WWF Monday Night RAW (January 25, 1993)

Original Airdate: January 25, 1993 (Taped: January 18)

From New York, New York; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett, and Bobby Heenan.

Sean Mooney opens the show outside of the arena with Repo Man, who shows up with Bartlett's car on a tow truck, and Randy Savage's hat in tow.

Opening Match: Randy Savage v Repo Man: WILL SAVAGE GET HIS HAT BACK?!?! Talk about high drama! And Randy is good and pissed, sneak attacking Repo, and pulling him out to the floor right away for a snapmare/kneedrop combo. Back in, Savage chokes the crap out of him, and hits a 2^nd rope kneedrop. High knee knocks Repo back out to the floor, but the referee stops Macho from diving after him with an axehandle. That allows Repo to try and bail, but Savage chases him up the aisle and drags him back to continue the beating - the poor referee looking to be near embolism trying to calm Savage down. Back out to the floor, Savage tries using the steps, but Repo reverses - Randy taking a really weak pair of bumps into them. He takes a better one into the post, and rolls him in for a cross corner whip. Bodyscissors slows the match down, and a legdrop gets two. Back to the bodyscissors, but Savage makes the ropes to break, so Repo levels him with a lariat. Repo taunts him with the hat ahead of hitting a side suplex for two, and he slaps on a chinlock. Backbreaker, but Savage blocks a 2^nd rope axehandle, and slams him to set up the Flying Elbowdrop at 12:00. What a waste of Randy Savage. ¼*

WrestleMania IX promo. The big selling point: Las Vegas is family friendly now! At least 40% fewer hookers!

Kamala v Brooklyn Brawler: Brawler tries a sneak attack, but Kamala can't spell that, and bodyslams him. Tomahawk chop knocks Brawler into the corner for some butt action, and a splash, but Kamala tries to pin him while on his stomach, so no go. Big boot (sans boot), but again, he covers him while on his belly, so no count. Chop and another splash, but Kamala still can't get that tricky pinfall thing figured out, so manager Slick lends an assist, and Kamala rolls him onto his back for the pin at 3:32. Basically just an inside joke in the guise of a match, as Brawler played Kim Chee - Kamala's masked handler prior to his face turn. DUD

Royal Rumble Report, as Gene Okerlund runs down the highlights of the pay per view from the night before.

Loser Leaves Town Match: Ric Flair v Mr. Perfect: Perfect is eager to get started, but Flair takes his time to lockup - Perfect getting frustrated. Criss cross goes Perfect's way with a drop-toehold, and he slaps Flair in the face - Ric quickly bailing to the floor to chat with Bobby Heenan. Back in, they trade hammerlocks, but Flair gets in trouble, so he tries chops - only to flop to the mat when Perfect returns fire. Flair backs off and calls for another collar-and-elbow tie-up, but Perfect outwrestles him on the mat, so Ric pops him with a kneelift, and chops him in the corner. Perfect returns fire, and adds a series of jabs to knock Flair back into the corner - only for Flair to rake the eyes. He knocks Perfect out to the floor and grabs a chair, but the referee wrestles it away from him. Undeterred, they take it back inside, and Perfect brilliantly sells a cross corner whip with a fall to the floor. Inside again, Flair unloads in the corner with jabs to the body, and Perfect sells another cross corner whip with a somersault. Perfect's bleeding now as Flair tries to end his career with a couple of rope-assisted covers, but he can't put him away. A slugfest goes Perfect's way for a two count, and a backslide gets two. Perfect with a backdrop, and Flair begs off - but Perfect is right on him with a ten-punch count. Flair with an inverted atomic drop and a schoolboy for two, but Perfect keeps coming, so Ric rolls to the floor. Perfect suplexes him back in for two, so Flair tries a sleeper, and Perfect fades - but desperately drops Flair into the corner to break. Perfect slaps on his own sleeper, and takes it to the mat for a few two counts, but Flair powers up, and side suplexes his way free. Rope-assisted Figure Four has Perfect shouting in pain, but he won't quit. Flair lets off, but the damage to the knee is done, and Ric zeroes in on it in the corner. Chops and a snapmare hits, but Perfect slams him as he goes to the top rope, so Flair pulls a pair of knux out of his kneepad - blasting Perfect with them for a dramatic two count. Angry, Flair starts firing off closed fists to the cut on Perfect's forehead, but Perfect starts no-selling chops in the corner - both men with amazing facial expressions to get it over. Perfect with chops of his own, and a backdrop sets up a hard right hand. Flair flips into the corner and gets clotheslined coming back in for two, so he begs off, and tries a rope-assisted cradle for two. Backdrop, but Perfect counters with the Perfect-Plex, and sends Flair back to WCW at 23:00. Really good (and rather famous) match here, a great payoff to their long building angle, and a great way to end Flair's first WWF run. Both guys worked an appropriately cautious match (careers on the line, after all), and watching Flair get increasingly desperate as it went on was great. *** ½

BUExperience:  It’s still weird to see a post pay per view RAW taped (as opposed to later, when 90% of the post-PPV episodes revolved around stuff from the night before), but even if it fell flat in that respect (other than Okerlund’s Rumble Report, they barely mentioned the show), this episode does feature the first great match in the shows run – and it’s a doozy. Add Savage/Repo (exactly the type of goofy early-90s fun guys like me grew up on), and you’ve got a winner.