*** Scott & JT’s Vintage Vault Refresh reviews are a chronological look back at WWE PPV and TV history that began with a review of WrestleMania I. The PICs have revisited these events and refreshed all of their fun facts that provide insight into the match, competitors and state of the company as well as their overviews of the match action and opinions and thoughts on the outcomes. In addition, Jeff Jarvis assists in compiling historical information and the Fun Facts in each of the reviews. Also, be sure to leave feedback on the reviews at our Facebook page. Enjoy! ***
Monday Night Raw #28
August 2, 1993 (Taped July 25, 1993)
Castle Recreation Center
Alexandria Bay, NY
Announcers: Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan
Fun Fact: A short Fun Fact about Jim Cornette could never fully do him justice, so we encourage our readers to research more about one of the greatest managers in wrestling history. Cornette was born in Louisville, Kentucky on September 17, 1961. At an early age, Cornette fell in love with wrestling, going so far as to install a 10 foot tall antenna on the top of his family’s house so he could pick up as many regional broadcasts as possible. He started working at wrestling shows at the age of 14. After a few years of working as a photographer, ring announcer, time keeper, and pretty much any other job he could try, he was tapped by Jerry Jarrett in the CWA to become an on-screen manager. He became the character of a rich kid turned manager whose clients would fire him after their matches. In the mid-80s, Cornette would become very well known as the manager of a new team formed in Mid South, the Midnight Express. Their long-standing feud with the Rock & Roll Express set the standard for tag team wrestling in the mid 80s in Mid South and Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW. In the early 90s, Cornette started his own promotion, Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), covering Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and the Carolinas. Wrestling was going through a downturn during this period, so the promotion only lasted four years before being sold to the WWF. Cornette put together a working relationship with the WWF during this time and began working for the company while still running his promotion in 1993.
1) Steiner Brothers defeat Barry Horowitz & Duane Gill when Scott pinned Gill with the Frankensteiner at 2:45
Scott: This is actually an all-star matchup. The current tag team champions vs. the greatest jobber tag team of all time. It’s announced the Steiners have an open contract at SummerSlam against anybody. Right off the bat we have a new venue for RAW. Now I’ve lived in the Northeast my whole life and I have no idea where Alexandria Bay, NY is located. I guess near Niagara Falls as they are hinting it’s near the Canadian border. In any event, like any Steiners squash, Gill & Horowitz get pummelled as Scott & Rick take pleasure in beating down poor stiffs. Who will challenge them for the straps at SummerSlam? We shall see. Grade: *
JT: For the second straight week we are going to you on tape from… what looks like some sort of garage in Alexandria Bay, NY. It certainly is a unique looking… warehouse? We open things up with our tag team champions, the Steiner Brothers and I have been jonesing a squash by them for a few weeks now. This week they get the jobber deluxe tag team of Duane Gill and Barry Horowitz. With Randy Savage slated to wrestle tonight, we roll with just Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan in the booth. We do hear quickly from Macho, who reminds us that he will have a little surprise for Doink later tonight. As the champs head out, Vince notes that the Steiners have signed an open contract for SummerSlam, which of course will be in their hometown. Scott and Horowitz open things up and things are amiable enough until Scott chucks him with a big belly-to-belly suplex. Rick tagged in and Gill followed suit, which I am sure he regretted when Steiner clobbered him with a hard clothesline. Scotty headed back in and took Gill over with a pump handle suplex and then finished him off with a Frankensteiner. Not their best squash, but fun nonetheless. Now the question remains: who will take a shot at the champs in Auburn Hills? Grade: DUD
*** We check out an installment of Getting to Know Lex Luger. In this piece he discusses growing up with a tough father and how he had to excel at school and take chorus in order to participate in athletics as well as having to move around a lot when he was young. More to come in future weeks. ***
2) Adam Bomb defeats Tony Roy with the Atom Smasher at 2:18
Scott: The awesome Johnny Polo brings his charge to the ring for a jobber beating. This Rec Center they are coming from looks like it has no air conditioning so it’s probably 100 degrees in there. The match is a one-sided beatdown, but it looks like he did change his finisher to a power bomb after his other finisher seemed very clunky and could hurt somebody. Grade: DUD
JT: Adam Bomb is back in the house, led to the ring by man, Johnny Polo. Polo is wearing lacrosse gloves and carrying a stick as well so you know he is full of class. Tony Roy’s hair is really impressive. Impressively terrible. Roy was very hesitant as the bell rang and his instincts were accurate as Bomb took him down to the mat and then started to quickly manhandle him from there. Vince and Bobby plugged the world premier of “Marilyn & Bobby: Their Final Affair”, coming this Wednesday to USA as Bomb made quick work on Roy, finishing him off with the Atom Smasher. Bomb keeps rolling along, notching yet another win. Grade: DUD
3) Randy Savage defeats Doink the Clown with an inside cradle at 11:22
Fun Fact I: On last week’s (7/26) episode of Raw, following Doink’s win he got on the mic and challenged Randy Savage to a match for this week.
Fun Fact II: Claude Giroux is a Canadian midget wrestler who during the mid 90s played several roles in the WWF. At tonight’s Raw, he comes into the match to even the odds as a second Doink comes out to interfere in the match. Giroux comes out from under the ring dressed just like the Macho Man and was dubbed the Macho Midget. Later in his WWF run, he would actually take on the role of a miniature clown named Dink, but we will get to that soon.
Scott: For the first time in a while on Raw, we actually have a Randy Savage match. As I say with every heel Doink match, it’s Matt Borne so we are talking straight up wrestling which means this one will be very good. Savage was wrestling on the house show circuit sporadically so he’s definitely not rusty. Doink had a pretty cool looking neck submission move after the commercial break but Savage reversed it. Savage said he’s dedicating this match to his friend Crush, who’s convalescing in Hawaii after the beatdown Yokozuna gave him a few weeks ago. At one point Savage goes outside and crawls under the ring. Doink is waiting until on the other side of the ring out comes… a MACHO MIDGET? Ugh. He distracts Doink and chases him around until the real Macho Man comes out, beats Doink down and gets the victory. This was a cute little Raw TV match, but having Savage with midgets was like the Road Warriors with Rocco one year earlier. It just doesn’t fit. Grade: **
JT: We waste no time heading right int our next matchup, the payoff to the build that really started back when Randy Savage foiled Doink’s scheme in a match with Marty Jannetty. Last week, Doink challenged Savage to a match for revenge so here we are. The look of this whole episode really is odd, as it is a bit washed out and looks like a house show from 1987. Vince informs us that Savage is dedicating this match to his buddy Crush, who is still recuperating after his match with Yokozuna. Before the match gets under way, Savage peeks under the ring to scout for additional Doinks. Savage started off in control but Doink started to beg off and play some mind games, baiting Macho in and going to the eyes. A pissed off Savage grabbed a chair but he referee yanked it away as Doink clobbered him and aggressively went to work, eventually hooking in a Boston crab. Savage would force the break but Doink continued to target the leg, kicking away and wrenching it over the ropes. Savage fought him off and shoved the Clown to the floor but Doink dodged him and shoved Macho hard into the ring post. After a break, we were back in the ring where Doink was now working the neck. Doink kept the pressure on, grabbing a near fall and then locking in an abdominal stretch, which he twisted into a rear chinlock. Savage broke free but Doink slammed him to the mat and headed to the top but Macho was able to dodge the Whoopee Cushion. Still, Doink shook it off and just causally pitched Savage to the floor. Macho gained his bearings and then crawled under the ring. A moment later, a Macho Man midget emerged from the other side, which caused Doink to crack up laughing in the ring. That is one scary ass mask. Doink headed outside and chased the Midget around until Savage popped out and tripped the Clown up. Savage slammed him on the floor and shoved him back inside where he grabbed an inside cradle for the win. Shenanigans! It really must be hot as hell in there as Doink’s face paint had completely eroded. Savage cracked Doink again after the bell, saving his little buddy from an attack. Well, this match ended up being basic, which is fine, but I had higher hopes when it was announced. Still, I liked Doink oscillating across Savage’s body parts, trying to find one that would do the trick. Savage did his usual here: sold like a champ and then scored a quick win. Plus we had the Midget payoff to finally give Doink a taste of his own medicine. Does Savage stay active from here or head back to the booth? Stay tuned. Grade: **
*** Gene Okerlund is here with our SummerSlam report and we are officially now just four weeks away from the hottest night of the summer. And it is brought to you by Chevrolet! Here are the matches discussed:
Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna – WWF World Title
Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler
Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels – WWF Intercontinental Title
Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez – Rest in Peace Match
Join us live on pay-per-view in four weeks. But order NOW! ***
*** Ted DiBiase calls in via phone to discuss his embarrassing loss to the 1-2-3 Kid on Challenge this past weekend. DiBiase blames Razor Ramon for the loss and promises he will pay for his actions. Vince shows us the footage of the match and DiBiase hangs up out of protest. ***
*** Jim Cornette marches out to the ring unannounced in his WWF debut as Vince says he has no business being here and Bobby freaks out with excitement. Heenan stumbles and then sprints into the ring and gives Cornette a huge hug. Vince notes that Cornette is from Smokey Mountain Wrestling as Heenan grabs a mic and gushes over the greatness of Cornette. Cornette then puts over Heenan and SMW before talking about how he has done everything in wrestling except appearing in the WWF. But now he is here. And he is here to bring the Heavenly Bodies to the company as well. He also is here to accept that open challenge of the Steiners for SummerSlam, so he can take home the WWF Tag Team Titles and deliver his final knockout blow. ***
4) Mr. Perfect defeats Barry Hardy with the Perfectplex at 2:40
Scott: It was announced earlier in the show on Mean Gene’s SummerSlam Report that Mr. Perfect has gotten his long awaited Intercontinental Title shot with Shawn Michaels. Jim Cornette joins the broadcast table and acknowledges that there’s no AC in this sweat box that the show is emanating from. Cornette says his team the Heavenly Bodies in SMW want to challenge the Steiners at SummerSlam but he thinks the champions won’t accept it. We will see if it happens. Oh this match is a squash as anticipated. Grade: DUD
JT: As Mr. Perfect sauntered to the ring, Jim Cornette hopped in the announce booth to join Vince and Bobby for our final bout of the evening. Perfect is officially on a collision course with Shawn Michaels of SummerSlam, to payoff a feud that kicked off way back at WrestleMania. Cornette reiterates his challenge for the Steiners and puts over the Bodies as Vince shows off some knowledge about SMW. Perfect makes quick work of Hardy to pick up the win. Grade: DUD
*** We wrap up with a video highlighting Lex Luger’s recent stops on the Call to Action campaign. ***
Final Analysis:
Scott: This was a pretty flat episode with nothing real big of note other than the Luger vignette pumping up his match with Yokozuna and the announcement of Perfect facing Michaels for the IC Title. Nice to see Randy Savage in the ring for the first time in a while, which makes you wonder how Crush was feeling. Savage couldn’t leave the broadcast table to help him when he was getting beat down against Yoko but now he can wrestle Doink and have midgets. Interesting. A pedestrian episode. Final Grade: C
JT: After a couple of really strong episodes, we fall pretty flat here this week. The arena looked very minor league and this show almost feels like a bit of a throwaway and a time killer. Outside of Jim Cornette’s debut, there was nothing of consequence on display here. The Savage/Doink mini-angle was fun and does plant some important seeds, but on the surface it is just a match. The rest of the show was filled out with bland squashes. The commentary is great though, and pushes a lot of storyline advancement throughout the episode. The Cornette debut was a big one but other than that, this is a very skippable episode of Raw. Final Grade: D+
