as Yoko continues beating down Savage, but then - HOPE! Savage blocks a punch and hits a few of his own and staggers the challenger down, but then Yoko realizes he's over twice the size of Savage and sends him down with one shot. Bodyslam, leg drop, but the splash misses! The crowd is rabid right now as Savage climbs the top rope and hits an axe handle smash which sends Yoko down to one knee. The fans are going crazy as Savage goes to the top again but Fuji hits Savage with the flag which leads to Yoko hitting a belly to bell for the three at 6:36. ** Not a bad match considering it was mostly a squash. I might have over rated it but the crowd was super hot, which always adds to the match. Afterwards Yoko goes for a Banzai Drop but misses! Savage crawls to the rope and hits a running knee which sends Yoko to the outside. Fuji tries to calm him down as a slew of referees come out to stop him from getting back in the ring. Nice way to put Yoko over as well as making the fans happy.
Winner: Yokozuna

Recap video of Lex Luger, aka Narcissus (or Narcissist), debuting at the Royal Rumble. Mene Gene on voiceover talks about how Luger has been dominating everyone with his elbow, IE jobbers. This leads into our next match…

Mr. Perfect Vs Skinner (March to Wrestlemania)
Skinner attacks Perfect while he's posing, so he clearly saw how well that worked for Reno Riggins earlier. Skinner tosses Perfect to the outside and smashes him face-first into the steel steps. Perfect takes a headbutt but comes back with a hard right and then sends Skinner flying into the ring post. An editing job sends us to Skinner back in control. He chokes, punches, kicks, and rakes Perfect - typical jobber offense. Perfect ducks a splash though and follows up with an atomic drop and some chops in the corner. Skinner gets sent in the opposite corner and punched ten times - and to top it off he gets a knee to the face. Perfect chokes Skinner with his boot but Skinner gets a cheap shot with the claw thing. Skinner makes the fatal mistake of ducking in a Mr. Perfect match, however, and it's over with the Perfectplex at 5:27. *1/2 Fun little match, though it was surprising to see Skinner get so much offense in.
Winner: Mr. Perfect

The Undertaker Vs Bam Bam Bigelow (March to Wrestlemania)
It's weird seeing such a short Undertaker entrance. This one only lasts 1:15. Undertaker stares at the urn while Bigelow paces in the corner, ready to fight. Stare down starts things off and once Bigelow realizes he's the smaller guy he goes for some punches but gets taken down with a drop toe hold once he charges. Bigelow goes outside and Taker follows, allowing Bam Bam to take control when they get back in the ring. Undertaker hits a running DDT and chokes Bigelow in the corner. Bigelow goes for another punch but it gets blocked as we go to commercial break. We come back with Taker trying to get back in the ring but gets backdropped instead. Undertaker sits up after a bodyslam and keeps trying to despite Bam Bam's best shots. Another bodyslam leads to a headbutt, which once again Undertaker sits up after. Bigelow is clearly frustrated as he lays some heavy forearms to the back. Bam Bam goes to climb the top rope but once again the Undertaker gets up - so he goes for a running jumping headbutt. The man has headbutts. Undertaker stays down long enough for Bam Bam to climb the top rope but not long enough for the move to connect. Undertaker hits a flying clothesline and hits the chokeslam, sending Bigelow to the outside. This leads to the referee counting the ten for the count out victory at 7:46. * The match was all about The Undertaker's resiliency and nothing more. Still, interesting match-up. Afterwards Giant Gonzalez stands by the entrance ramp and stretches his arms out which leads to an epic stare down.
Winner: The Undertaker

I can't find footage of anything else from the show, but the results can be found below:

Kamala d. Kim-Chee at 2:10
Money Inc. d. Reno Riggins and Jerry Sabin at 2:55
Tatanka d. George South at 3:16
The Bushwhackers and Tiger Jackson d. The Beverly Brothers and Little Louie at 9:54

The 411: As a regular episode of Monday Night Raw, this was a decent attempt though nothing really stood out. But as the final regular episode before Wrestlemania, it failed on pretty much every level. They had a couple of guys who would be at Wrestlemania wrestling jobbers, but outside of Vince saying they have momentum there was no build for their matches. I get that the March to Wrestlemania was supposed to be the big build, but why not just use this episode and the special to build it?

Final Score:  4.0   [ Poor ]