WWF Monday Night RAW – July 5th, 1993

July 5, 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 a brief montage of a few entrants in the “Stars & Stripes Challenge” failing to slam Yokozuna.

We cut to the announcers with the crowd starting up a “USA” chant. Vince then takes us back to the challenge that took place yesterday from the U.S.S. Intrepid. The announcers narrate several of the competitors failing to slam Yokozuna then we see a helicopter land and out comes Lex Luger, dressed in jeans and an American flag shirt. Lex shoved Heenan aside then cut a patriotic promo on Yokozuna, with Vince in all his glory on commentary, and soon after that we see Lex slam Yokozuna and ends with him waving two American flags while sitting on the shoulders of the Steiner Brothers.

Savage then says on behalf of all the WWF competitors they are all proud of Luger then proceeds to mock Heenan.

Blake Beverly vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Vince says that later on tonight we will see Undertaker vs. Samu as Heenan is shocked that Undertaker is back. Blake gets in Kid’s face as Heenan jokes about Razor becoming the new upstairs maid for Money Inc. Blake cheap shots Kid then turns his back and gets dropkicked through the ropes. Kid then takes out Blake with a baseball slide then Blake returns and gets dropkicked after pancaking Kid. Blake catches Kid with a powerslam then follows with a neckbreaker while they are using the “slam heard around the world” in referencing Luger’s slam on Yokozuna. Blake then drops Kid with a vertical suplex onto the turnbuckle then Kid falls outside. Blake follows out and mocks Kid as he slaps him around. The action heads back inside then Blake quickly press slams Kid outside as Kid takes one hell of a bump. Blake tosses Kid back inside and continues to overpower him with ease. Blake pulls up Kid after a one count then is able to duck a crossbody from the middle rope. Blake mocks Kid and the notion he could lose this match before stomping away. Blake drills Kid with a clothesline as Heenan says Kid looks like that “punk” Todd Pettengill. Kid gets knocked outside again then Blake flies out but misses then Kid heads up top to hit a somersault plancha. Kid pumps up the crowd, who chants 1-2-3, then Kid tries a leap frog with his back to Blake and gets caught with a slam. Kid then avoids a top rope attack and connects with a flying leg drop for the win (8:02) ***1/4.

Thoughts: Really fun match and easily the best of Blake’s WWF career. Blake’s power moves looked awesome and his style meshed well with Kid’s high-flying offense. They also pushed Luger strong on commentary and mentioned the new Money Inc. vs. Razor Ramon feud.

We get to see another Men on a Mission vignette.

Backstage, we see Bam Bam Bigelow with his back turned to the camera as Luna tells us in just a few moments we will see the “Beast from the East.”

Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Joey Maggs

Bigelow beats down Maggs before running him over. Bigelow then hits a pair of avalanches before using a falling headbutt for the win (0:41).

Thoughts: The whole thing felt abrupt as if they were running long on time or something. They’re trying to establish the Bigelow/Luna dynamic on this show.

We get an ad for “All-American Wrestling.” Vince says we will hear all about SummerSlam on that show.

Samu w/ Afa vs. The Undertaker

Heenan claims he will have a scoop on Paul Bearer’s whereabouts. The lights are off for the entrance and there is a spotlight on the Undertaker. Heenan, who hid under the desk during Undertaker’s entrance, is unsure how Undertaker will be able to wrestle without the urn. Undertaker takes control early then they fuck up a leapfrog spot as Undertaker did not get up high enough. Undertaker then grounds Samu after a drop toehold as Heenan tells us that Bearer is robbing graves in Mobile, AL. Samu hammers away but Undertaker takes him down with a dropkick. Samu bails and Afa yells at him and slams his head against the steps to get him ready. Undertaker then hits Samu with his ropewalk attack then follows with a pair of clotheslines but misses an attack then rolls outside. Undertaker stalks Afa but that allows Samu to attack from behind. We go to break then return with Samu ramming Undertaker into the post. The action heads back inside where Samu powerslams Undertaker for a two count after an Irish whip sequence. Undertaker sits up after another slam then lands on his feet after being clotheslined outside as the crowd cheers. Undertaker grabs Samu by the throat from the apron and heads back in to beat down Samu. Undertaker misses an elbow drop then Samu hits a side slam and follows with a falling headbutt as this time Undertaker is unable to fully sit up. Samu now heads up top and hits a flying headbutt then tries it again but this time Undertaker sat up to avoid the move. Undertaker follows with a chokeslam then uses the tombstone for the win (7:24 shown) **1/2.

Thoughts: The first minute was rough but it settled into a good match with some hard-hitting action. Samu was still able to look credible in defeat which is important seeing that the Headshrinkers are being mentioned as possible challengers for the Tag Team Titles.

Now, an ad for “WWF Mania” airs. Vince says that Randy Savage will be there too. In fact, Savage was named a co-host of the show the week prior. I guess that is a draw now in lieu of exclusive matches because the exclusive matches became a rare thing on that show going forward.

Vince now welcomes Yokozuna & Mr. Fuji down to ringside. Heenan says Luger “hip lock” and not a slam. Fuji now accuses Luger of cheating by using the steel plate in his forearm but Vince says he’s just pissed over his celebration being ruined. Fuji now accuses Americans of not knowing the difference between a “hip toss” and a “slam” then proceeds to give us definitions and says what Luger did was a hip toss. Vince now asks Fuji why he declined Luger a shot at the title after the challenge as Fuji said he took advantage of Yokozuna. The crowd chants USA as Vince asks who wil get a title shot, naming off Bret Hart, Savage, and the Hulkster, but Fuji says there is no worthy challenger and that Yokozuna will take them all done one by one. We now see Crush come out and thank Luger for making him proud to be an American then issues a challenge for a match. Yokozuna accepts for next week then Fuji says Crush will be disgraced in Hawaii after the match but Crush disagrees, saying he’ll take the title for not just Hawaii but the entire USA. The big news here is Fuji denying Luger a title shot and does not recognize what Luger did but rather as a hip toss. Plus, this also set up a title shot for next week as Crush confronted Yokozuna face-to-face and Yokozuna & Fuji had to accept as to not look like complete cowards.

Mr. Perfect vs. Brian Costello

Perfect puts his gum on the glasses of the older, heavyset RAW girl. Perfect runs over Costello before taking him down by a dropkick. Perfect heads out and chops Costello then takes the action back inside and quickly puts him away with the Perfect Plex (1:00).

Thoughts: Just a match to kill time. Perfect’s feud against Shawn Michaels was not once mentioned.

Final Thoughts: The main focus was the Stars & Stripes Challenge fallout and in the process they were able to create a title match for next week. Kid vs. Blake was a good match and Samu vs. Undertaker was solid as RAW is becoming a really strong show. Its been pretty damn good since May.