What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – May 31, 1993

Hacksaw Jim Duggan dedicates this episode to members of the United States military.

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are doing commentary, live from the Manhattan Center in New York City. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a crowd of 750 fans, the lowest for a RAW episode to date.

Opening Contest for the Intercontinental Championship: Marty Jannetty (Champion w/Sensational Sherri) (6-1) defeats Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) (24-1-1) via count out at 9:01 shown:

Bigelow and Vachon look good together, outclassing the awkward pairing of Jannetty and Sherri. Before the match starts, Sherri goes after Vachon and after Bigelow pulls Vachon to the floor he ambushes the champion in the ring. There is an impressive spot early where Bigelow throws Jannetty high into the air for a backdrop but Jannetty lands on his feet. Unfortunately, Jannetty is not able to capitalize after that impressive feat as he runs into a bearhug. The ladies stay in the corners and let the action in the ring speak for itself as Jannetty gets some hot near-falls trying to cut Bigelow down to size. Late in the bout, Sherri grabs Bigelow’s foot when he runs the ropes and Jannetty knocks Bigelow to the floor when he grabs Sherri’s hair. Jannetty dives onto the Beast from the East but Bigelow outbrawls him on the floor. However, Bigelow rolls the champion into the ring and keeps yelling at Sherri, getting counted out. The finish was bad but the athleticism that these two possessed created a great big man-small match. One senses that Jannetty was trying to make the most out of his return and show that he deserved a strong push in the singles ranks. Rating: ***

After the bell, Bigelow gets some of his heat back by giving Jannetty a back splash.

New Jersey Nets center Dwayne Schintzius is in attendance!

When the show returns from a commercial break, Sherri calls out Vachon. One referee is not enough to keep Vachon from answering the challenge and they brawl on the floor. Sherri slams Vachon but Bigelow comes out and holds Sherri in place so Vachon can rip Sherri’s blouse and lay in some blows. Tatanka runs in and makes the save to end the segment, helping Sherri to the locker room with the help of an official. All of this did a good job reheating the Sherri-Vachon feud that had stalled.

The Steiner Brothers (19-0) defeat Rich Myers & the Executioner when Scott pins Myers after the Steinerizer at 4:14:

The punishment initially dished out by the Steiners is tame compared to their past matches and the crowd does not react. That changes when Scott hoists Myers up and does the Steiner Screwdriver. After that, the Steinerizer is cruel and unusual punishment.

New York Giants running back Lee Rouson is in attendance!

The announce team highlights how El Matador faces Fatu on WWF Mania. Also, The King of the Ring Hotline opens!

Mr. Hughes (9-0) pins Bert Centeno after the sidewalk slam at 2:59:

Heenan tells fans that Harvey Wippleman is not by Hughes’ side because he is sick from the flu. The crowd does not care about the match, working up a loud “Hogan sucks!” chant. McMahon hypes an appearance by Mr. Perfect in a charity golf tournament, saying that it shows that he does not see Hughes as a big threat in the King of the Ring Tournament.

The announcers discuss how the All American Wrestling feature match this week will be Crush against Razor Ramon.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan (11-1) pins Mark Thomas after the three-point stance clothesline at 2:20:

Thomas first did WWF enhancement matches in 1989 but did not make any televised appearances in 1992. The WWF did use him to job to independent tag team Double Trouble at a house show.

Duggan gets this squash so the WWF can commemorate Memorial Day and lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance afterward.

Razor Ramon (14-2) defeats Tony Roy after the Razor’s Edge at 3:29:

Savage leads the crowd in a “1, 2, 3” chant while Ramon makes his entrance. Considering the history between them last year it is fitting that Savage would take joy in Ramon’s situation. The squash has some nice booking as Roy takes advantage of a distracted Ramon to trap him in two schoolboy roll ups and the crowd bites on each one. McMahon wonders how Ramon has a chance in the King of the Ring Tournament if he cannot beat someone like the Kid.

Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji come to ringside, making McMahon angry because they are waving the Japanese flag on Memorial Day. Fuji feigns ignorance of the holiday. McMahon misreads the audience and thinks they are going to pop when he reminds Yokozuna and Fuji that they are facing Hulk Hogan in a few weeks at The King of the Ring. The crowd boos loudly at the reminder. Yokozuna speaks his first English in a promo, promising that Hogan will die. McMahon teases a Hogan appearance on next week’s show as Hacksaw Jim Duggan is seen waving an American flag in the balcony as the show goes off the air.

Tune in next week to see El Matador battle Adam Bomb! One member of the Smoking Gunns teams with a Steiner brother to face a member of the Headshrinkers and a member of Money Incorporated! And Jerry Lawler will host Yokozuna on the King’s Court!

The Last Word: The opening match was a good showcase for Marty Jannetty and Bam Bam Bigelow and reheated the Bigelow-Tatanka and Sensational Sherri-Luna Vachon feuds. The show fell into a lull after that but the entertaining Razor Ramon squash and the comedy of Vince McMahon not reading the crowd’s hatred of Hulk Hogan ended the show on a good note.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for June 5!

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