WWF Monday Night Raw May 10, 1993
by SamoaRowe
-Shawn Michaels is being interviewed on a crowded sidewalk. He’s boasting about how wonders when Mr. Perfect jumps him and they brawl into the street. Perfect tosses him onto a parked car and security needs to separate them. This was a “raw” way to open the show, the fight felt real and the spectators loved it.
-They are airing live from the Manhattan Center. Our hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage. Heenan accuses Hacksaw Jim Duggan of paying Mr. Perfect to attack Shawn Michaels. Tonight’s show will be headlined by Michaels vs. Duggan in a lumberjack match.
King of the Ring qualifying match:
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon
They lock up and try to knock each other off their feet. Both men are huge, so that’s quite the task. Typhoon connects with a body slam and goes after the arm! Bigelow rakes the eyes and barely connects (botches) a body slam. Bigelow misses a head butt, giving Typhoon the opening to work on the arm again. Bigelow targets the eyes and hits a (much better) back suplex. Bigelow hammers Typhoon to the floor and directs his skull into the ring post. Typhoon rolls back into the ring, but a hungry Bigelow is waiting for him. Chinlock by Bigelow. “You know what slows Typhoon down,” says Heenan. “Twinkies!” I love Heenan. Back to the match, Bigelow is still working the chinlock. Time for a commercial.
After the break, Typhoon has escaped the rest hold and is mounting a comeback. Hard Irish whip by Typhoon but he misses a splash. Bigelow connects with a Samoan drop! DAMN! Bigelow goes high risk and hits a diving head butt. Cover by Bigelow gets 3 at 5:26 (shown)! Pretty entertaining for a big man vs. big man match, though some botches hurt this one a little, *˝.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow
Yokozuna (with Mr. Fuji) vs. PJ Walker
Future Target employee Justin Credible (wrestling here as PJ Walker) takes his best shot at Yokozuna, the #1 contender to the WWF Championship. Heenan says he feels sorry for the way Yokozuna was “jobbed” at Wrestlemania. Whoa, how’d that make the air! Yokozuna easily clubs Walker to the mat and hits a belly to belly suplex. Leg drop by Yokozuna. Walker gets splashed in the corner and chopped off his feet. Yokozuna climbs connects with the Banzai drop for the win at 2:14. Effective squash, ˝*.
Winner: Yokozuna
Mr. Perfect vs. “Iron Mike” Sharpe
Perfect flirts with one of the more portly Raw ring girls. He places his gum in her mouth and she likes it, she really likes it! I think Heenan is jealous, he offers her a grilled cheese sandwich. Perfect finally directs his attention to Sharpe, who pushes him off. Perfect targets the head and gets pushed into the ropes. Perfect connects with a drop-kick, sending Sharpe to ringside for a breather. Perfect unceremoniously dumps Sharpe back to the ring and chops the life out of him. Sharpe rakes the eyes, but Perfect counters and slams his head into the turnbuckle. More chopping by Perfect. Snapmare and neck snap by Perfect. Sharpe thumbs the face to take control with some stiff shots. Perfect fights back and they trade chops. Knee lift by Perfect. Sharpe clubs back. Heenan is too busy watching the Weather Channel, and is missing a good match. Perfect bridges for 1. Back in the ring, Perfect is mounting a comeback, finishing with the Perfect-plex at 4:40. Short, but hard hitting match-up, **.
Winner: Mr. Perfect
-Bobby Heenan is chasing a ring girl, trying to get her phone number.
Mr. Hughes (with Harvey Wippleman) vs. Cannonball Kid
The Cannonball Kid is Sean Waltman. Hughes is dominant (and wrestling with sunglasses on), planting the Kid and getting a near fall. Hughes takes his time setting up his double chokeslam. The Kid tries to get up, but Hughes is ready with stomps and head butts. The Kid tries desperately to mount a comeback, but gets violently whipped into the corner. Hughes takes his time dishing out the punishment and drops The Kid with a big boot. Another chokeslam finishes the Cannonball Kid at 2:18. There was a lot of dead spots in between the punishment, DUD.
Winner: Mr. Hughes
-A group of wrestlers wearing lumberjack shirts come to ringside. Guess what’s happening after the break?
Lumberjack match for the Intercontinental Championship:
Shawn Michaels © vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Duggan attacks Yokozuna during his entrance but retreats into the ring. Call it a hunch, but that could come back to bite him in the ass later on. Michaels comes wobbling to the ring on crutches. Well, that’s not a good sign. Perfect attacks Michaels and tosses him into the ring. Michaels is so angry that he forgets to pretend to be injured and throws a fit. Duggan attacks and the match is on! Atomic drop by Duggan and a scoop slam into the turnbuckles. Duggan drops Michaels and hits an elbow drop for 2. Michaels gets his shirt ripped apart and eats a suplex. Cover by Duggan gets 2. Hard Irish whip by Duggan, while Heenan accuses him of paying off all the lumberjacks. The offense is all Duggan, as the beating on Michaels continues. Chinlock and bear hug by Duggan. Cover by Duggan gets 2.5. Michaels tries to trade shots, but Duggan knocks him down and locks the head. The match continues to be one sided in Duggan’s favor. Michaels is tossed to the floor, where he tries to run away. Perfect and Bob Backlund carry him back to the ring. We head to a break.
After the break, Michaels is back in the ring and is still getting destroyed. Duggan misses a knee drop. Michaels removes his boot and nails Duggan in the face, who accidentally wipes out the referee. Duggan rolls to the floor, where Hughes and Bigelow are only too happy to put him back in the ring. Michaels takes control, using the ropes to punish Duggan. Duggan is visibly limping but tries to fight back. Cover by Michaels gets 2. Chinlock by Michaels. Duggan fights free and connects with a clothesline. Backdrop by Duggan, who’s still limping. Duggan chokes and targets the head. Michaels dives off the second rope but Duggan catches him for a body slam. Cover by Duggan gets 2. Chinlock by Duggan. Okay, guys, my rest hold tolerance is starting to slip. They must’ve heard me, because Duggan breaks and knocks Michaels to the floor. Michaels lands in the heel corner, so they let him rest.
After another break, Michaels is in control. Michaels misses a corner splash. Bigelow is on the apron to distract Duggan, and HBK capitalizes. Duggan is tossed by Yokozuna, who beats the hell out of him. Yokozuna rolls Duggan back into the ring, and Michaels makes a cocky pin. Perfect interrupts the cover, getting Duggan disqualified at 13:06 (shown). Match had a lots of ups and downs, but was more entertaining than not, **˝.
Winner by DQ: Shawn Michaels
-After another break, Michaels is announced as the winner of the match, causing all the lumberjacks to storm the ring for a brawl. Duggan grabs his 2x4 and chases everyone out.
Final Thoughts: This was noticeably more energetic than what Raw had previously been. From the hot opening to the hot finish, this was fresh stuff for 1993. This set the tone for how Raw would develop as a show in the future, so I would definitely recommend heading over to WWE.com and watching this episode.
Thumbs up.
Sound Off!Comment about this article on Da' Wrestling Boards!