May 24, 1993 Taped show (on May 17, 1993)
Location: Manhattan, New York, USA (Manhattan Center)
Announced attendance: ca 1 000
TV rating: 2.7 (USA Network) [down 6.9% from the previous week’s 2.9]
Hello everyone. Welcome to another RAW review here on SmarKDown. This week, Mr. Perfect and Doink battle for the final spot in the King of the Ring tournament, taking place at the upcoming PPV. Additionally, Adam Bomb, Crush and the WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc. are in action.
Here is the list of champions in the WWF heading into this week:
- WWF Champion: Hulk Hogan [50th day of his 5th reign] – previous champion: Yokozuna
- WWF Intercontinental Champion: Marty Jannetty [7th day of his 1st reign] – previous champion: Shawn Michaels
- WWF World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [223rd day of their 2nd reign] – previous champions: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Enjoy the review!
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan & Randy Savage
The show starts with the RAW intro.
Doink makes his entrance for his match with Mr. Perfect, but crawls under the ring instead and… then appears simultaneously outside the arena for an interview with Lord Alfred Hayes. Alfred is confused, but Doink says it’s just an illusion and shoots water in his eyes. When we come back to live action, Doink crawls back from under the ring as we get ready for the final KOTR qualifying match.
KOTR Tournament Qualifying – Mr. Perfect vs. Doink the Clown
The clown blind charges Perfect during his entrance and we’re underway. Doink shoves Perfect by the hair and then steals Perfect’s towel, which he uses to clean himself. Perfect takes the towel back and uses it to attack Doink, before going to work on the clown’s leg. Perfect goes to the outside where he rams Doink’s leg into the ringpost, and we take a break.
Commercial break
We’re back with Perfect dominating Doink over in the corner. Doink kicks Perfect out of the corner though, chops away and dumps Perfect to the floor, where he dumps Perfect face first into the post. Back inside, Doink wrestles Perfect down with a fireman’s carry takeover, but Perfect immediately turns it into a headscissors. Doink makes it to the ropes, however, and stomps Perfect in the face repeatedly to get the advantage. Doink goes for a submission on the arm, but Perfect targets the injured leg to force the break, before snapping the leg back. Perfect with an inverted version of the figure four, which Doink escapes by sticking his fingers in Perfect’s eyes. Into the outside, where Doink whips Perfect shoulder first into the post. He then rams Perfect’s shoulder into the post, before going to work on it with a submission and a stomp. Hammerlock slam punishes the arm some more, and it gets two. And we take a second break in this match.
Commercial break
We return with both men involved in a slapfest. Atomic drop is blocked by Doink, only to charge right into a clothesline from Perfect. Doink grabs Perfect by the singlet and sends him into the buckle, but Perfect comes back with a clothesline that dumps Doink to the outside. Meanwhile, the second Doink comes out to ringside and hides under the ring behind the ref’s back. The clowns pull the switcheroo and the fresh Doink monkey flips Perfect, but Perfect catches him with the Perfectplex to qualify at 15:00.
Both Doinks jump Perfect as soon as the bell rings, leading to Crush running in for the save.
- Rating: Really good match here. This was great stuff between Perfect and Doink, with some pretty good selling from the latter. The finish was your typical mid 90s cartoon WWF gaga, but it did protect Doink if you wanna play devil’s advocate. Doink continues to impress, and Perfect adds another good RAW 1993 match to his list. He didn’t stand out on PPVs in his face run (KOTR match with Bret aside of course), but he’s been very consistent on TV. ***1/2
King of the Ring Report w/ Mean Gene
- With all the qualifying complete, the official tournament brackets are announced:
- Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon
- Mr. Perfect vs. Mr. Hughes
- Jim Duggan vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
- Tatanka vs. Lex Luger
- There will be an actual coronation for the winner, Mean Gene adds.
- Ghost Hogan comes back from the rock he’s been hiding ever since WM 9 and cuts a promo on Yokozuna alongside Jimmy Hart. Apparently RAW has a great meaning for him because that’s where Jimmy became a Hulkamaniac. Now Jimmy believes in himself, takes his vitamins and says his prayers. Somehow that leads into Yokozuna at KOTR, as Hogan promises to slam him and prove the end of WM 9 wasn’t a fluke.
Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) vs. Mike Bell & Tony DeVito
But first, DiBiase grabs the mic and offers 100 bucks to someone in the crowd willing to shine their shoes. A teenager accepts it and takes the money… for 30 bucks due to taxes! Hey, life is tough, kid! DiBiase with a shoulderblock and faceplant to start. IRS also dominates Bell, before forcing the tag to DeVito. DiBiase works over DeVito and dumps him with a clothesline. Money Inc take turns stomping DeVito down and DiBiase chokes him on the top rope. Off to IRS, who finishes DeVito with the running clothesline at 3:59.
- Rating: Just a squash. The pre-match segment was more memorable. 1/4*
Crush vs. Bobby Who
Who actually tries a full nelson hold to start, which Crush obviously powers out of. Crush with a delayed vertical suplex and a legdrop, and Bobby Who bails. Crush takes him back in and locks in a bearhug. He breaks the hold about a minute later, hitting him with a belly to belly suplex instead. Gorilla press slam by Crush and the headsqueezing clawhold of doom ends Who at 3:26.
- Rating: Another squash that was nothing special. 1/4*
Vince McMahon interviews Razor Ramon
Vince addresses Razor’s shocking loss to The 1-2-3 Kid, who claims he was never defeated. Razor says no one will call him a loser, and he’s willing to offer The 1-2-3 Kid 2500$ for a rematch so he can prove it. However, Razor’s KOTR opponent Bret Hart comes out and says Razor hasn’t done his homework. At KOTR it’s going to be 1-2-3 once more, leaving Razor all worked up in the ring. Quick promo to remind us of last week’s upset as well as to hype the biggest match of the KOTR first round match at the PPV.
After a commercial, Bobby Heenan is shown flipping the channels before the TV stops working. Johnny Polo (the future Raven, and the former Scotty Flamingo in WCW) appears on the screen, leading into an explosion as we go to the final match.
Main Event
Adam Bomb (w/ Johnny Polo) vs. Phil Apollo
Adam is better known as Bryan Clarke from KroniK, alongside Brian Adams (Crush). Or for having that all-time stinker with Sid Vicious at Clash of the Champions, perhaps. You tell me. Bomb dominates to start as expected, and actually hits a dropkick. Backdrop suplex by Bomb, who then takes Apollo to the outside and whips him into the railing. Back in, Adam Bomb goes up and comes down with a flying clothesline. Powerbomb finishes Phil Apollo at 2:35.
- Rating: Slightly more impressive squash than the previous two. 1/2*
Bam Bam Bigelow is ready to take the IC Title from Marty Jannetty next week. Sherri will be in Marty’s corner, and Luna Vachon will be in Bam Bam’s.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Stories and characters continue to be developed in yet another solid edition of RAW. Perfect/Doink was a really strong match and was easily the highlight this week. Razor Ramon’s segment was fine albeit extremely short, especially his interaction with Bret Hart which barely lasted a minute. Money Inc’s segment with the young fan was also nice. The squashes weren’t impressive this week, but the show was solid. 6/10
POINT SYSTEM
Thank you all for reading. Make sure you don’t miss any upcoming RAW review here on the blog. Until next time!
