What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – February 15, 1993

Brutus Beefcake promises to prove to Ted DiBiase that he is healed and ready for action. DiBiase and Jimmy Hart rebut that Beefcake’s face will be the least of his worries. Hart is worried that DiBiase is taking things too far.

Vince McMahon, Rob Barlett, and Randy Savage are in the booth, taped from the Manhattan Center in New York City.

Opening Contest: The Steiner Brothers (5-0) beat Glen Ruth & Bobby Who when Scott pins Who after the Steinerizer at 3:32:

Who’s name gives way to some “Who” jokes from McMahon. That must have been the genesis of the Who jobber character who appeared in 1996. Savage has some technical issues with his headset. Him going wild about that makes for some laughs. The Steiners are crowd favorites in the Manhattan Center and their pops for a release dragon suplex to Ruth and double underhook suplex to Who make Scott smile.

Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) (7-1) pins Ross Greenberg after the sit-down splash off the second rope at 2:01:

Greenberg was trained by 1980s and early 1990s WWF enhancement talent Mario Mancini. The WWF started using him for enhancement matches in 1991 and gave him a few tryouts for a longer term role. In 1992 Greenberg appeared five times

Savage’s headset is still not working. Despite criticisms, the angle with Hacksaw Jim Duggan has added some heat to Yokozuna’s matches as the crowd works up a loud “USA!” chant. Yokozuna has also settled on a red tights look, which he would settle on for the rest of his WWF run. Greenberg is squashed like a bug, pleasing the more sadistic elements of the crowd.

McMahon says that Giant Gonzalez wanted to be in the 16-man battle royal later tonight but the participants refused to compete against him. This is followed by footage of Gonzalez’s squash on Superstars.

15-Man Battle Royal: Razor Ramon wins due to Giant Gonzalez’s interference at 12:56 shown:

Other participants: Bob Backlund, El Matador, the Berzerker, Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Kim Chee, Skinner, Tatanka, Shawn Michaels, Mike Sharpe, Damien Demento, Typhoon, Kamala, and Terry Taylor.

There are 15 men in the match because Giant Gonzalez was barred from entering lest everyone boycott. Savage steals Bartlett’s microphone, helping commentary by sidelining Bartlett for the rest of the program. In a twist from usual battle royals, the participants stand outside of the ring until ring announcer Howard Finkel leaves and then they slide in and start fighting. What would help the match is if there were stakes rather than being a showcase to fill television time. As it is, there is a lot of punching and kicking, which McMahon acknowledges on commentary, without much in the way of redeeming action. Kamala is given a small boost by getting rid of battle royal afficionado the Berzerker in what would be the Berzerker’s last televised appearance. He is serenaded with “Hus!” chants from the crowd on the way to the locker room. The Kamala-Kim Chee feud continues as Kim Chee takes opportunistic shots at his former charge and runs away when Kamala can do anything to him. Kim Chee helps Typhoon eliminate Kamala, just to have Kamala re-enter the ring, throw Kim Chee over the top rope, and then chase him through the crowd. There is a funny bit of Skinner surviving several elimination attempts and doing a dance after one of them just to get thrown out by Typhoon moments later. The final four come down to Michaels and Ramon teaming up to battle El Matador and Tatanka in what would make a fun tag match for a syndicated program. The babyfaces double team the Intercontinental champion and toss him out, providing a unique two-on-one babyface advantage at the end of a battle royal. However, Giant Gonzalez interferes and throws Tatanka and El Matador out. Ramon avoided the carnage by falling out the ring and in great heel fashion, he poses as the winner when he recovers like he did all the work. That finish was awful as the WWF tries to find ways to get Gonzalez over without exposing his lack of in-ring ability. Rating: *½

Brutus Beefcake beats Ted DiBiase (w/Jimmy Hart) via disqualification when Irwin R. Schyster interferes at 4:24:

Beefcake started his career in 1977. He worked in various Southern territories, including Mid-South, and came into the WWF as a heel in late 1984. Beefcake wrestled at the first WrestleMania against David Sammartino and was moved into a tag team in the summer of 1985 with Greg Valentine. The pairing was called the Dream Team and they beat the U.S. Express for the WWF Tag Team Championship, which they would hold until WrestleMania II, where they dropped the straps to the British Bulldogs. Beefcake turned babyface at WrestleMania III when Dino Bravo replaced him in the team with Valentine and Beefcake ran into the ring to help cut Adrian Adonis’ hair. Adopting a barber gimmick, Beefcake surged up the babyface ranks. In the summer of 1989 he teamed with Hulk Hogan to face Randy Savage and Zeus at SummerSlam and the following summer he was primed to win the Intercontinental Championship from Mr. Perfect. However, a parasailing accident on July 4 nearly killed him and killed all the momentum he had worked hard to build. As he recovered, the WWF had him host a Barber Shop interview segment on Wrestling Challenge and had him dress up in a mask as a character called the Mariner in 1991, who defended babyfaces against heel wrestlers like Earthquake and Rick Martel. That character never appeared in a match, though, as the WWF worried about the lingering effects of Beefcake’s facial injuries.

This is not a great venue for Beefcake to return to as these fans saw his awful promo two weeks ago and he does not get a pop for his entrance. While Beefcake is able to work the crowd into the match, he is a relic of the WWF Golden Age and does not fit as neatly into the new generation that McMahon has spent the past year cultivating. There is barely any wrestling as Beefcake frustrates DiBiase’s attempts to lock up, DiBiase stalls, and then IRS comes to ringside and hits Beefcake in the back with his briefcase. Rating: ¼*

After the bell, Money Incorporated beatdown Beefcake. If this happened two years ago, the crowd would have cheered for Hulk Hogan. However, fans do not even think about chanting for Hogan’s name. DiBiase holds Beefcake in place for IRS to hit him in the face with the briefcase and Hart tries to stop it. He gets shoved aside by IRS, though, and Beefcake takes the blow. Beefcake is stretchered out afterward, clutching his face. The camera shows a blood stain on the canvas from where Beefcake was laying.

McMahon tells fans after a commercial break that Beefcake is okay and is standing up in the locker room. In a preview of next week’s show he also teases that Hulk Hogan may appear.

Tune in next week to see Tatanka & the Nasty Boys face Shawn Michaels & the Beverly Brothers! Also, WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated will be in action!

The Last Word: This is one of those shows where the angles and feud development outweighed the action in the ring. The Brutus Beefcake angle was handled well but the WWF is overdoing stretcher spots over the past month as Crush and Hacksaw Jim Duggan have also been carted away. Since Vince McMahon talked about Hulk Hogan at the end of the broadcast it is obvious that Hogan will show up next week and that is going to be a game changer.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for February 20!

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