What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night RAW – 10.24.94

Vince McMahon and Randy Savage call tonight’s action, taped from Burlington, Vermont.

Opening Contest for the Intercontinental Championship: Razor Ramon (30-4) beats Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (19-4) via count out at 9:28 shown:

This constitutes the biggest challenge to Ramon since he recaptured the Intercontinental title at SummerSlam. Yokozuna attacks Ramon before the bell but the Bad Guy sends him to the floor with a spirited series of strikes. The match suffers from Yokozuna’s immobility. Like a football player, he has a quick series of moves in spots but gets winded, so the match drags before he does something else. For example, he pinballs Ramon between the turnbuckles and drops a leg but take forever to get up and does not bother to cover. There is also a copious use of nerve holds like when Yokozuna wrestled Lex Luger at WrestleMania X. A missed Yokozuna avalanche triggers Ramon’s comeback, scoring a close near-fall from a bulldog off the second rope. A druid wheels a big casket to ringside, which Yokozuna stumbles into and runs away. Rating: *

Todd Pettengill does the first Survivor Series Report. This year’s show, scheduled for November 23, has a Western theme because it will happen in San Antonio, Texas. It is announced that WWF Champion Bret Hart will defend against Bob Backlund. Also, Lex Luger will lead a team called “Guts & Glory” with Adam Bomb, Mabel & the Smoking Gunns to face Tatanka’s “Million Dollar Team” of Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy & the Heavenly Bodies.

Pettengill announces that Lex Luger will face Bob Backlund next week.

The Smoking Gunns (19-2) beat Mike Bell & Barry Hardy when Billy pins Bell after the Sidewinder at 1:53 shown:

The match is joined in progress. The Gunns smoothly annihilate Bell with double teams and Hardy never tags in. McMahon calls the Sidewinder a new move even though the Gunns have been doing it for a year.

Tatanka, who is backstage, says that Lex Luger has no chance against Bob Backlund next week.

Tatanka (w/Ted DiBiase) (31-4-2) pins Scott Taylor after the End of the Trail at 3:57:

Tatanka’s theme music is now blending his native yell with DiBiase’s traditional music. This is his third televised match in three days. The crowd wants to see Taylor win, popping for him schoolboying Tatanka for a near-fall. Tatanka does not show a lot of heel fire like he has in recent matches, but he does beat up Taylor afterward. He looks into the camera and tells Luger that he is going to be next. Savage saw something in Taylor, giving him some praise during the bout.

Adam Bomb (16-6) beats Phil Apollo after the pumphandle slam at 1:42:

Bomb and the production crew are still not on the same page as a firework goes off after he poses, nor during. The crowd likes Bomb’s power display, capped off by the Neutron Bomb and pumphandle slam.

After the match, Bob Backlund sneaks into the ring and puts Bomb in the crossface chicken wing. Referees pour into the ring but Backlund only releases the hold when he wants to. It was weird that Lex Luger did not intervene to save one of his Survivor Series teammates.

Jerry Lawler’s King’s Court starts with him calling the crowd “facially challenged,” the politically correct term for ugly. Savage is grumpy during the segment, expressing a lot of hatred toward Lawler. To get heat, Lawler has to work the crowd into a “Burger King!” chant. He then introduces Cheesy as a new little person for his group. Cheesy was Larry Gibson, who started wrestling in 1991 as the Lil Ninja on the Midwest independent circuit. Lawler challenges Doink the Clown and his little people to a match.

Diesel (22-1-1) pins Ben Jordan after the Jackknife at 3:48:

This is Diesel’s first singles match since SummerSlam. McMahon argues that Shawn Michael is “too busy redecorating the Heartbreak Hotel” and implies that some bitter feelings might remain from Michaels costing Diesel the Intercontinental Championship with an errant superkick. There is also hype for Michaels & Diesel defending the Tag Team titles against Razor Ramon & the 1-2-3 Kid on The Action Zone this weekend. Diesel gets some chants from the crowd as he demolishes Jordan. Unfortunately, the length of the squash kills some of the buzz.

Bob Backlund runs into the ring, causing Savage to joke that the former WWF champion has lost track of time.

Tune in next week to see Lex Luger battle Bob Backlund! The Undertaker and Paul Bearer will appear on the King’s Court! There will also be more Survivor Series news!

The Last Word: The Survivor Series card has started to roll out, predictably headlined by Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund. However, it is tough to see that as a big draw for the fanbase who has not seen Backlund defeat anyone of note other than Bob Holly. Even though this was not a great episode because of some poor squashes and a poor feature match, the crowd was hot for a lot of it. Fans cheering for Diesel showed that he was a star on the rise.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for October 29!

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!