WWF Monday Night RAW – June 7th, 1993

June 7, 1993

From the Manhattan Center in New York City, NY

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

The show starts off with ring announcer Bill Dunn welcoming us to the new Intercontinental Champion, Shawn Michaels. Shawn is accompanied to the ring by a large man.

After the opening montage, Shawn is with the announcers and gloats over being the champion again and notes to the large man behind him as his “insurance policy” and refers to him as his bodyguard. And this bodyguard was Kevin Nash, most recently seen in WCW as Vinnie Vegas. And the story if you haven’t heard is that Nash asked for and was granted his release after hearing that Shawn Michaels saw him on TV and asked WWF management if Nash could be his bodyguard then Nash faxed the release to JJ Dillon in the WWF office as proof he was a free agent then the next day he debuted to help Shawn win the Intercontinental Title.

Shawn Michaels vs. Ross Greenberg

Vince tells us that Shawn won the title in Albany and heard his insurance policy had something to do with that. The announcers put over the size of this man as Shawn works over Greenberg. Shawn now fires away in the corner as the announcers talk about his match against Crush at King of the Ring. Shawn now hits a delayed vertical suplex as Savage wants to know the name of this insurance policy. Shawn toys with Greenberg and taunts the fans as Vince tells us Adam Bomb vs. El Matador is coming up next. Shawn grounds Greenberg then hits a corkscrew neckbreaker before using a piledriver for the win (3:54). Shawn then kisses the Intercontinental Championship after the match.

Thoughts: Shawn did a lot of moves in this match and looked good in everything he did and used a new finishing move. He’s really turned into one of the highlights of WWF TV.

King of the Ring Report airs. We now learn that Shawn Michaels vs. Crush will be for the Intercontinental Title as Okerlund plays it up that Shawn is unaware of the stipulation.

We now see Shawn storming to ringside with his insurance policy. Shawn yells at Vince about being thrown into a match against Crush instead of celebrating then accuses everyone of being jealous before promising what he will do when being pushed up against a wall.

Adam Bomb w/ Johnny Polo vs. El Matador

We now see Bomb with the green contacts in his eyes. Heenan makes ethnic jokes at Matador’s expense even before the bell rings. Matador works the arm to start as Vince wants to know if Bomb can wrestle despite his size. Polo keeps saying “total destruction” on the outside as Matador now works an armbar on the mat. Vince talks about Razor Ramon now offering The Kid $7,500 to get back into the ring as Matador uses a sunset flip for a nearfall but ends up walking into an uppercut. Bomb rams Matador into the corner a few times then hits a side slam. Vince notes that Bret is in the lead for the King of the Ring Hotline’s tournament winner pick as Matador uses the flying forearm for two. Bomb then blocks a reverse rollup and slingshots in with a clothesline to the back of the head for the win (5:32) 3/4*.

Thoughts: Not a good showing for Bomb here as he was slow and lumbering most of the time while Matador used basic offense. However, we did learn about Razor offering even more money for Kid to take a rematch.

An ad for King of the Ring airs.

Tatanka vs. Peter Weeks

Haven’t seen Weeks in a bit. He is short, fat, and atrocious at pro wrestling. Tatanka takes Weeks over the top rope with a hip toss after working a sequence with the unathletic Weeks. Vince puts over the King of the Ring Tournament and how Tatanka is currently #2 in the King of the Ring Hotline poll. Back inside, Tatanka drops an elbow then uses a back drop but Weeks fights back. Tatanka then fires up and runs wild before using a flying chop for the win (3:16).

Thoughts: They are trying to play up Tatanka as a favorite to win the King of the Ring with his undefeated streak.

Vince plugs this week’s “WWF Mania” with the featured match being Tatanka vs. Mr. Hughes.

King’s Court with guests Mr. Fuji & Yokozuna. Lawler first shits all over New York City before we go to break. We return with the Geishas standing behind Lawler as his guests come out on the set. We get some Hogan chants from the crowd as Lawler yells at them to shut up. Fuji stops Lawler short after announcing Yokozuna at 505 lbs to say that he is now 550 lbs. Fuji says Yokozuna has gained that weight by eating 15-20 meals per day then says the belt Hogan stole from Yokozuna will come back and how he wants to hear Hogan in pain and his bones crack. Lawler wants Hogan smashed flat enough to be sent home in an envelope before Yokozuna tells Hogan he will go down. They’re now putting over how Yokozuna weighs more than ever as a roadblock for Hogan to overcome in this match. And we will see later on about the emphasis of Yokozuna’s weight.

Billy Gunn & Rick Steiner w/ Bart Gunn & Rick Steiner vs. IRS & Fatu w/ Ted DiBiase, Samu, and Afa

The announcers wish birthday to Howard Finkel and “Mrs. Prichard,” who is at home watching RAW in Houston, TX. How nice. Afa is shown eating a WWF Ice Cream Bar and we also see IRS give money to the Headshrinkers. Billy and Fatu work a reversal sequence that ends with Billy taking control after a flurry of offense. Billy now works the arm before tagging out as Rick catches Fatu with a powerslam. Fatu comes back with a clothesline and tags out but IRS gets dumped outside. Rick clotheslines IRS then drops an elbow for two. Billy & Rick use quick tags to neutralize IRS then IRS accidentally knocks Fatu off of the apron as the heel team argues on the outside. We head to break then return with the heels hashing things over as we see that DiBiase offered The Headshrinkers money during the break. IRS and Rick mix it up and that ends with Rick getting tossed outside. Rick is back in and IRS sends him out where DiBiase & Samu ram his head into the steps. Fatu tags into the match and clotheslines Rick then tries a Vader Bomb in the corner but Rick got his knees up as both men are down. IRS tags in but so does Billy as the latter runs wild. Billy takes care of Fatu then knocks DiBiase off of the apron but IRS hits the Write Off clothesline from behind and gets the win (11:30) **1/2.

Thoughts: Solid action with an abrupt ending. This was designed to built interest in the eight-man tag at the PPV and the crowd dug the match.

Next week on RAW we will see Doink the Clown vs. Marty Jannetty. Also, Mr. Perfect and Jerry Lawler will be in action.

Vince welcomes Razor Ramon to ringside for an interview. He asks Razor about the $7,500 offer for a rematch against The Kid as Razor says it will happen next week. The crowd chants “1-2-3” then says for $7,500 he can have everyone in the building stand on their heads naked. Vince tells Razor that only 7% of voters on the hotline believe he will beat Bret Hart in the 1st Round of the King of the Ring but Razor says Bret will be a grease spot on the mat then hypes himself up some more as the show ends. Not only are they showing Razor as desperate to get a rematch but they’re pointing out how no one sees him as a threat anymore since the upset.

Final Thoughts: The big news is that Shawn is once again the Intercontinental Champion and now has a giant of a man as his bodyguard. Also, they continued the Razor/Kid angle but had a crappy interview with Yokozuna & Fuji too. Next week we get Jannetty vs. Doink which sounds great on paper.