Monday Night RAW Episode 1 Review
Welcome to a new series we are doing, where we go back in time to watch
and review the longest running weekly episodic television show in history,
Monday Night RAW. We will cover every episode from the early day cartoon era to
the Attitude Era and the Vince Russo years, the Ruthless Aggression era with
HHH and Evolution, all the way to 2017 where Braun Strowman is clearly not
finished with you. We hope you enjoy!
(Just a note: we hope to keep this going, you have to understand we are very lazy people)
January 11th 1993 a date which will go down in professional
wrestling/sports entertainment history, the very first episode of Monday Night
RAW was aired. At the start of 1993, Vince McMahon would change the wrestling
universe forever, a weekly aired show running on Monday Nights to provide us
with the best quality in professional wrestling. It would be over two years
later, when a challenger would come along in the form of WCW Monday Nitro with
billionaire Ted Turner luring the big former WWF (the name at that time) stars
away. In the meantime, 1993 was a difficult year for the WWF and Vince
especially. The company was embroiled in the steroid scandal which almost
ruined McMahon, Hulk Hogan left in the summer of 1993, Jerry Lawler was
involved in a rape scandal and the company had quite arguably it's worst
Wrestlemania to date. (Until Wrestlemania 27 with Snooki)
That was a bit of background history, the first episode of RAW took place in the Manhattan Center in New York City. It was mentioned on the 15th anniversary of RAW DVD by Vince himself, that Maddison Square Garden was always the home for the company so they wanted to get somewhere which was close to the garden. Traditionally speaking New York has always been seen as the home for Vince McMahon and the WWF where as it's competition WCW dominated the southern territory and in particular Georgia.
That was a bit of background history, the first episode of RAW took place in the Manhattan Center in New York City. It was mentioned on the 15th anniversary of RAW DVD by Vince himself, that Maddison Square Garden was always the home for the company so they wanted to get somewhere which was close to the garden. Traditionally speaking New York has always been seen as the home for Vince McMahon and the WWF where as it's competition WCW dominated the southern territory and in particular Georgia.
"We are live from the chilly streets of New York City"
the first words ever proclaimed on an episode of Monday Night Raw as
interviewer Sean Mooney briefly interrupts an onrushing Bobby Heenan who claims
that he is scheduled for RAW that night. Mooney explains to him that he has
been replaced and Heenan sells this very well. The look of bemusement on
Heenan's face which turns into rage, is a joy to be behold from the former
manager of the legendary Andre the Giant. Heenan is then told Rob Bartlett is
his replacement, whilst Mooney casually slips in the fact that it is sold out.
This is very clever, sticking to the storyline whilst casually suggesting that
your product is hot property. We then have the traditional signature, which I
might add is so much better than the signature they have now. Classy retro, I
like it.
We are then greeted by a raucous crowd in the Manhattan Center, as we hear the voice of Vince McMahon welcoming everyone to Monday Night RAW. There is a 3 man booth of McMahon, Rob Bartlett and The "Macho Man" Randy Savage who are telling everyone what we expect to see tonight. On the show we have The Steiner Brothers, an interview with Razor Ramon, Koko B. Ware vs Yokozuna. Rob Bartlett casually tells the viewers that Yokozuna has a diaper which goes right up his ass. (This is no joke). The crowd is so pumped for this, shame that wrestling crowds for the majority of RAW's nowadays are silent and just sit there, you need atmosphere in situations like this.
We are then greeted by a raucous crowd in the Manhattan Center, as we hear the voice of Vince McMahon welcoming everyone to Monday Night RAW. There is a 3 man booth of McMahon, Rob Bartlett and The "Macho Man" Randy Savage who are telling everyone what we expect to see tonight. On the show we have The Steiner Brothers, an interview with Razor Ramon, Koko B. Ware vs Yokozuna. Rob Bartlett casually tells the viewers that Yokozuna has a diaper which goes right up his ass. (This is no joke). The crowd is so pumped for this, shame that wrestling crowds for the majority of RAW's nowadays are silent and just sit there, you need atmosphere in situations like this.
The first match is Koko
B.Ware vs Yokozuna.
Koko comes out and the commentary refer to him as "The Birdman" whilst he wears a light pink jacket with bright green joggers as he waits for the giant Yokozuna. The aforementioned Yokozuna makes his way to the ring accompanied by Mr.Fuji as Vince and Randy Savage talk about the size and mixed martial art ability of the Japanese (actually from California) native. Rob Bartlett says "he should stay away from the sushi bar and perhaps try a salad bar". Yokozuna though was a giant of the industry and his power is shown early on with Koko B.Ware selling the offence as he was thrown across the ring twice. Koko's selling is great here, he starts to get some dropkicks in but then Yokozuna side steps and Koko lands on the ropes and springs back off. Yokozuna looks unstoppable without having put together a sustained period of movement on his opponent. Yokozuna then lands a leg drop, followed by a shove to the corner and then a running splash which sets up his patterned Banzai Drop. Yokozuna picks up the win.
It was essentially a squash match where the objective was to get the big Yokozuna over and showcase that he is the immovable object if you will. A quick note Howard Finkel is the ring announcer and even in the early days he is a class act. We are then shown a promotional video for the Royal Rumble, where they hype up the opportunity it presents as well as a WWE Championship match between Bret Hart and Razor Ramon.
Koko comes out and the commentary refer to him as "The Birdman" whilst he wears a light pink jacket with bright green joggers as he waits for the giant Yokozuna. The aforementioned Yokozuna makes his way to the ring accompanied by Mr.Fuji as Vince and Randy Savage talk about the size and mixed martial art ability of the Japanese (actually from California) native. Rob Bartlett says "he should stay away from the sushi bar and perhaps try a salad bar". Yokozuna though was a giant of the industry and his power is shown early on with Koko B.Ware selling the offence as he was thrown across the ring twice. Koko's selling is great here, he starts to get some dropkicks in but then Yokozuna side steps and Koko lands on the ropes and springs back off. Yokozuna looks unstoppable without having put together a sustained period of movement on his opponent. Yokozuna then lands a leg drop, followed by a shove to the corner and then a running splash which sets up his patterned Banzai Drop. Yokozuna picks up the win.
It was essentially a squash match where the objective was to get the big Yokozuna over and showcase that he is the immovable object if you will. A quick note Howard Finkel is the ring announcer and even in the early days he is a class act. We are then shown a promotional video for the Royal Rumble, where they hype up the opportunity it presents as well as a WWE Championship match between Bret Hart and Razor Ramon.
'It cuts back to the commentary team where they are fixated over the
woman walking around with a sign saying "Monday Night RAW". If this
was 2001 Vince where he went through his mid-life crisis, this would have
gotten awkward to watch. The three man booth then start to talk about how Bobby
Heenan is going to introduce The Narcissist. We are then treated to a video
package with Heenan essentially calling out Mr.Perfect and promoting The
Narcissist (Lex Luger). Throughout the package it seemed to me like Heenan was
getting tired of repeating the word "Narcissist" but the true
professional Heenan is carried on comparing Mr.Perfect to Horse manure and
Luger to Ice Cream and all will be revealed at the Royal Rumble. It's a shame
you don't get these type of mystery promotional videos, where a new character
is revealed and no one who it is. If you look at today with the whole "La
Luchadora" we all knew it was Mickie James, back in 1993 people may not
have known it was Luger as The Narcissist.
The next match was The Steiner Brothers vs The Executioners. The Executioners got a jobbers entrance and wore charity shop Black Power Ranger outfits. One of the Executioners was Duane Gill who went on to become Gillberg . The Steiners get to work early, however the first thing you notice is Doink the Clown in the crowd which draws commentary to focus on the clown rather than the Steiners. It is worth a note, that whilst I am watching this, The Steiner Brothers are technically sound and the suplexes what Scott Steiner was throwing were a joy to behold. This again was essentially a nothing match finished off with the Steiners hitting their signature Steinerizer for the win.
We then have Bobby Heenan in drag essentially trying to force his way into the building. Interviewer Sean Mooney, tries to deal with the situation involving what is supposed to be Rob Bartlett's aunt and then ultimately discovers it's Heenan. Heenan then proceeds to offer Mooney $50 in cash so he can get in. "The Brain" does not make a convincing woman but it was a fun segment showing the viewers "everyone wants to be a part of Monday Night RAW".
"Say hello to the bad guy" up next is an interview segment with Razor Ramon. Razor Ramon- the character played by Scott Hall is great. A cocky arrogant heel, who was modeled after Tony Montana in Scarface. The interview is very well conducted, with Hall making references to the fact that it took Bret 8 and a half years to reach top, where as he took only 8 months. Razor then goes on to say, there is nothing you can do about him taking the belt off Bret as well as gloating about the fact that he took out Owen Hart on an episode of WWF Mania I believe. Throughout this little interview segment, it is made aware to me that Vince McMahon as an interviewer is often looked past. The casual fans only know Vince as the owner of the company and the man who had the feud with Austin or the man that made Trish Stratus bark like a dog. Anyway's Vince is great in this interview segment here.
Up next is a match between Max Moon, who is supposed to resemble a Japanese fighting robot and the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship. Max Moon is in the ring and Shawn comes out and he still has his retro theme song sung by the Sensational Sherri, before Shawn sung the song himself. Earlier when I said about the crowd being pumped, they are a bit subdued for this match. After a neat opening sequence, Michaels starts to take control over the match delivering arm drags and variable dropkicks. Doink the Clown then makes another appearance just casually walking to ringside and hysterically laughing. I have a feeling that Vince McMahon was trying to cash in on Stephen King's IT, when he came up with this character. As I am watching this, it is evident that Michaels was destined to be the guy who would be the face of the company, his in ring work accompanied with his mannerisms are a perfect mesh for at this stage in 1993, upper mid-card Shawn. Rob Bartlett is trying to do impressions on commentary and my god it is woeful. Shawn hits a superkick, then picks up Moon for a back suplex and retains. I realised as soon as the match ends that Mike Chioda was the referee, rocking a Billy Ray Cyrus mullet.
Up next is the Royal Rumble report from "Mean" Gene Okerlund who announces that there will be a match pitting the former Rockers Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty for the Intercontinental title. Shawn talks about how Marty is so "undeserving" and Sensational Sherri will be in his corner because why wouldn't she be?. We then a rundown of who is in the Royal Rumble. In the match we have the likes of Mr Perfect, The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Tito Santana, Yokozuna and my personal favourite Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan has a promo in which he says "I can't guarantee that I will win but I will give 110%". Essentially admitting that he doesn't think he will win but he will give the old college try. Back to Bobby Heenan on the outside, who after pretending to be a woman, is now dressed as a Jewish man, I am not making this up. He then proceeds to talk about how he needs to see his nephew Rob Bartlett, as his fake beard is flustering about all over the place. The reporter then realises it's Heenan to which Heenan responds "I'm gonna try the roof".
Now it's time for the main event where we see Damien Demento take on the phenom The Undertaker. Demento gets a jobber entrance, whilst old school Undertaker's presence three years into his WWF career is unprecedented. Undertaker gets whipped into the ropes and counters Demento with a front face take-down (I think that's what it's called). Undertaker then does old-school as he is firmly in control of this match-up. The match ends with The Undertaker hitting a tombstone on Damien Demento, pinning him 1-2-3.
The next match was The Steiner Brothers vs The Executioners. The Executioners got a jobbers entrance and wore charity shop Black Power Ranger outfits. One of the Executioners was Duane Gill who went on to become Gillberg . The Steiners get to work early, however the first thing you notice is Doink the Clown in the crowd which draws commentary to focus on the clown rather than the Steiners. It is worth a note, that whilst I am watching this, The Steiner Brothers are technically sound and the suplexes what Scott Steiner was throwing were a joy to behold. This again was essentially a nothing match finished off with the Steiners hitting their signature Steinerizer for the win.
We then have Bobby Heenan in drag essentially trying to force his way into the building. Interviewer Sean Mooney, tries to deal with the situation involving what is supposed to be Rob Bartlett's aunt and then ultimately discovers it's Heenan. Heenan then proceeds to offer Mooney $50 in cash so he can get in. "The Brain" does not make a convincing woman but it was a fun segment showing the viewers "everyone wants to be a part of Monday Night RAW".
"Say hello to the bad guy" up next is an interview segment with Razor Ramon. Razor Ramon- the character played by Scott Hall is great. A cocky arrogant heel, who was modeled after Tony Montana in Scarface. The interview is very well conducted, with Hall making references to the fact that it took Bret 8 and a half years to reach top, where as he took only 8 months. Razor then goes on to say, there is nothing you can do about him taking the belt off Bret as well as gloating about the fact that he took out Owen Hart on an episode of WWF Mania I believe. Throughout this little interview segment, it is made aware to me that Vince McMahon as an interviewer is often looked past. The casual fans only know Vince as the owner of the company and the man who had the feud with Austin or the man that made Trish Stratus bark like a dog. Anyway's Vince is great in this interview segment here.
Up next is a match between Max Moon, who is supposed to resemble a Japanese fighting robot and the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship. Max Moon is in the ring and Shawn comes out and he still has his retro theme song sung by the Sensational Sherri, before Shawn sung the song himself. Earlier when I said about the crowd being pumped, they are a bit subdued for this match. After a neat opening sequence, Michaels starts to take control over the match delivering arm drags and variable dropkicks. Doink the Clown then makes another appearance just casually walking to ringside and hysterically laughing. I have a feeling that Vince McMahon was trying to cash in on Stephen King's IT, when he came up with this character. As I am watching this, it is evident that Michaels was destined to be the guy who would be the face of the company, his in ring work accompanied with his mannerisms are a perfect mesh for at this stage in 1993, upper mid-card Shawn. Rob Bartlett is trying to do impressions on commentary and my god it is woeful. Shawn hits a superkick, then picks up Moon for a back suplex and retains. I realised as soon as the match ends that Mike Chioda was the referee, rocking a Billy Ray Cyrus mullet.
Up next is the Royal Rumble report from "Mean" Gene Okerlund who announces that there will be a match pitting the former Rockers Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty for the Intercontinental title. Shawn talks about how Marty is so "undeserving" and Sensational Sherri will be in his corner because why wouldn't she be?. We then a rundown of who is in the Royal Rumble. In the match we have the likes of Mr Perfect, The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Tito Santana, Yokozuna and my personal favourite Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan has a promo in which he says "I can't guarantee that I will win but I will give 110%". Essentially admitting that he doesn't think he will win but he will give the old college try. Back to Bobby Heenan on the outside, who after pretending to be a woman, is now dressed as a Jewish man, I am not making this up. He then proceeds to talk about how he needs to see his nephew Rob Bartlett, as his fake beard is flustering about all over the place. The reporter then realises it's Heenan to which Heenan responds "I'm gonna try the roof".
Now it's time for the main event where we see Damien Demento take on the phenom The Undertaker. Demento gets a jobber entrance, whilst old school Undertaker's presence three years into his WWF career is unprecedented. Undertaker gets whipped into the ropes and counters Demento with a front face take-down (I think that's what it's called). Undertaker then does old-school as he is firmly in control of this match-up. The match ends with The Undertaker hitting a tombstone on Damien Demento, pinning him 1-2-3.
That's the first Monday Night RAW over, who would have thought that over
20 years the product will still be going today. Stick around for the review of
episode number two, which is coming soon.
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