WWF Monday Night RAW (October 11, 1993)

Original Airdate: October 11, 1993 (Taped September 27)

From New Haven, Connecticut; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Bobby Heenan.

Opening WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Razor Ramon v Rick Martel: Vince: 'Today is Columbus Day in America, and Columbus was Spanish, so if Razor Ramon can win the Intercontinental Title tonight, this will be a truly great day for all those of Spanish extraction.' Savage then wonders if, perhaps, a town will be named after Razor Ramon should he win the gold. Vince thinks so, as does Bobby - though Heenan specifies that the town will be in the ghetto. I'm giving this match at least four-stars based on this commentary alone. This is like Ali G run amok. Shovefest to start, but Martel makes the mistake of slapping Razor across the face, and ends up in an overhead wristlock. Rick counters into a hammerlock, but Razor reverses, so Martel takes him down with a drop-toehold, and does some jumping jacks. Martel dodges him coming into the corner, but a bodypress backfires when Ramon catches him in a blockbuster, and the Model bails. Back in, Martel manages to get him in a front-facelock, but Razor scoops him onto the apron, and uses the ropes as a slingshot to bring him back in for a wristlock. Rick knocks him to the outside to break, and actually manages a bodyslam on the floor, then brings him back in for a series of whips into the corner. Side suplex gets two, and a high knee to the lower back sets up the Boston Crab. He gets it on, but Ramon makes the ropes, so Rick gives him a sidewalk slam. Wow, Martel is really busting out some interesting big-man stuff for the smaller of the two. Crab again, but this time the ropes are well out of reach, and Razor is forced to exert a lot of energy countering into a sunset cradle for two. Martel pops up and dropkicks him for two, and he tries a flying bodypress, but Ramon rolls through for two. Martel blasts him with a clothesline for two before he can capitalize, but ends up putting his head down for a backdrop, and taking the Razors Edge at 11:00. Good match! Not a classic, or anything, but it did exactly what it needed to, and put Ramon over strong as the new champion. **

The Headshrinkers v Tommy Morrison and Sid Curtis: Samu starts with Morrison, and quickly backdrops him into a tag. Curtis doesn't fare well either, and takes a double-team headbutt from the 'Shrinkers, and Fatu savate kicks him before tossing him out to the floor for Samu to slam. Back in, they double-clothesline him near out of his boots, and then drag him to his corner to force a tag to Morrison. Double-forward Russian legsweep for him, and Fatu flying splashes him for the pin at 3:48. ¼*

Survivor Series promo

Cute RAW Girl Sign of the Week: Rock N Raw

Owen Hart v Scott King: Owen is wearing the Blue Blazer tights here, though without the mask, thankfully. He works a wristlock right away, and King's attempt at a reversal allows Owen to show off his flippy-floppy counter. Bodyslam sets up a chinlock, and a monkeyflip sets up a dropkick. Snap suplex and a gutwrench version, and Hart blasts him with a pair of European uppercuts. Hanging vertical suplex sets up a 2^nd rope elbowdrop, and he goes back to the chinlock to call the finish. Snapmare sets up a kneedrop, and Owen adds a backdrop. Belly-to-belly suplex, missile dropkick, and a Northern lights suplex finish King at 3:33. Hell of a squash there, as Hart was not at all shy about busting out a ton of stuff, ahead of his singles push. ¾*

Vince McMahon brings Ludvig Borga out for an in-ring interview. He trashes America (topics: illiteracy, bad smelling people - maybe Borga should just stop hanging out with wrestling fans?), and then turns his attention to Lex Luger - who apparently looks like a garbage truck driver. What is his obsession with garbage and garbage trucks? This is, like, the third interview/vignette I've seen with him where his big focus was calling Lex Luger a garbage truck driver. I don't know what the connotation is in Finland, but here in the US, having a job in waste management generally means you're mobbed up. Anyway, Luger ends up coming out to clarify the status of his trash collection employment, and he tells Borga to 'love America, or leave it.' Then, he takes his shirt off, but apparently that means something else in Finland, too, because Borga's is out of there

Adam Bomb v Russ Greenberg: Snaro! Bomb now has Harvey Wippleman as his manager - a much better fit than goofy Johnny Polo, who was much better suited to the Quebecers. I like how the big selling point for Bomb is not, 'oh, here's this crazy big motherfucker who can hit flying clotheslines,' but rather, 'he has yellow eyes!!!' Bomb destroys Greenberg in the corner, and a standing dropkick knocks Russ to the outside. Adam drags him back in for a slingshot shoulderblock, and side suplexes him before hitting the Atom Smasher at 2:30. Just a quickie squash, but he HAS YELLOW EYES!!! ¼*

The Rock 'n' Roll Express v Duane Gill and Barry Hardy: After all these years, this is actually the very first WWF appearance of the famed Rock 'n' Roll Express. They are SMW tag champions at this point (even wearing the belts out), but those aren't on the line. And man, do they look old. Like, seriously, watching them do the teen idol routine (complete with hugging girls on the way to the ring) is just sad. Anyway, Robert Gibson starts with Hardy, and wins a criss cross with an enzuigiri. Tag to Ricky Morton for a kneelift, and Hardy tags. Gill charges into a backdrop, and takes a bearhug/jumping clothesline combo for two. Hardy runs back in, but misses a blind charge, and the Express wishbone him. Double dropkick, and Gibson scores the fall at 1:50. I'd bet these four could hit three-stars if given ten minutes, but as is, this was nothing. ¼*

BUExperience: Not bad this week. Nothing earth shattering, but Ramon winning his first title in the WWF is certainly noteworthy, as is the WWF debut of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (even if they didn’t amount to much, it’s still significant), and the rest is all passable.