WWF Monday Night RAW – July 19th, 1993

July 19, 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 some footage of Lex Luger speaking to kids as part of his “Call to Action” campaign about America being the land of opportunity and tease we will see more of this later on in the show.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels (c) w/ Diesel vs. Marty Jannetty

We are shown footage of Mr. Perfect helping Marty win the title from Shawn a couple of months ago. Speaking of Shawn, he is sporting a noticeable gut here and that would lead to something significant in several weeks. We get a reversal sequence to start that ends with Marty hitting a clothesline for a two count. Marty gets two with a rollup then runs Shawn outside as Savage says this is already one of the greatest matches he has ever seen. Everything has been done to perfection so far to his credit but man talk about hyperbole. Shawn returns and works a side headlock then we end in a stalemate as Shawn is frustrated over Marty countering everything. Shawn cheap shots Marty in the corner then chokes him out on the ropes. Marty fights back and gets a two count with a slam before applying an armbar. Shawn eats boot on a charge then Marty hits a flying clothesline. Marty heads back up top and lands on his feet after Shawn rolls away then hits a DDT and believes he gets the three count as the bell rings but the ref sees Shawn’s foot on the ropes. We got to break then learn Heenan & Diesel showed the ref that Shawn’s foot was on the ropes before he counted to three and the match has resumed. Marty gets two with a suplex then hammers away. Backbreaker gets two but Shawn is able to counter with a back suplex as both men are down. Shawn catches Marty with an elbow smash then tosses him outside before catching a breather. Marty returns and collides with Shawn, who spills outside. The ref heads out to order Diesel not to touch Shawn but as that happens, Shawn pokes Marty in the eye. We go to break then return with Shawn getting a two count with a flying attack. Shawn now uses a chinlock then knees Marty in the gut and grounds him with a front facelock. The crowd chants for Marty as he is able to get up and crotch Shawn on the top rope. Both men are down then Marty is up first and counters a powerbomb attempt with a hurricarana that gets two. Shawn avoids a corner splash and comes off the top with a crossbody but Marty rolls through that and gets two. Marty uses a Rocker Dropper then sets up for a super kick but Shawn gets tied in the ropes. Marty hammers away but spills outside as Shawn ducks a crossbody. Diesel rolls Marty back inside then Shawn crawls over and makes the cover for the win (14:23) ****.

Thoughts: Excellent match and Marty really carried things here if I’m being honest. However, I do not agree with the praise this got as being a “Match of the Year” candidate and actually liked Marty vs. Doink 2 out of 3 falls better than this match. The finish was anticlimatic with Diesel just tossing Marty aside to get pinned after the latter missed a crossbody and crashed outside. You’d think they would start featuring Diesel more as an act on the outside rather than a guy just standing there with his arms folded too.

Back from break as Savage and Heenan argues about the other shows they host on USA, which are “Mania” and “All-American Wrestling.”

Vince now welcomes Money Inc. to the ring. Money Inc. said they were robbed of the Tag Team Titles and next week will get them back were they belong with the Steiners going out like they came in, as losers. DiBiase then talks about the biggest loser in the WWF, Razor Ramon. Money Inc. continues to trash Razor for getting embarrassed by Kid then Razor himself heads out to the ring. Razor tells the “Rich Man” and “Tax Man” he does not work for them as DiBiase laughs at Razor over not having a price. DiBiase then fans out his money and jams it in Razor’s chest before saying everyone has a price. Razor retaliates by tossing both men outside then he leaves with an irate Money Inc. DiBiase then promises to show Razor what a real man can do by wiping the mat with the 1-2-3 Kid in 30 seconds. Two things here: they amped up the Razor vs. Money Inc. feud while setting up DiBiase vs. Kid somewhere down the line.

Men on a Mission w/ Oscar vs. Rich Myers & Hank Harris

This is the RAW debut of MoM. Harris gets dumped outside then MoM uses a drop toe hold/leg drop combo on Myers. MoM stays in control as the announcers talk about whether or not Kid will accept DiBiase’s challenge. We get a brief “Womp, there it is” chant before MoM uses a front suplex/flying leg drop combo for the win (1:49).

Thoughts: This act is really corny but at least they are featured more than the Smoking Gunns, who can barely get any sort of crowd reaction despite the fact they work hard in the ring.

SummerSlam Report with Gene Okerlund. We see Gene busting a move before he tells us about the two announced matches (Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler and Giant Gonzales vs. The Undertaker in a “Rest in Peace”match) before telling us Tiny Tim will be guest on the “King’s Court.”

We now see footage of Lex Luger on his “Lex Express” tour bus for his “Call to Action” campaign. We get a montage with bad music showing Lex meeting with fans and chilling on his bus. Vince then plugs Luger’s appearance tomorrow on “Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. Man they are really going all out with the sudden Luger babyface push.

Tiny Tim is backstage playing his ukelele to hype his appearance.

Bastion Booger vs. Scott Despres

Booger clotheslines Despres then starts yelling at the fans. Booger then hits a leg drop then soon after that uses a sit-down splash for the win (1:01). After the match, Booger tosses Despres outside.

Thoughts: Just a match to kill time and put over how Booger smells.

We get a video package narrated by Gene Okerlund to hype up next week’s Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow match.

King’s Court is next. Lawler yells at the fans for the “Burger King” chants then says he hopes Bigelow takes care of Bret next week. Lawler then mockingly introduces Tiny Tim and makes fun of him in person as well by taking shots at his appearance and career. The Burger King chants come back then Lawler asks Tim if he thinks he is a Burger King and Tim says he is not………….because he’s the Dairy Queen. Lawler gets pissed then destroys Tim’s ukelele as Tim is crying while holding the pieces. Lawler was amusing but why even bother with a faded star like Tim? At least Tim was a good sport about everything.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Chris Duffy

Kid takes Duffy down and covers for two. Vince tells us that during the break, Kid accepted DiBiase’s challenge for a match that will happen sometime in the future. We now see Money Inc. head down to ringside but we also see Razor come through the crowd as Kid uses a pair of leg drops but after that eats boot on a charge in the corner. Duffy runs over Kid but after that runs into a spinning heel kick. Kid dropkicks Duffy in the corner then comes off of the top with a leg drop for the win (2:16). After the match, Kid leaves through the crowd in order to avoid Razor and Money Inc. as Heenan calls him a coward. We now see Razor flick his toothpick at DiBiase then several referees separate them as we go to break.

Thoughts: We now have a match confirmed between DiBiase and Kid plus saw Razor come out from the crowd to stare down Money Inc. when they were out to scout and to possibly attack Kid. I thought Kid fleeing through the crowd was a nice touch since he had problems with all three men.

We go back to the hosts as Savage holds a Kid dressed like him with Heenan saying its really a midget. Vince then plugs next week’s Bret vs. Bigelow match as the show ends.

Final Thoughts: Once again we get another good episode of RAW. Shawn vs. Marty was excellent and they strongly built up the Razor vs. Money Inc. feud plus set up a DiBiase vs. Kid match for the future. And of course Luger’s call to action campaign was pushed as strong as possible.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Wednesday: WWF Superstars 7/24/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/25/93

Thursday: WWF Monday Night RAW 7/26/93

Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD

Friday: WWF Superstars 7/31/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/1/93

Monday: WWF RAW 8/2/93

Tuesday: WWF Superstars 8/7/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/8/93