WWF Monday Night RAW – October 3rd, 1994

October 3, 1994

From the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, NY

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

Show starts off with a clip from last week’s “King’s Court” when Jim Neidhart challenged British Bulldog to a match, which will happen tonight.

We see Neidhart & Owen Hart from earlier tonight pulling up to the arena as they trash-talk Bulldog.

Also in action this week are Alundra Blayze & Heidi Lee Morgan vs. Bull Nakano & Luna Vachon, Doink, and we will have Yokozuna appear on the “King’s Court.”

British Bulldog vs. Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart w/ Owen Hart

This is Bulldog’s first match on RAW. Owen distracts Bulldog, allowing Neidhart to attack from behind. Owen tells us that Bulldog has no brains despite his muscle then Bulldog overpowers Neidhart then the latter bails and regroups with Owen. Bulldog takes Neidhart down and works the arm for a but as Owen starts talking trash. The announcers talk about the Hart Family feud as we get a test-of-strength in the ring. Neidhart boots Bulldog down but Bulldog gets up and dropkicks Neidhart. Bulldog now works the leg on the mat but Neidhart powers out and grabs a headlock. Savage tells us that Bulldog is just working hard for his family to provide “Alpo” on the table as the announcers talk about Princess Diana being in the news. Owen low-bridges Bulldog to prevent a comeback then talks trash to him on the floor but we now see Bret Hart come down the aisle as we head to break. The match returns with Bret staying to even the sides. Vince tells us that Bulldog has injured his knee as Neidhart stays in control of the match. Neidhart now uses a bearhug as the announcers keep referencing Bulldog’s injured knee. Bulldog gets out and kicks Neidhart from the corner then gets two with a clothesline. Neidhart is able to fight back and targets the knee. Owen yells about Bret ruining the match and that he should leave and let the two in the ring fight. Neidhart uses a Camel’s Clutch but breaks and ends up whiffing on a flying knee drop. Bulldog now runs wild then hits a vertical suplex for a two count. We now see Bob Backlund come down the aisle and he pushes Bret to get his attention and then apparently has some words for him as well. Owen comes into the ring to stop Bulldog from getting a sunset flip and that results in a DQ (12:09 shown) **. After the match, Bret runs into the ring and helps Bulldog clear the ring as Vince yells about no one being on strike in the WWF.

Thoughts: The match itself wasn’t anything special but having Bret come out to help Bulldog enhanced that storyline. Plus, they also had Backlund confront Bret to keep that going as Backlund has been saying he is still champion because he was never pinned or submitted.

We get an ad of a kid on an empty baseball field with a tear running down his cheek because of the MLB Players Strike. We then see Randy Savage appear and make the kid happy as the voice over tells us that the WWF never disappoints their fans and how their season never ends. This was amazing in many aspects.

Doink the Clown w/ Dink vs. Barry Horowitz

Vince tells us we will hear from The Undertaker later on in the show. Horowitz works a side headlock as the announcers talk about the Doink/Lawler feud. Doink takes Horowitz over with a monkey flip then uses a fireman’s carry takedown and a crappy looking backslide for two. Horowitz cuts off Doink with a knee lift but Doink fights back and catches Horowitz with a powerslam before the whoopie Cushion (complete with the sound effect) gets the win (2:35).

Thoughts: Minimal talk about the Doink/Lawler feud and they brought back the dopey sound effect for the whoopie cushion.

Paul Bearer & The Undertaker once again hype up the casket matches against Yokozuna.

King’s Court with guests Yokozuna, Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette. But first, Lawler trash-talks Doink as well as the announcers. Lawler asks Cornette to tell the truth as to whether or not Yokozuna is afraid of The Undertaker. Cornette said its false and that Undertaker is really scared of Yokozuna. Cornette says that Undertaker has to get back into the ring against Yokozuna so people do not realize he is scared. Yokozuna briefly freaks out when the word “casket” is mentioned then the segment ends with Vince hypes the casket match. This isn’t get much reaction because its the same exact stuff they were doing building up to the Royal Rumble. Not as fun the second time around.

A hype video for next week’s Lex Luger vs. Bam Bam Bigelow match.

An ad to hype the debut of “Action Zone” airs. It features impressions of “Mike Zitka, Greg Gumball, and Zeion Danders” in an attempt to mock the NFL pre-show format. It was a lot more petty than it was witty to say the least.

Bull Nakano & Luna Vachon vs. Alundra Blayze & Heidi Lee Morgan

Vince is still mocking NFL pre-game shows. Luna pushes around Morgan but the latter uses a float over then ducks underneath with a bridging rollup for two. Morgan hits a crossbody for two but soon after that Luna takes her down by the hair. Luna & Nakano trap Morgan in the corner as the announcers debate on who would win a match between Nakano and Roseanne Barr. Luna is in slow motion here. Nakano tags in as we get a USA chant and Morgan takes her down with a headscissors for a two count. Hurricarana gets two. Nakano tags out and Luna hits a clothesline but Morgan punches back. Morgan then hits a dropkick then tags out after missing a splash. Blayze runs wild on Luna then Nakano tags into the match. Blayze gets double-teamed but comes back with a double crossbody. Blayze tries to suplex Nakano then Morgan comes in but Nakano suplexes them both. Nakano decks Blayze in the face but Blayze comes back with a crossbody for two. Nakano then uses a double clothesline and tags out but gets accidentally hit with a missile dropkick then Blayze uses a bridging German suplex for the win (5:01) *1/2.

Thoughts: Some of the action was decent but a lot of rough spots, especially from Luna. This was Luna’s final televised match during this run as she would get married in a few weeks then fired soon afterwards. According to Luna herself in a shoot interview she did with her husband Gangrel for RF Video, the company sent her to rehab for alcohol abuse and she was fired while there. Luna said she did not try to sue the company as she did not want to jeopardize any chances of her returning.

The vignette for King Kong Bundy airs that hypes his debut next week.

The confessional booth “New Generation” ad airs.

A clip of Arnold Skaaland throwing in the towel on 12/26/83

Bob Backlund vs. Gary Scott

Backlund dances after taking Scott down as Savage tries to use some of the words he read in the dictionary given to him by Backlund. Scott comes back with an arm drag then gets the crowd behind him and trades holds on the mat with Backlund for a bit and does a fine job. Scott reaches the ropes then Backlund trips him up before the crossface chicken wing gets the win (2:18). Backlund maintains the hold after the bell and screams like a lunatic then breaks to look at his hands.

Thoughts: More crazy Mr. Backlund stuff as they are really establishing the crossface chicken wing as the most dangerous hold in the company. And Scott once again had a good showing in an enhancement role.

The announcers talk to Bret, who is standing backstage. Vince wants Bret to tell him what Backlund said earlier tonight. Bret says that Backlund is losing his mind and that he was never beaten for the title. Bret reminds Backlund that he had his shot and lost and will have to get back in line with the other challengers. The show ends with a slow-motion clip of Backlund and Bret talking at ringside earlier tonight. So, its clear that Backlund will do everything in his power to assure he gets another title shot.

Final Thoughts: The Bret/Backlund stuff is a bit intriguing but it seems there was more focus at knocking pro sports organizations than on putting out a good product. The crowd seemed dead and I can’t say I blame then with a recycled Yokozuna/Undertaker feud and subpar in-ring action. Vince came off incredibly petty here but observing his behavior over the years and this is what he does when things are not going his way. And things are going to get worse before they get better.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Saturday: WWF Superstars 10/8/94, WWF Challenge 10/9/94

Sunday: WWF Monday Night RAW 10/10/94

Monday: WWF Superstars 10/15/94, WWF Challenge 10/16/94

Tuesday: WWF All-American Wrestling (Final Episode) 10/16/94

Wednesday: WWF Monday Night RAW 10/17/94

Thursday: Bret Hart vs. Jim Neidhart 10/21/94, Montreal Quebec, Canada (WWE Unreleased Collection

Friday: WWF Superstars 10/22/94, WWF Challenge 10/23/94