WWF Monday Night RAW (November 22, 1993)

Original Airdate: November 22, 1993

Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan from a studio, as this is a special edition of RAW, made up of highlights from the WWF’s Survivor Series Showdown special that aired the day before – which itself was made up from matches at various tapings in November. Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon provide commentary for the matches.

Opening WWF Title Match: Yokozuna v Bret Hart: Hart goes right at him with a barrage of closed fists, but a bodypress gets nicely countered with a bodyslam - only for Yoko to miss an elbowdrop follow-up, and get dropkicked out of the ring! Yoko stalls out there, and back in, Hart tries hammering him with more punches, but gets swatted away with a clothesline. Yoko goes to work with his usual punch-kick-plod-nervehold stuff, and it spills out to the floor for Yoko to paste him with a chair. Back in, Yoko continues to work Hart over with his brutally slow stuff, with Hart wonderfully timing his comeback attempts to try and keep this fresh. Yoko with a legdrop, but an avalanche misses, and Bret pops off a hangman’s clothesline for two. 2^nd rope clothesline is caught by the champ, but Bret bites him to avoid a bearhug, and delivers a 2^nd rope bulldog for two. 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop gets two, but Hart injures his knee on the landing, and has trouble following up - taking a belly-to-belly suplex from the big man. Splash, but Bret rolls out of the way, and he locks on the Sharpshooter! Brother Owen Hart runs down to make sure Mr. Fuji doesn't pull a WrestleMania IX, but fails to stop Fuji from whacking Bret with the salt bucket, so he runs in and attacks Yoko himself - Bret disqualified at 17:00. Wow, that was longer than either of their WrestleMania main events. Hart was excellent as always (his selling and timing were impeccable), but Yoko's offense period was brutally slow and plodding. I did like the nice bit of foreshadowing for Owen's upcoming heel turn, though, and that was well done. ½*

Survivor Series Report

IRS v Marty Jannetty: Both guys are on opposing teams for Survivor Series. Lots of stalling to start, as IRS deals with the crowds taunting chants. He wins the initial lockup with a slam, and wins the second with a hiptoss - Marty backing into the corner to regroup. Jannetty returns fire with a bodyslam of his own on the third go, and a pair of dropkicks put IRS on the outside. Back in, IRS gets him on the mat in a chinlock, and switches to an abdominal stretch when Jannetty tries to escape. Marty manages a hiptoss to break, and cross corner whips Irwin. Kneelift gets two, as does a sunset flip, and a diving backelbow gets two. Criss cross, but IRS catches him with the Write Off for the pin at 8:00. Total house show stuff here, but Marty looked game. ¼*

Really weird closing segment as Shawn Michaels and Reo Rogers (don't ask) show up at 'Hart House' in the middle of the night, and find an 'Stu and Helen Hart' (guys in Halloween masks), and mock them

BUExperience: For a show designed solely as an infomercial for Survivor Series, this did not make me want to see Survivor Series. At all. Enough said.