What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – 10.03.94

Vince McMahon and Randy Savage are in the booth, taped from Utica, New York.

Opening Contest: The British Bulldog (2-0) beats Jim Neidhart (w/Owen Hart) (13-0) via disqualification when Owen interferes at 12:10:

The only way this match could be good is if the combatants turn it into a showcase of power moves. That does not happen, though, as each man works holds on the canvas. When Owen pulls the ropes down, causing the Bulldog to crash to the arena floor, WWF Champion Bret Hart comes to ringside. The Bulldog sells his knee from that sequence but Neidhart targets the back instead. At the nine-minute mark Neidhart finally gets around to stretching the knee, only to end this attack with the Camel Clutch. The Bulldog refuses to quit, so Neidhart breaks the hold and tries a knee drop from the second rope, which misses. The Bulldog’s comeback includes an impressive vertical suplex, bringing Bob Backlund out in a navy-blue robe. Backlund jaws with Bret, during which time Owen gets in the ring and attacks the Bulldog when he goes for a sunset flip. As the description attests, this match was a mess. Rating: *

Bret breaks away from his argument with Backlund to make the save. This would appear to set up a tag team match in the future.

A new WWF ad shows a small kid, the same one used in a Bret Hart commercial a while back, walking onto a vacant baseball diamond. He cries because the World Series has been cancelled due to Major League Baseball’s strike. His mood changes when Randy Savage comes up and tells him that they should “hit a few.” The narrator says that the WWF’s season never ends and Savage says that they do not go on strike.

Doink the Clown (w/Dink) (25-2) pins Barry Horowitz after the Whoopie Cushion at 2:33:

Doink has a rough outing, struggling to get up for a leapfrog and nearly botching some technical wrestling reversals. The quick pace of the match overcomes those issues, though. Horowitz’s blind charge leads to Doink powerslamming and beating him for the second time this year.

Yokozuna, Jim Cornette, and Mr. Fuji are guests on the King’s Court. It takes Yokozuna forever to walk down the aisle and get into the ring. Cornette alleges that there is a smear campaign against the former WWF champion launched by the Undertaker and Paul Bearer because Yokozuna is not scared of his rival. This claim is defeated when Lawler talks about casket matches Yokozuna is having against the Undertaker on the Hart Attack Tour since Yokozuna hates the term. Cornette does a good promo with what he is given, arguing that Yokozuna is the only man who has beaten the Undertaker in his own match.

An ad for The Action Zone makes fun of Mike Ditka, Greg Gumball, and Deion Sanders, saying that it is bringing action, not talk on October 23.

Alundra Blayze & Heidi Lee Morgan beat Bull Nakano & Luna Vachon when Blayze pins Vachon with the German suplex at 5:01:

Due to time constraints, Nakano and Vachon do not get an entrance. It does not take the heels long to put Morgan in peril, not helped by a silly spot where she rallies and goes for a big cover on Vachon, only to fly over her like a video game glitch. Blayze gets the hot tag and takes out Vachon, leading to a clash with Nakano. Nakano suplexes the babyfaces by herself and knocks them down with a clothesline. Vachon is the weak link of the team, though, accidentally missile dropkicking Nakano and getting pinned by Blayze immediately after. These ladies were not given a lot of time but they packed a lot into a quick, enjoyable match. This match marked the end of the line for Morgan and Vachon. Morgan would team with Blayze for another month on house shows and then get released as the WWF did not care to stack depth in the women’s division. Vachon married boyfriend David Heath at the end of the month, who was occasionally working as the Black Phantom. According to Vachon, she was having problems with alcohol so the WWF sent her to rehab but fired her while she was in recovery. Vachon would appear in ECW the following year and would return to the WWF in 1997. Rating: **½

Footage of Bob Backlund losing the WWF Championship to the Iron Sheik in 1983 airs.

Bob Backlund (6-1) defeats Gary Scott via submission to the crossface chicken wing at 2:22:

Backlund going to the robe look for his entrance is a nice break from his babyface days. He has a white towel around his neck, which McMahon theorizes is the same towel that Arnold Skaaland threw in on his behalf against the Sheik eleven years ago. Scott makes the mistake of trying to wrestle Backlund’s style, getting swept off his feet and chicken winged. Backlund refuses to break the hold for a while after the bell. When he gets up, he looks in amazement at his hands and makes an attempt to pick Scott up, possibly in a show of sportsmanship, but hilariously gives up when Scott is incapacitated.

WWF Champion Bret Hart says Backlund must be losing his mind because he told him earlier in the show that he was the real WWF champion. Bret argues that Backlund already got a title shot and he needs to get in line behind other contenders.

Tune in next week to see Lex Luger battle Bam Bam Bigelow!

The Last Word: The beginning of the show was rough but everything from the King’s Court segment to the end was good television. Bob Backlund’s character is gradually coming together and it is a nice touch for the WWF to acknowledge that he would not be near title contention because Bret Hart beat him several months ago. The women’s tag team match was a nice surprise but the WWF was not willing to do much with the division in this era so sadly much of it was for naught.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for October 8!

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