*** 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 #19
May 31, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York, NY
Announcers: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage & Bobby Heenan
1) Marty Jannetty defeats Bam Bam Bigelow to retain WWF Intercontinental Title via countout at 10:00
Scott: So the match doesn’t even start before SensationalSherri and Luna Vachon start cat fighting in the ring. It was very weird seeing Marty Jannetty with any kind of belt around his waist, but after the Rocker Miracle two weeks ago, here we are. Bigelow gets his first title match since his return as well. Jannetty had things going his way early until Bigelow drilled him with an electric chair as a reversal. After commercial Bigelow takes over with power moves and headlocks. Perhaps the numerous IC Title matches we’ve seen on Raw makes up for the lack of a visible WWF Champion since WrestleMania, which is probably why Shawn Michaels lost the belt in the first place. It’s obvious they’re still on the road to a Michaels/Perfect title match down the line, so Michaels will likely win the IC strap back very soon, but hell let’s give Marty some shine for a bit. Both guys really worked their asses off, but Bigelow loses cheap when thanks to Sherri’s distracting presence he is counted out. Kind of a cheap win for Marty too. Bummer because it was a really good match. Grade: **1/2
JT: As we continue to roll on towards King of the Ring, we are back live inside the Manhattan Center for another episode of Raw, a show that has been on quite the hot streak as of late. Opening things up is our new Intercontinental Champion, the man who shocked the world just two weeks ago when he returned to upset Shawn Michaels. Across the ring from Marty Jannetty is Bam Bam Bigelow, a guy being positioned as a top heel but one that is still trying to gain some traction. He was finally in a feud with Tatanka after aimlessly working his way up the ladder, but sidesteps for a big title bout here. Bammer has also picked up a new valet in Luna Vachon, and of course wherever Luna is, so is Sensational Sherri, who shows up alongside her old pal Jannetty. And the ladies wasted no time going at it as they immediately brawled in the ring until separated. Eventually the bell rang and Bigelow jumped Jannetty to rattle him with headbutts and clubbing forearm blows. Bammer continued to use his power to neutralize the champ until Jannetty ducked a clothesline and slammed into the challenger with a forearm. He hustled from there, taking to the air and grabbing a near fall. Bigelow quickly regained control and hammered away before grabbing a tight bear hug. Jannetty wriggled free and again went aerial until it backfired when Bigelow slammed back hard with an electric chair. After a break, Bigelow had Jannetty trapped in a chinlock which he eventually released to go back on the attack. Jannetty peppered his way back into things and then spiked Bigelow to the mat for a two count.The challenger cut the champ off again and hit a double underhook backbreaker. He then hit the ropes but Sherri hooked his leg and tied him up, allowing Jannetty to knock him to the floor. The champ followed with a baseball slide dropkick and then a cross body off the top rope. After trading some punches, Bigelow slung Jannetty into the ring post and then pitched him inside. However, Sherri distracted Bigelow again, causing the challenger to get counted out and take the loss. After the bell, Bigelow hopped in the ring and jumped Jannetty, leaving him laid out after a leg drop to the ribs. Pretty strong match here to open up the show, especially the final moments until the soft, but necessary, finish. I like that they protected Bigelow and the way Jannetty flew around late and had Bammer rocking kept him strong too. It wasn’t like he was saved by Sherri, she just helped out. Marty’s reign is a nice little change of pace with him being the high flying face champion battling monster challengers. Bigelow continues to look good in the ring as well. Grade: ***
*** Sensational Sherri comes back to the ring and demands that Luna Vachon return so they can continue their fight. Luna obliged and after she was detained by an official, Sherri jumped her and the brawl raged on around ringside. Sherri would slam Luna hard on the mat and slide into the ring, but Bigelow showed up and hooked her from behind. Luna came in and slugged away at Sherri until Tatanka ran out to make the save. ***
2) The Steiner Brothers defeat Rich Myers & Executioner when Scott pinned Myers after the top rope bulldog at 4:14
Scott: Vince McMahon announces that at King of the Ring the two top babyface teams (Steiners & Smoking Gunns) will face the two top heel teams (Money Inc & Headshrinkers) in an eight man tag team match. The minute I saw Rich Myers’ massive mullet, I knew a stiff beating was in the offing. The Steiners take pleasure in pummelling poor stiffs on Raw. I always liked with Rick Steiner would wear the tights with all the numbers on it. Maybe it would help him remember them. Steiners win in a comfortable squash. I also noticed that Rick Steiner had the same boots on. Weird. Grade: *
JT: Steiner squash time! Rich Myers, his mullet and the Executioner drew the short end of the stick this time around. Rick and the masked man opened things up and Rick landed the first big shot with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Of course, the Steiners will be involved in the big eight man tag at KOTR and next week we get a preview of that with a tag match mixing the four teams. Rick fed Executioner to the corner so Myers could get in on the fun, which included a rough Oklahoma Stampede. Scott tagged in and things didn’t get much better for Myers and he got slung viciously into the corner. The Brothers tagged in and out and worked the arm a bit until Scott rattled him with a butterfly suplex and a Steiner Screwdriver. A moment later, they polished off poor Myers with the top rope bulldog. I say it every time, but I could watch that every single week. The screwdriver, never gets old! Grade: *
3) Mr. Hughes defeats Bert Centeno with a sidewalk slam at 3:02
Scott: I am a big Mr. Hughes fan, simply because he’s a power guy and you can never have a shortage of power guys in your company. He’s set for the KOTR tournament against Mr. Perfect and continues to plow through guys to put himself over. He will probably be someone’s bodyguard at some point. Vince and Bobby try so poorly to put over charity golf tournaments for the weekend. Grade: DUD
JT: The squash train continues to roll on through as Mr. Hughes is back this week to tussle with the husky Bert Centeno. Before the match, Savage pimped the KOTR hotline and said he was going to call for all the scoops. Hughes took his time and ran right through Bert as the announcers discussed the whereabouts of Harvey Wippleman, whom Bobby says was quite ill at home. Hughes picked up Centeno on a couple of pin attempts before finally finishing him with the sidewalk slam. Hughes looks primed for KOTR and ready to go for his first round tilt with Mr. Perfect: Grade: DUD
*** Gene Okerlund stops by with our King of the Ring Report, which is just a hair under two weeks away! Here are the matches discussed:
Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna – WWF Heavyweight Title
Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon – KOTR Opening Round Match
Mr. Perfect vs. Mr. Hughes – KOTR Opening Round Match
Jim Duggan vs. Bam Bam Bigelow – KOTR Opening Round Match
Tatanka vs. Lex Luger – KOTR Opening Round Match
Crush vs. Shawn Michaels
Call your cable company and join us live on PPV! ***
4) Jim Duggan defeats Bill Thomas with a running clothesline at 2:21
Scott: Mark Thomas is pretty stacked for a jobber. He probably should have beaten the weary and not over Jim Duggan. The KOTR report this week announces that Shawn Michaels and Crush will go one on one at the PPV in Dayton. Duggan works this guy over and gets the victory. After the match Duggan does the Pledge of Allegiance with everyone after the match, which admittedly is pretty cool. Grade: DUD
JT: With it being Memorial Day, we of course had to have a visit from Jim Duggan, fresh off a fun two week angle with Shawn Michaels. And of course, it would also be his final Monday Night Raw appearance for quite some time as he would leave the company right after the PPV. Hacksaw carried out a big American Flag, mows through Thomas with ease and then leads the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance in a nice little touch to make this show stand out. Duggan is also ready for KOTR but his opponent will prove to be a very great challenge. Grade: DUD
*** Vince McMahon catches us up on Razor Ramon’s attempts to push the 1-2-3 Kid into a rematch. The Kid refused his first offer but Ramon then upped the offer to $5,000. We hear from the Kid, who said he was watching WWF with his grandparents and saw Ramon’s new offer but he turns it down due to the potential consequences. ***
5) Razor Ramon defeats Tony Roy with the Razor’s Edge at 4:00
Scott:
JT: Tony Roy out here looking like Richard Simmons’ brother. Ramon is obviously really frustrated and upset over everything that went on with the Kid. The crowd, and Macho Man, get all over him right away, chanting “1-2-3” and it leads to Roy almost sneaking out an upset. Ramon pasted him with a clothesline, followed with a fallaway slam and then smacked Roy around as Vince talked about his KOTR bout with Bret Hart, wondering how he could beat the Hitman if he couldn’t beat the Kid. Roy again grabbed a roll up near fall as Ramon got distracted by the fans but the Bad Guy shook it off and laid in some stiff kicks, followed by an abdominal stretch and a back superplex. Ramon then finished Roy off with the Razor’s Edge, ensuring another upset wouldn’t happen this time around. Ramon heads to Dayton and is back on track. Grade: 1/2*
*** Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji head out to wave the Japanese flag and trash talk Memorial Day. McMahon talks up Hulk Hogan and their KOTR match before Yoko actually speaks English and says “Hulkamania Will Die.” McMahon then says he wouldn’t be surprised if Hogan showed up next week before Fuji vows Yoko will be the new Champion. Jim Duggan then appeared in the balcony, waving the American Flag as the show went off the air. ***
Final Analysis
Scott: This was a fun, patriotic episode of Raw. We have Duggan doing the Pledge of Allegiance for everyone as well as a rare Marty Jannetty IC Title match. When watching them in 1993 I wasn’t a big Steiners fan because they just weren’t as good as they were in NWA/WCW. My opinion has changed watching these again as they were very entertaining pummeling jobbers into the ground. They are overdue to win the tag straps. The build to this new PPV has been good, if maybe the WWF CHAMPION CAN SHOW UP ONCE. Poor Yokozuna has carried the build entirely, and I hope he gets rewarded for it. Not much more to say here, it was a solid episode. Final Grade: C+
JT: This week’s live edition of Raw was a pretty smooth watch, with a tight IC title match opener and a series of solid squash matches to round things out. In a nice touch, there was a lot of focus on the KOTR tournament competitors too, which was smart. The Sherri and Luna stuff continues to be fun as they are just going crazy in their wild brawls. The continuation of Razor’s quest for revenge on the Kid was well executed too. Plus, getting to see Jannetty’s big IC title defense was a treat, especially since it was a good match that made both guys look strong. Despite the lack of having the WWF Champion on TV, the promotion is pretty locked in as it heads into King of the Ring and May overall was a very strong month on Raw. Final Grade: B-
