WWF Monday Night Raw -April 26, 1993
by SamoaRowe
-They are airing live from the Manhattan Center. Our hosts for the evening are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Bobby Heenan (replacing Rob Bartlett).
Damien Demento vs. Mr. Perfect
Lots of stalling from Demento in the early going, as he consults with the voices in his head. Perfect outmaneuvers Demento, sending him to ringside with a drop-kick. More stalling. Demento takes control with some smashing. Perfect is tossed through the ropes, wiping out a camera man in the process. “Hold my headset, maybe he has a good watch on” says Heenan. Perfect sells Demento’s heel offense like a pro. Perfect blocks some shots and unleashes some chops. Demento almost reverses the momentum, but Perfect snaps back with the Perfect-plex for the win at 4:57. Perfect got a better than usual performance out of Demento, *.
Winner: Mr. Perfect
-Randy Savage adopted a school! We are treated to an anti-drug essay written by a girl who won a contest. The Undertaker appears out of nowhere and repeats the catchphrase “There is no hope with dope.” Drugs are bad, mmmkay?
-Heenan makes fun of the middle age ring girls inappropriately and promises to sabotage a fan’s wedding proposal. How unusual.
Lex Luger vs. Crush
There were way too many mullets running wild in 1993. Crush pushes Luger off at the end of a long shoving contest. Luger stalls for time, showing off his “natural” physique. Crush wins a test of strength, so Luger kicks the gut to gain the upper hand. Press slam by Crush, sending Luger to ringside to recover. Luger takes his sweet time getting back to the ring, while the commentators continue to discuss the steel screws in Luger’s elbow (result of a motor cycle accident, which have been giving him an unfair advantage recently). Crush outmaneuvers Luger as we head to a break.
After the commercial, Crush hit’s a belly to belly suplex for 2. Luger sidesteps Crush and drives him to the floor. Double axe handle by Luger to the floor, where he targets the lower back. The action returns to the ring, where Luger remains in methodical control. Bear hug by Luger. Power slam by Luger gets a cover for 2. Crush blocks a suplex and reverses. Back suplex by Crush. Body slam by Crush and a leg drop. Crush picks up a close near fall and locks on the head claw. Doink the Clown appears on the balcony, distracting Crush from business. A second Doink appears on another balcony. Luger elbows Crush out of the ring. The referee counts to ten, and Luger wins by count-out at 10:20 (shown). Solid, if unspectacular match. The Doink gimmick is still in it’s creepy stage, so that didn’t take away too much, *¾.
Winner: Lex Luger
-The King of the Ring tournament is on! The first qualifying matches will take place on Superstars and Wrestling Challenge.
Mr. Hughes vs. Jason Knight
This is the Raw debut of Mr. Hughes. Knight is immediately planted by Hughes. The match is so exciting, that Heenan has turned the Braves game on. In the ring, Knight speeds things up, by dives into some nasty backbreakers by Hughes. Heenan doesn’t care, as he’s channel surfing. Hughes hits a choke slam for the win at 2:08. Hughes has some nasty offense, but this was generally boring, ¼*.
Winner: Mr. Hughes
-Vince McMahon interviews Shawn Michaels in the ring. Next week, Michaels will defend his Intercontinental title against Hacksaw Jim Duggan. How can he do this when Mr. Perfect is breathing down his neck? HBK doesn’t answer the question and says he’s sick and tired of coming to this “dump” in New York City. Michaels also thinks he saw two fans in a gay pride parade the other night on television. A “Shawn is gay” chant breaks out, which seems to amuse HBK. We look back at some footage of HBK assaulting Perfect backstage a while back. HBK slips and refers to Perfect as “Mr. Grover, the guy who lives in a trash can on Sesame Street.” Perfect gets the message anyhow, and storms to the ring while agents try to keep him back. HBK cheap shots and is chased to the back. This was all around entertaining.
-On the last Superstars, Sensational Sherri interrupted an interview with Bam Bam Bigelow. Tatanka saved Sherri from taking any abuse from the Beast from the East. Later on, Bigelow attacks Tatanka backstage, laying him out on the floor and cutting off some of his hair.
Typhoon vs. Von Krus
Now that I know that Von Krus is the future cross dresser known as Vito, it seems really obvious to me. Von Krus is aggressive in the early going, backing Typhoon into the corner. Typhoon reverses and hits a back body drop. The hosts talk to Jim Duggan on the phone in regards to Shawn Michaels, while the match quickly goes back and forth. Von Krus takes control, targeting the eyes and coming dangerously close to low blows. Typhoon mounts his comeback and finishes Von Krus with a splash at 2:40. Serviceable jobber match, ½*.
Winner: Typhoon
-Bobby Heenan takes the microphone and introduces the couple in the front row. The guy asks her to marry him in front of everyone. He gets down on one knee and she says yes! Hurray! That was really sweet, actually.
-Next week: Kamala, the Headshrinkers, and Kamala vs. Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental title.
Final Thoughts: Memorable episode this week. Heenan added quite a bit of humor and entertainment to the show and really highlighted just how little Rob Bartlett was bringing to the table. There were a couple of okay matches and the squashes weren’t too boring. The proposal at the end of the show was a sweet moment.
Thumbs in the middle, leaning up.
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