What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – April 19, 1993

WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated tell the Beverly Brothers that they will not beat them when the Mega-Maniacs could not do it. Hard to disagree with that logic. The Beverlys rebut that they are going to show Money Incorporated what they are worth.

Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett, and Randy Savage are commentating, taped from Poughkeepsie, New York.

Opening Contest: Razor Ramon (10-1) pins Virgil (3-3) after the Razor’s Edge at 6:58:

Ramon has lost momentum because of a knee injury, wrestling only his second televised match in a month. He is still over, though, and the crowd cheers for him over his opponent. The match is bad as Ramon and Virgil struggle to get on the same page, creating awkward transitions for who is in control at any given time. Virgil dazes Ramon with a flying clothesline off the second rope but a reverse flying body press off the second rope misses, giving Ramon the opportunity to deliver the Razor’s Edge. Rating: ½*

Giant Gonzalez (w/Harvey Wippleman) (2-1) pins LA Gore after the chokeslam at 1:19:

It appears that Gonzalez’s WrestleMania ring gear was only temporary as the fur patches are back on his bodysuit. The match is mercifully kept short and Gonzalez struggles to get Gore up as high as one would expect for the chokeslam.

Luna Vachon does a taped promo with chains in the background about how Sensational Sherri put her nose where it did not belong at WrestleMania. Footage of Vachon beating Sherri up in the first aid station at the pay-per-view airs. Vachon promises to haunt Sherri’s dreams and wipe her from the Earth to become the goddess of the squared circle. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer claimed that Vachon’s promos were like the Ultimate Warrior’s but they were nowhere near as nonsensical as those of the former WWF champion.

Tatanka (14-0) defeats Art Thomas after the Papoose to Go at 2:29:

Thomas was better known to some WWF fans as Mark Thomas. He had been doing WWF enhancement matches since the late 1980s but last appeared in 1991 when he wrestled ten matches for the company.

The squash is business exposing as both men can be heard calling spots in the ring. Tatanka appears dazed during an Irish whip into the turnbuckles. Thomas is unsure what to do before Tatanka grabs an armbar and finishes soon after.

Non-Title Match: Money Incorporated (WWF Tag Team Champions) (7-1) defeat the Beverly Brothers (1-4) when Ted DiBiase pins Beau with a schoolboy roll up at 10:54 shown:

McMahon makes fun of Bartlett, saying that he does not have enough knowledge to render an educated opinion about the match. It is hard to see what the WWF was going for in this match because heel vs. heel matches suffer from the crowd not wanting to cheer for either side. That affects this match, made worse by neither team deciding to increase their level of cheating to outdo the other side. It is also an indictment of the Beverlys that the crowd will not even give them token support despite hating Money Incorporated. Blake makes the stupid decision to tag Beau back in shortly after getting the “hot” tag. That does not cost the team, though, as Beau backdrops DiBiase and IRS has to prevent his partner from getting pinned. IRS is driven from the ring and the Beverlys try to finish DiBiase but, just like on Wrestling Challenge a day earlier, they miscommunicate and Beau clotheslines Blake out of the ring. DiBiase then rolls Beau up for the win. The announcers allude to the Beverlys having disagreements but the camera cuts away before there is a breakup angle. This would be the Beverlys last televised match together as Beau would leave the company with a back injury after a European tour. Rating: *½

McMahon interviews Bret Hart. Bret tells people not to count him out as he has lost titles before. He speaks of having a hit list with Lex Luger at the top, followed by Yokozuna and Hulk Hogan. While Bret established the foundations of what he was going to be doing for the rest of the year, he did not seem enthusiastic about feuding with Luger.

Bam Bam Bigelow (18-1) defeats Phil Apollo after the flying headbutt at 4:41:

As Bigelow pulverizes Apollo, Doink the Clown wanders out to spray fans with water from an umbrella. The squash overstays its welcome, causing the crowd to get restless when Bigelow works a dragon sleeper near the ropes. Bigelow gets some of them back with a back splash and doing a flying headbutt to Apollo after the match.

When Bigelow thinks of doing a third flying headbutt, Friar Ferguson comes out and puts a stop to it, dropkicking Bigelow from the ring.

Tune in next week to see Crush face Lex Luger!

The Last Word: While last week’s episode was entertaining, this week’s was the opposite. All the matches were poor and the ending of the show meant nothing because the Friar Ferguson character was dropped. Even Bret Hart found it difficult to focus in his promo, seemingly resigned to playing second fiddle to Hulk Hogan for as long as Hogan decides to stick around. The only good thing that came out of this broadcast is that it was the last appearance for Rob Bartlett, who reportedly hated doing the shows and knew he was out of his element.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for April 24!

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