WWF Monday Night RAW (January 24, 1994)

Original Airdate: January 24, 1994 (Taped January 10)

From Richmond, Virginia; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jim Ross.

Opening Match: Lex Luger v Austin Steele: Last week, Terry Austin, this week, Austin Steele. Couple more tries, and they'll get it. Lex overpowers him in the early going, and he takes Steele down to the mat in a side-headlock. Meanwhile, McMahon and Ross let us know that not only is Luger a phenomenal athlete, but he was a great student as well! Luger with a side suplex, and a vertical version, as McMahon moves on to pimping WrestleMania X tickets. Powerslam, and a superplex finishes at 3:41. Hmm, that's the second squash in a row I've seen him use the superplex to finish. Were they trying to get that over as a new finisher for him? ¼*

Royal Rumble Report! Give it to them, a lot of these early 90s PPVs weren't the best, but they were all eventful, and they always made them seem like can't miss TV

Cute RAW Girl Sign of the Week: RAW Is Best

Jeff Jarrett v John Paul: Jeff tricks him with the stall tactics to start, but then lunges at him, and hits a dropkick. Clothesline, but Paul counters a bodyslam with an inside cradle for two. Sunset flip gets two, but Jarrett stomps him down before he can follow-up, and hits a backelbow. 2^nd rope fistdrop (I've always loved the way Jarrett flails on the way down with those), and he unleashes the previously blocked bodyslam. Slingshot suplex and a backdrop, but Jeff misses an elbowdrop, and Paul schoolboys him for two. John tries to turn it into a comeback, but Jeff quickly blocks a slam with a rollup - hooking the tights for the pin at 4:10. ½*

The Headshrinkers v Men on a Mission: God, the tag division sucked in 1994. Too bad the timing sucked, and Marty/Kid didn't get more of a run as a team. Fatu starts with Mo, and they waste time as Mo works the crowd, and Fatu stares at him like a moron. Just charge him, asshole! Fatu bails to the floor to consult manager Afa, and back in, Mo tries a facebuster, but Fatu pops up and superkicks him. Tag to Mabel, but Fatu stupidly tries a bodyslam - which gets reversed. He tries a suplex next, but that also gets reversed, and Mabel tags back out. Mo sends Fatu spiraling through the air with a clothesline, but takes a cheap shot from Samu during a criss cross, and Fatu hits a backbreaker. The 'Shrinkers cut the ring in half on Mo, but Fatu ends up getting crotched on the top as he tries to finish, and Mabel gets the tag. He's a house of arson, but Mo ends up getting caught with a superkick from Fatu during the four-way brawl, and the flying splash finishes him at 13:00. Way, way, way too long for the guys involved - this should have been half as long. But hey, at least it wasn't the Bushwhackers for thirteen minutes. ¼*

Adam Bomb v Tommy Angel: Bomb tosses him around to start, but Angel tries a pair of dropkick to comeback, only to telegraph a backdrop, and get clobbered. Side suplex followed by a flying clothesline, and Bomb finishes with the Atom Smasher at 3:14. Just going through the motions here. DUD

Thurman Plugg Vignette. I guess they forgot that he already worked the Royal Rumble

Doink v Joey Stallings: Didn't catch it, but I'd like to think Stallings was billed from Memphis. Cute bit, as Dink psyches the jobber out with an invisible dog before the bell. Doink with an overhead suplex right away (so much for the implied stalling), and he holds Stallings on the mat with a wristlock. Joey fights back with a sidewalk slam, but a dropkick misses, and Doink hits one of his own to rub it in. Side suplex, powerslam, and the Whoopee Cushion finishes things at 3:25. DUD

Royal Rumble Encore promo. Vince: the Royal Rumble encore, or Bill Clinton's State of the Union - your choice!

Shawn Michaels v Tyrone Knox: Knox tries a standing side-headlock early, but Shawn whips him into the ropes, and takes him down with a drop-toehold. Knox (who makes Shawn look like a giant) tries a wristlock next, but shrugs that off too, and dumps him to the floor for Diesel to abuse. Not sexually, though, unfortunately. Inside, Michaels plants a dropkick on him, and slaps on a chinlock. Knox escapes, but an Irish whip gets reversed, and Shawn superkicks him. Piledriver finishes at 4:20. Shawn had a great piledriver... the Superkick is a better finisher, but I wonder why he stopped working it in as much after switching, because it looks great regardless. ¼*

BUExperience: Boring episode, as this was all taped weeks before the Rumble, and the feature match was an overlong piece of shit.