WWF Monday Night RAW - November 7, 1993
by Samoa Rowe
-Hype video for the current flavor of the month, Ludvig Borga, for a showdown with Scott Steiner TONIGHT. It succeeds in making Borga vs. Steiner feel like a big fight.
-From Bushkill, PA (where?). Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are here to call the action. Heenan is wearing a parachute. Macho Man is eagerly awaiting for the arrival of Crush and promises that all Hell will break loose.
Ludvig Borga vs. Scott Steiner
Borga assaults while Steiner is taking his jacket off, giving him the advantage. Steiner comes back with a double underhook power bomb. Pump handle slam by Scott sends Borga to ringside for a breather. The match restarts with Borga working a headlock. Scott surprises with an overhead belly to belly suplex! Borga rebounds with a leaping clothesline, but misses an elbow drop. Steiner sends Borga to ringside with a drop-kick, prompting the Quebecers to come out to offer their assistance. Cue the commercial! After the break, Steiner reverses a suplex over the ropes and applies a Boston crab. Rick Steiner shows up to keep his dog eyes on the Quebecers. Steiner slams Borga into position for a missile drop-kick for 2. Borga knocks Scott to ringside and attacks Rick on the apron. Rick reverses a suplex and the ref calls for a DQ at 10:30! Surprisingly decent match here, **½.No Contest
-The Steiners knock the Quebecers out of the ring and put Borga down with a double clothesline. The Steiners stand tall.
-Jeff Jarrett is hanging out in Nashville, TN, outside the famous Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. Jarrett now has The Roadie driving him around. Jarrett mocks the current state of the Ryman Auditorium, pointing out the graffiti on the front door. Jeff plans on renaming both the WWF and Ryman after himself. These vignettes are infinitely more entertaining than anything Jarrett ever did in TNA.
Men on a Mission (Mo and Mabel, with Oscar) vs. Steve Smyth and Cory Student
Smyth tries to blindside Mabel but it doesn’t end well for him. Smith suffers a back body drop and double drop-kick from MOM. Student rakes the eyes of Mo but almost gets pinned with a Sunset Flip. MOM hit double elbow drops on Student and Mabel walks right over him. Mo applies a chinlock on Student before whipping Mabel into him like a freight train. Mo drives Mabel onto Student for the win at 3:22. Not much to say about this one other than SQUASH.Winners: Men on a Mission
-Todd Pettengill hosts the Survivor Series event center. He runs down the card and educates us on the rules of the Survivor matches. This includes a short Bret Hart promo, where he warns Jerry Lawler that he bit off more than he can chew because he’ll have to deal with the entire Hart family.
Rick Martel vs. John Paul
Martel locks the arm but Paul reverses. Hip toss by Martel, followed by a power slam, but Paul pops back to his feet. They run the ropes and Martel cartwheels to safety. Martel applies a headlock and runs into the ropes for a modified back suplex. Martel misses a head of steam and collides with the ring post, allowing a Paul drop-kick. Paul misses a springboard cross body, allowing Martel to apply a Boston crab for the win at 2:51. Good little sprint here.Winner: Rick Martel
-It’s time for the Crush match, so Vince McMahon has to talk Randy Savage down. Savage throws Vince to the floor and charges at Crush! Savage tries to choke Crush as referees and officials try to pull them apart. They brawl into the commercial break.
Bob Backlund vs. Barry Horowitz
Backlund and Horowitz trade holds while Vince and Bobby talk about Macho Man and Crush. Backlund gets a takedown as Randy Savage returns to commentary and yells at Heenan for his insults. Meanwhile, Horowitz takes advantage of Bob’s handshake offer and scores a takedown. Horowitz gets upset over the fans not liking him and runs into a drop toe hold. The camera abandons the match to show footage of Crush breaking out of his locked dressing room. Savage runs to the back and resumes the brawl. They head to a commercial break.No Contest?
-Back from commercial, Vince and Bobby are talking about the brawl. The Backlund/Horowitz match is never mentioned again.
-Fans voted by phone for Lex Luger to face Quebecer Pierre next week.
-Crash and Savage are still fighting outside the building.
Final Thoughts: Good opener, but it was pretty much downhill from there, as the Crush/Savage feud wasn’t particularly interesting. Feel free to skip this one.
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