What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – October 25, 1993

Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are handling commentary, taped from Poughkeepsie, New York.

Opening Contest: Crush (w/Mr. FujI) (21-4-2) beats Phil Apollo via submission to the head vice at 2:48:

Crush’s heel look consists of purple, black, and silver gear with face paint to match. Like his Demolition days from 1990-1991 he is reunited with Fuji as a manager. Crush does his usual power offense, he just does not play to the crowd any longer. And his finisher is still the same, using the head vice for a submission win. After the bell, Crush puts the boots to Apollo and does a leg drop to the back of the head after Fuji tells him to.

Johnny Polo argues that he could beat Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid, who will face off in the next match.

The 1-2-3 Kid (15-5-1) wrestles Marty Jannetty (23-4-1) to a double count out at 10:35 shown:

Jannetty beat the Kid a month earlier on All American Wrestling. Not only is this a rematch but it also puts two Survivor Series teammates against each other. There is a tentative beginning as Jannetty prefers to battle over a hammerlock. The Kid gets two from a victory roll and spinning heel kick. Jannetty responds with a powerbomb counter to a hurricanrana for a near-fall of his own. That brings Polo to ringside after a commercial break, tripping Jannetty when he runs the ropes. He does the same to the Kid minutes later. Unfortunately, the crowd is dead for much of the bout, refusing to react to hot near-falls or Polo’s meddling. Referee Joey Marella is taken out when the Kid reverses an Irish whip into the corner. While Marella is down, the Kid tries to take out Jannetty with a somersault plancha but Polo pushes Jannetty out of the way and into the ring post, causing a double count out. Despite the lack of crowd reaction, this was another solid effort from both men. Rating: ***¼

When the match ends, Jannetty recovers and stops Polo from walking to the dressing room. He throws Polo into the ring and Jannetty sets Polo up for a Kid bulldog. They knock Polo out of the ring with a double superkick and wishbone his legs as the crowd finally wakes up.

Ludvig Borga (14-0) beats Mike Bucci via submission to the torture rack at 3:45:

The squash serves as a reminder of Borga’s battle with Tatanka on Superstars this weekend. Bucci takes a nasty spill from a flapjack spot, the squash’s sole highlight as McMahon and Heenan provide some token hype for Survivor Series.

Heenan does a ringside interview with Borga. He promises to end Tatanka’s career on Superstars.

Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) (12-0) defeat Todd Mata & Steve Greenman when Mabel pins Mata after a falling clothesline at 5:32:

This is presented as a tune up for Men on a Mission’s battle with the Quebecers for the Tag Team titles on Wrestling Challenge later in the week. Greenman mocks MOM’s walk and soon pays for it. Mata does not wear kneepads, which is always a weird look. After a long five minutes, MOM finally put Mata away after sandwiching him between their bodies and Mabel pinning him after a falling clothesline.

Heenan reveals that only 36% of fans wanted to reinstate Shawn Michaels in last week’s phone poll. He blames the outcome on Mr. Perfect spamming the phone lines.

Diesel (2-0) pins Dan Dubiel after the right hand at 4:03:

McMahon puts over Diesel as a possible Intercontinental title contender, which seems premature given his present booking. Like the other squashes on the show, this is a methodical affair. There is a funny bit where Heenan reads a Silk Stalkings promo about a model being killed and freaks out, thinking that Rick Martel was murdered.

Tune in next week to see Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon face Bastion Booger in a non-title match! Also, Smoking Gunns battle Well Dunn! Mr. Perfect will be in action! And the Foreign Fanatics will appear for a special interview and Randy Savage will call in!

The Last Word: The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty had a fun match but the rest of the show was painful to sit through because of the dull squash action. The Kid and Jannetty would make a good tag team and that seems to be where their issue with Johnny Polo is going to end up. Next week’s program promises to feature a lot more. It does not say much for Bastion Booger that he is given a non-title match but when you lose to Virgil in your debut it takes a while to remove that stink from your record.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for October 30!

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!