WWF Monday Night RAW – January 11th, 1993

January 11, 1993

Live from the Manhattan Center in New York City, NY. This is the debut of RAW.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett, who was a comedian that gained fame through Don Imus’s radio show.

We see Sean Mooney outside of the building. Bobby Heenan shows up but Mooney stops him and said he has been replaced by Rob Bartlett. Mooney then tells Heenan they are sold out and he cannot come in as Heenan demands to be let inside. For those unaware, this is a bit that started on the last few episodes of “Prime Time Wrestling” when Heenan was informed he would not be part of RAW with Heenan upset he no longer had a job.

We cut to the hosts, who are all at ringside. This is different than the other WWF TV shows.

Koko B. Ware vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji

Bartlett said he often wondered what happened to Gary Coleman as Vince chuckles and said he grew up. Its going to be a long night with that type of material. Bartlett fires off a few lame jokes then the crowd starts up a “USA” chant. Yokozuna shoves Koko into the corner to start. Koko bounces off of Yokozuna a few times as he tries to get him off of his feet. Vince plugs an interview with Razor Ramon for later on in the show then Koko hits a pair of dropkicks but misses a crossbody and clotheslines himself on the top rope. Yokozuna hits a leg drop then an avalanche before the Bonzai Drop gets the win (3:45) *.

Thoughts: The goal was to have Yokozuna dominate a name opponent and it succeeded. Its clear that Yokozuna is going to be a major force going forward. And its clear that Rob Bartlett has zero knowledge of the product.

We then see a ring girl hold up a card that reads “RAW” before we see the same promo from Heenan about Narcissus that we saw on this week’s syndicated shows.

Steiner Brothers vs. The Executioners

The Executioners are Duane Gill & Barry Hardy. The Steiners take control as we see Doink the Clown up in the stands. The Steiners use all sorts of suplexes as Vince says Buffalo Bills guard Mitch Frerotte is on his way to the WWF. The Steiners stay in control then use a Doomsday Bulldog for the win (3:01).

Thoughts: Another fun squash match (well, probably not fun for The Executioners) from The Steiners. Regarding Frerotte, he never came to the WWF and did play for the Seattle Seahawks during the 1993 season.

Back to the streets as we see Bobby Heenan in drag stopped by security. He was pretending to see Rob Bartlett’s aunt and exposed by Mooney.

Vince McMahon welcomes Razor Ramon into the ring. Razor tells Vince he was born ready and while it took Bret Hart 8.5 years to reach the top it will only take him 8.5 months. Vince then asks Razor why he jumped Owen Hart as we see a replay of that while Razor called the attack “fun” and there is nothing Bret can do about it, just like he can do nothing about having his gold taken away at the Royal Rumble. Standard promo from Razor to hype the title match at the PPV.

Tatanka tells us all to get a hold on the Headlock for Hunger.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Max Moon vs. Shawn Michaels (c)

Shawn backs into the corner after a flurry of offense from Moon. We get an Irish whip sequence that ends with Moon working the arm as Bartlett said Mayor Dinkins vs. Cardinal O’Connor will take place next. After the break we see Shawn miss a shoulder tackle in the corner but does come back to drop Moon throat-first across of the top rope. We see the clown in the aisle with a sling on his arm as Bartlett does one of the worst Mike Tyson impressions I’ve ever heard. Shawn stays in control as this Tyson bit continues on commentary. The announcers talk about the Shawn vs. Marty Jannetty match at the Rumble as Shawn works a chinlock. Moon is able to slingshot Shawn outside then takes him down with a seated senton from the apron. Moon beats on Shawn in the corner and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam for a nearfall but misses a corner splash and eats a super kick. Shawn tries a teardrop suplex but Moon floats over then Shawn catches him with the move after that for the win (9:56) **.

Thoughts: The match was disappointing considering these two have worked together often in the past but holy shit was the commentary an abomination. The Tyson bit was excruciating and just a detriment to the product in trying to put over Bartlett at the expense of the talent.

WWF Mania ad airs.

The Royal Rumble Report from this week’s TV airs.

Back outside of the arena as we see fans outside in the cold waiting to get tickets for next week’s show. We then see Bartlett’s “Uncle Morty” trying to enter but its once again revealed as Heenan. At least Heenan is funny.

Clip of Kamala turning on Harvey Whippleman & Kimchee and aligning with Slick.

Damien Demento vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer

Undertaker beats on Demento to start. Undertaker eats boot on a charge as Vince says next week we will see Mr. Perfect vs. Papa Shango and El Matador vs. Ric Flair along with a Bret Hart Interview. Undertaker quickly regains control then puts Demento away with a tombstone (2:25)

Thoughts: This was a squash match win for Undertaker, which is odd due to the fact they hyped this match up on the syndicated shows.

We get a joke graphic for next week hyping a Woody Allen vs. Mia Farrow cage match. It was at least funnier than anything Bartlett said tonight.

Vince interviews Doink the Clown in the aisle. Doink doesnt care if he upsets the kids because he cannot help the fact they do not have a sense of humor. Crush comes out to warn Doink about messing with the kids in attendance then Doink pulls out a squirt gun to soak Crush and that ends with Doink having Crush chase him around then getting the last laugh because Crush was unable to get him. The Crush/Doink feud is in full effect now as we will wait to see about this temper Crush has we were told about the past few weeks on TV.

Mooney is backstage as Heenan is pleading to security to get into the building. Mooney says he is okay to go up as Heenan runs up the stairs. Of course, the joke is on Heenan because the show is over.

Final Thoughts: The new presentation and having a live show were a much needed fresh coat of paint for the stale product. The ratings improved to 2.5 for this episodeHowever, this particular show was dull and Rob Bartlett was overbearing and did not have a clue about the product. I mean, couldn’t you at least sit the guy down and go over what is going on in the company? Next week we have two matches announced plus an interview with the champion but except for historical purposes, this is not a show to watch.

I’ll continue these WWF recaps on January 2nd and until then will post Mid-South and possibly a shoot interview recap for the time being. Thanks for reading and commenting and look forward to going through 1993 and 1994 WWF in 2019. And I wish you all a happy new year.