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WWF Monday Night Raw - January 25, 1993
by SamoaRowe

-Sean Mooney is standing outside the Manhattan Center in some snowy weather. Repo Man pulls up in a tow truck. Tonight, Repo Man plans on repossessing Randy Savage’s career.

-Bobby Heenan made his way into the building! And he’s on commentary with Vince McMahon and Rob Bartlett.

Repo Man vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
Savage runs in without an entrance and blindsides Repo Man. Savage targets the face and snapmares Repo Man at ringside. Back to the ring, Savage clubs the back of the head and tries to rip open Repo Man’s mouth. Repo Man counters and tosses Savage to the floor. Savage quickly rebounds, driving his knee into the back of the head, dumping Repo Man to the floor. Repo Man tries leaving, but Savage cuts him off and directs him back to the ring. Savage stomps a mud-hole and chokes Repo Man. The fight spills to ringside, Repo Man reverses Savage, smashing his head into the ring steps. Savage is then whipped into the ring post. The action returns to the ring, where Repo Man is in control, methodically pounding on Macho Man. Repo Man applies a rear naked choke. Savage breaks free and hit’s a tackle as we head to commercial.

After the break, Savage is in the midst of a comeback. Repo Man halts Savage’s momentum, and continues to hit some methodical offense. Cover by Repo Man gets two. Repo Man applies body scissors. Repo Man follows up with a clothesline. Back suplex by Repo Man gets him a slow cover for 2. Chinlock by Repo Man, while the commentators keep making jokes about Bill Clinton’s inaugural address. Savage springs back to life, but Repo Man steals the momentum. Repo Man goes high risk, but Savage clotheslines him in mid-air. Savage goes high risk himself and hit’s the flying elbow drop. Savage picks up the win at 8:59 (shown). The match was alright, firmly by the numbers, **.
Winner: Randy Savage
-Savage dumps Repo Man out of the ring and takes his beloved hat back.

Kamala (with Slick) vs. Brooklyn Brawler
It’s hilarious how out of place Kamala looks in the Manhattan Center. The Brawler tries to get an early advantage, jumping the giant before the bell rings. Kamala swats him off and dishes out a scoop slam. The Brawler avoids some attacks, but takes a kick to the chest. Kamala drops his gigantic rear end on the Brawler in the corner (which a guy like Lombardi probably wouldn’t mind). Kamala chokes Brawler on the ropes and smashes the chest. Kamala works the leg. Kamala takes his time dismantling the Brawler, but the crowd likes him. Kamala works the leg again, rather poorly I might add. Hard Irish whip by Kamala and a splash. Kamala rolls Brawler around the ring and goes back to the sloppy leg lock. Well, it turns out Kamala was trying to get the cover, but couldn’t figure out which side to pin. He figures it out at 3:34 and gets the win. Unimpressive squash, ¼*.
Winner: Kamala

-Vince McMahon compliments Slick for helping Kamala become so popular.

Loser leaves the World Wrestling Federation:
“Nature Boy” Ric Flair vs. Mr. Perfect

The match starts off cautiously, with both men biding their time. They briefly lock up before getting into a slap-fest. They lock up, and bounce off the ropes. Perfect gets a drop toe hold and stomps the face. Flair retreats to ringside. Bobby Heenan tries to hand Flair a hammer, but it’s rejected. Flair gradually returns to the ring. They exchange holds, reversing the hammerlock. Flair corners Perfect and dishes out some chops. Perfect counters and unleashes chops of his own. The match restarts as they cautiously tease a test of strength. They take each other down again and escape back to their feet. Flair knees the gut and hits Perfect with a clenched fist. Perfect rebounds with chops, sending Flair to retreat in the corner. They tease a test of strength, but Flair pokes the eyes and dumps Perfect to the floor. Flair tries to use a non-folding chair, but the referee stops him. We head to a break.

After the break, Flair is in charge in the ring. Hard Irish whip by Flair is so powerful that Perfect tumbles over the turnbuckle to the floor. Perfect struggles back to the ring, where Flair dishes out more clenched fists. Perfect is busted open, and Flair targets the cut. Hard Irish whip by Flair, who then uses a chinlock to try and make the cover. The referee catches Flair using the ropes for leverage. A slug-fest erupts. Perfect reverses a hard Irish whip and smashes Flair in the face. Cover by Perfect almost gets 3. Perfect attempts a backslide cover, but gets 2. Perfect reverses a hard Irish whip and hit’s a big back body drop. Perfect mounts the turnbuckle and smashes Flair’s head. Flair counters with an atomic drop and a roll-up for 2. Flair takes a breather at ringside, and ends up getting suplexed back into the ring. Flair rebounds with the sleeper! Perfect nearly passes out, but recharges, ramming Flair into the turnbuckles to escape. Perfect catches Flair in mid-air with a side headlock. Flair counters with a back suplex! Flair locks in the figure four (and uses the ropes for leverage when the ref isn’t looking). Perfect escapes, but Flair keeps control, targeting the hurt knee. Flair goes high risk, but Perfect catches him and throws him to the mat. Time for another commercial!

After the break, both men look absolutely exhausted. Flair uses some brass knuckles from his boot to nail Perfect in the head. Flair is slow to drop an elbow and go for the cover. Perfect gets a rope break! Flair tries a second cover, but Perfect kicks out. Flair unleashes some shots to the open wound on Perfect’s forehead. Flair chops Perfect, which seems to only anger him. Perfect unleashes a series of chops, hard Irish whip, and big back body drop. Perfect clotheslines and whips Flair. Flair makes a quick double axe handle off the top, but Perfect blocks and gets a near fall. Flair uses the ropes to try and cover Perfect, but the referee kicks him off. Perfect reverses and gets 2. Perfect hit’s the Perfect-plex for the win at 17:52 (shown)! Ric Flair must leave! The match was technically sound, and a joy to watch, but it never picked up to go to the “next level.” ***½.
Winner: Mr. Perfect

-Vince McMahon announces that Ric Flair will honor his booking commitments for the weekend, but after that he’s gone. Next week, Typhoon vs. Doink the Clown. Oh boy, I can hardly wait for that one.

Final Thoughts: Half the broadcast this week was focused on the Flair/Perfect showdown, so it’s almost impossible to give this a negative review. Savage and Repo Man had an okay little blow-off to their mini-feud, and Kamala won some face points. No complaints here.

Thumbs up.

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