WWF Monday Night RAW – April 26th, 1993

April 26, 1993

From the Manhattan Center in New York City, NY

Your hosts are Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Bobby Heenan.

Tonight, we will see Lex Luger vs. Crush

Mr. Perfect vs. Damien Demento

Savage tells Heenan he could not carry Rob Bartlett’s jock as a broadcaster as Heenan says he’ll be here every Monday night and we can find Bartlett the same place where you can find Jimmy Hoffa. Demento bails after getting dropkicked then starts talking to the voices in his head. Demento returns and lands a few shots but ducks his head and gets kicked in the face. Demento comes back to knock Perfect outside as Perfect hits the cameraman then Demento targets the back. Perfect falls outside after getting choked out then Demento brings him back inside and hammers away in the corner. Perfect fights back with chops then takes Demento down with a knee lift. Perfect uses a neck snap now but after that gets punched in the gut. Perfect gets his knees up to block a splash then after that uses the Perfect Plex for the win (4:56) *1/2.

Thoughts: They told us that Bartlett is gone and not coming back with Heenan saying he is where they buried Jimmy Hoffa. Anyway, Perfect gets a win as his feud with Shawn Michaels continues.

We now hear from a student named Jasmine McNeill, who reads an essay titled “There’s No Hope with Dope.” After she is finished, we see the Undertaker enter as he also repeats the title of the essay. I’m all for anti-drug messages on shows with an audience that features children.

Heenan then talks about someone named “Paul” from New Jersey plans to propose to his girlfriend tonight as he then orders the director to show them and promises to make sure the girl says no.

Luger comes out for his match as we see the x-ray of his forearm on the screen. Heenan says the surgery was performed by renowned surgeon James Andrews.

“The Narcissist” Lex Luger vs. Crush

Crush shoves Luger into the corner after a lockup as Heenan continues to talk about ruining Paul’s engagement. Vince then says the guys name is Paul Sosnowski as Luger boots Crush in the gut during a test-of-strength attempt. Crush then press slams Luger as Luger bails and heads up the aisle. Vince then wants the camera to zoom in on Luger’s forearm to show us the results of the surgery as Luger returns to the ring. Luger cheap shots Crush in the corner but soon after that runs into a dropkick. We head to break then return with Crush blocking a hip toss and hitting a belly-to-belly for a two count. Crush then misses a charge in the corner and is sent outside with a high knee. Luger drives Crush’s back into the apron a few times then drives him into the post. Back inside, Luger stomps away before taunting the crowd. Luger then works a bearhug that Crush breaks up after a few bell claps but after that is caught with a powerslam as Luger gets two. Crush blocks a suplex and hits one of his own as both men are down. Crush is up first and slams Luger before getting a nearfall with a leg drop. Crush then puts Luger in the head vice as Luger does everything he can to escape. Crush then stops to see Doink up in the balcony and invites him into the ring. Crush then gets up on the middle rope and waves for Doink to come down but Doink points and we see the second Doink on the other side of the arena. Luger then knocks Crush outside with a forearm smash and picks up the win via countout (13:00) **1/4.

Thoughts: The match itself was solid but man did the finish once again make Crush look like a moron as he cost himself the win to invite Doink, who was up in the balcony, into the ring and on top of that ended up getting knocked out. I get protecting both guys but

We get an ad for the King of the Ring PPV, which takes place in Dayton, OH. Vince then tells us that the qualifying matches for the tournament begin next week with Mr. Perfect vs. Doink on “Superstars” and Bob Backlund vs. Lex Luger on “Wrestling Challenge.”

The couple is now shown on camera again, this time inside of a heart background.

Mr. Hughes vs. Jason Knight

Hughes drops Knight with a lifting chokehold then stomps away. He stays in control and hits four straight backbreakers as Heenan is flipping through other channels before Hughes uses a sidewalk slam for the win (2:07). After the match, Hughes tosses Knight outside.

Thoughts: Hughes continues to impress and has a cool look as they are building him up as a prized possession for any manager in the WWF.

The debut Smoking Gunns vignette airs.

Vince welcomes Shawn Michaels into the ring. He asks Shawn about his Intercontinental Title defense next week against Hacksaw Jim Duggan and why would he do that with Mr. Perfect on his trail. Shawn then trashes New York City before holding up the IC Title belt and how he got it on his own, meaning he does not need anyone standing behind him. After that we get a “Shawn is gay” chant as Shawn smirks then calls himself an equal opportunity defender, with Heenan claiming this is a “Shawn is great” chant. Shwan says the fans mean nothing to him and does not have time in his life for them before we see a replay of Shawn attacking Perfect backstage at WrestleMania. Shawn then mistakenly refers to Perfect as Grover from Sesame Street (Shawn thought Grover lived in a trash can instead of Oscar) and after that we see Perfect come out with several agents trying to hold him back. Perfect ends up chasing Shawn backstage. We get even more heat on the Shawn/Perfect feud and saw the good express how much they did not care for Shawn, who had a pretty good reaction to the crowd chanting he was gay. Not remembering the correct Sesame Street character that lived in the trash can was amusing.

Howard Cross and Joey Smith of the New York Giants are shown in the front row.

We see a replay from this past week’s “Superstars” when Bigelow put his hands on Sensational Sherri until Tatanka made the save. On that same show we also saw Bigelow knock out Tatanka before his match and cut some of the red streak of hair in Tatanka’s head.

Typhoon vs. Von Krus

Vince says they are trying to reach Duggan on the phone to discuss his match next week. Krus lands a few shots but gets backdropped. Duggan is on the phone now and says Shawn needs some sleep and prepared to get beat up as Heenan makes fun of Duggan for using a can on a string as a phone. Krus lands a few more shots but Typhoon fights back and hits a splash for the win (2:37).

Thoughts: They hyped up the Duggan/Shawn match for next week here as Typhoon’s new job is being the guy who wrestles a match so the announcers can talk about the top angles on the show.

Heenan then goes over to the couple as we learn the girls name is Louise. Heenan now wants Paul to get to the point and yells at him to for interrupting his show. After making fun of both of them, Louise accepts but Paul does not want to get married on RAW like Heenan suggests as the Final Jeopardy theme plays. Heenan insulting the couple but ultimately failing to get the woman to say no and for them not wanting any part of a marriage on RAW made this great.

Also in action next week are The Headshrinkers and Kamala along with the IC Title match.

The show ends with Heenan continuing to rag on the couple. Unlike a show-long comedy bit with Bartlett, this was funny. Heenan truly could have been a comedy star on any TV show. And the couple were really good sports too. They deserve credit.

Final Thoughts: They set up for an Intercontinental Title match next week and we got to see some comedy that made us laugh due to the fact Bartlett was replaced by Heenan. They did make Crush look like a big dummy again but this was a fairly enjoyable show.