Live from the Manhattan Center in New York City.
Randy Savage is attacked in the introduction by the Repo Man who steals Savage's hat and roll the title sequence.
Our first match is Mr. Perfect and Terry Taylor. Mr. Perfect is running the match early. Meanwhile, Savage tries to find the Repo Man and threatens to deal with him when he finds him. "The Brain" calls in to complain about his picture being torn up by Bartlett. Now, Taylor starts to get some control. Mr. Perfect starts to surge and a surprisingly old Ric Flair shows up and attacks Mr. Perfect while the referee's back is turned. Mr. Perfect still hits a back suplex for the pin.
Bret Hart comes out for an interview with McMahon. They're previewing the title match at the Royal Rumble this Sunday. Hart's throwing a lot of shade on Razor Ramone.
Our second match features Marty Jannetty versus Glen Ruth.Some decent work in this match but Jannetty wins easily.
We get a highlight from WWF Superstars where Doink the Clown attacks Crush with a fake arm leaving Crush with a suspected concussion.
The Repo Man gets interviewed out on the street and and gets into an argument with Savage via microphone. Savage heads out to confront him.
We get a preview of the Royal Rumble.
Royal Rumble champion to face WWF Champion at Wrestlemania
International Championship Shawn Michaels vs Marty Jannetty
WWF Championship - Bret Hart vs Razor Ramone
Randy Savage is now on the street but can't find the Repo Man.
Tito Santana vs Ric Flair makes our main event. Wooo! As much as Ric Flair bugs me, and he always has, you have to love the way he oversells. Mr. Perfect runs in and chaos ensues. No decision.
After the brawl, Ric Flair demands an I Quit match next week at Raw with Mr. Perfect. Now Mr. Perfect accepts gladly.
We also have a match set for next week Savage and Repo Man.
Next PPV: 1/24/1993 Royal Rumble 1993
Next Show: 1/25/1993 Raw 03
Announced Card:
Savage vs Repo Man
Ric Flair vs Mr. Perfect - Loser leaves the WWF
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Raw 01 - January 11, 1993
You know going into a show which was produced 24 years ago that it's going to be different than what it has built into today. That being said, wow. Apparently, Raw began its life in someones walk-in closet. A quick bit of searching didn't get me an attendance figure, but the "to the rafters" crowd couldn't be more than three to four hundred people.
There's four matches on the card tonight and we start with Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett, and Randy Savage introducing the show. Meanwhile, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is locked out of the arena (and apparently his old job).
Our first match features Koko B. Ware and Yokozuna. Yokozuna, a former sumo wrestler, does his best impression of a mountain before climbing the turnstile and dropping backwards onto Koko for the 3 count.
Our second match features the Steiner Brothers and the Executioners in a tag team battle. This match actually wouldn't seem terribly out of place today as the action keeps up pretty well. It ends up a bit of a squash as the Steiner Brothers win easily.
Our third match is an Intercontinental Championship title match between our champion Shawn Michaels and Max Moon. (Hey, Shawn Michaels, finally a wrestler I've heard of.) Max Moon hits the ring and does a few somersaults for some unknown reason. Michaels comes out and the match gets going. It's going back and forth and just as Max Moon gets a good submission going, it's off to commercial. (Good to know they started with that crap in the first episode.) We're back and Rob Bartlett makes an unfunny joke about Michaels pulling a knife during the break. We get a bit of a quick finish as Michaels rolls up Max Moon to retain the title.
Razor Ramone comes out for an interview targeting Bret Hart and builds some decent heat.
Our fourth and final match of the night is Damian Demento versus Undertaker. Undertaker hits the ring and, wow, is he young! I was glad to see a few of Taker's signature moves: tombstone piledriver, Taker sits up, rope walk, and, of course, his trademark cover.
A short show as Raw starts out as an hour long show, around 45 minutes after commercials. An interesting start.
Highlight: Shawn Michaels retains the Intercontinental Championship
Next Show: Raw 02 1/18/1993
Next PPV: Royal Rumble 1993 1/24/1993
There's four matches on the card tonight and we start with Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett, and Randy Savage introducing the show. Meanwhile, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is locked out of the arena (and apparently his old job).
Our first match features Koko B. Ware and Yokozuna. Yokozuna, a former sumo wrestler, does his best impression of a mountain before climbing the turnstile and dropping backwards onto Koko for the 3 count.
Our second match features the Steiner Brothers and the Executioners in a tag team battle. This match actually wouldn't seem terribly out of place today as the action keeps up pretty well. It ends up a bit of a squash as the Steiner Brothers win easily.
Our third match is an Intercontinental Championship title match between our champion Shawn Michaels and Max Moon. (Hey, Shawn Michaels, finally a wrestler I've heard of.) Max Moon hits the ring and does a few somersaults for some unknown reason. Michaels comes out and the match gets going. It's going back and forth and just as Max Moon gets a good submission going, it's off to commercial. (Good to know they started with that crap in the first episode.) We're back and Rob Bartlett makes an unfunny joke about Michaels pulling a knife during the break. We get a bit of a quick finish as Michaels rolls up Max Moon to retain the title.
Razor Ramone comes out for an interview targeting Bret Hart and builds some decent heat.
Our fourth and final match of the night is Damian Demento versus Undertaker. Undertaker hits the ring and, wow, is he young! I was glad to see a few of Taker's signature moves: tombstone piledriver, Taker sits up, rope walk, and, of course, his trademark cover.
A short show as Raw starts out as an hour long show, around 45 minutes after commercials. An interesting start.
Highlight: Shawn Michaels retains the Intercontinental Championship
Next Show: Raw 02 1/18/1993
Next PPV: Royal Rumble 1993 1/24/1993
Starting Somewhere in the Middle
I know next to nothing about professional wrestling. It was not something we watched in my family growing up. Sure, the kids at school had the Hulk Hogan action figures, and I knew it was really cool that SGT Slaughter teamed up with G.I Joe, but I didn't know why. I got into it a little in the late 90s as it was on in the dorm common room and again in the early 00s.
What little I do know comes from a now defunct collectible card game, WWE Raw Deal. It was big in the 00s and a lot of fun, but I played the game without actually watching much wrestling.
So, one of my favorite podcasters, Justin Robert Young, recently started a new podcast, 1-900-Wrestling. He's a smart and interesting guy so I decided to give it a listen. It's compelling stuff.
So I've decided to get into wrestling. I signed up for a WWE Network account and discovered the immense back catalog of shows. And, well, I can't resist going back in time.
So this blog will follow my journey through the history of WWE Wrestling beginning with the New Generation era, and the very first episode of Monday Night Raw, January 11, 1993.
So to set the stage, here are your champions as of January 1, 1993:
WWF World Heavyweight Championship - Bret Hart - Since 10/12/1992
WWF Intercontinental Championship - Shawn Michaels - Since 10/27/1992
World Tag Team Championship - Money, Inc - Since 10/13/1992
Next Show: Raw 01 1/11/1993
Next PPV: Royal Rumble 1993 1/24/1993
What little I do know comes from a now defunct collectible card game, WWE Raw Deal. It was big in the 00s and a lot of fun, but I played the game without actually watching much wrestling.
So, one of my favorite podcasters, Justin Robert Young, recently started a new podcast, 1-900-Wrestling. He's a smart and interesting guy so I decided to give it a listen. It's compelling stuff.
So I've decided to get into wrestling. I signed up for a WWE Network account and discovered the immense back catalog of shows. And, well, I can't resist going back in time.
So this blog will follow my journey through the history of WWE Wrestling beginning with the New Generation era, and the very first episode of Monday Night Raw, January 11, 1993.
So to set the stage, here are your champions as of January 1, 1993:
WWF World Heavyweight Championship - Bret Hart - Since 10/12/1992
WWF Intercontinental Championship - Shawn Michaels - Since 10/27/1992
World Tag Team Championship - Money, Inc - Since 10/13/1992
Next Show: Raw 01 1/11/1993
Next PPV: Royal Rumble 1993 1/24/1993
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