What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – October 11, 1993

There is a nice video package that recaps last week’s Intercontinental title battle royal and how hard it is to win a championship in the WWF.

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are commentating, concluding a long taping in New Haven, Connecticut.

Opening Contest for the Vacant Intercontinental Championship: Razor Ramon (29-3-2) pins Rick Martel (1-1-1) after the Razor’s Edge to win the title at 10:45 shown:

Martel has been a workhorse at this taping, wrestling his third match. McMahon and Savage talk about how it would be a big day for Hispanic Americans on Columbus Day if Ramon were to win even though Scott Hall is not actually of Hispanic extraction. Heenan makes a better observation that all the WWF’s titles will be held by foreigners if Martel were to win. Martel survives Ramon’s initial onslaught and starts working the back after a commercial break. He applies the Boston Crab but Ramon’s size helps him reach the ropes. Martel just goes back to it after a side suplex in the middle of the ring but Ramon powers out. That leads to a hot series of near-falls from roll ups, a Martel dropkick, Ramon rolling through a Martel flying body press, and Martel clothesline. The frenzied action causes Martel to make a mistake by putting his head down too early on an Irish whip, leading to him eating a knee lift and Razor’s Edge. The Razor’s Edge spot demonstrates Scott Hall’s power as Martel resists being lifted for the hold but Hall does it anyway. There is a big crowd pop for the announcement of Ramon as the new champion and this was a good match to put him over. Rating: ***¼

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) (24-2-1) beat Tommy Morrison & Sid Curtis when Fatu pins Morrison after the splash off the top rope at 3:48:

Morrison is of no relation to the boxer of the same name. The jobbers are wiped out by the usual Headshrinker offense, with Curtis getting knocked out by a double clothesline and Morrison finished shortly thereafter. This result gives the Headshrinkers ten-straight victories.

Owen Hart (9-5) beats Scott King after the Northern Lights suplex at 3:34:

King was an East Coast independent wrestler who started his career in 1989. He would later go on to book and own the Eastern Wrestling Alliance in the early 2000s.

There are discussions about the size of the Hart Family. It is mixed with Survivor Series talk, leading one to believe that Jerry Lawler might have to get a crew together to battle the Harts at the pay-per-view. There is also mention of Terry Funk making an appearance on Radio WWF, a clue that he might be coming in. Owen gets to double digit singles wins this year with the help of a belly-to-belly suplex, missile dropkick, and Northern Lights suplex. He needs to find some traction with something, though.

McMahon conducts an in-ring interview with Ludvig Borga. Borga’s delivery is wooden and his anti-American lines are tired. Lex Luger interrupts the segment, saying that he is sick of Borga’s rhetoric. The crowd starts chanting “USA” but Luger spams the “Let me tell you something!” line too much as he tells Borga to go home if he hates America. Borga refuses to engage Luger in a physical confrontation, though, because he would prefer to do so at a time of his choosing.

Adam Bomb (w/Harvey Wippleman) (23-0) pins Ross Greenberg after the Atom Smasher at 2:31:

Wippleman is Bomb’s new manager because of a backstage transaction with Johnny Polo. Like Well Dunn, one questions why Bomb would choose to have a manager with such a poor talent record. Since Bomb does not have a feud, the announcers conversation shifts to the growing issue between Savage and Crush. McMahon announces that there will be a summit next week for Savage and Crush to clear the air.

Savage says that he looks forward to meeting Crush next week, insisting that there will not be a physical confrontation.

The Rock N’ Roll Express (0-1) beat Duane Gill & Barry Hardy when Robert Gibson pins Hardy after the double dropkick at 2:18:

Heenan makes a joke that Razor Ramon is “pulling a Michael Jordan” and is retiring after winning the Intercontinental title because that is all he is going to manage to do in the WWF. The Express move well and Hardy and Gill keep up with them. The double dropkick does not get a lot of setup, though, as the Express knock Gill off the apron and then turn to blast Hardy with the move instead of whipping him into the ropes.

McMahon narrates footage of Ramon beating Rick Martel earlier in the evening, putting over Ramon’s fighting spirit.

Tune in next week to see Tatanka, Irwin R. Schyster, the Steiner Brothers in action! Also, Crush will return to confront Randy Savage!

The Last Word: The opener was a good match but fans could tune out of the show after that. The Lex Luger-Ludvig Borga segment was death because neither guy was good on the mic. The feud is also hurt by the patriotism card being overplayed by the WWF this year since it has been used for the Yokozuna-Hacksaw Jim Duggan feud and the Yokozuna-Lex Luger feud. Fans would much rather cheer for the Undertaker battling Yokozuna than Luger to beat a generic foreign heel. This taping also marked a change in how the WWF presented RAW as the company chose to tape three episodes in one location instead of a maximum of two. That saved costs but it also tired out the crowd and gave the show a less dynamic feel.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for October 16!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1992 WWF, 1993 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!