What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – 10.17.94

Vince McMahon and Randy Savage, who is dressed in his Slim Jim attire, call tonight’s action, live from Burlington, Vermont. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a crowd of 1,800 fans.

Opening Contest: Jeff Jarrett (31-6-1) defeats Doink the Clown (w/Dink & Wink) (28-2) after Jerry Lawler interferes at 10:36 shown:

Wink was Buck Blevins, who wrestled on the independent circuit as Bad Boy Buck and Tadpole Buck. He was a trainee of Jimmy Valiant and started his career in 1992.

Before the match, Dink gives Ed Trucco of the Spanish announce team a rose. There is no mention made of the feud between these two from the spring. Doink’s wig has been “cut” a bit to look like a Richard Simmons afro and he wears some cream-colored ring boots that do not fit the rest of his attire. Four minutes into the match, Queasy comes out with another little person dressed like him. The little person tandem stomp Doink when Jarrett tosses him to the floor and the referee opts not to call a disqualification. Meanwhile, Dink and Wink are oblivious to what is happening to their friend. Jarrett dominates the contest, which is good because he is the better wrestler of the two. When the little person with Queasy hops on the apron, heel miscommunication with Jarrett sends him flying off. As the little people battle on the floor, Doink does the Whoopie Cushion but the referee is distracted. That allows Jerry Lawler to rush out, hit Doink in the back from the second rope, and when the referee turns around Jarrett is covering and wins. Rating: **¼

Afterward, Lawler tells McMahon that the other little person is named Sleazy. Lawler asks Savage if a bag lady knows if he borrowed her outfit.

The British Bulldog is shown running in place backstage.

The British Bulldog (5-0) pins Roy Raymond after the running powerslam at 3:30:

The Bulldog gets some fireworks for his entrance but he forgets to pose at the right time so they have the intended effect. Fans pop for the Bulldog’s big offense, which includes a long vertical suplex. There is a superplex spot when the Bulldog crotches Raymond on the top rope. That should set up the running powerslam but the match goes for another minute, which sees the Bulldog lose his balance attempting to do a knee lift.

Burt Reynolds plugs RAW and urges fans to buy his book My Life.

After a replay of Bob Backlund attacking Arnold Skaaland on Superstars, Backlund storms out to confront McMahon. He is angry about the footage being shown. When McMahon demands an apology, Backlund says that he should but he wants to apologize for choosing Skaaland as his manager because other people would not have thrown in the towel. He tells fans that they are doomed because they lack a drive to be great and hilariously claims to have “Never, ever eaten marijuana.” This leads to a fun rant against people who swear around children, that do drugs, and smoke cigarettes. At McMahon’s prompting, Backlund issues a crossface chicken wing to anyone in the crowd, saying that no one can break it. Lex Luger interrupts, criticizing Backlund for attacking the weak. Backlund warns Luger that the ”plebians” will not help him and rolls into the ring, marching around as WWF officials prevent Luger from getting involved. All of this leads to Luger getting a chant from the crowd, arguably the best reaction he has received in six months.

Bob Holly (24-3-1) pins Reno Riggins with the flying body press at 2:37:

Savage latches on to making fun of Backlund’s marijuana claim, saying that he must have chewed but never swallowed. Based on McMahon’s tone, he would prefer to talk about something else. In recent weeks Holly has made some changes to his tights, opting for darker colors with checkered flags on them instead of the multi-colored neon tights he used for his debut. Riggins thinks he has a chance to beat Holly when he stops him from going to the top rope. However, Holly throws Riggins off and follows up with his flying body press. This sends Holly into a feature match with Bob Backlund on Superstars with an eleven-match winning streak.

Todd Pettengill announces that Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon will defend his title against Yokozuna next week.

Irwin R. Schyster (w/Ted DiBiase) (27-3) beats Tim McNeany via submission to the Penalty at 1:52:

IRS tells fans that he is going to be exposing the Undertaker as the WWF’s biggest tax cheat soon. So that is set to be the Undertaker’s next feud when he is done with Yokozuna, adding to the programs that seem to be dead on arrival in terms of fan interest. McNeany schoolboys IRS after a blind charge for two. As is always the case, IRS refocuses and puts McNeany away with the Penalty.

The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) (14-0) defeat Nick Barbarry & Barry Horowitz when Jimmy Del Ray pins Barbarry after the moonsault at 2:30:

It is funny how many ways the WWF spells Barbarry’s name. The Bodies wrestle in gold tights instead of their usual red. Horowitz has a spirited exchange with Tom Prichard and Barbarry dazes Del Ray with a few dropkicks. A blind tag that produces a sloppy float over DDT by Del Ray puts the Bodies in control and Barbarry is double teamed into submission. Del Ray’s finishing moonsault is sloppy as he hits Barbarry’s legs upon landing rather than his chest.

Lex Luger tells the announce team that he does not like what he sees out of Bob Backlund. He stumbles over a challenge to Backlund.

Tune in next week to see Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defend against Yokozuna! Also, Diesel will be in action! And there will be a special announcement from Todd Pettengill!

The Last Word: This was a better episode than the last few weeks. The crowd was into a lot of the matches and several feuds either progressed or were set up for the future. Bob Backlund gave another fun promo that continues to cast him as a bitter veteran. Next week’s match between Razor Ramon and Yokozuna is a draw because those men have not fought each other in their WWF tenures.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for October 22!

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