WWF Monday Night RAW - October 24, 1993
by Samoa Rowe
-From Poughkeepsie, NY. Our hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan.
-Dramatic video recap of last week’s summit between Crush and Macho Man Randy Savage. Crush pretended to reconcile with Macho Man before delivering a cheap shot and feeding him to stablemate, Yokozuna.
Crush (with Mr. Fuji) vs. Phil Apollo
Crush is EVIL now and aggressively takes control of a Greco-Roman knuckle lock. Crush hits a pathetic looking spin thrust kick. Crush slows the pace down for a standard deliberate beat down. The vice grip to the skull ends this at 2:48. Pretty boring for a short squash.Winner: Crush
-Johnny Polo tries to convince us (and himself) how tough he is. Polo thinks he could beat The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty with his arms tied behind his back.
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Marty Jannetty
They pace themselves in the early going with a feeling out process. They show off their technical wrestling chops and quicken the pace until reaching a stalemate. The Kid scores a leg lariat but Jannetty answers with a power bomb counter. Johnny Polo shows up at ringside to change the tone heading into the commercial break. After the break, The Kid is dominating with quick kicks. The Kid misses a somersault senton off the ropes! Polo trips The Kid, allowing a Jannetty near fall. Jannetty yells at Polo, allowing a Kid roll-up. Jannetty retakes control with a pair of suplexes. The Kid blocks a third suplex and dishes out a German for 2. Kid reverses a whip, sending Jannetty hurdling into the referee. Kid misses a tope through the ropes when Polo shoves Jannetty out of the way. The referee wakes up and counts both men out at 10:38 (shown). The Polo dynamic made this interesting to watch, as well as hard work from both participants.No Contest
-Jannetty and The Kid drag Polo into the ring and work together to put a hurting on him. Bobby Heenan yelling about how unfair this is just puts it over the top.
-Jeff Jarrett vignette. He teaches us how to spell his name and complains about the crooked politics of the country music industry. He’s standing outside the Buddy Lee Talent Agency and buries Lee for not giving him an opportunity. Jarrett is looking forward to proving himself as the greatest wrestler in the world today.
Ludvig Borga vs. Mike Bucci
Borga charges right for his opponent and stars pounding away. Borga delivers a double choke slam that The Great Khali would make fun of. Borga slows things down to build heat (and hit their time cue). Bucci gets no offense and succumbs to the Torture Rack at 3:37. Borga looks like a beast, as he didn’t get too exposed here.Winner: Ludvig Borga
-After a commercial, Borga is still at ringside, antagonizing the fans. Heenan conducts a short interview, where Borga promises to hand Tatanka his first defeat.
Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo, with Oscar) vs. Tom Mata and Steve Greenman
The crowd is REALLY into M.O.M.’s rapping entrance. They have a field day dominating the jobber team. Greenman suffers a double drop-kick and makes the needed tag to Mata, who gets outwrestled by Mabel of all people. They drag this match out much longer than necessary before Mabel finishes Greenman after a combination of attacks at 5:31. Pretty boring, but you haven’t lived until you see Mabel pretzel the legs for a submission.Winners: Men on a Mission
Diesel vs. Dan Dubiel
Diesel pummels Dubiel into the corner. Dubiel attempts a leaping forearm but Diesel counters and smashes him to the canvas. Diesel dishes out some short-arm clotheslines and chokes Dubiel with the ropes. Comparing Diesel’s performance here to those of Crush and Ludvig Borga from earlier, and you can see why he lasted and became a top star when the others didn’t. Diesel’s offense is well-executed, looks painful, and Diesel looks MEAN throughout. A big boot finishes Dubiel at 4:02. Good squash here.Winner: Diesel
-Hype video for the Borga/Tatanka showdown on Superstars. Both men are undefeated, so there’s some extra intrigue.
-WWF Royal Rumble is now available for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo! Whoa, 16 BIT ACTION!!!
Final Thoughts: Very typical episode of Raw for its era: one superstars match, a bunch of squashes, a rowdy crowd, and a great atmosphere. I got bored a few times, but the overall feel of the Raw product is enough fun to make up for the slow parts. Thumbs up, I’m feeling nostalgic today.
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