What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – February 22, 1993

Rob Bartlett is near the crowd, showing off a “Hulk” sign and saying that it is proof that wrestling fans can spell.

Vince McMahon, Barlett, and Randy Savage are doing commentary, live from the Manhattan Center in New York City. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a sellout crowd of 1,000 fans.

Opening Contest: Bam Bam Bigelow (10-0) pins Scott Taylor after the flying headbutt at 3:00:

Taylor started his career while attending high school in Portland, Maine in 1989. He started doing enhancement work for the WWF in 1991 after longtime enhancement worker Phil Apollo vouched for him. In 1992 he wrestled six times for the WWF, losing to Skinner, the Berzerker, Rick Martel, the Beverly Brothers, Kamala, and Papa Shango. It would take several years of enhancement appearances before Taylor got a push under his own name, breaking out in the Attitude Era as Scotty 2 Hotty.

There is a small vote of confidence in the young Taylor in that he gets to blast Bigelow with a clothesline off the ropes and float out of a suplex. Savage praises that but it is for naught as Taylor gets on Bigelow’s shoulders to rain down some blows just to get electric chair dropped in the end. Bigelow uses two flying headbutts to finish because the first one required him to jump nearly halfway across the ring and Bigelow likely thought it did not look good.

McMahon does a studio interview with Hulk Hogan. This is the first time that Hogan has been seen since WrestleMania VIII. In response to public criticisms about him over the last few years, Hogan tells people that he is not perfect, criticizes “tabloid terrorism,” and appreciates the fans who have stuck with him. He has a new “demandment” for Hulkamania that sounds like the tenet of a religion: “Believe in Hulk Hogan.”

Tatanka & the Nasty Boys beat Shawn Michaels & the Beverly Brothers when Tatanka pins Michaels with a roll up at 12:36 shown:

The Nasties are very over with the Manhattan Center crowd. The babyfaces dominate for six minutes until after a commercial break. When the match returns from that break, one wonders if McMahon wants to kill Bartlett when he says that the wrestlers have just been laying around before the show came back on the air. Tatanka and Michaels are kept away from each other until the hot tag. The Beverlys do a terrible job blunting Tatanka’s momentum until after he plants Michaels with the Papoose to Go. As the Beverlys and Nasties brawl on the outside, Tatanka floats out of a Teardrop Suplex effort and sunset flips Michaels, notching another win against the champion in their feud. There was some good action but it suffered from a lack of interesting offense from the heels. It was later revealed that Michaels separated his shoulder in the middle of the match, so that did not help. Rating: **¼

Sean Mooney is outside, talking with fans who are excited that Hulk Hogan is coming back.

Crush (5-0) beats Terry Taylor (1-1) via submission to the head vice at 3:27:

McMahon and Bartlett do a bad call-in bit with “Arnold Schwarzenegger” about Hogan wanting to be the President’s ambassador of physical fitness. The WWF was starting to move Taylor to a production role so this is a glorified squash for Crush. Rating: *

McMahon does an in-ring interview with Hulk Hogan. Hogan gets a good reaction but it is strange to see him in a small venue like the Manhattan Center. He thanks Jimmy Hart for preventing further damage to Beefcake at the hands of Money Incorporated and he announces that he is back in the WWF. His first order of business will be to go after Money Incorporated. Beefcake, who has a bandage on his nose, is welcomed out to offer some generic thanks. Then, Hogan has Jimmy Hart come to the ring. Even though Hogan wants fans to cheer Hart they have been conditioned for years to hate him and do not take his turn as genuine. Hart hypes Hogan and Beefcake as the next great tag team and tells the WWF Tag Team champions that they need to say their prayers. Hogan dubs his team with Beefacke “The Mega-Maniacs” and he orders Hart to get he and Beefcake matches against Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster. This segment was a great illustration of the economic law of diminishing returns as Hogan got a big pop, got a decent reaction for his promo, and then the crowd died when Beefcake and Hart came into the picture.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (6-0) wrestles Skinner (1-1) until the show goes off the air at 55 seconds shown:

The WWF hastily throws this match on even though there are only three minutes left on the show. And then the show goes to commercial after the Undertaker’s entrance, which is long enough anyway! The only action fans see is Skinner choking the Undertaker with his alligator claw. McMahon promises to show the rest of the match next week but that would not occur. In the arena, the Undertaker won but that does not count as it did not make the air.

Tune in next week to see WWF Champion Bret Hart face one of the Headshrinkers!

The Last Word: Everything about this show was centered around Hulk Hogan’s return. Fans were excited to see him but are less enamored to see him paired with an aging Brutus Beefcake and old heel manager Jimmy Hart. It seemed like too many expect Hart to turn on Hogan, which was valid because Hart has pinballed around the tag team division for the past year and every major angle over the WWF Tag Team Championship has involved him in some way. Even though Hogan has only been gone a year, the WWF changed substantially in his absence, not just in terms of its roster but its production. Hogan was a great fit for the superhero era of the 1980s but his act of demanding vitamins, prayers, and belief does not fit the rebellious culture of the 1990s. He would have been best served by making some alterations to his gimmick but the only change the WWF seems willing to do is posit him as a quasi-religious figure by demanding fans believe in him and place him in the tag team ranks. Ratings for this show also disappointed as Hogan’s return only posted a 3.0 share, a drop from the 3.3 share of the previous episode.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for February 27!