WWF Monday Night RAW – February 15th, 1993

February 15, 1993

From the Manhattan Center in New York City, NY

Your hosts are Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett

Show starts off with pre-taped comments from Brutus Beefcake and Ted DiBiase w/ Jimmy Hart to hype up their match tonight. They have the RAW logo in the background Hart tells DiBiase it is not necessary to damage Beefcake’s face but DiBiase reassures him everything will be fine.

The Steiner Brothers vs. Glen Ruth & Bobby Who

Scott hits Ruth with a Dragon suplex as Savage’s microphone is all messed up. Rick tags in and knocks down Who before hitting a belly-to-belly suplex. Savage demands a producer come out and fix his mic as Scott tags back in and lands a dropkick. The Steiner Brothers stay in control then Bartlett gives us some crappy jokes about Yokozuna sitting on his heart for Valentine’s day then the Steiners use a Doomsday Bulldog for the win (3:32).

Thoughts: The Steiners tossed around their opponents and we got the start of a show-long bit with Savage’s microphone being faulty.

WrestleMania IX Report with Gene Okerlund, which was the same as this past weekend’s syndicated shows.

Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ross Greenberg

Savage’s mic is still messed up. Greenberg’s tights look similar to what Beefcake wore to the ring. Yokozuna knocks down Greenberg as Vince tells us we will have an update on Jim Duggan later on in the show. Yokozuna then hits an avalanche before the Bonzai Drop gets the win (2:01). After the match, Savage steals Bartlett’s mic.

Thoughts: The same as every other Yokozuna squash. Now, Savage has a mic that works leaving Bartlett without working equipment. It was for the best.

WWF Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes. This recapped the Yokozuna/Jim Duggan segment from last week.

Back to the announcers as Vince tells us Giant Gonzalez wanted to enter the battle royal but the others in the match threatened to quit if he was entered. They made everyone else in the match look like pussies at the expense of getting Giant Gonzalez over. After that we see Gonzalez’s debut on “Superstars” from this past weekend.

16 Man Battle Royal: Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Bob Backlund, Koko B. Ware, El Matador, Owen Hart, Kimchee, Terry Taylor, The Berzerker, Iron Mike Sharpe, Damien Demento, Skinner, Tatanka, Kamala, Typhoon

Its really a 15 man match since Gonzalez is not included. Shawn takes his time before entering while Kimchee keeps rolling outside to avoid Kamala. Sharpe is our first elimination courtesy of Backlund. Koko nearly eliminates Shawn but charges and gets backdropped over the top rope an eliminated. We get several near eliminations then Skinner decides to celebrate for some reason and gets eliminated by Typhoon. Kamala tosses Demento as Savage wants to know if Demento’s friend is still in the match. Vince keeps referring to Owen as “The Rocket” but Owen gets eliminated by The Berzerker. The action really slows down then Kamala eliminates The Berzerker in the latter’s last TV appearance. Kimchee assists Typhoon in eliminating Kamala but starts mocking him as Kamala returns to eliminate Kimchee. Kamala chases Kimchee through the crowd right before the break then we return as we now see Kamala going after Kimchee in the balcony with Slick by his side. It also appears that both Taylor and Backlund were eliminated off camera. The final four are Tatanka, Shawn, Razor, and El Matador. Tatanka and Shawn go at it as Savage reminds us that Tatanka beat Shawn in a non-title match this past weekend on “Superstars.” Razor stomps El Matador. The action picks up as Matador & Tatanka double-team Shawn, who takes all sorts of bumps until he gets eliminated by both men. Razor attacks Tatanka from behind but Matador fights him off. We then see Giant Gonzalez come into the ring and prevent Tatanka & Matador from eliminating Razor and tosses them both over the top rope. Gonzalez celebrates as Razor snuck out then finally leaves as Razor rolls back in to celebrate his victory (13:16) 1/2*.

Thoughts: This was a terrible match that made everyone involved look worse. The finish was cheap and the presentation disorganized. The Kamala/Kimchee stuff did not get over as the whole Kamala turn has been a flop. One of the shittier battle royals you’ll see on WWF TV.

“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake

Savage said he is worried about Beefcake, just like Hart as Savage notes that we are seeing Hart’s soft side. Beefcake struts to avoid DiBiase and shows off a much less impressive physique than his last time in the ring. Vince wishes Hulk Hogan luck as Vince assures Savage that Beefcake’s face is fine. DiBiase lands some clubbing blows but whiffs on a clothesline. DiBiase rolls outside after Beefcake fires away then Hart tells DiBiase to be careful as Beefcake is not a pushover. DiBiase returns as Beefcake lands more punches as DiBiase gets knocked through the ropes. DiBiase returns and tries to use a turnbuckle smash but that fails then Beefcake grabs a side headlock. IRS heads out to the ring with his haliburton as Beefcake still works the headlock. DiBiase gets out then whips Beefcake and IRS whacks Beefcake in the back with his haliburton for the DQ (4:26) 1/2*. Money Inc. now beat on Beefcake as Hart tries to get them to stop. DiBiase then holds up Beefcake while IRS threatens to hit him with the haliburton and Hart now stands in his way. IRS then shoves Hart outside then whacks Beefcake in the face. Hart runs in to check on Beefcake as Beefcake flails on the mat. DiBiase now threatens to use the haliburton as Vince yells about Beefcake being a human being then Money Inc. decide to laugh before leaving. Beefcake holds his face with both hands as Vince says it sounded like an explosion then the medics come out and put Beefcake on a stretcher.

Thoughts: The match revolved around whether or not DiBiase would get to attack Beefcake’s face. Besides that nothing else happened and Beefcake looked slow and flabby. The Money Inc. attack was predictable but Vince sold it as much as he could on commentary. The Hart turn really felt forced but in reality it was done because Hart was doing a lot of PR work and being a babyface was a better image. Being that this took place the same night as Beefcake’s infamous promo, there was not much heat to anything that happened.

Vince tells us that Beefcake is in the dressing room and did not suffer any major damage. In fact, Vince said it would not surprise him to see Beefcake and even Hogan to appear next week. I mean you might as well announce them as both appearing next week if you’re going to say that.

Next week, Tatanka & Nasty Boys vs. Shawn Michaels & Beverly Brothers

Final Thoughts: The main angle about Beefcake getting attacked did not get over but its clear Hogan will return so we will see how the crowd reacts to that. The rest of the show was forgettable with a terrible battle royal but we get a good match on paper anyway for next week and we heard less of Bartlett as I assume even the company realizes he was a terrible hire for color commentator.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: WWF Superstars 2/20/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 2/21/93

Friday: WWF Monday Night RAW 2/22/93

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 4/5/84

Monday: WWF Superstars 2/27/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 2/28/93

Tuesday: WWF Monday Night RAW 3/1/93, WWF Mania 3/6/93

Wednesday: WWF Superstars 3/6/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 3/7/93