1993 In The WWF

Hello and Happy Easter to you all! Welcome to a bonus post here on The Raw Files.

As we hurtle towards the January 10th 1994 episode of Monday Night Raw (the show's first anniversary), I thought we'd take a look at what happened in the twelve months between the two shows and see how the WWF had progressed since the launch of their new flagship show.

The first pay-per-view event of the year took place two weeks after the debut episode of Raw at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California with the 1993 staging of the Royal Rumble.

Yokozuna would be victorious in the rumble match, last eliminating 'Macho Man' Randy Savage by launching him over the top rope after Savage had foolishly tried to pin Yoko following his patented elbow drop. The 1993 Rumble proved historic as Yoko was the first recipient of the now traditional prize of a WrestleMania title match.

Bret Hart would be Yoko's opponent at 'Mania after he successfully defended his WWF Championship against Razor Ramon whilst Shawn Michaels defeated his former Rockers tag-team partner Marty Jannetty to defend his Intercontinental title. Also on the card were wins for Bam Bam Bigelow and The Steiner Brothers who defeated Big Boss Man and The Beverly Brothers respectively.

Former WWF champion Ric Flair departed the company after losing the famous Loser Leaves The WWF match to Mr Perfect the night after the Rumble. In sad news for the company, Andre The Giant passed away at the tragically early age of just 46 on January 27th, he would later become the inaugural inductee to the WWF Hall of Fame.

WrestleMania IX emanated from the car park of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas on April 4th 1993. The event marked the WWF commentary debut of Jim Ross who had recently departed WCW after being overlooked for the company's Executive Producer job.

Shawn Michaels utilised the champion's advantage to retain his Intercontinental Championship despite losing to Tatanka via countout. Scott Steiner nailed Fatu with a Frankensteiner to help The Steiner Brothers defeat The Headshrinkers in a tag-team contest. Crush's feud with Doink (alluded to at the end of the debut episode of Raw) came to a head when the clown (assisted by another Doink, portrayed by Steve 'Skinner' Keirn) hit Crush with his arm cast that was loaded with batteries to win the match.

Razor Ramon defeated Bob Backlund in under four minutes before Hulk Hogan participated in his first match since the previous year's 'Mania when he tagged with Brutus Beefcake to take on Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R Shchyster) for the WWF Tag Team Championship.

Despite losing the bout by disqualification, Hogan and Beefcake paraded around the ring as if they had won to provide the Hulkster with his last great WrestleMania moment.... or so we thought.

'Narcissus' Lex Luger defeated Mr Perfect to end their feud before The Undertaker won arguably the least revered of his WrestleMania victories by beating Giant Gonzalez.

The main event was the highly anticipated WWF Championship match between champion Bret Hart and Royal Rumble winner Yokozuna. Just as it appeared that Hart would overcome the odds and win the match, Yoko's manager Mr Fuji threw salt into the eyes of The Hitman. Yoko stumbled to his feet and pinned Hart to win the title for the first time.

Hulk Hogan appeared at ringside and challenged Yoko to put his newly won title on the line in an impromptu match. The heel champion accepted and as Mr Fuji attempted to throw salt into Hogan's eye, The Huckster moved out of the way meaning the salt went into Yoko's eyes. Hogan hit his leg drop finisher to win the WWF Championship for the fifth and final time.

The plan had been for Hogan to drop the belt to Bret Hart at the King Of The Ring PPV but these plans were changed after Hulk became reticent to lose to Hart stating that he didn't feel Bret's size would make him a big enough draw. Despite promotional photos being taken to hype up the bout, Hogan successfully lobbied to drop the belt back to Yokozuna instead, denying fans of the 'passing of the torch' moment that would have kick started the WWF's 'New Generation' era.

The KOTR event on June 13th 1993 at The Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio was the first time the tournament had been televised. Seven spots in the tournament were up for grabs with Bret Hart qualifying automatically. The performers who reached the PPV stage of the competition were as follows. Razor Ramon, Mr Perfect, Mr Hughes, Bam Bam Bigelow, 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan, Lex Luger and Tatanka. 

Hart defeated Ramon on PPV for the second time in 1993 in the competition's opening match, Mr Perfect knocked Mr Hughes out of the tournament by disqualification and Bam Bam beat Duggan. Lex Luger and Tatanka fought to a time-limit draw which eliminated both men from the tournament, allowing Bigelow a bye into the final.

Yokozuna defeated Hogan by pinball to win his second WWF title after a 'Japanese photographer' shot Hulk with a fireball from his camera which allowed Yoko to score the pin and thus Hulk Hogan wasn't seen in a WWF ring until 2002.

Billy and Bart, better known as The Smoking Gunns (in their PPV debut) teamed with The Steiner Brothers to win an 8-man tag team match against Money Inc. and The Headshrinkers. Shawn Michaels defended his Intercontinental title against Crush before Bret Hart pinned Bam Bam Bigelow to win the KOTR tournament.

On the May 17th 1993 episode of Monday Night Raw, one of the WWF's biggest upstarts came when The Kid (later to become The 1-2-3 Kid) pinned Razor Ramon to pull off a surprise victory. In the show's main event, Marty Jannetty knocked off Shawn Michaels to win the Intercontinental title

Following Hogan's departure from the company, Lex Luger was given the mantle of the company's next all-American hero, shedding his 'Narcissus' gimmick and becoming 'Made In The USA", setting off on a massive promotional tour on his 'Lex Express' tour bus.

Following the event on July 4th 1993 aboard the USS Intrepid in which Lex became the first person to slam Yokozuna, the company began to push Luger with the culmination slated for Summerslam in August.

The event took place at The Palace Of Auburn Hills in Michigan on August 30th 1993 and began with Razor Ramon defeating Ted DiBiase. The Steiner Brothers (by now WWF Tag Team champions) beat The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) to retain their belts and Irwin R Schyster beat the 1-2-3 Kid. Shawn Michaels (who had won back the I-C belt on the June 6th edition of Monday Night Raw with the assistance of his bodyguard Diesel) then successfully defended the strap against long-time rival Mr Perfect in arguably the bout of the night.

Following his attack on Bret Hart at the end of the KOTR, Jerry 'The King' Lawler was scheduled to face The Hitman with the winner earning the right to call themselves the 'Undisputed King Of The WWF'. Lawyer claimed to be suffering from a (kayfabe) injury and instead sent his 'court jester' Doink The Clown to face Hart.

After the clown threw a bucket of water over Bruce Hart (watching at ringside), Bret attacked Doink and eventually managed to get him into the Sharpshooter before Lawler struck Hart with one of his crutches. WWF President Jack Tunney them came down to the ring and announced that Lawler would be banned from the company for life unless he participated in the match as scheduled after he revealed he wasn't suffering from an injury. Bret managed to win the match after nailing The King with his own piledriver finishing move before forcing him to tap out through the Sharpshooter. The decision would eventually be reversed in Lawler's favour after Hart refused to break the hold at the end of the match.

In his PPV debut, Finnish brute Ludvig Borga squashed Marty Jannetty before The Undertaker prevailed in his WrestleMania rematch with Giant Gonzalez. In the last match before the main event, the team of The Smoking Gunns and Tatanka defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and The Headshrinkers in a 6-man tag team match.

The main event of the card was the long awaited WWF Championship match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna. Despite having the majority of the early going of the match, Yoko's weight proved to be a barrier as Lex struggled to repeat his slam aboard the Intrepid. After a leg-drop on Luger, Yoko attempted a Banzai Drop but missed. Lex took the opportunity and finally managed to slam the champion. Luger then attacked the interfering Mr Fuji and hit Yoko with a forearm smash that sent him tumbling out of the ring. Yoko was unable to beat the count which handed the win to Luger although the technicality prevented the title from changing hands. Undeterred, the babyface portion of the locker room came out and gave Lex the patriotic victory parade, complete with red, white and blue balloons.

The match against Razor Ramon proved to be Ted DiBiase's last bout as a neck injury forced him to retire from competing. The issue of drug abuse became apparent in the company in the months following Summerslam with Matt Borne, better known as the original Doink The Clown, was fired from the company. Shawn Michaels also received a suspension for the same reasons although he was back in time for Survivor Series, the final PPV of 1993.

Following his continued torment of Bret and Owen Hart, Jerry Lawler was scheduled to captain a team against the Hart family at Survivor Series but he was fired from the company after he was charged (and later acquitted) with statutory rape of a 15 year old girl. Instead, the team was skippered by Shawn Michaels.

After Billy Gunn had beaten The Brooklyn Brawler in a dark match, the televised portion of the show aired live from the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on November 24th 1993. The team of The 1-2-3 Kid, Marty Jannetty, Razor Ramon and 'Macho Man' Randy Savage defeated Adam Bomb, Diesel, Irwin R Schyster and Rick 'The Model' Martel.

Bret and Owen Hart were accompanied by brothers Bruce and Keith Hart for their match against Shawn Michaels and The Knights (Jeff Gaylord, Greg Valentine and Barry Horowitz). Despite the Harts winning the match, a post-match confrontation between Bret and Owen set up the brothers feud which would see them face off in one of the WWF's all-time matches at WrestleMania X.

In a cross-promotional match with Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, The Heavenly Bodies defeated The Rock 'N' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) to win the SMW Tag Team Championship before The Bushwhackers and Men On A Mission joined forces to defeat the team of Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger and The Headshrinkers in the third elimination match of the evening.

The main event of Survivor Series would see 'The All-Americans' (Lex Luger, The Steiner Brothers and The Undertaker) square off with 'The Foreign Fanatics' (Crush, Jacques Rougeau of The Quebecers, Ludvig Borga and WWF Champion Yokozuna). Luger pinned Borga to deliver the win for the face team. Off the back of the match, Yokozuna began feuding with The Undertaker with the two men scheduled to face off at the 1994 Royal Rumble.

Thatt brings our look at the major in-ring events of 1993 for the WWF, I hope you have enjoyed it and   are refreshed and up to date for Monday's post. 

We turn the clock forward to January 10th 1994 for the next entry into The Raw Files as we take a look at the first anniversary episode of Monday Night Raw. 

Remember to find  The Raw Files on Twitter and join esteemed names such as Rob Bartlett and Duane Gill by getting in touch with us. We can be found @TheRawFiles. 

Until next time, take care. 

The Birth Of The Phenomenon

On January 11th 1993 the world of televised professional wrestling was turned on it's head. In a radical move Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF) premiered Monday Night Raw, a weekly show emanating from the Manhattan Center in downtown New York. The biggest and most seismic change came as the show was broadcast completely live. Gone were the days of pre-taped matches and voice-over commentary, the action played out in your living room as it did at the venue. 

Here at The Raw Files, we're going to retrospectively review some of the most important moments in the history of WWE's flagship television output. From it's beginnings at the Manhattan Center through the Monday Night Wars all the way through to the pomp and circumstance of the 25th anniversary celebratory episode from January 2018. There'll also be some bonus instalments along the way too. 

They say there's no better place to start than the beginning so let's turn the clock back and begin our journey. 

(If you're watching along on the WWE Network then press play NOW!) 

It's Monday January 11th 1993 and we're live from the Manhattan Center in New York. Sean Mooney greets us outside the building and informs us that a short while ago it was a 'mob scene' out on the street. Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan makes his first appearance of the evening and attempts to gain entry to the show. Mooney tells him that he can't even purchase a ticket as the event is a complete sell-out. As Heenan continues to remonstrate, we get the first airing of the Monday Night Raw theme tune.

We're then welcomed to the show by our announce team of Vince McMahon, 'Macho Man' Randy Savage and the third member of the team, actor and comedian Rob Bartlett.

Vince runs down the card and promises the Steiner Brothers in tag team action and an exclusive interview with Razor Ramon while Bartlett can't contain his excitement for Koko B. Ware vs Yokozuma (sic). It's then time for our first match of the evening.

Koko B. Ware vs Yokozuna (with Mr. Fuji)

Kok comes to the ring first to a moderate pop before everyone's favourite Samoan sumo wrestler Yokozuna makes his entrance accompanied by Mr. Fuji and a couple of geisha girls.

When looking at Koko, Bartlett wonders whatever happened to Gary Coleman which draws the first Vince laugh while also commenting on Yoko's weight claiming he should spend less time at the sushi bar and more time at a salad bar.

We have an extended stare down between the two competitors before our first lock-up which results in Koko being thrown to the floor. The same thing happens before Koko hits a pair of dropkicks which slightly wobbles Yokozuna but an attempt at a third one results in Yoko throwing him face first into the top rope.

Yokozuna then hits a leg drop on Koko before throwing him into the corner, attacking him butt first to set him up for a Banzai drop. The crowd pops as Yoko ascends to the second rope to hit his finisher, Vince implores with Koko to get to his feet but he can't hear him as Yokozuna completes the drop to get the pinfall win at 3.45. As Yoko poses in the ring, we get a replay of the Banzai drop which takes us into a break.

Back from break and we're greeted by a woman in a leotard walking round the ring holding a Monday Night Raw card before we're taken into a pre-taped promo in which Bobby Heenan talks down Mr Perfect before hyping up the upcoming debut of Narcissus at the Royal Rumble in two weeks time. According to Heenan, comparing Narcissus to Mr Perfect is like comparing ice cream to horse manure and that his new charge is so far beyond Perfect it's like he's from another galaxy. The promo closes with Heenan promising that when he unveils Narcissus at the Rumble, Perfect will think he's from another world.

The Steiner Brothers vs The Executioners (Barry Hardy and Duane Gill) 

At the end of the promo we get the sound of the Steiner Brothers theme song as we prepare for the second bout of the evening between Rick and Scott and The Executioners. 

Bartlett asks the name of the brother in headgear and as the match begins, Doink The Clown appears in the crowd causing mischief amongst the fans. 

Scott then works Executioner A to the ground and tags in Rick. 'The Dog Faced Gremlin' hits some stiff looking punches in the corner before throwing Executioner A into the ropes whilst Bartlett has one word for Steiner 'electrolysis' which draws another Vince laugh. 

After Executioner A is thrown out of the ring, the jobber team attempt to regroup but it fails as Scott cracks their heads together. Executioner A gets a minor hope spot as he comes off the ropes to attack Rick but is caught and eats a scoop slam for his troubles. Scott then tags in and hits a lovely looking belly-to-belly suplex before Executioner B tags in. He receives a kick to the gut before getting nailed by Scott's double underhook piledriver. Rick ascends the ropes to assist his brother in hitting the Steiner DDT before nailing the other Executioner while Scott gets the pinfall at exactly three minutes. 

We're back outside the venue with Sean Mooney as a 'woman' claiming to be Rob Bartlett's aunt is attempting to gain access to the show, the 'woman' is quickly rumbled as Bobby Heenan in drag and as we're promised the next segment will be the interview with Razor Ramon, we cut to another break. 

Back from break and Vince is in the ring with Razor Ramon who is dressed in a rather snazzy looking shirt. 

'The Bad Guy' claims that he was 'born ready' for his WWF title match with Bret Hart at the Royal Rumble and that the golden opportunity has 'Razor Ramon' written all over it. Razor then acknowledges that it took Bret eight and a half years to get to where he is but it's only taken him eight and a half months to become 'numero uno'. 

When questioned by Vince about his attack on Owen Hart during the previous Saturday's episode of WWF Mania, Ramon quips that 'it was fun squashing him like a cockroach' and that there isn't anything Bret could do about it 'not because he wants to do anything about it' but that he can't, nor will he be able to do anything about Razor taking his 'precious gold'. 

The interview ends with Razor throwing his toothpick at Vince and we cut to another break. 

Max Moon vs Shawn Michaels (c) 

Intercontinental Championship Match 

Our third match of the evening comes in the shape of an I-C title match between Max Moon (portrayed here by Paul Diamond rather than Konnan) and champion Shawn Michaels with the winner slated to defend the belt at the Royal Rumble against HBK's former partner Marty Jannetty. 

The first tie-up of the match results in HBK hitting a nice armdrag on Moon and there's a nice display of athleticism between the two men as we get a sequence of the competitors reversing each other's attempts at moves. 

Moon hits a pair of armdrags of his own before slamming HBK to the canvas which prompts Vince to speculate that he may be a shade quicker than the champion. Moon presses home his advantage in the match as he slams HBK into a hammerlock before transitioning into a pin attempt which gets a 2, we then cut to another break. 

Back from break and HBK whips Moon into the corner and attempts a shoulder attack on his opponent, Moon is wise to it and moves out of the way sending Shawn into the top turnbuckle. Shawn tries another attack in the corner and extinguishes Moon's escape attempt and sends him face first in the top rope. A couple of stomps from Shawn follow this and he then hits Moon with a dropkick. 

HBK uses this opportunity to cut a mini-promo down the camera claiming that his face had 'broken many homes'. 

The announce team's conversation turns to Mike Tyson which leads Bartlett into doing a rather bad impression of 'The Baddest Man On The Planet' whilst Doink reappears at ringside. 

HBK attempts a scoop slam but Moon counters and rolls him up which gets a 2 count. Michaels then attempts a pin of his own but fails and then holds Moon in a reverse chinlock. Shawn then attempts a headscissors but Moon counters it into a slingshot and dumps HBK outside the ring. 

Moon dives on Michaels and chucks him back into the ring for a pin, HBK kicks out at 2. Moon then attempts a diving attack on the prone Michaels but he moves out of the way sending Moon to the canvas. Shawn takes a moment to compose himself and hits Sweet Chin Music on his opponent, although as this is the early part of Shawn's singles career, it isn't his finisher. 

The finish comes as HBK attempts to hit his Teardrop Suplex finisher on Moon, Max reverses this and goes for a forearm to Shawn's face. Moon misses the forearm and Shawn successfully hits the Teardrop Suplex for the pin at 10.30 to retain the belt. We then cut to another break. 

After the break, we're back on the street outside with Mooney stewarding a queue of people purchasing their tickets for next week's episode of Raw. A 'stereotypical' Jewish man attempts to cut through the line claiming that he is Rob Bartlett's uncle. Mooney again rumbles him as Heenan in disguise, this time Heenan says enough is enough and he's heading to the roof (which he pronounces 'ruff'). 

Following a brief recap of Kamala's babyface turn from the previous weekend's 'Superstars', it's time for our main event of the evening. 

Damian Demento vs The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) 

Demento gets the jobber entrance while 'Taker makes his way into the ring accompanied by Paul Bearer. 

Demento attempts punches but 'Taker no sells, The Deadman then reverses Demento's attempt at an attack following an Irish whip but instead gets sent face first into the canvas. 

Paul Bearer is shown at ringside stroking the urn (not a euphemism) as Undertaker ascends to the top rope and then hits Old School on Demento. After Damian boots Undertaker in the face and hits him with a flying shoulder tackle. Demento sends 'Taker into the ropes but The Phenom hits Damian with a crossbody. As he rises to his feet, The Undertaker signals to Bearer that the end is coming. 

Undertaker sets Damian up and hits the Tombstone Piledriver to score the pinfall win at 2.25. As Bearer prevents Undertaker from inflicting further damage on the stricken Demento, we cut to a break. 

Back from break and Vince is interviewing Doink The Clown. McMahon addresses the threats made to Doink by Crush regarding making kids cry but Doink simply laughs claiming that as long as he laughs that's all that matters. 

Crush then comes to ringside and warns Doink that if he touches anyone else (questionable choice of words) he won't be laughing anymore. The clown fires a water pistol in Crush's face which causes him to chase Doink round the ring. 

As Crush's music hits, we're then taken up to the ru..sorry roof of the building as Sean Mooney finally allows Heenan into the building. The joke's on Bobby however as the show is over and the broadcast finishes. 

Match Of The Night: Max Moon vs Shawn Michaels 

Not only was this the only non-squash match on the card, the two competitors put on a relatively athletic bout that really put over Michaels' in-ring ability. Remember that this is in the early part of his singles career so I think he's still finding his feet on his own here. Max Moon took me by surprise too as he appeared as a more than capable competitor against HBK. 

The Verdict 

This isn't a bad show, it puts across the formula that's going to become familiar over the early part of Raw's run. The programme had enough recognised stars on the card to maintain viewing interest whilst the skits between Mooney and Heenan provided some comedy. The announce team's attempt to get over the live element of the show probably wasn't needed, especially as they spent the majority of the show's best match talking about something totally irrelevant. 

Overall, I'm giving the show 3.5 Executioners out of 5. 

That brings our look at the inaugural episode of Monday Night Raw to a close, I hope you have enjoyed our head first plunge into the New Generation Era of WWE. 

For more from The Raw Files, please drop us a follow on Twitter @TheRawFiles and feel free to interact with the site. We'll be running regular wrestling discussions and giving you opportunities to contribute to the site too. 

In the second instalment of The Raw Files, we're going to turn the clock forward 364 days to January 10th 1994 and take a look at how the show has progressed and celebrate it's First Anniversary on air. 

Keep your eyes peeled on the Twitter page for more information and until next time, take care.