Ah yes, the revolutionary force in sports entertainment revolves again. This time, we see a step away from the taped house shows with dubbed commentary that were so en vogue during the late 1980s to more of a hybrid with the studio shows of the early 1980s.
With this "revolutionary" concept, angles and matches play out in front of a live audience, giving the show more of an "anything can happen" feel. The result was increased ratings and a TV show that has damn near become an institution.
January 11, 1993
Live from New York, N.Y..
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and Rob Bartlett.
But first! Sean Mooney informs Bobby Heenan that the Brain has been replaced and won't be allowed at the show.
Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) vs. Koko B. Ware.
So, in answer to any trivia questions, this is the first match in Raw history. Koko was in his "High Energy" phase at this point. Yoko shoves Koko down a few times, so Koko tries to shoulderblock him. Capitol idea. He charges, but Yoko sidesteps him and hotshots Koko on the ropes. That sets up the big-ass legdrop and an avalanche. Koko is out, so Yoko finishes him with a Banzai Drop at 3:45. Koko didn't even get a move in. 1/4*
Royal Rumble hype. One of the more lackluster ones as I recall.
Bobby Heenan joins us via videotape to hype some guy named Narcissus. The gimmick would quickly be tweaked so that they called him "The Narcissist" Lex Luger.
The Steiner Bros. vs. The Executioners.
The Executioners are Duane Gill (of Gillberg fame) and Barry Hardy (of, "hey, I was one of the masked Executioners" fame). Doink the Clown can be seen screwing around in the crowd. The Steiners work in their usual – Steinerline, belly-to-belly, Butterfly Powerbomb. The Doomsday Bulldog finishes at 2:59. The Executioners got in about as much offense as Koko B. Ware did in the first match, but the Steiners' offense was much more fun to watch. 3/4*
Outside, Rob Bartlett's aunt tries to sneak in. Wait a minute! That's Bobby Heenan.
Razor Ramon stops by to say he's got a golden opportunity to take the title away from Bret Hart at the Royal Rumble. We see footage of him attacking Owen Hart in the locker room.
Shawn Michaels vs. Max Moon.
Shawn doesn't have Sherri but still has her music. Max Moon is Paul Diamond, one half of Bad Company, so Shawn should be able to work well with him. Then again, Shawn works well with everyone. The announcers throw out a bunch of Buttafuoco jokes, apparently to show that commentary was live. Not funny, mind you, but live. Moon gets in a few armdrags. Shawn misses a charge to the corner but hits Moon with a Snake Eyes. Bartlett works in the worst Mike Tyson impression you'll ever hear and asks if Doink is Oprah Winfrey. How is that even funny? Randy Savage says Tyson got a raw deal. Suuuuure. Moon knocks Shawn to the floor and hits a pescado. That sets up a leg lariat in the corner and a Finlay Roll for two. Shawn quickly comes back and finishes with the Teardrop Suplex at 4:01. Disappointing. **
Royal Rumble report brought to you by IcoPro, the Integrated Conditioning Program. You gotta want it! Sadly, not enough people did.
Bobby Heenan tries to sneak in as a Rabbi. Oh, the hilarity.
Recap of Kim Chee and Harvey Whippleman berating Kamala until Reverend Slick makes the save.
The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Damien Demento.
Yes, it's Damien Demento, he of the alleged Youtube.com shoots. Undertaker destroys him with the usual Undertaker moves. Tombstone finishes at 2:24. 1/4*
Doink the Clown says kids who cry at his antics are just whiners who have no sense of humor. The important thing is that he's having fun. Crush, brah, tells him, brah, not to do it again, brah. Doink squirts him in the face and runs off.
Sean Mooney says Heenan has finally been cleared to go up. Unfortunately, the show is over.
The 411: Hey, it's famous for revolutionizing the business, not for its quality. It may not seem like it now, but this was amazingly fresh and exciting at the time. Things were happening in real time, and we weren't catching up with things that happened weeks ago and were already part of the house show circuits. But just wait, the wrestling would catch up. Oh, yes it would.
Thumbs down here, even with the historical importance.
Posted By: Guest#4682 (Guest) on August 11, 2008 at 08:55 PM
This was back when the WWF Champion wasn't required to appear on every episode of Monday Night Raw, because Superstars and Challenge were still thought to be the two A and B shows until at least 1994. Alot of the early Raw episodes aren't very good.
Posted By: Dwayne (Guest) on August 11, 2008 at 08:58 PM
They actually did have a good match when Shawn was still a Rocker. Not sure what happened in their singles feud.
Posted By: J.D. Dunn (Registered) on August 11, 2008 at 08:59 PM
Wow! I had forgotten Rob Bartlett. I never heard of him before or since, but sure enough, there's empirical of evidence he exists, and nothing you or I could do about it.
Posted By: Matt P. (Guest) on August 11, 2008 at 09:22 PM
Go to YouTube and look up Rob Bartlett on Opie and Anthony, where he talks about how he was "discovered" for Raw (also features Anthony doing "Angry Vince," which is awesome)
Posted By: James (Guest) on August 11, 2008 at 10:48 PM
Evil Doink was so great. Too bad they f'ed it up.
Posted By: rwe1138 (Registered) on August 11, 2008 at 11:40 PM
This was a forgettable show, but weeks two and three were just awesome, especially for the time. I hope you get around to reviewing the Perfect/Flair career match if you haven't already.
Posted By: AJP (Guest) on August 11, 2008 at 11:40 PM
So are you posting old WWF tv shows regularly now, or is this just a special side piece?
Posted By: KNessJM (Guest) on August 12, 2008 at 05:31 AM
"So are you posting old WWF tv shows regularly now, or is this just a special side piece?"
I'm reviewing the Raws that I have. Every Monday in the video section. :)
Posted By: J.D. Dunn (Registered) on August 12, 2008 at 09:48 AM
"Doink squirts him in the face and runs off." LMFAS!
Posted By: joejoejoejoe (Guest) on August 12, 2008 at 10:19 AM
"[...] because Superstars and Challenge were still thought to be the two A and B shows until at least 1994."
BOGUS! there were hardly any important storylines on Superstars and Challenge from the point Raw debuted (including all tv title changes, if I am correct).
Posted By: guy incognito (Guest) on August 12, 2008 at 10:47 AM
"BOGUS! there were hardly any important storylines on Superstars and Challenge from the point Raw debuted (including all tv title changes, if I am correct)."
Not true, at least in the case of Superstars. Diesel won the IC title from Razor Ramon in 1994 on Superstars. Plus, they still did angles on Superstars after Raw started.
Challenge, not so much. Although, Challenge only had one title change in its entire run of showing original matches from 1986-1995 (Money Inc. defeating the Natural Biasters for the tag title in October 1992). It was always less important that Superstars and became even less importan with the debut of Raw.
Posted By: Guest#5676 (Guest) on August 12, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Great review! You should review the other Raws on WWE 24/7 Online. They have like the first 40 up and I'd love to read your opinions of them!
Posted By: Ryan (Guest) on August 13, 2008 at 01:27 AM
Dayum Dunn how old is you?
Posted By: nemz08 (Guest) on August 14, 2008 at 08:15 AM
Wait, wait, wait...
There is someone Shawn didn't work well with that wasn't Hennign...
What about that lesser known incident with that Canadian guy?
Posted By: Travis (Guest) on August 14, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Wasn't Konnan Max Moon? Or was it Al Snow who was Max Moon?
Posted By: Toddo (Guest) on August 14, 2008 at 10:33 AM
I think the most revolutionary thing about this first episode of Raw was that there weren't really any jobbers. Sure, some names jobbed hard but everyone in that ring was a legit part of the roster rather than the local indy scrubs usually jobbed out on TV. At the time it was really exciting because you at least felt there was a chance either guy might win, rather than knowing 100% that Superstar X was going to win.
Posted By: Alec (Guest) on August 14, 2008 at 10:37 AM
"Wasn't Konnan Max Moon? Or was it Al Snow who was Max Moon?"
Konnan was Max Moon for 1 show, then quit. Paul Diamond could fit in the suit, so he got to be the new Max Moon. Not sure if Al Snow ever played the part, or was even around WWF back then.
Posted By: Thurbington Castleby III (Guest) on August 14, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I don't remember Rob Bartlett ever being funny on RAW. WWE hired some crappy talent, including the infamous Todd Pettengill. Bleh.
Posted By: Redvic (Guest) on August 14, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Wrestling was a completely different monster in 1993. TV was squash matches. You would regularly get one, maybe two good matches in a night if you were lucky. The set was small, the crowds weren't big.
Reviewing "classic" TV shows/tapings pre-1996 in present day standards is apples to oranges. The Attitude Era/Monday Night Wars raised the bar for everything forever.
Shows used to be one hour. There were four PPVs a year until In Your House showed up.
I give this column a 3/10. The 3 are for the fact Gillberg is involved
Posted By: Guest#0944 (Guest) on August 14, 2008 at 01:13 PM
"You would regularly get one, maybe two good matches in a night if you were lucky."
How is that any different than today?
Posted By: J.D. Dunn (Registered) on August 14, 2008 at 09:05 PM
