What the World Was Watching: Monday Night RAW – 04.11.94

The Bushwhackers, Men on a Mission, and the Smoking Gunns urge fans to call and vote for them in tonight’s poll. The Bushwhackers lost a few weeks ago to the Quebecers but they do the best job in their quick bit.

Vince McMahon and Randy Savage call tonight’s action, live from Utica, New York. When asked who he wants to win the poll, Savage says he does. Told he has to do commentary, he tells McMahon that is no great honor.

Opening Contest: Diesel (w/Shawn Michaels) (8-0) defeats Virgil (1-1) after the Jackknife at 5:34:

This is around the time that WWF matches look like they are taking place with a smoky cloud overhead due to laser effects. It was like the company returned to the “smoke-filled bingo halls” that McMahon claimed he took wrestling out of. It is surprising that Virgil lasts as long as he does as Diesel pummels him. Virgil knocks the big man off his feet with a clothesline late in the match for a near-fall but tries to follow it with an O’Connor roll. That is blocked and a big boot and Jackknife finish him off. Rating: *

Jerry Lawler is carried to the ring on a throne. Duane Gill and a young D’Lo Brown are some of the people carrying it. The crowd pops when Gill tips it and Lawler falls off after posing. Gill hilariously runs over and checks on Lawler to make sure he is okay. The fall messes up some of Lawler’s crown.

After a commercial break, Lex Luger comes out for the King’s Court, laughing about what happened to Lawler. When Lawler asks Luger to sit down, Luger sits on Lawler’s throne. When they finally get around to talking about WrestleMania, Luger accuses Perfect of being a coward and taking a grudge out on him. He talks about how he is dying to get Perfect in the ring so he can squash him. It was good to see Luger show some fire in a promo for once.

Thurman Plugg (8-1-1) pins Barry Horowitz after the Pit Stop Plunge at 3:09:

Perfect calls in, denying a beef with Luger. Savage has a fun back and forth with Perfect, arguing that Perfect is going to make a bad call at the Little League game he is allegedly at. The crowd remains apathetic about Plugg, not reacting when he calls for his finish. That makes sense as the WWF is running a lot of Northeast shows and it was not a NASCAR hotbed.

WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers and Johnny Polo yell at people tabulating the phone votes backstage. Polo has a bandage over his left eye because Gorilla Monsoon accidentally hit him with a baseball on All American Wrestling.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Quebecers (Champions w/Johnny Polo) (6-3-1) defeat Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) (8-1) when Pierre pins Mo after the assisted top rope senton bomb at 9:33 shown:

For the second week in a row RAW has a WrestleMania rematch as MOM wins the fan poll. It takes some time to get going but once the match settles into a groove it is fine. The Quebecers do the small stuff well, having great timing for cutting off Mo from his partner. There is also a dramatic spot where Jacques throws Pierre onto Mabel for a flying forearm and the two teams switch who has the cover. They do the same later with a small package. Mo misses a dive at Jacques and flies over the top rope, banging his head into the guardrail. After Polo stomps Mo, Mabel attacks him, forgetting about his partner, who is pinned after the Quebecers hit their finisher. This ends the small feud between MOM and the Quebecers, readying the Quebecers for a match with the Headshrinkers. It shows that Jacques was hasty to give his notice at WrestleMania because the team ended up getting a strong win over MOM on this show. Rating: **½

Footage of the Doink the Clown, Dink, and the Bushwhackers appearing at the Easter Egg Roll at the White House on April 4 is shown. Somehow the Bushwhackers got a hold of the President Clinton’s cat Socks and licked it.

Irwin R. Schyster gets in the ring, warning fans to pay their taxes. He issues a final warning to Tatanka to pay up.

Tune in next week to see WWF Champion Bret Hart face Kwang!

The Last Word: If not for the Quebecers’ antics, the matches with Men on a Mission would have been terrible but they always found creative ways to deal with Mabel or mess with their opponents to keep the matches interesting. This was a good show from an angle standpoint as it put over Diesel as an Intercontinental title contender, continued Lex Luger’s beef with Mr. Perfect, and settled the MOM-Quebecer feud. Unlike previous years, the WWF used April to build up some new midcard feuds. They may not set the world on fire but it has given the month meaning.

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