WWF Monday Night Raw May 31, 1993
by SamoaRowe
-Jim Duggan wishes to dedicate tonight’s Monday Night Raw to all United States veterans. He leads a USA chant on the street outside the Manhattan Center.
-This was a live edition. Our hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Bobby Heenan. Tonight Marty Jannetty will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Bam Bam Bigelow, with Luna Vachon and Sherri Martel in their corners. Who really wants to see a cat fight between those two?
Intercontinental Championship:
Marty Jannetty (with Sensational Sherri) © vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (with Luna Vachon)
Sherri attacks Luna before the match officially begins. Jannetty breaks it up, leaving himself vulnerable to a cheap shot from Bigelow. Bigelow knocks Jannetty off his feet and takes control with head butts. Jannetty ducks a clothesline and connects with a series of strikes. Jannetty goes high risk and nails a double axe off the top. Bigelow head butts and pounds away on the champ. Jannetty lands on his feet off a back drop but immediately gets caught in a bear hug. Jannetty drives Bigelow’s head into the mat from the top and connects with a head scissors takedown. Bigelow catches Jannetty on his shoulders and slams him hard. Time for the commercial.
After the break, we get the typical chinlock spot by Bigelow. Jannetty seems to be suffering an eye injury and throws a wild swing, but Bigelow retains control. Cover by Bigelow is thwarted by a rope break. Jannetty blocks a head of steam and drops Bigelow for a cover for 2. The action goes back and forth, Jannetty nails a super kick and drop-kick, but only gets 2 on a near fall. Jannetty targets the head, but Bigelow responds with a power slam. Double underhook backbreaker by Bigelow, but Sherri grabs his ankle to distract. Jannetty knocks Bigelow to ringside and connects with a baseball slide. Jannetty goes high risk and nails a flying cross body dive to the floor. They brawl at ringside until Bigelow tosses Jannetty back to the ring. Sherri distracts Bigelow from making it back in, and Jannetty wins by count-out at 9:01 (shown). Highly entertaining match that was really picking up when it abruptly ended, **¾.
Winner by count-out: Marty Jannetty
-Bigelow beats down Jannetty, targeting the ribs. Bigelow and Luna take off, as Sherri tends to Jannetty.
-After a break, Sherri is still in the ring, and is calling out Luna Vachon. Luna storms out but a referee won’t let her into the ring. Sherri takes the initiative and attacks Luna at ringside, nailing a vicious body slam. Bam Bam Bigelow returns and holds Sherri still while Luna takes her shots. Tatanka runs in for the save, chopping Bigelow out of the ring. Could have been my imagination, but Tatanka copped a feel on Sherri while checking on her.
-After another break, Sherri is still being helped from the ring. This must have been tedious to watch live, as this thing stretched over three segments.
The Steiners vs. Rich Myers and The Executioner
The Executioner runs into a fireman’s carry from Rick, who works the arm. Rick reverses an Irish whip and nails a tirt-a-whirl backbreaker. Rick works the arm. Executioner breaks free, but Rick tosses him into a tag to Myers. Rick drops Myers gut-first into the turnbuckles. Scott tags and nails an overhead belly to belly suplex on Myers. Hard Irish whip by Scott and a violent snapmare. Rick tags and works the arm (again). This transitions into a Steiner Recliner. Chinlock by Rick, and I ask do we really need to stall for time? Scott tags and continues to dish out the abuse on poor Myers. The Steiners show off and finish it with the doomsday bulldog for the win at 4:14. Could have lived without the pointless resting, but the Steiners were brutally entertaining as per usual, ½*.
Winners: The Steiners
Mr. Hughes vs. Bert Centeno
No entrance music yet for Hughes, who slams Centeno around all the while wearing his sunglasses. Powerbomb by Hughes could have ended the match, but Hughes wants to show off more. Big boot by Hughes. Hughes delays making the cover again so he can entertain us with a head butt and wipes his boot into Centeno’s head. Clothesline by Hughes, who chokes with his boot. Hughes finally finishes the match with a chokeslam at 3:00. No one cares, DUD.
Winner: Mr. Hughes
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Mark Thomas
Thomas jumps Duggan from behind and gets some shots in as a result. Thomas ducks some clotheslines before getting slammed into the turnbuckle and mat by Duggan. Big knee drop by Duggan. Duggan pounds away on Thomas, signaling to the camera that he has Yokozuna in mind. Back drop by Duggan and some shots to the back. Suplex by Duggan and a body slam. Clothesline by Duggan ends the match at 2:24. Just another squash, but the crowd cared about this one, ¼*.
Winner: Jim Duggan
-Duggan takes a microphone and calls for an American flag to be brought into the ring. Duggan leads the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Well, I guess that was cute.
-The 1-2-3 Kid talks about Razor Ramon’s $5,000 offer to get back into the ring with him. The Kid says he cannot accept the money knowing the possible consequences. What a brave guy this kid is.
Razor Ramon vs. Tony Roy
Ramon is so bothered by the 1-2-3 chants from the crowd that he almost gets pinned in a quick roll-up from Roy. Ramon hammers away at Roy and nails a fall away slam. Ramon ruthlessly stretches Roy and slaps the back of the head. The 1-2-3 chant has returned, so Ramon almost gets rolled up again. Back elbow shot by Ramon and the abdominal stretch. The crowd must not have seen the previous footage of The 1-2-3 Kid because they’re chanting “We want The Kid!” Ramon nails a back superplex and signals the finish. The Razor’s Edge ends the match at 3:28. The match was elevated by Razor’s interactions with the crowd, ½*.
Winner: Razor Ramon
-Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji come to the ring. Vince is furious that Fuji would dare wave the Japanese flag on Memorial Day. Fuji says that on June 13th, at the King of the Ring, they will celebrate Memorial Day. Fuji says that their “national hero” Hulk Hogan will die at the hands of Yokozuna. Well, that’s a correct statement if I ever heard one. Vince reminds them of what happened at Wrestlemania, and Fuji laughs it off, he is already looking forward to the future. Jim Duggan shows up on one of the balconies and leads another USA chant.
Final Thoughts: The Jannetty/Bigelow match was great fun, and a hot way to start the show, but things really cooled off from there. The Mr. Hughes push continued with lackluster results, and the Steiners got another chance to show off how violent they can be. The Razor Ramon/1-2-3 Kid angle is interesting to watch unfold, but they really didn’t do The Kid any favors this week as he seemed to be backing down from a man he’d already pinned in a match.
Thumbs in the middle.
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