- In a twist of a surprise, I decided to redo my review of this tape, solely because the original really sucked. Actually, that's putting it nicely. It was a piece of shit that I should never have typed out in the first place, let alone subjected to other people to suffer my mistakes. Anyway, the WAYBAC machine is set for October 4th, 1993, Monday Night Raw, when things were about to change... for good. OK, that's a lie, but you need to make suspense.


- 20-Man Intercontinental Title Battle Royale:
(Participants: Marty Jannetty, The 1-2-3 Kid, Mr. Perfect, Mabel, Diesel, Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger, Irwin R. Schyster, The M.V.P. (Steve Lombardi), Tatanka, Adam Bomb, Razor Ramon, Quebecer Pierre, Quebecer Jacques, "The Model" Rick Martel, Bob Backlund, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, "The Rocket" Owen Hart, The Giant Gonzalez, "Macho Man" Randy Savage)
From the 10/4/93 Monday Night Raw. Depending on what source you believe, Michaels was stripped of the title because his contract ran out and they didn't bother to renew it or he was holding up the promotion for more money. I'll go with conflicting differences, because I don't know. This match features some interesting participants. Martel and Snuka had only returned last week, and in Snukas case, was a ringer for the match to fill up space. The M.V.P. (later known as Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz) was never seen before this, and thus no one (including me) had any idea who it was. Bob Backlund was MIA for about a year following SummerSlam '93 through King of the Ring '94 with 1 or 2 quick appearences (most notably the Rumble match), and the Giant Gonzalez hadn't been seen since his SummerSlam loss to the Undertaker. As usual, I won't bother with PBP because it'll mainly be a punchy-kicky thingy. Savage starts the match with double axehandles to the Giant Gonzalez, and along with nearly half of the other participants, dumps Gonzalez out at 0:31. So long Giant Gonzalez, way to go out a loser. Sorry, had to work that in. Not much happens for an incredible stretch of time, other than Mabel beating up on Tatanka and drooling. Speaking of Mabel, he's the next to go, courtesy of Diesel and I.R.S. at 5:45. Mr. Perfect and Randy Savage go at it in the corner, to the delight of smarks everywhere. Ramon dumps I.R.S. with his own moment at 6:17. The Kid is gone next (with a nasty bump) thanks to Bastion Booger at 6:49. Again, not much happens for a bit, with the camera focusing on Diesel for about a minute. After beating on Perfect and Tatanka, Diesel charges Perfect and obviously gets dumped out at 8:10. Commercial break, and we come back as Martel back drops Backlund out at 8:22. Snuka goes next at 8:48 by Martel, the same means as Perfect eliminated Diesel. Mr. Perfect is thrown out by Bam Bam Bigelow at 9:48, and McMahon pimps Perfect being on the King's Court this weekend on Wrestling Challenge. This is one of the last times I remember seeing Perfect in the ring, at least in a "feature match" situation. Marty Jannetty is next to get thrown out, when future Kronik member Adam Bomb throws him out at 10:49. Is that ironic or what? Tatanka misses a charge at Bigelow, and goes flying over the top at 11:14. Randy Savage flicks Booger over the top rope at 12:01, and Ramon clotheslines Bigelow out at 12:15 as we go to another commerical break. Owen Hart goes to work on The MVP/KimChee/Brooklyn Brawler, and dropkicks him out of the ring at 12:44, then celebrates. Fellow canadians the Quebecers whoop Owens ass and throw him out soon after at 12:57. We're down to 6 men, with the Quebecers, Adam Bomb, and Rick Martel pairing up on Razor Ramon and Randy Savage (they don't trust each other). The Quebecers lay a shit kicking in Ramon for a while. Bomb tries tossing Savage out of the ring, but Savage counters and eliminates Bomb with a firemans carry at 15:34. Bomb, rightfully pissed, distracts Savage enough to allow the Quebecers and Martel to sneak up on Savage and eliminate him at 15:43, which doesn't make the crowd go happy. In typical Heenan mode, he picked Savage to win after he eliminated Bomb, then as he was being eliminated, corrects himself and picks both Quebecers.

Final Four: Razor Ramon, Rick Martel, Quebecer Pierre, Quebecer Jacques
Smart gooses who've seen too many Coliseum Videos will notice this template was used often with the Beverly Brothers in 1992, where the face eventually makes the miracle comeback. The three heels (all French-Canadians, in a bit of a coincidence) stomp a salsa-hole in Ramons ass. Martel comes off the second turnbuckle with a double axehandle. On commentary, Bobby Heenan tries to advertise himself scalping tickets at the Boston Garden for Survivor Series' 93. Irish whip, and all three heels miss dropkicks. Ramon hammers away on everyone with roundhouse rights, but the numbers game is too much and the heels are quickly back in the drivers seat. A Triple beating commences, with everyone getting a shot at Ramon while the other two holds him up in a defenseless position. Ramon kicks Martel down, but the Quebecers slam him down. In a move that never works (except once a decade), Pierre accidentally clotheslines Jacques out of the ring at 19:06 as he held up Ramon, and as Pierre looks in shock, Ramon tosses him out at 19:12, making him and Rick Martel the Co-Winners of the Battle Royale and the top 2 contenders for the Intercontinental Title. A bunch of referees (all 4 of them) hold back Ramon and Martel before they can do anything. No Rating this time, but under battle royale standards, this one was pretty good, mainly because of the final 5-6 minutes.


- In the following place was (emphasis on was, since I redubbed the tape and only kept the first minute of the actual match) a squash match featuring Men on a Mission (rapping their way to the ring for about 10 minutes) against a unknown scrub and JTTS Damian Demento, who left his push on the other side of the outer reaches of your mind. For those that don't remember the template, JTTS guy does good, tags in his loser partner, and the partner loses the match about 45 seconds later. MOM wins, of course.


- WWF Intercontinental Championship Match: (Vacant)
Razor Ramon vs. "The Model" Rick Martel:
From the 10/11/93 episode of Monday Night Raw. Winner gets the title, and it really shouldn't come as a surprise who's going to win this match. I'm going to have the Model's theme music stuck in my head for a few days. Martel spends time posing until Ramon throws a toothpick in his face. Shoving contest, and Martel with a bitch slap. Lockup, and Martel applies a wristlock. Ramon counters and into an overhead version. Martel turns it into a hammerlock, but that's soon reversed. Martel with a drop toe hold, followed by slaps to the back of the head and jumping jacks in celebration. Martel applies a wristlock, but gets shoved in the corner. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Martel punches away. Irish whip is reversed again, and Martel jumps into the fallaway slam, and rolls outside to recover. Back inside the ring, and Martel applies a front facelock. Ramon powers Martel over the ropes and onto the apron, then slingshots him back into the ring. Stomp to the midsection, followed by short shoulder blocks. Ramon applies a Greco-Cuban Knuckle Lock and applies a wristlock. Ramon returns the bitch slapping to the back of the head in the process. Ramon goes to an armbar, slowing the match down quite a bit. Martel thankfully doesn't spend too much time in it, but misses a charge. Commercial break, and we come back to Martel working over Ramon outside the ring. Scoop slam by Martel, and some posing. Irish whips to the corner, three to be exact, and Ramon staggers around in pain (insert drunk joke here). Martel mounts Ramon in a very dirty position for a two count. Ramon works over the back of Ramon with sledges and stomps. Ramon tries a comeback, but gets kicked in the face, and Martel knees him in the back. Boston Crab is applied, but Ramon is too close to the ropes. Irish whip, and Martel with a side suplex, and he applies the Boston Crab again, this time in the middle of the ring. Ramon powers out, but Martel is still in control after a couple of pin attempts. Irish whip, and Ramon catches Martel in a back suplex position, and plnts him on the top turnbuckle. Martel elbows him off, but a cross body press is reversed for a two count. Martel with a clothesline for a two count of his own. Irish whip, and Ramon nails Martel with a knee lift. Boot to the midsection, and the Razor's Edge gives Ramon his 1st of many Intercontinental Titles at 10:44. *** Very good match, and probably the last (good one) of Martel's WWF run. A little slow at times, but the slow spots were kept reasonably short. Maybe if Martel worked like this more often from 1989-1992, I wouldn't hate the Model gimmick, which revolved around him stalling, resting, and posing for 90% of a match. Ramon celebrates afterwards with the belt as the crowd goes happy.


- Special interview conducted by Bobby Heenan with the returning Crush (with new and evil beard) and Mr. Fuji. No mention of their relationship from 1991 is made, even though Crush was named Crush and Mr. Fuji is in the promotion and with Crush right now! Oh well, logic in wrestling, I guess. Anyway, Crush runs down Savage, using the word "Brother" more times than Hogan has ever done in 1 promo, and teases a heel turn. Savage tries reasoning with him, and bad mouths Fuji and the Brain in the process. Crush appears to be on Savage's side, but in a bit of a rehash of Orndorff/Hogan from years earlier, Crush clotheslines Savage out of nowhere (pfft...) and along with Yokozuna, lay a shit kicking in him. Ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you... EVIL FOREIGNER CRUSH! From the evil country of Kona, Hawaii! On a serious matter, this feuded ended up being Savages' proverbial swan song with the WWF, as he would go into "retirement" following their blowoff at WrestleMania X, and remained a broadcaster until leaving for WCW in December of 1994, when he became a full-time active wrestler again.


- Marty Jannetty vs. The 1-2-3 Kid:
From the 10/25/93 episode of Monday Night Raw. Interesting match, and I don't remember if there was a backstory to this combination. I do know that they will be partners at the Survivor Series, so maybe this is used to try and tease tension between the two. Quasi-handshake before the match from Marty and the Kid. Feeling out process goes nowhere for both men. Lockup into the corner, and Jannetty gives a clean break. Go-behind waistlock into a takedown by Jannetty, and he moves into a front facelock. The Kid counters into a hammerlock. Jannetty tries going for the leg of the Kid to escape, then teases an elbow to the face, but doesn't follow through. Jannetty finally counters, and the Kid counters back. Choice Heenan quote of the match: Johnny Polo was the Cy Young winner at T-Ball. Morwe counters leads to Jannetty flipping over the head of the Kid. The Kid does the same, and a crisscross leads to a Jannetty arm drag, The Kid mulekick, and a double kip-up into a stand off. The Kid with a standing side headlock, and another crisscross leads to a victory roll from the Kid for a two count. Jannetty aplies a headlock now. Irish whip to escape, and Jannetty bowls over the Kid with a shoulder block. The Kid comes back with a spinning heel kick for a two count, and nails some signature kicks to the midsection. Irish whip, and Jannetty counters a hurricanrana with a powerbomb for a two count. In the meantime, Johnny Polo has come to ringside to look on as we go to a Commercial. We come back with Polo tripping up Jannetty, and the Kid covering for a two count. Kicks in the corner by the Kid, and a snapmare leads to a series of snap leg-drops. The Kid heads up to the top rope, but he misses an early version of the senton bomb. Jannetty rolls on top to cover, but only for a two count. Irish whip is reversed, and Jannetty slams the Kid face-first into the canvas for another two count. Irish whip and this time Polo trips the Kid. Jannetty gets mad at Polo, but decides to cover anyway, for a two count. Jannetty argues with Polo and the Kid with a school boy out of nowhere for another near fall. Irish whip to the corner gives the Kid a chance to work in his over-selling bump. Wristlock applied by Jannetty, and he turns it into a hammerlock. Jannetty with a complex chicken-wing type pin attempt on the Kid only gets two. Snap suplex by Jannetty, followed by a second. A third snap suplex is countered by the Kid with a bridging german suplex for a two count! Jannetty gets dirty now, with an elbow to the side of the face. Irish whip to the corner is countered until Jannetty is sent into Joey Morella, and the Kid knocks Jannetty outside with a heel kick. The Kid goes for a suicide dive, but Polo shoves Jannetty into the security rail, and the Kid goes SPLAT on the canvas. Both men are down and out, and it's a Double Count-Out at 10:34. Damn that's lame for such a good match. After the match, though, the Kid and Jannetty clean Polo's clock to compensate for the suck-ass finish. ***1/2 An upgraded rating from the last time, I believe. The pacing of the match kept it entertaining, despite some resting, the story being told in the face vs. face scenario was well done, and the little things with chain wrestling and counters made it that much better. I could've done without the horrible finish, but the Kid's dive onto the outside made up for it, I guess.


Survivor Series 1993 Report: Hosted by some schmuck named Joe Fowler, who lasted all of 2 months before being fired for either sucking really bad or budget cuts. Either way, thank God he didn't last. The Survivor Series is only three weeks away. Apparently the possibilities are endless. Hmm... 4-on-4, 4-on-3, 4-on-2, 4-on-1, 3-on 3, 3-on-2, 3-on-1, 2-on-2-, 2-on-1, 1-on-1. Yeah, endless my ass.
Just added: The Rock N' Roll Express vs. the Heavenly Bodies


- Tatanka vs. Ludvig Borga:
From the 10/30/93 episode of SuperStars of Wrestling. A inset interview from Ludvig Borga promises to not only beat, but to destroy Tatanka (Buffalo). Tatanka and Ludvig Borga are both undefeated, so you'll expect a shitty finish to save face for both men. Lockup to start, and Borga hammers away on the ribs of Tatanka. A series of knees to the midsection by Borga, but he misses a charge to the corner. Tatanka works on Borga with some chops. Tatanka nails a series of clotheslines, but Borga won't go down until the third one. Tatanka with a standing side headlock, but a shoulder block doesn't budge anyone. Tatanka does it again to no avail. A diving shoulder tackle and dropkick staggers Borga, and a cross body press from Tatanka gets a two count. Borga goes back to work with punches, and a shot to the midsection makes Tatanka go down hard, gasping for air. Borga with more punches to the side of the head, followed by a side suplex. If this were a Dino Bravo match, this one would be over. Out comes Mr. Fuji for no reason. Borga with the delayed vertical suplex a la Davey Boy Smith as we go to a commercial break. Borga goes back to the punching before applying a reverse chinlock. Tatanka powers back up to his feet and breaks with a back suplex. Borga won't sell though, and clothesline Tatanka out of his dancing shoes before going back to the chinlock. This goes on for a while, so I don't pay attention. Tatanka breaks with elbows to the midsection and chops across the top of the head. Borga does his favorite move, punching, to remain in control. Tatanka is sent to the buckle, but it's time for Tatanka to War-Dance-Up! Tatanka hammers Borga with chops to the head again, but Borga punches the "injured" ribs and dumps Tatanka over the top rope. The referee (Blind Danny Davis) argues with Fuji for no reason, allowing Borga to clean Tatanka's clock with a steel chair. Borga rolls Tatanka back in, covers him with his index finger, and beats the undefeated Tatanka at 10:12 to end his undefeated streak of over 21 months. After the match, Yokozuna comes to the ring to drop some Banzai's on the ribs of Tatanka, while the Quebecers keep Lex Luger from ringside long enough so the damage is done. Where the hell were the Steiner Brothers? Some partners they were. 3/4* I sure did overrated this sucker last time. It was alright the first 5-6 minutes, but it damn sure died in the last half. Tatanka's career was pretty much dead at this point, and the heel turn that could've saved him just hurt him worse.


- Razor Ramon vs. Bastion Booger:
From the 11/1/93 episode of Monday Night Raw. Ramon is the reigning Intercontinental Champion, but this is Non-Title, to make us think the Booger man has a hope in hell of winning, despite not being able to beat Virgil and the 1-2-3 Kid. I think I just saw a sign that read "Hello R.S.P.W." Wow, that's old school. McMahon hypes a Booger/Kid rematch on Wrestling Challenge. Lockup around the ring leads to Ramon giving a clean break. Commercial break already, despite the match just starting. We come back with Booger covering Ramon for a two count. Booger dances, so Ramon clothjeslines him from behind, over the top rope, and to the floor. Bobby Heenan reminds us that "today" (November 1st) is his birthday. Vince wonders if anyone cares... I do! HA! In the meantime, Booger steals Andre the Giant's special move (getting caught in the ropes), and Ramon rubs his belly for good luck. Booger runs outside to stall and adjust his ring attire. Booger pulls Ramon out of the ring, and actually nails the splash against a ring post. How often does that actually hit? Booger continues working over the back of Ramon before heading back into the ring. Booger pounds away and goes to the bear-hug. Front-powerslam by Booger gets a two count. Back to the bearhug. Ramon makes the superman comeback, slamming the 401 pound Booger. That's a big Booger, if you ask me. Ramon stupidly tries for the Razor's Edge, but Booger back drops out and does his dancing squash finisher. Ramon no-sells that though (rightfully, since the move fucking sucks, unless the smell of his ass is supposed to knock people out), and finishes the second half of a sunset flip for the three count at 7:07. 1/4* I'll have a heart since the match was watched mainly on Fast-Forward mode, but damn, was this one fucking boring when watching it like it was happening live.


- The Smoking Gunns vs. Well Dunn (w/ Harvey Wippleman):
(Bart & Billy Gunn vs. Timothy Well & Steven Dunn)
Also from the 11/1/93 episode of Monday Night Raw. 12 years later, I still have a hard time remember which is Timothy Well and which is Steven Dunn. Just for reference sakes, Dunn is the blonde, and Well the brunette. Billy and Well start with a lockup that goes into the corner. Billy ducks a cheap shot, and does nothing in retaliation. Repeat into the corner, and Billy gives a clean break. Well with a rake of the eyes, and Billy counters with a roundhouse right. Dunn tags in now to talk smack. Billy with a headlock takeover, and Dunn counters with a head scissors. Repeat a few times until the gayness of Billy's mustache scares Dunn into the corner. Billy Gunn with a wristlock and into an armbar. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Billy catches Dunn with an atomic drop. Arm drag into an armbar by Billy Gunn. Bart tags in with a sledge off the top rope, and continues working the arm. Suplex/Cross-body combo move by the Gunns, but Well breaks up the pin. The Gunns continue working the arm of Dunn, but I'm bored out of my skull. Bart tries a head scissors out of the corner, but Well hangs him up across the top rope. Irish whip and Dunn kills Bart with a clothesline for a two count. Double teaming by Well Dunn, and Well goes to the reverse chinlock. McMahon and Heenan spend most of the match hyping up-coming matches (Rick Steiner vs. Jacques, Scott Steiner vs. Ludvig Borga) and talking about Heenan's birthday party. Boring match. Makes me wish it was Ramon/Booger again. Billy eventually gets the hot tag, but Wippleman trips him up to give the Smoking Gunns the win by Disqualification at 7:47. Wow, if you can't beat Well Dunn, you must suck. DUD Really boring match that had no real pace, note-worthy spots, and a lame finish. Harvey sure got saddled with losers.


- Virgil vs. Adam Bomb (w/ Harvey Wippleman):
Our final stop from the 11/1/93 Monday Night Raw, and damn this is like a JTTS Express show or something. Wippleman is back again with another loser, this time Bryan Clarke in the form of Adam Bomb, a weirdo who managed to survive a nuclear explosion from 3-Mile-Island. I keep forgetting Virgil was around during this time frame, despite having two matches on this tape. Logic in My Mind. Nothing happens until both men fuck up doing a crisscross sequence, until Virgil nails an ugly cross-body press for a two count. Arm drag takeover into an armbar by Virgil. Bomb hides outside, so Virgil plays to the crowd. Virgil finally comes outside to beat on Bomb, then chase Wippleman around the ring. Virgil with a quasi-plancha, and goes to work on the arm in the ring. Bomb doesn't sell for long anc hokes Virgil across the top rope. Back breaker by Bomb, followed by some bitch slapping. Bomb busts out a dropkick, his only unique move of the match, since he's generally too big to do one properly. Bomb clotheslines Virgil out of his boots, but runs into the boots on a charge attempt. Virgil with a clothesline, followed by an ugly missile dropkick for a two count. Virgil calls for the end of something, but Bomb fucks up catching his body press. Bomb goes to the finish anyway, and finishes Virgil with the Atom-Smasher (Powerbomb) at 5:26. 1/2* An extended squash, but Virgil was at least given some offense to make it a bit more watchable, even though he botched nearly half of his moves.


- Rick Steiner vs. Quebecer Jacques (w/ Johnny Polo):
From the 11/6/93 episode of SuperStars of Wrestling. Damn, WWE sure was giving away some major matches around this time, which will be noticed more as the tape goes on. The Steiners and Quebecers still had a thing going since the title switch, and are also on opposite teams at the Survivor Series. Jacques bitch slaps Rick before running outside. Back into the ring and Jacques runs right into a press slam. Steiner with an atomic drop followed by an over-head belly-to-belly suplex. We find out the Quebecers padlocked the Steiners into their dressing room during the Tatanka/Borga thing. Irish whip, and Steiner with the overhead powerslam for a two count. Out comes Pierre, so naturally Scott Steiner will come out soon, too. Jacques sends Steiner out of the ring via a running high knee. Polo with a cheap shot with his cane, and yep, here's Scotty Steiner to chase off the illegal heels. [Commercial break time, with commercials for WWF Royal Rumble, NOW on Genesis!] We come back with Jacques having Steiner caught in an abdominal stretch. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, but Steiner runs into a boot, and Jacques comes out with a clothesline for a two count. Jacques applies a reverse chinlock as the crowd chants something unaudible. Probably U-S-A or something like that. Jacques pounds Steiner down to the canvas. Irish whip and Jacques slams Steiner across the top rope for a two count. Jacques goes for a piledriver, but Steiner counters that with a back drop. Jacques gets crotched across the top rope, and now Steiner is DOGGING-UP! Irish whip, and Steiner with a back body drop. Steinerline connects, followed by a second. Scoop slam, and Steiner goes to the top rope to connect with his half of the top rope bulldog, and Jacques is dead at 7:05. No post-match shenanigans, however, but we cut to Face-to-Face for about half a second before the next match. *1/2 Nothing special of a match, and when Jacques was in control, it was a bit boring, but Rick Steiner's offense was still fresh and popped the crowd a lot, so huzzah.


- Promotional Consideration, paid for by the following: NEW WWF figures! Give me the power of Hulkamania! The knockout punch of Virgil! The audacity of I.R.S.! And the Madness of the Macho Man! Collect new WWF Figures now! Sold Seperately! Dig it! (Skinner gets no sold)


- Marty Jannetty vs. Adam Bomb (w/ Harvey Wippleman):
From the same episode as the previous match. Adam Bomb had won a squash match earlier in the match, but a post-match confrontation between Jannetty and himself lead to this match being signed for later in the broadcast. I'm sure Jack Tunney would allow such a thing, considering the events at WrestleMania IX that is still fresh in everyones memory bank. Both men exchange lefts and rights to start. Bomb with a scoop slam, but he misses an elbow drop. Bomb misses another, and Jannetty slides through his legs and hammers away. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Bomb runs into the boots of Jannetty. Top rope clothesline by Jannetty gets a two count. Bomb with a boot to the midsection, followed by ramming Jannetty into the buckle. Jannetty fights out of the corner and gets a an atomic drop for a two count. Front facelock applied by Jannetty to ground the big man. Bomb takes it into the corner, but a sucker blow doesn't work. Bomb is still in control though, and a short-arm clothesline gives Jannetty a chance to work in his signature twisting sell job. Jannetty is dumped outside, where Wippleman stomps away. The Kid runs down to get in his face, so Bomb comes off the apron with a sledge to the Kid. The Kid eats the steel steps and Bomb tosses him into the ring. The bell sounds at 2:43, so I'm guessing it's a No Contest. Jannetty recovers to jump on Bomb with a sleeper hold, and now here comes Rick Martel to even the odds and beat the crap out of the 1-2-3 Kid. Diesel is out next, followed by Razor Ramon, who cleans house, and I.R.S., who's abut 30 seconds late. Hmmm... I sense someone is missing from the traditional Survivor Series Teams Brawl™. Who can it be? 1/2* Match barely went 2 minutes without the interference, so it's hard to say it was any good.


- The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Bastion Booger:
From the 11/7/93 episode of Wrestling Challenge, with Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan on commentary. I always wondered how little Jim Ross sold out for by putting over the same crap he was mocking on WCW Television. Lockup, and the Kid breaks because Booger smells. Booger attacks him for the insult and wipes his tights in his face. That could be the next great finishing manuever. Irish whip, and the Kid comes back with some kicks and the reverse enziguri for a two count. The Kid tries a cross body, but Booger catches him with a powerslam. Irish whip to the corner, and the Kid does his over-selling bump. BIG back body drop by Booger as we go to a Commercial Break. Booger is still in control and choking the Kid across the middle rope. To change things up, Booger then chokes him across the top rope, and nails a double-underhook suplex. Booger applies a chinlock briefly, then sends the Kid to the corner again. Booger charges, eating turnbuckle, and the Kid rolls him up for a two count. The Kid with a spinning heel kick gets another two count. The Kid goes to the top rope with a missile dropkick, sending Booger outside, and the Kid nails a suicide dive for good measure. Back into the ring, and the Kid comes off the top again, this time missing a senton. Booger nails a big splash in return, and the Kid is done at 4:47. 3/4* The good last 90 seconds saved it from being a zero rating, and thankfully it was kept short. The commentary made it more watchable, but I donb't give scores to that unless it's REALLY good and the match is really bad.


- Scott Steiner vs. Ludvig Borga:
From the 11/8/93 episode of Monday Night Raw. Savage is back on commentary, but he's pissed off and waiting to get at Crush, so he does very little talking throughout the match. No managers or Survivor Series partners are at ringside yet, but it's still early. Borga with a pearl-harbor job on Steiner before the match. Borga punches a lot before Steiner is able to get his coat off. Irish whip to the corner, and Steiner charges out into a clothesline. Borga goes to the top rope and comes off with a diving clothesline. Irish whip, and Steiner comes back with a double under-hook slam. Steiner with a pum-handle slam now, and Borga rolls out of the ring for a breather. Finally back into the ring, and they lockup. Borga applies a standing side headlock. Irish whip to escape, and Borga puts Scott down with a shoulder block. Borga tries again, but Steiner catches him with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. Irish whip again, but Scott puts his head down too early and gets clobbered. Borga connects with a flying clothesline for a two count. Scoop slam by Borga, and he misses the jumping elbow drop that always misses. Steiner sends Borga out of the ring with a dropkick, and out comes the Quebecers as we go to a commercial. We come back with Steiner bring in Borga from the apron with a suplex. Steiner applies a Boston Crab, stealing the Models finishing move, and now here comes Rick Steiner. Borga eventually makes it to the ropes. Irish whip to the corner, and Steiner boots Borga in the face. School boy by Steiner gets a two count, as does an inside cradle. Steiner applies an armbar, and steps over the back of Borga for more effect. Irish whip, and Steiner connects with a dropkick for a two count. Scoop slam by Steiner, and he heads to the top rope, coming off with an ugly missile dropkick for another two count. Irish whip is reversed, and Borga catches him off the ropes with a powerslam for a two count of his own. Steiner is sent out of the ring, and it's time for shennanigans. Rick climbs up on the apron to piss-off Borga, who in return drags Rick into the ring by the head. Rick returns the favor with a back suplex, and in come the Quebecers for the Double Disqualification at 10:29, even though Rick attacked Borga first. The Steiners clean house after the match and send Borga running with a double clothesline. ** To quote someone else, this was Perfectly Acceptable Wrestling... from Scott Steiner. This was a total carry-job if there ever was an example needed to be presented.


- Special WWF Poll: You Pick The Match against Quebecer Pierre! Will he face Marty Jannetty, The 1-2-3 Kid, Doink the Clown, or... Made in the USA Lex Luger! Call 1-900-454-4RAW. It's 99 cents per call. Kids, you must be 18 years or older or have your parents permission before calling. I wonder how many idiots actually did call in for these things.


- Crush (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Dan Dubeil:
From the same episode of Monday Night Raw as the previous match. Crush has slightly tweaked his appearence for his heel turn, by adding a little coloring to his hair, wearing face paint (the Demolition painting kit on retail for $1.99!), and changing his ring attire from tropical orange, yellow, and purple to silver, purple, and black (and later adding red). We see Savage pacing back and forth during Crush's entrance, but McMahon is trying to hold him back. Randy Savage, hot head he is, throws Vince across the arena and dives at Crush in the aisle. WE GOT A PIER-SIX BRAWL! A gaggle of officials and road agents come to break it up, and in the process, the match is canceled for reasons not explained. We cut back one last time to the brawl as they are outside fighting next to a tree, as we head to the next match of the tape.


- Bret Hart & Owen Hart vs. Well Dunn (w/ Harvey Wippleman):
From the 11/14/93 episode of Wrestling Challenge. I wonder who has the upper-hand here... the team of JTTS', or the team that has a former World, IC, and Tag Team Champion. I wonder if I should call Bret and Owen "The Newer Foundation" or "The Hart Foundation V.2". Owen and Dunn start with a lockup. Owen with a wristlock, then does his complicated reveral spot. Irish whip is reversed, and Dunn with a shoulder block. Owen comes back with a monkey flip and arm drag takeover, then into an armbar. Owen works the arm more and Bret tags in with some beating on the left arm. Irish whip is reversed, and a crisscross leads to Bret catching Dunn with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a clothesline. Someone shut the fucking cunt at ringside up. Dunn comes back with a scoop slam, and Well tags in now to get his ass kicked. Owen comes off the top with a shot to the head, and he works the arm again with a wristlock. Well escapes with punches, and a blind tag leads to Dunn clotheslining Owen from the apron. Commercial break time, and we come back with Dunn having Owen stuck in a chinlock. Well Dunn doesn't do many exciting moves to work over Owen, but it's a good enough job to keep him from tagging out. Well misses a couple of charges to the corner, and Owen nails a spinning heel kick. Bret gets the hot tag, and he cleans the clocks of both Well and Dunn at the same time. Side back breaker to Dunn, and Bret comes off the top rope with an elbow drop. The sharpshooter is applied as Owen takes out Well, and the submission is academic at 4:52. 3/4* Nothing more than a squash for Bret Hart, and to show us how sucky Owen Hart is on his own. Amazing how they had him booked like such a loser then turned him into a credible main event threat less than 6 months later.


- Todd Pettengill presents the Survivor Series Report, because Fowler was fired the same week. The only change to the card is that the Undertaker is now subbing for Tatanka on the All-Americans team for their match against the Foreign Fanatics. We are shown some old photos of the Hart Family to show us that they're a family. Clips from Superstars, as we see Doink pop up on the video wall from three different cameras to spook Bastion Booger. Doink makes ugly jokes about Booger, no doubt stolen from one of those kid joke books you can find in the fuvenile section of the public Library.


- "Made in the USA" Lex Luger vs. Quebecer Pierre (w/ Johnny Polo):
From the 11/15/93 episode of Monday Night Raw. Luger apparently won the fan voting by a land slide against such other great names like The JTTS Kid, Marty Jannetty (I couldn't work the joke in here), and Doink the JTTS. Couldn't they have rigged a voting against CREDIBLE choices like the Undertaker and Bret Hart? Luger avoids an attack from behind and hammers away on Pierre with rights. Irish whip to the corner, and Luger with a back suplex for a quick two count. Lots of stalling for the last minute or so. Pierre stomps away on Luger in the corner, but gets creamed with a clothesline for another two count, and more resting outside by Pierre. Luger follows out this time and Polo, sportsman of the year, shoves Luger from behind. Pierre tries a charge, but Luger catches him coming with a back body drop as we go to a commercial break. Back in the ring and Luger applies a wristlock. Pierre escapes with knees to the midsection and puts Luger down with a clothesline. Pierre pounds away on Luger and applies a front facelock. Luger counters with a wristlock and connects with a clothsline. Luger goes back to the armbar, the most electrifying move in sports entertainment history! Polo trips up Luger right in the view of referee Danny Davis, but no DQ is called. Pierre knocks Luger out of the ring with a knee to the back, and comes off the apron with a sledge. Luger is introduced to the steps a few times in between a lot of nothing. Weird reminder as Heenan makes reference to Luger as "an all american boy", and Pierre's partner is Jacques Rougeau, who used a theme song back in the day with those lyrics. Pierre nails the Vader-Bomb out of the corner, but Luger kicks out at two... I never noticed WWF taking a shot at WCW here before (Vader's finisher was that, of course, and he was the WCW Champion at the time). Boring chinlock applied by Pierre, and it's Commercial Break #2. Pierre is still mounting Luger with a chinlock when we come back. Luger finally breaks the damn hold by falling back on Pierre. Pierre is the first up, though, and connects with a piledriver for a two count. Pierre with a scoop slam, and he heads up to the top rope to connect with an ugly ass leg drop for another two count. Pierre with a side suplex in honor of Dino Bravo, and he goes up to the top once more, and misses the senton splash. God damn, end this fucking match already! Pierre continues controlling the match, but eats buckle at 105 mph. Luger mounts his comeback (finally), flooring Pierre with a series of clotheslines, and taking him over with a powerslam for a two count. Luger sets Pierre up on the top turnbuckle, then slams him off. Polo comes in to be knocked right back out, and Luger KO's Pierre with the loaded forearm for the three count at 13:25. After the match, Pierre is stretchered out of the ring, and is later pulled out of Survivor Series, and being replaced by Crush. On the Foreign Fanatics. Pfft. 1/4* God damn, did this match suck hard ass. How bad does it make Luger that he couldn't beat half of a tag team in less than 20 minutes (commercial breaks taken out, of course).


- Marty Jannetty vs. Diesel:
From the 11/21/93 episode of Wrestling Challenge, the same day of the 1993 Survivor Series Showdown. Diesel must've lost his singlet, because he has some goofy zebra stripe one on here, one he never wore ever again after this, and never wore before either. The canned heat for this match is incredible. It's like a 1991 episode of Superstars or Challenge. Diesel shoves Jannetty into the corner, but misses a forearm, and Jannetty comes back with a big right. Diesel with a knee to the midsection, followed by an elbow across the back of the head. Scoop slam by Diesel, and he drops a big elbow for a two count. Irish whip, and Jannetty goes for a cross body. Diesel tries turning it into a slam, but Jannetty counters it into an inside cradle for a two count. Diesel won't sell for nothing here, and continues beating on Jannetty. Irish whip, and Jannetty takes Diesel down with a head scissors, and sends him out of the ring with a dropkick. Jannetty with a plancha, but he gets thrown into the ring post for trying to go to work on the outside. Diesel works over Jannetty as Razor Ramon comes down the aisle. Diesel with a twirling side suplex and a big boot, but Diesel decides to yell at Ramon instead of covering. Jannetty is back up and elbows Diesel from behind, typing him up in the ropes from the outside in the process. In the shocking turn of events, Jannetty is awarded the match by Count-Out at 3:58. Well, that was certainly an unusual finish. 3/4* Nothing much of a match, but you got to give points to Jannetty for a couple of spots and basically making it more than barely watchable.

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Survivor Series Showdown 1993:
(Note: This was already re-reviewed a few weeks ago, so feel free to skip over until you get to fresh match reviews once again.)


This Weekend on SuperStars... Bret Hart was in a middle of a match with Irwin R. Schyster when interference from Mr. Fuji awarded the match by DQ to Hart. Before any beatings can be done on Bret Hart, his brother Owen made the save, and Yokozuna was made to look like a fool. Why is this important? Because Bret Hart challenges Yokozuna for the World Title on tonight's broadcast!


- Commentary duties is split in two, since the matches were taped in separate locations. Location #1 is being done by Vince McMahon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and the B-Team... I mean Location #2 consists of Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon. While the latter would probably be better when it comes to the wrestling PBP, Heenan always rocks, and ticking off Vince McMahon is always a plus. Obvious blue-screen effects by WWE to make it look like the broadcast teams are actually in the arenas.


- Doink The Clown vs. Bastion Booger:
Commentary is being done by Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon for this match. Lucky them... you have the most talented broadcaster in Jim Ross, and he's doing the comedy match. At the Survivor Series, Doink teams with Doink, Doink, and Doink (please don't ask) to take on the team of Bastion Booger, Bam Bam Bigelow, and the Head Shrinkers. Doink comes to the ring on a scooter, with buckets hanging from the handle bars. Bucket #1 has confetti in it. Doink talks Booger into using his scooter, but Booger is too fat for it, and thus falls over. Booger, the tough man he is, takes his anger out on the defenseless inanimate object. Face-to-Face time and Doink squirts Booger with his flower. Next we get the old 100 foot glove trick as Booger tries jerking Doink towards himself by the arm. First lockup goes into the corner, and Booger misses a slow punch. Doink with an Irish whip to the corner, and Doink kicks Booger in the butt. Booger misses a charge to the corner, and Doink trips Booger by kneeling down behind him. Booger rolls outside for some stalling. He pulls Doink out by the leg and rams Doink into various things. He sets Doink up against the ring post, and for the first time ever, the charge actually hits! Booger hammers on Doink (weakly) and chokes him across the top rope. Irish whip, and Doink goes down from a back elbow. Booger with some dancing, and he goes back to work. After a lot more nothing, Booger goes to the reverse chinlock. Doink spills to the outside on a weak kick this side of Nikolai Volkoff. Back in the ring, and the clubbering continues. Booger with a series of shoulders to the midsection in the corner. Bastion flattens Doink with a leg drop, and chokes him a little more. Please wrestling God, end this fucking match... Doink attempts a comeback, but a rake of the eyes ends that. Irish whip, and Booger clotheslines Doink. He goes for a cover, but Doink tricks him into getting off, and Doink rolls Booger up for the three count at 7:35. -* That was really fucking painful to watch, and you're telling me that finish actually makes sense ever?! This was basically a super-extended squash for Bastion Booger until Doink outsmarted him for the surprise win. After the match, Doink dumps some hot sauce onto the pizza Booger brought with him before the match, and hilarity ensues!


- Three Weeks Ago on SuperStars... Tatanka battled Ludvig Borga in a battle of undefeated wrestlers. With the help of Mr. Fuji and a steel chair, Borga ended Tatanka's 20-month undefeated streak by pinning him with one finger. After the match, Yokozuna helped add insult-to-injury by dropping several Banzai's on the ribs of Tatanka until "Made in the USA" Lex Luger made the save (after fighting off both Quebecers). Because of Tatanka's injuries (kayfabe), The Undertaker was named his replacement.


- Raymond Rougeau with a very special podium Interview with the All-Americans, The Steiner Brothers, The Undertaker, and team captain Lex Luger. The feuds going into that match were technically Luger/Yokozuna and Steiners/Quebecers, but Luger was working house shows with Ludvig Borga, while we still had the hint of his feud with Yokozuna. When overwhelming crowd support for Bret Hart at Royal Rumble '94 changed plans, Luger was dead in the water for most of 1994 until Tatanka's heel turn at SummerSlam. Oh, this is a paint-by-numbers interview, as they preach about America being great, and they throw threats at their opponents.


- Four Weeks Ago on Monday Night Raw... Bobby Heenan did a special in-ring interview with Crush (with a goatee) and his "new" manager Mr. Fuji (no one brings up that Fuji managed Crush when he was a member of Demolition). Savage talked Crush into turning to the good side, but Crush turned heel a second time, and with the help of Yokozuna, flattens him like a bug. Two Weeks Later... Savage assaulted Vince McMahon before attacking Crush before his scheduled match against some unknown jobber.


- Virgil vs. Crush (w/ Mr. Fuji):
Now here's the deal... Crush is on a team called the Foreign Fanatics (with "Japanese" but really Samoan Yokozuna, Canadian Jacques Rougeau, and Finnish Ludvig Borga), but he's being billed from Kona, Hawaii still. Unless my geography is really bad, Hawaii is part of the United States, and has been for the last 47 years. Virgil has been on job duty for well over a year by this point, and quite honestly, was surprised he was still around. Virgil doesn't even get an entrance, the poor bastard. Crush attacks Virgil before the bell with a series of rights and a headbutt. Virgil goes down to a weak kick, and Crush follows with some choking. Snapmare and rake of the eyes by Crush, and Danny Davis gets in his face for it. Crowd chants "USA", but since Crush is from the USA, it's a weak chant. Virgil mounts a comeback with a boot to the face and a diving clothesline, and it's Lucha-Virgil with a plancha! Virgil applies a wristlock, but Crush isn't selling. He fails at a roll up, and Crush knocks Virgil's head off with a reverse crescent kick. Crush does his mock-karate offense a bit more while Heenan and McMahon discuss Lex Luger's motorcycle accident in 1992. Virgil tries fighting off Crush with shoulder blocks, but Crush no-sells and floors him with a big right. Crush works over Virgil in the corner, but misses a charge, and Virgil sunset flips him for a two count! Crush is back up with more whacky kicks and chokes. Choking must be a required move for heels, because Crush has been doing a lot of it. Virgil catches Crush charging into the corner with a boot to the face, and comes off the top rope with a clothesline. Virgil with his signature jabs, followed by a sledge that sends Crush to the outside. Crush tries something off the apron, but Crush catches him and rams Virgil into the side of the ring. Back into the ring and we get a Virgil chant. Virgil blocks a suplex with an inside cradle for a two count! Crush with a field goal kick to the balls and drops Virgil with more chops. Virgil ducks a punch and applies the Million Dollar Dream! Crush escapes that rather quickly and floors Virgil with a clothesline. Press slam by Crush and he drops Virgil's throat across the top rope. The Cranium Crush/Head Vice is applied, and damn, looking back on it that move really fucking sucked. Virgil apparently passes out from the pain, awarding the match to Crush at 7:54. I can't believe I actually liked that move... *1/4 While neither man did anything spectacular, Virgil's well-timed comebacks (and a plancha?!) made the match a bit entertaining, while Crush's lumbering offense made it boring. I guess when turning heel, it means you must put your movement into cruise control instead of looking like you give a shit. After the match, Crush reapplies the dreaded head squeeze, because it's that fucking awesome.


- WWF Intercontinental Championship Match:
Razor Ramon © vs. "The Model" Rick Martel (w/ Harvey Wippleman):
From an episode of SuperStars, and the long awaited rematch that determined the new Intercontinental Champion. The only explanation I have for them showing this again in much longer than recap version is that they had some time to fill. We're Joined in Progress with Ramon applying a knuckle-lock on Martel and turning it into a wristlock. Martel has Wippleman with him, because his team includes Adam Bomb, and his manager is Wippleman. Martel comes back with shoulders to the midsection, but misses a second rope cross body, allowing Ramon to cover for a two count. Ramon with the fall-away slam (a move used now by JBL) for a two count. Ramon calls for the Razor's Edge, but Wippleman climbs onto the apron to break it up and allow Martel to send Ramon outside via a running high knee. Wippleman teases an attack on Ramon, but gets caught. Martel comes off the apron with a sledge, but Ramon hits him in the midsection. Ramon sends Martel into Wippleman with an atomic drop, then rolls inside the ring to beat the count-out at 2:10. No Rating since this was too much joined in progress. After the match, Martel gets in Wippleman's face for costing him the match, so out comes Adam Bomb to tell off Martel for putting his hands on the greasy manager. Shoving match irrupts until Diesel comes to ringside to try and break it up, and finally the team captain I.R.S. makes peace (but not without a chant of "Irwin" from the crowd). How will this effect the team at the Survivor Series? Read someone's recap, since there's plenty of them.


- Reo's Roundup with special guest co-host Shawn Michaels (with his Intercontinental belt). This interview segment lasted all of 3 weeks before someone canned it, and featured the former Brother Love Bruce Prichard dressed up under all those dirty clothes of Reo (and doing his best Dusty Rhodes impersonation). Apparently they are outside the house of the Hart Family, but unless Calgary suddenly had a heat wave, I'm guessing they taped this somewhere else... and my suspicions are confirmed, as the door is answered by "Helen Hart" (with a walker in hand), a man with a hairy chest wearing a cheap mask. Michaels does a spit take after kissing "her", then tries to stir the pot that Owen is in Bret's shadow. We then see "Stu Hart" in a wheel chair playing Super Nintendo while petting a stuffed animal. Vince McMahon has enough and cuts away after that. A waste of time, but it's pretty damn funny.


- Marty Jannetty vs. Irwin R. Schyster:
Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Ross are back on commentary. Jannetty teams with Razor Ramon, the 1-2-3 Kid, and Mr. Perfect (subbed for by Randy Savage with no warning) at Survivor Series to take on the team mentioned earlier, but for those who skipped over it, it's I.R.S., Adam Bomb, Rick Martel, and Diesel. Crowd chants "Irwin" while we get a slow start. Warning: I'll refer to I.R.S. as Mike Rotundo during PBP, because it's a lot less annoying to type up. Rotundo scoop slams Jannetty from the lockup position, then readjusts his tie. Lockup #2, and Rotundo takes Jannetty over with a hip toss. "Marty" chant now, but it's a female dominated chant. Lockup into the ropes, and Jannetty blocks a cheap shot. Jannetty with a scoop slam, followed by a hip toss and dropkick, sending Rotundo out of the ring to take a breather. Jim Ross and Monsoon bring up Rotundo's background in amateur wrestling, but without calling him "Mike Rotundo." After a little stalling outside, we go back in the ring. Jannetty applies a wristlock as the crowd taunts Rotundo more. Irish whip, and Rotundo puts Jannetty down with a shoulder block. Jannetty comes back with a drop toe hold and goes into an armbar. Rotundo counters with a hip toss, but Jannetty holds on to the arm. Rotundo makes the ropes to break, and heads outside again. Back in the ring again, and Jannetty applies a standing side headlock. Jannetty walks up the turnbuckle to take Rotundo over with the hold, but it's countered by Rotundo with a head scissors. Jannetty kips up and applies a hammerlock, but Rotundo makes the ropes quickly. Jannetty applies another side headlock, and a crisscross leads to Rotundo side stepping Jannetty, causing him to spill to the outside. Rotundo rams Jannetty into the apron and ring steps before going back into the ring. Jannetty counters a suplex from the apron with a school boy roll-up for a two count. Rotundo is up first though, and puts Jannetty down with a back elbow. Rotundo with a quick elbow drop for a two count, then works in the reverse chinlock. Jannetty fights back to his feet, but Rotundo applies the obligatory abdominal stretch, then uses the ropes for added leverage. Jannetty eventually counters with a hip toss, but misses an elbow drop. Rotundo whips Jannetty to the corner, but misses a charge. Jannetty sends Rotundo to the corner hard then hammers away while holding his tongue. Jannetty with a fist to the midsection followed by a running knee lift for a two count. Irish whip is reversed, and Jannetty catches Rotundo in a sunset flip for a two count. Rotundo comes back with a snap suplex on Jannetty for a two count. Irish whip is reversed, and Jannetty connects with a diving back elbow for a two count. Another countered Irish whip, and Rotundo fucking kills Jannetty with the Write Off (diving lariat, with the Jannetty over-sell special for added effect) for the obvious pinfall at 12:36. *** A little slow at times, but a well paced old-school wrestling match and a super hot finish boosts the rating a bit. No commercials breaking up the action boosts my opinion, but I could've done without the stalling during the opening minutes of the match.


- WWF Unbelievable Commercial. Why am I noting this? Because some punk kid is dressing up as various wrestlers (including Randy Savage, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, and Tatanka), with the joke being "don't fall for cheap imitations." I'm sure everyone is probably laughing and calling McMahon a hypocrite for this (and many other things), since we not only got "The Nacho Man" (an imitation of Randy Savage in the Billionaire Ted skits), but Razor Ramon as well (as part of the "New Razor and Diesel" angle with Jim Ross in the fall of 1996).


- Raymond Rougeau with another special podium interview, this time with the Foreign Fanatics, along with their various managers. Basically we get the same interview as from the All-Americans, but the names are changed and the threats are a little more violent. Forgive me but I pretty much fast forward this all until someone can speak clear English, like Johnny Polo.


- Survivor Series '93 Report hosted by Todd Pettengill (try spelling that name without looking at the graphic on the screen). The Survivor Series is coming up "this Wednesday" at 8 p.m. ET. Todd says he wouldn't be surprised if we saw more changes to the card by the time of Survivor Series (like Mr. Perfect being replaced by Randy Savage). We run down the entire card for Survivor Series...
1. The All-Americans vs. The Foreign Fanatics
2. The Hart Family (Bret, Owen, Bruce, and Keith Hart) vs. Shawn Michaels & 3 Mystery Knights
3. Doink x 4 vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger, the Head Shrinkers
4. Ramon/The Kid/Jannetty/Mr. Perfect vs. Schyster/Martel/Diesel/Adam Bomb
5. Non-Sanctioned SMW Tag Titles: The Rock n' Roll Express vs. The Heavenly Bodies


- This Weekend on SuperStars... Bam Bam Bigelow has just won another squash match, but his post-match celebration is interrupted by Doink on the early-days Titantron screen. Doink goofs around then introduces his partners Doink, Doink, and Doink. Obviously it's the same guy filmed 4 different times with the same bucket. Bigelow, the genius he is, yells at the screen like Doink can hear him. Oh well, at least he didn't get bitched up in a verbal debate with a doll like Rick Steiner.


- WWF World Championship Match:
Yokozuna © (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Bret "Hitman" Hart:
It's the long awaited WrestleMania IX Rematch for the World Title, and this time I don't think Hulk Hogan will run in after the match and win the title from the new champion 124 seconds after the new champion beat the old one. McMahon and Heenan are back for the final match of the broadcast, and hopefully Bret has his working boots on, otherwise this one will be long and boring. Yokozuna doesn't have Jim Cornette with him, which makes me sad. Hart attacks Yokozuna from behind with roundhouse rights, rocking the giant champion. Hart comes off the ropes with a cross body, but Yokozuna casually slams him. Yokozuna misses an elbow drop (has he ever hit that?), and Hart dropkicks Yokozuna out of the ring. Yokozuna staggers around and accidentally bops himself on the ring post. Bobby Heenan claims he knows who the 3 Knights are, then gives a run-around speech to avoid telling us. Hart crotches Yokozuna as he comes back into the ring and applies a sleeper hold. Yokozuna snap-mares Hart off, but the pounding continues. Yokozuna no-sells again and floors Hart with a clothesline. Yokozuna drops an elbow across the throat of Hart and rams him into the turnbuckle. Yokozuna floors Hart with a headbutt then stomps him out of the ring, giving Mr. Fuji a chance to earn that paycheck. We come back from a commercial with Hart fighting off Yokozuna in with big rights. Yokozuna goes down to one knee, but takes Hart out with a blow to the throat. Snapmare by Yokozuna, and it's time for the vulcan neck pinch, a traditional move used by the Samoans. Hart eventually fights back to his feet, but Yokozuna casually dumps him over the top rope. Yokozuna follows out, and gets rammed into the ring steps for his troubles. Referee Earl Hebner is distracted by Fuji as Yokozuna smacks Hart across the back of his head with a steel chair. He's Hardcore! He's Hardcore! He's Hardcore! We take another break... We come back again with Yokozuna beating the tar out of Hart in the corner. Hart comes back winning a slugfest, but Yokozuna wisely side steps a dropkick and drops a fat-assed leg to squeeze some of the grease out of Hart's hair. Yokozuna plays some stalling by pretending the U.S. flag in the front row bothers him. Yokozuna chokes Hart in the corner, and you can tell Yokozuna is gassed. I don't recall many matches going this long, and since we had two commercial breaks, we are past the 16 minute mark if I kept them. Yokozuna misses the avalanche in the corner, giving Hart a chance to fight back. He nails a series of clotheslines, and the Hart Attack version drops Yokozuna for a two count. Bret lays out Fuji on the apron, then comes off the second rope only to be caught in a bear-hug. Hart escapes by biting away on Yokozuna. Hart with a punt of Yokozuna's face and comes off the middle rope with a bulldog for a 2.9999999 count. Bret to the ropes again and he comes off with an elbow drop for another two count. Crowd chants "USA", but Bret Hart is Canadian, so it makes no sense. Hart ducks under a clothesline, but jumps into a belly-to-belly suplex. Yokozuna is sucking wind like Scott Steiner at the 2003 Royal Rumble now, but he has an excuse (he's really big). Yokozuna bounces off the ropes and misses a splash. Hart takes advantage of Yokozuna's fallen situation and applies the Sharpshooter! Out comes Owen Hart for no reason other than to run-in. Mr. Fuji has the salt bucket and clobbers Bret with it behind the referee's back, which triggers Owen to comes in the ring to beat on Yokozuna with the bucket, drawing the DQ, and giving Yokozuna the match at 15:42. ** Pretty good match on Yokozuna's scale, but nothing special for Bret Hart. When Bret was in control, the match was going at a lightning quick pace, barely giving me time to keep up, but when Yokozuna was in the drivers seat... it's really bad. Also booking such a long match made Yokozuna winded, and the WrestleMania matches with Bret Hart going barely 10 minutes each shows that. The finish sucked, but you couldn't put the title on Bret here (Luger was still penciled in), and Bret couldn't take the fall either, so we got the un decisive finish.


- We wrap things up with both broadcast teams running down the card and giving their opinions on what will happen. Gorilla Monsoon makes threats at Bobby Heenan, which gives Bobby a chance to tell Monsoon to eat some bananas and makes fun of Jim Ross for not knowing what indoor plumbing is. Oh, and we get a special Thanksgiving Men on a Mission rap. Sadly, I didn't cut the tape here, but thankfully, I do have the fast forward button, so I skip like I've never skipped before.

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Part II of the Review since 1 post was too big to fit this all...


- Razor Ramon vs. Diesel:
From the 11/29/93 episode of Monday Night Raw 5 days after the Survivor Series, and this is Non-Title for some reason not explained. Maybe Diesel wasn't a title contender? If so, wow, remember back when Diesel wasn't considered over enough to get a secondary title match on regular television? I'm guessing we get this match because of the finish from Jannetty/Diesel the week before on Challenge. The initial lockups of the match go in the favor of Diesel. Ramon goes to work on the arm od Diesel with a wtistlock, but Diesel is TOO POWERFUL and throws Ramon off. Side headlock applied by Diesel, followed by a shoulder block. Ramon comes back with a drop toe hold and goes into an armbar. Hammerlock applied by Ramon, and Diesel escapes with an elbow to the side of the face. Diesel chokes Ramon across the middle rope and nails a splash across the back to add insult to injury. Diesel with an elbow drop to the small of the back of Ramon for a two count. Back breaker by Diesel gets another two count. Diesel connects with the dreaded side suplex, but doesn't cover until Ramon is able to kick out at two. Diesel applies a bear-hug, three minutes into the match. LAME! Diesel with the snake eyes for another two count, and he goes back to the bear-hug. Ramon makes the comeback, nailing a top rope bulldog for barely a two count. Ramon with a scoop slam, and it's time for the Razor's Edge... but here comes Shawn Michaels to run-in and give Ramon the win by Disqualification at 5:16. Michaels nails the early version of Sweet Chin Music, and now the 1-2-3 Kid runs in to save Ramon. The KLIQ is running wild on Monday Night Raw! 1/4* Match was dog shit of course. I still can't believe how Diesel got such a push in 1994-95, considering his severe lack of talent.


- Vince McMaon is in the ring to present the 1993 Superstar of the Year Trophy. That thing must've set him back $7, I bet. First the runner-up, Lex Luger, is brought out to give a few words. The running joke for the past month is that Bobby Heenan thought he would win, despite not being a wrestler and not being a candidate. After Luger says flattering things about the winner, Heenan is upset to find out the real winner is Bret Hart, who talks for a while. Poor Boobs.


- Footage from Survivor Series '93's Family Feud Match. Michaels rakes Bret in the eyes (who oversells it to hell), and Owen tags in to kick the poopy out of Michaels' depends diapers. In a miscommunication, Owen bounces off of the ropes, and in the process knocking Bret off and into the security rail. Owen is a crybaby about it though, before walking off. The remaining Harts survive, and out comes Owen to celebrate... or does he? Instead, he jerks Bret off... the top rope, and gets into a shoving match. Line of the night is Bobby Heenan making fun of Helen Hart, who is looking on "worried" (at least she acts better than Linda McMahon): Oh no, they're going to reposess my teeth!




- The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Shawn Michaels:
From the 12/6/93 episode of Monday Night Raw, and a direct result of the finish from the Diesel/Ramon match. Before the match, we're reminded that Doink will be in Action with his new midget sidekick, Dink. Too bad I don't have that on tape. That was sarcasm, by the way. Michaels is wearing his fake Intercontinental Championship, an angle that was pretty good and didn't require a whole lot of work from the writers. This is Michaels' first appearence in the ring on Raw since September, so let's see if he has any ring rust. Michaels talks smack before a lockup goes into the corner. Michaels with rights, so the Kid returns the favor. The Kid with a side headlock followed by a shoulder block. Michaels tries a slam, but The Kid escapes that, then Michaels escapes an atomic drop, but a succession of martial art kicks send Michaels flying out of the ring. The Kid with a springboard plancha from the second turnbuckle to the outside, and the crowd barely reacts. Michaels counters a suplex from the apron into a go-behind waistlock, and the Kid counters that with a german suplex for a two count. The Kid applies a side headlock into a takeover to slow this down a bit so I cna catch up. Michaels works back to his feet, but the Kid takes him back over with the headlock. Michaels finally escapes with a back suplex, and rams the Kid into the buckle. Irish whip to the corner, and a series of running back and forths leads to Michaels sending the Kid outside with a head scissors. HBK follows out, but an Irish whip is reversed, sending Michaels into the ring post. the Kid comes off the apron for something, but Michaels catches him with a powerslam as we go to a commercial. We come back with Michaels connecting with a series of back breakers for a two count. Irish whip to the corner, and the Kid bumps hard of course. HBK sets the Kid up on the buckle, but a super-plex is blocked, and the Kid knocks him off with rights. The Kid comes off the top for a cross body, but Michaels dropkicks him in mid-air for a two count. Michaels with a side back breaker, and keeps the Kid in position over the knee to snap him like a Slim Jim. The Kid escapes with a knee to the face, and a crisscross leads to a spinning heel kick from the Kid, who rolls over with one arm across Michaels' chest for a two count. Irish whip, and a double head collision puts both men down again. The Kid controls with roundhouse rights followed by some kicks in the corner. Irish whip across the ring, and the Kid nails a spinning heel kick into the midsection. The Kid heads up to the top rope for a twisting cross body press, but it only gets a two count. The Kid with a scoop slam, and he goes up top once again, no doubt to miss the senton... yup, he misses it as we go to a commercial. Michaels has the Kid laid out as we come back, and he calls for... the Razor's Edge? Michaels nails it, but since Michaels is only about 5'10", it isn't as impressive as the 6'6" Scott Hall's version. He covers the Kid, but picks him up at a count of two. Michaels nails a second Razor's Edge, but goes for a third instead of covering. Ramon makes the save by pulling the Kid out of the ring, so out comes Michaels to bitch slap Ramon. A chase around the ring leads to the bell being run at 10:35, no doubt a No Contest. Michaels runs up the aisle, allowing Diesel to cheap shot Ramonb from behind the curtain. Michaels does a beatdown on Ramon, including two ugly Razor's Edges on the concrete. ***3/4 Great match, especially since it was given away on regular television. Unlike the Kid's match with Jannetty earlier which featured some good chain wrestling and psycology, this was more entertaining thanks to plenty quick spots and well timed comebacks (I mention the "unlike" part to show how different Michaels and Jannetty were in the ring, with Michaels being more flash and Jannetty more substance). I could've done without the finish though, so I knocked a bit off the rating because of that. Also, this match is kind of historic, as it was the last feature match for Bobby Heenan to call in the WWF, as Gorilla Monsoon (literally) showed him the door at the end of the broadcast. Heenan gives a final salute in the direction of the arena to end his WWF run.


- "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Headshrinker Fatu (w/ Afa):
From the 12/13/93 episode of Monday Night Raw, and Jim Cornette is now in the broadcast position left vacant by the departure of Bobby Heenan, no doubt huge shoes to fill, but a role Cornette seems perfect for. This is Savage's first match on Monday Night Raw in quite sometime, thanks to his banning from commentary due to attacking Crush a few weeks ago. Savage takes over Fatu with an arm drag, but quickly runs into a back elbow. Fatu hammers away on Savage and puts him down with a headbutt. Irish whip, and Fatu with a clothesline. Savage tries ramming Fatu into the buckle, but that isn't going to work, and Fatu with another headbutt. Irish whip, and Savage boots Fatu in the face, before slamming his head into the canvas. Fatu no-sells again, and a thrust kick sends Savage out of the ring. Savage is introduced into the ring steps as we get a nice shot of Savage's bald spot. Savage AGAIN tries beating the head of Fatu. Draw your own conclussion from there. Savage continues taking a beating outside of the ring. Back into the ring (finally) and Fatu drops a headbutt for a two count. Savage goes to the eyes to take control, and takes Fatu over with a sloppy back drop. Savage charges at Fatu, but gets back dropped over the top rope and to the floor. Afa gets in his token cheap shot as Fatu distracts the referee, who trips over Savage as he's rolled back into the ring. Fatu continues to dominate the former World and IC Champion, but he goes up top, allowing Savage to crotch him across the top rope. Savage heads up now and nails the double axehandle on the floor. Savage goes back in the ring and kills Fatu with a clothesline, and takes a shot at Afa for good measure. Savage with the flying elbow drop, and Savage is the winner at 5:52. 1/2* Hot finish, but the rest was junk, as if we're supposed to believe Fatu had any kind of a chance against Randy Savage in a singles match.


Royal Rumble 1994 Report: Brought to you by Todd Pettengill. It's January 22nd, 1994 from the... uh... place... in that city. Anyway, on the card so far: The Undertaker vs. Yokozuna for the World Title in a Casket Match. IC Champion Razor Ramon defends against Irwin R. Schyster. Finally, the first nine participants announced for the Royal Rumble: Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Mabel, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Crush, Doink the Clown, Scott Steiner... and Kamala. Who the hell thought of Kamala? He hasn't even been on WWF TV since June. And what's with Scott and Mabel being named, but not Rick and Mo? Logic in Wrestling.


- Tatanka vs. Ludvig Borga:
It's the ReMatch everyone wanted from the 12/20/93 episode of Monday Night Raw. We get highlights from the Superstars match, but the chairshot is clipped out because it's too reprehensible to be seen on television (Vince's words, not mine). We get lame promos across a black room for effect from Tatanka (Buffalo). Shawn Michaels is this weeks special guest on commentary with Vince McMahon. Shawn Michaels makes a VERY outdated (by todays standards, that is) pop-culture reference to Shannon Doherty(sp?) and 90210. Tatanka hammers away on Borga to start with chops and punches. Tatanka follows Borga out of the ring to ram him into the ring post. Tatanka does his War Dance before beating on Borga with more chops. Tatanka with a scoop slam, followed by a jumping elbow drop. Tatanka goes to the top rope and comes off with a cross body press for a two count. Tatanka chops away more, staggering Borga. Irish whip is reversed, and Borga nails a nasty looking diving clothesline. Tatanka hammers away with rights and lefts to the body. Now that I think about it, I wonder how stiff a Borga/Vader match was, considering Borga's background and Vader's brutality. Back to the match... Tatanka no-sells (WOO! Take that!) and chops more, before running into a powerslam. Scoop slam by Borga and he misses the elbow drop that always misses. Tatanka with several clotheslines as we see Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji coming to ringside. Irish whip, and Tatanka with a powerslam. Tatanka goes up to the top rope so Fuji can hit him with his flag pole, and in comes yokozuna for the Tatanka DQ victory at 4:44. Tatanka beats on Yokozuna now until Borga recovers. Luger runs in now to make the save, and slams Yokozuna again (although it's so fucking fake, since Yoko basically does a running start before Luger "slam" him). * Same as the previous match, except they cut out all of the resting. Not too bad, but not very good either.


- Marty Jannetty vs. Johnny Polo:
From the 12/27/93 episode of Monday Night Raw, and this is the first appearence of Johnny Polo in the ring. The Quebecers are the guest broadcasters of the week, so you should expect a stupid finish. Back then, of course, I had no idea he was actually a wrestler, so I expected Jannetty to cream him. Polo with a side headlock into a hammerlock. Jannetty counters into his own, and Polo escapes with a hip toss. Polo with another side headlock. Jannetty counters into an overhead wristlock and a side headlock of his own. Crisscross sequence and Polo takes Jannetty over with an arm drag. Polo goes back to the headlock and this time pulls the hair to keep in control. They trade waistlocks, and Jannetty rams Polo into the buckle. Polo escapes to the apron, so Jannetty slingshots him back in and connects with an atomic drop. Jannetty with a back suplex this time, for only a two count. Jannetty trades off between a wristlock and armbar. Jannetty turns a crucifix into a sunset flip for a two count, then goes back to the armbar. Polo escapes, and Jannetty tries a blind cross body, which causes him to spill over the top rope, to the floor. Polo with a quasi-plancha to the surprise of me, as Jacques cheers him on from the broadcast position. Polo hammers away on Jannetty from the apron, but gets caught with a slingshot cross body for a two count. Polo is back on top with stomps, and takes over Jannetty with a snapmare and into a chinlock. Jannetty escapes with elbows to the midsection. Jannetty with a series of a shoulder blocks, and a crisscross leads to a double cross body attempt, knocking both men down. Jannetty sends Polo to the corner for the Sgt. Slaughter bump (chest first bounce backwards). Irish whip, and Jannetty connects with a diving back elbow. Irish whip is reversed, anbd Jannetty slams Polo's face into the canvas. Jannetty heads to the top rope, but Polo crotches him. Polo tries for a super-plex, but Jannetty blocks by dropping Polo on his face, and coming off the top with a cross body for a two count. Jannetty charges into the boot of Polo, but recovers in time to leap frog a charge and roll Polo up for another two count. Jannetty with a forearm across the side of the face, but Polo comes back with a boot to the face. Jannetty slides back in between the legs of Polo and dropkicks him out of the ring. Pierre goes over to check on Polo, so Jannetty nails a baseball slide on both men. Jannetty goes for something, but Pierre trips him up from behind. Jannetty with some sweet chin music. Pierre pulls Polo out, so Jannetty comes off with a body press from the top rope to the outside. Jannetty tries a sunset flip into the ring, but Polo blocks, and with the help of Pierre, pins Jannetty at 8:23. Ouch, that had to be a tough job to do for Jannetty. **1/2 Good match, but was lacking any kind of psycology, and Polo posing in between moves got annoying rather quickly. Still, good for a match featuring a guy presented as a non-wrestler/manager. I could've done without the cheap finish, but I expected that since the Quebecers were at ringside for the match.


- WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
The Quebecers © (w/ Johnny Polo) vs. Marty Jannetty & The 1-2-3 Kid:
From the 1/10/94 episode of Monday Night Raw, the 1 Year Anniversary of Raw. Randy Savage is back on commentary, no doubt reinstated by Jack Tunney, who is the biggest babyface lover in the history of wrestling figure heads. The Video quality here is terrible, but watchable, and thank God I'm getting a better version soon. Jannetty and Jacques start for their teams. Jacques with a boot to the midsection after a teased knuckle-lock challenge, and Jannetty returns the favor with a victory roll for a two count. Lockup into the corner, and Jacques with a knee to the midsection. Irish whip to the corner, and Jannetty surprises Jacques with a sunset flip for another two count. The Kid tags in, as does Pierre. Lockup, and Pierre applies a standing side headlock. Irish whip, and Pierre sends The Kid flying with a shoulder block. Crisscross, and the Kid connects with a spinning heel kick for a two count. Jacques is back in, and gets caught in a headlock by the Kid. Pierre attacks from behind, and in comes Jannetty to get beat up. The heels are eventually whiped into each other, and the faces send them running to the outside for some strategy talking. Jannetty comes back in to go up against Pierre now. Pierre applies a wristlock, and hammers on the left arm with elbows. Jannetty counters into his own, and the Kid comes in for a double back body. Jannetty lifts the Kid into the air for a quasi-missile dropkick to Pierre, and a dropkick to Jacques sends him out of the ring as well. The heels pretend to walk off, but they come back without the threatening of a referee to award the titles to Jannetty and the Kid with a CO victory. Jannetty with a side headlock on Jacques, followed by a shoulder block. Criss cross sequence leads to Jannetty punching Jacques in the face as he tried for a monkey flip.

[Commercial Break]

We take an instant replay break to see Jannetty slide through the legs of Jacques and nailing sweet chin music for the three count, but Jacques foot was on the bottom rope. Damn, Jannetty got screwed over in these title matches on Monday Night Raw. Back live to the match... Jannetty with a side headlock on Jacques, and this time Pierre pulls the ropes down as Jannetty was bouncing off the ropes. Back into the ring, and Pierre accidentally gets nailed with a forearm by Jacques. The Kid gets the mild tag and kicks away on Jacques. Irish whip and he connects with a spinning heel kick. The Kid heads up top with a senton to Pierre on the outside, and follows with a springboard clothesline back into the ring on Jacques! The Kid goes to the top rope, but Pierre shoves him off. We notice Jannetty laid out in the aisle, with Polo standing over him. Pierre chokes down the Kid with the tag rope as Jacques plays "Keep the Referee Distracted" like a champion. Irish whip and the Qubecers with a double launch slam of the Kid across the top rope for a two count. We come back from the break that had no warning to it, with Pierre working the Kid over with a chinlock. Jacques tags in and connects with a diving back elbow for a two count. Jacques with a scoop slam, and Pierre tags in for the back body drop/senton combo move, for another two count. Jacques comes back in to hammer on the Kid with rights. Pierre back in quickly and nails a charging clothesline as Jacques swept the left leg from under the Kid. Damn, that was an awesome move. Pierre decides to play to the crowd instead of covering, but he does follow up with a quick headbutt for a two count. Pierre with a scoop slam, and Jacques nails a twisting jumping elbow drop. Jacques connects with a piledriver, killing the Kid in the process. Pierre goes up top for the Tower of Quebec finisher, and that splatters the Kid across the ring like mayonaise. The Quebecers decide to go for another attempt, so Jannetty knocks Pierre off the top rope and superkicks Jacques! Jannetty finally gets the HOT tag (and I mean that), and cleans house of both Quebecers. Jannetty with dropkicks to both men, as well as a slam to Pierre and diving back elbow to Jacques. Double Noggin Knocker! Polo is knocked off the apron by Jannetty. Jannetty lifts up Pierre for a suplex, and the Kid comes off the top rope with a cross body press mid move, and we have NEW Tag Team Champions in the form of the 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty at 13:45. Easily the most surprising result of the year. That is, until Owen Hart pinned Bret Hart clean at WrestleMania X. **** An early MOTYC, although with the awesome Owen/Bret series throughout the year, it was lost under a lot of other deserving matches. A perfect blend of slow build of chain wrestling and surprise fall attempts by the faces to the awesome heat segment on the Kid and the awesome double team manuevers pulled off by the Quebecers made this all the more enjoyable, and gives everyone a reminder on how real tag team wrestling should be. By the end of the match, the four participants had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands.


Final Thoughts: For a tape that's only about 4 1/2 hours without the Survivor Series Special, it seemed to be a lot longer than that. Definitely one of my favorite tapes of these compilations that is busted out most often for random viewing. Although this tape has it's fair share of crap, there's some awesomeness sprinkled in between, mainly from guys like Marty Jannetty, who I label the MVP of the tape. Sure, two bad matches with Adam Bomb and Diesel wasted time, but good matches with the 1-2-3 Kid, Irwin R. Schyster, Johnny Polo, and the Quebecers brought it way up again. I'd recommend getting the Jannetty/Kid, Michaels/Kid and Jannetty & Kid/Quebecers matches, but everything else is on the "you can pass list", unless you love Bastion Booger and Well Dunn

You forgot to mention reccommending Martel/Ramon. You overrated Kid/Michaels by about 3/4*. I really didn't like Michaels jumping around that he likes to do as bumping and Kid sold fatigue more than he did his back.

Martel/Ramon is a match I haven't seen since '93 and I want it again. The same for the Battle Royal, Jannetty/Kid and Jannetty/Kid vs Quebecers matches.

Martel/Ramon and the Battle Royale can be found on RAW: Prime Cuts (Coliseum Video), so have it.