WWF Monday Night RAW (June 21, 1993)

Original Airdate: June 21, 1993

From Poughkeepsie, New York; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage.

Opening WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Steiner Brothers v Reno Riggins and Barry Hardy: The Steiners had just picked up the belts from Money Inc for the first time a few days prior at a house show, but were already two time champions, as they did a quickie back-and-forth house show switch with DiBiase and IRS between then and this. Scott Steiner starts with Riggins, and nearly tears his arm out of the socket with an armdrag. Scott shoots at the leg to take Riggins down into a spinning-toehold, but Reno makes the ropes. Scott responds with a head-and-arm suplex, and poor Riggins is keen to tag out. Hardy doesn't have much better luck, and catches an inverted atomic drop from Rick Steiner. Rick dumps him into the corner with an inverted powerslam, and tags back to Scott for an overhead suplex, but Scotty is sick of Hardy, and forces a tag to Riggins. He takes a belly-to-belly suplex right away, and Scott nearly breaks his neck with a Frankensteiner to finish at 3:51. You'd think, given that the Steiner's had just won the tag titles for the first time, that this would have been a but more lively, but you'd be wrong. DUD

King of the Ring Encore Promo

2/3 Falls Match: Marty Jannetty v Doink: Jannetty is dressed like Ricky Morton dipped in Easter egg paint here. Doink hangs in the corner, and beckons Jannetty - doing the creepiest of evil grins in the process. Marty doesn't fall for it, so Doink takes a cheap shot, and slaps on a standing side-headlock. Marty turns it into a big criss cross, and catches the clown with a monkeyflip, but Doink blocks an armbar with a handful of hair. Doink continues to play mind games with Marty, but Jannetty outsmarts him, and delivers a facebuster. Wristlock, so Doink tries another criss cross, but an attempt at a monkeyflip of his own is countered with a fistdrop for two. Back to the arm, but Doink makes the ropes, and rolls out to the floor to catch a breather. Back in, Doink tries a cross corner whip, but gets countered into a monkeyflip again for two, and a backslide gets Jannetty two. Monkeyflip in the corner again, but Doink sidesteps it this time, and creams him with the Whoopee Cushion at 7:16. Doink keeps right on him with closed fists in the corner, and a cross corner whip is nicely sold by Jannetty. Doink taunts him with slaps and shoves him out of the ring for a flying axehandle on the outside. Inside, that gets two, and Doink gets cute: purposely telegraphing a backdrop - causing Jannetty to fall on his ass as he swings his legs for a kick. Chinlock, but Marty powers into a cradle for two, and a snap suplex follows. To the top, but the referee protests (who is he, Bill Watts?), so Marty hops down and superkicks him, but Doink's in the ropes, so no pin. Another facebuster, and a flying fistdrop (brushing off the referees protests this time) wins the fall at 12:08. Doink begs off in the corner, but Marty gives him an atomic drop and a clothesline for two. Doink bails, but it's another trick, as he suckers Marty over to the apron, then sweeps him for a shot into the post. Doink with a figure four, which Heenan calls as 'I'm in the figure four and I can't get up!' Marty reverses the hold, but Doink is in the ropes again to break. Jannetty can't stand on the bad leg, and Doink immediately capitalizes by shoving him into the corner for some kicks to the leg. Marty tries to comeback with a backdrop, but the knee is slowing him down too much, and Doink takes him down into an STF. Doink goes up top for the kill, but Marty manages to slam him off as the clown contends with the referee. Jannetty gets a second wind with a jumping backelbow, and a ten-punch in the corner draws the second Doink out - hiding underneath the ring. The crowd alerts Jannetty to it, and he rolls out to look for him, but that only allows Doink to baseball slide into him. The clown posts him next, but Marty manages to dropkick him on the way back into the ring, and Doink switches places with his doppelganger. The second Doink hammers the fatigued Jannetty, and finishes him with a piledriver at 21:00. But no, as Randy Savage charges into the ring to protest, and pulls the original Doink out from underneath the ring to show the official, and he reverses the decision in Jannetty's favor! Really good match, given plenty of time, and loaded with wonderful psychology that built on previous sequences. ***

Mr. Hughes v Bobby Who: Who stupidly tries for a handshake, and gets his head taken off. Hughes with a dropkick and a bodyslam for two, then a gutwrench suplex for two, before finally finishing with the scrapbuster at 2:58. Well, it's no wonder Hughes didn't last long, that's for damn sure. DUD

Razor Ramon v 1-2-3 Kid: Razor's got the $10,000 he's offering the Kid for this match in a sack, set on the apron like Damian. Kid is less than eager to jump in, and stalls, but catches an incoming Razor with a turnbuckle smash, and a flying sunset flip for two. Kid with a spinheel kick for two, and lightning kicks sets up a bodypress, but Ramon catches him in a blockbuster. Now it's punishment time, and Razor gets his monies worth - smacking the Kid around like a prison bitch. He folds him up like an accordion with a chokeslam, and slaps on an abdominal stretch - not even trying to the submission, but rather just toying with the Kid. Running powerslam and a side superplex, but Razor's still not ready to cover, and calls for the Razors Edge. But, no no. Kid doesn't get off that easy. Razor tosses him out to the floor, and pulls up the mats to give it to him on the exposed concrete instead - only for Kid to backdrop out! Kid goes to the top for a dive, but gets overexcited, and slips - landing face first on the exposed concrete (his head BOUNCING) in a horrifying botch. Vince: 'well, a gallant effort by the 1-2-3 Kid.' What compassion! Razor rolls him in (after checking to make sure he's not, like, dead), but Kid still manages to dodge a blind charge, and hit a flying moonsault - but it only gets two this time. Kid decides 'fuck it,' and grabs the sack with the $10,000, and makes a run for it - Ramon on his tail right out into the streets for a double countout at 5:15. Kid’s selling carried this, but holy shit, that botch was just terrifying to watch. Even having seen it dozens of times over the years, I still can’t believe he was okay. ¾*

You'd Fuck Her On A Dare RAW Girl Sign of the Week: Are You RAW

BUExperience: It’s not really a great episode, but it kinda is, because Doink/Jannetty is good, and takes up about half of the runtime, so, really, it’s a winner right there. Plus, the Ramon/Kid angle continues to be entertaining, so this is worth checking out.