This week Throwback Thursday continues its celebration of SummerSlam by reviewing the final Monday Night RAW before SummerSlam ’93, as seen on the WWE Network and Peacock, that aired 31 years ago this month!
With SummerSlam ’93 just two weeks away, one thing was clear: the era of Hulk Hogan was at long last over.
Hogan, whose reputation was in tatters in the wake of the steroid scandal engulfing the industry, wrestled his final match for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) ten days earlier on August 6, 1993, in Sheffield, England, scoring a disqualification win over WWF Champion Yokozuna.
The company that Hogan was leaving behind in August 1993 was a fry cry from the one Hogan returned to in December 1983. Then the WWF was rising, building momentum, and already establishing itself as the first viable “national” wrestling promotion. In August 1993, however, it was in free fall.
The constant drumbeat of scandal, from steroids to sexual misconduct, had eroded the carefully manicured family-themed “Sports Entertainment” image of the Federation. By almost every metric available, the WWF’s business—and the industry writ large—was in steep, rapid decline.
The WWF was, for all intents and purposes, in cost-cutting mode, running a national promotion as a more regional entity. Employees and some talent were encouraged to move closer to Connecticut, the home base of the WWF, to ease travel costs to tapings, which were increasingly booked in the eastern portion of the country.
Releases were flying as well. Between early July and SummerSlam ’93 a slew of talent was cut, including Tito Santana, Sherri Martel, Jim Duggan, Kamala, Giant Gonzalez, Virgil, Ted DiBiase, and the Nasty Boys, among others.
While television ratings, particularly for the flagship Monday Night RAW, remained stable, live attendance had cratered to all-time lows. Gates, merchandise sales, and pay-per-view buys dipped lower as well. There seemed to be no bottom to the hole.
To help combat the deluge of scandals the WWF was going on offense. Beginning in the September 1993 edition of the WWF Magazine (published in August ’93) the WWF began telling their side of the story, beginning with “Superstar” Billy Graham, who had emerged as one of the most notable critics of the WWF and Vince McMahon.
In an effort to boost numbers, the WWF was reinvesting in the tired America-versus-the-world trope by repackaging “The Narcissist” Lex Luger as the “All American” and pitting their new American hero against the “Japanese” monster and WWF Champion Yokozuna, sending Luger across the country on the “Lex Express” to gin up support for a title match with Yokozuna.
The arrival of Ludvig Borga on the July 24, 1993, edition of WWF Superstars further signaled the shift back to patriotic booking, ensuring fans that Luger’s war against foreign heels was far from over.
The WWF also leaned into the burgeoning independent scene by agreeing to work with Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), which introduced WWF fans to manager Jim Cornette and the Heavenly Bodies tag team.
The relationship with SMW would also open the WWF’s eyes to a slew of young, hungry talent like Chris Candido, Tammy Fytch, Brian Lee, and Dirty White Boy, the latter having an unremarkable run later as the wrestling plumber “T.L. Hopper”.
To cut costs the WWF was greatly reducing the number of house shows from two or even three a night to just one. By the September ’93 the WWE would reduce the schedule event further, running fewer shows a week than ever before under Vince McMahon’s ownership.
New talent, like the Smoking Gunns, the Quebecers (debuting on the same show as Ludvig Borga) and Well Dunn (Timothy Well & Steven Dunn), who debuting on the July 18, 1993, edition of All American Wrestling, both bolstered the tag team division and aided the WWF’s desire to (hopefully) build future singles stars.
While the current condition of the business was bleak, Vince McMahon saw opportunity and hope. In rebuilding the WWF they could write their own future, establish new stars, and write a new legacy that would, many hoped, lead to bigger and brighter things in the not so distant future.
The top story in WWF the week this edition of WWF Monday Night RAW aired was upcoming SummerSlam ’93 pay-per-view.
The major story heading into SummerSlam ’93 was Lex Luger’s WWF Championship bout with Yokozuna, Luger’s lone WWF World title match so long as Yokozuna held the strap.
Other top stories heading into the event included Intercontinental Champion Shawn Micheals “dream match” feud with Mr. Perfect, Razor Ramon’s grudge with Ted DiBiase, the Steiner Brothers inter-promotional feud with SMW’s Heavenly Bodies, Bret Hart’s near blood feud with Jerry Lawler, and Undertaker’s never ending war with Giant Gonzalez.
Now let’s head on over to the WWE Network on Peacock, hit ‘play’, and see how well this SummerSlam ’93 go-home edition of WWF Monday Night RAW holds up 31 years later!
Edits for this edition of WWF Monday Night RAW are not an issue on the WWE Network and Peacock. Context, meanwhile, is solid. All prior editions of Monday Night RAW and WWF Superstars (dating back to the series relaunch on April 18, 1992), as well as all past WWF pay-per-view events, are available for you to enjoy right now on the WWE Network and Peacock!
WWF Monday Night RAW #30 (WATCH)
Date: August 16, 1993 – Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Attendance: 3,000 – TV Ratings: N/A
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, & Bobby Heenan – Interviews: Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan
IN POP CULTURE:
Number One Song: “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (UB40)
Number One Album: Black Sunday (Cypress Hill)
Number One on Television: Home Improvement (ABC)
Number One Film in Theaters: The Fugitive (Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, & Jeroen Krabbe)
U.S. President & Vice President: Bill Clinton & Al Gore
CHAMPIONS AT THE TIME:
WWF World Heavyweight Champion: Yokozuna (June 13, 1993, WWF King of the Ring ’93, from Hulk Hogan; this would be Hulk Hogan’s final televised match in the WWF until 2002)
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels (June 6, 1993, Albany, New York, from Marty Jannetty; this match featured the WWF debut of Kevin Nash as the yet unnamed bodyguard for Shawn Michaels)
WWF World Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) (June 19, 1993, St. Louis, Missouri, from Money, Inc. (“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase & “I.R.S.” Irwin R. Schyster))
Following the standard Monday Night RAW open of the era we head inside the Mid-Hudson Civic Center where Vince McMahon welcomes us to the show.
As Ted DiBiase makes his way to the ring for this week’s opener we see a replay from the August 1, 1993, edition of Wrestling Challenge of 1-2-3 Kid pinning an overconfident DiBiase to score yet another massive upset as Razor Ramon laughed at DiBiase from ringside.
1-2-3 Kid then makes his way to the ring but is hesitant to enter. Soon enough, at the not so gentle urging of the referee, Kid enters the ring and this one gets going.
—Singles Match (0:36)
“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase vs. 1-2-3 Kid
Both Razor Ramon and “I.R.S.” Irwin R. Schyster are barred from ringside for the duration of this bout. While Ted DiBiase was preparing for a match with Razor Ramon at SummerSlam ’93 (DiBiase’s final match in the WWF), DiBiase’s tag team partner Irwin R. Schyster was preparing for a match with the 1-2-3 Kid.
Kid is apprehensive about getting in the ring as this one gets going. As soon as Kid gets into the ring DiBiase is there to waylay Kid. As DiBiase goes to town on Kid we get a telephone interview with Razor Ramon, DiBiase’s SummerSlam ’93 opponent.
As we watch DiBiase work over Kid, Razor tells McMahon that Kid has some “surprises” for DiBiase tonight, revealing that he and Kid have cooked up a kind of game plan for this match.
McMahon asks what advice Razor may have given to Kid but Razor refuses to spill the beans, accusing McMahon of having a “big mouth”. All Razor will says that he told Kid a “few secrets” with the understanding that Kid would leave a “little piece of the rich man” for Razor st SummerSlam.
Kid tries to regroup on the floor but is at the mercy of DiBiase until catching DiBiase with a modified head scissors that gives Kid the opening to string together a rally that DiBiase cuts off with a back elbow in the corner. DiBiase continues to work over Kid as the fans begin to chant “Razor” at DiBiase.
Suddenly, as DiBiase whips Kid into the corner, Kid catches DiBiase with a boot. As DiBiase staggers back, selling the kick, Kid scurries to the top rope, landing a cross body for a near-fall.
Kid goes back up to the top once more, but as Kid prepares to launch, Irwin R. Schyster rushes to the ring to push Kid off the top, giving the Kid the DQ win at 4:47.
WINNER is 1-2-3- Kid (Disqualification, 4:47)
After the match “I.R.S.” and DiBiase work over Kid before the Steiner Brothers make the save, pounding on the heels and sending them to the floor.
DiBiase & Schyster look eager to reengage with Rick & Scott but the referees hold the heels back.
We then head to ringside where Bobby Heenan and Vince McMahon argue about the finish. McMahon then hypes the action to come as Randy Savage hypes a “surprise” that “keeps giving and giving and giving” to be revealed later in the hour.
We then head to our first Peacock ad-break with a replay of the finish.
Coming out of the break McMahon sets up and tosses to a hype package for the upcoming SummerSlam Spectacular to air on USA Network this Sunday night.
—Tag Team Match (11:00)
The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu) w/Afa vs. Mike Khoury & Dave Moraldo
The Headshrinkers were gearing up for six-man tag team action at SummerSlam ’93, teaming up with Bam Bam Bigelow to face the trio of Tatanka & the Smoking Gunns.
Not much of a match here, the Headshrinkers jump on Khoury and Moraldo from the opening bell, devastating Khoury with a super kick that all seemingly knocks Khoury out cold.
Samu & Fatu batter Moraldo, landing a double flapjack before hitting their double inverted Russian leg sweep. With Khoury still out on the edge of the ring Samu & Fatu crush Moraldo with a brutal hot shot before Fatu puts Moraldo away with the diving splash from the top for the 1-2-3 at 3:08.
WINNERS are The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu) w/Afa (Pin, 3:08)
Following the match the Headshrinkers celebrate their win with Afa as we see a replay of the finish.
Next we head to this week’s “SummerSlam ’93 Report” with “Mean” Gene Okerlund. Okerlund runs down the bulk of the announced card and hypes the PPV before tossing back to Vince at ringside and taking a silly jab at Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.
After yukking it up at ringside, McMahon hypes our next match, in which Bastion Booger faces Marty Jannetty. We then cut to the back where we see Booger chomping on a WWF ice cream bar before heading to our next Peacock ad-break with a graphic hyping the Booger/Jannetty bout.
—Singles Match (19:08)
Bastion Booger vs. Marty Jannetty
While Bastion Booger (who debuted on the June 19, 1993, edition of WWF Superstars) was without an opponent for SummerSlam ’93, Marty Jannetty was preparing to face the newly arrived and undefeated Ludvig Borga in singles action at the big event.
Jannetty uses his speed and agility to fluster Booger early on, driving Booger to the floor with a series of dropkicks where Jannetty lands a fist from the top rope and a slingshot splash. As Jannetty wraps Booger’s arm around the ring post we head to a mid-match Peacock ad-break.
Jannetty is still in control of the action coming out of the break, taking Booger to the floor to continue the onslaught. When Jannetty tries to throw Booger into the ring post, though, Booger reverses the throw, sending Jannetty bouncing off the ring post. Booger splashes Jannetty against the ring post, causing Jannetty to crack his head against the steel turnbuckle.
Back in the ring Booger opens up on Jannetty. Soon enough Jannetty tries to turn a back body drop into a sunset flip. Booger blocks the move, though, and drops straight down on Jannetty’s face.
At the count of two, though, Jannetty kicks out, flipping Booger backwards into a sunset flip that gives Jannetty the flash three-count at 5:03.
WINNER is Marty Jannetty (Pin, 5:03)
After the match Jannetty quickly rolls to the edge of the ring where he celebrates his win as we see a replay of the finish before we cut to this week’s “promotional considerations” spot featuring a Lex Luger themed IcoPro promo.
Next we head back to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center where Vince McMahon heads to the ring to introduce Money, Inc. (“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase & “I.R.S.” Irwin R. Schyster) for an interview.
Aside from preparing for singles action at SummerSlam ’93, DiBiase & Schyster were preparing for a steel cage World Tag Team title bout with the Steiner Brothers on the SummerSlam Spectacular event to air next Sunday, August 22, 1993. The match would end up marking the final match for Money, Inc. as a team.
McMahon begins by noting that DiBiase & Schyster don’t look much like “happy campers”. Schyster jumps in and, after calling the fans “tax cheats”, says that 1-2-3 Kid got “a taste” of what is to come from “I.R.S.” at SummerSlam.
McMahon turns to DiBiase then and tells the “Million Dollar Man” that he’s going to get a “taste” of Razor Ramon at SummerSlam. DiBiase says he hopes that Razor and the Steiner Brothers were watching “real close” to what happened to the Kid tonight, calling it a picture that speaks a thousand words.
At SummerSlam, DiBiase says, Ramon will pay the “ultimate price”. As DiBiase turns to the World Tag Team Champion Steiner Brothers, though, McMahon jumps, doubting if either Schyster or DiBiase will make it to SummerSlam after facing the Steiner Brothers in steel cage this Sunday night st the SummerSlam Spectacular.
DiBiase says that he and Schyster are “stupid like a fox”, that there’s nobody that Money, Inc., cannot “buy jointly”. When Rick & Scott Steiner signed the contracts to face Money, Inc., in a cage, DiBiase says, the Steiners were “bought and paid for”.
Schyster says the Steiners should be the ones worried about making it to SummerSlam. Not only will Schyster & DiBiase take the titles, “I.R.S.” says, but the Steiners will go into the PPV as “losers”, “just like they came into the WWF”.
DiBiase concedes that the Steiner Brothers are big, strong, and one of the most agile teams he and Schyster have ever faced, but combined the Steiners have an IQ of “about ten”. DiBiase says that the Steiners have, thus far, been lucky because they’ve cheated.
A skeptical McMahon reminds DiBiase that it’s a steel cage match, “the most grueling match there is in the WWF”. DiBiase all but scoffs at McMahon, asking McMahon if he doesn’t think Money, Inc., knows how to use a weapon.
McMahon reminds us of the rules, that the first team to leave the cage will be declared the winner. In terms of speed, agility, and stamina, McMahon says, most fans would give the Champions the edge.
Schyster responds by saying that the “big ‘M’” on the Steiner Brothers ring jackets “stands for ‘morons’”. Not only will Money, Inc., show they have the “money”, Schyster says, but that they have the “means and the brains to beat the Steiner Brothers in a cage match”, guaranteeing victory.
McMahon then wraps the interview and hypes the SummerSlam Spectacular as Savage hypes an appearance by Men on a Mission next. We then head to the next Peacock ad-break with a promo graphic for “M.O.M.”.
—Tag Team Match (30:30)
Men on a Mission (Mable & Mo) w/Oscar vs. “Iron” Mike Sharpe & Barry Horowitz
Horowitz and Mo start things out, with Horowitz briefly getting the edge on Mo before taking a back body drop from Mo. Mable tags in and drops the big leg on Horowitz that pops the crowd. Mable slams Horowitz to his corner where Barry tags in Mike Sharpe.
Sharpe, wrestling’s loudest man, enters the ring and walks right into a pounding from both Mable & Mo. Soon enough Mable hits Sharpe with a standing powerslam before Mo bulldogs Mable onto Sharpe, a kind of spike power splash, for the three-count at 2:09.
WINNERS are Men on a Mission (Mable & Mo) w/Oscar (Pin, 2:09)
Following the match Men on a Mission celebrate their win as Vince McMahon sets up and tosses to this week’s “Who is Lex Luger” profile of Lex Luger.
This week Lex Luger talks about “drugs in sports”, specifically anabolic steroids. Luger talks about the lure of taking steroids in search of fame and fortune, admitting to experimenting with certain drugs in his youth that he no longer touches.
Asked directly by McMahon if Luger is using anabolic steroids, Luger says “emphatically no”. It’s a hot button issue, Luger concedes, and admits that steroids are still prevalent in pro wrestling.
However, Luger says, the one place that steroids are not prevalent is here in the World Wrestling Federation. Luger then goes one step further, admitting that he was a steroid user prior to their becoming illegal, but was not an abuser.
Luger says it’s more meaningful to him now knowing that he did not need any shortcuts to begins with, that he was fortunate enough to have certain “genetic gifts” that others do not have. Now, Luger says, he knows he can look good if he trains hard, eats right, and does the proper things. You can look great without using anabolic steroids, Luger empathizes.
Luger says he’s proud that he can now be a role model for young athletes who want to be bigger and faster by promoting proper nutrition, training, disciple, and supplements. And that’s a “great feeling”, Luger says, “it really is.”
We then head to our next Peacock ad-break.
—Singles Match (37:14)
Bam Bam Bigelow w/Luna Vachon vs. Rich Myers
Bam Bam Bigelow was, as mentioned earlier in the show, preparing to team with the Headshrinkers to face the trio of Tatanka & the Smoking Guns.
Rich Myers is simply no match for the size and power of Bigelow. Myers is more a super ball than a wrestler here as Myers takes a tremendous beating from Bigelow.
After kicking the snort out of Myers, and a dropping stalling vertical suplex, Bam Bam slams Myers and delivers the big diving headbutt from the top for the pinfall win at 3:12.
WINNER is Bam Bam Bigelow w/Luna Vachon (Pin, 3:12)
After the match Bam Bam celebrates with Luna as Savage continues to hype his “surprise”. We then head to another “promotional considerations” spot with a classic Randy Savage Slim Jim and Royal Rumble SNES video game promo.
Coming out of the video game promo we head back to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center where “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s music is playing. But instead of Randy Savage coming out, we get the “Macho Midget”.
“Macho Midget” comes to the ring with four “RAW Girls” and takes a victory lap as the jokes ensue before we duck out for our final Peacock ad-break.
We return to the announce position after the break where McMahon hypes the SummerSlam Spectacular and gives us a rundown of the card to bring this week’s edition of WWF Monday Night RAW to a close!
Final Thoughts
While this is a fun, action-packed early edition of Monday Night RAW, it’s not the greatest go-home show you’re likely to see.
The show is a reminder of Vince McMahon’s granular approach to booking. While SummerSlam ’93 is right around the corner, and an obviously important show, the Summer Spectacular is just six days out.
As much hype as the upcoming SummerSlam PPV gets, the free SummerSlam Spectacular gets just as much. A reminder that a good promoter never puts the cart before the horse.
In respect to the pay-per-view, however, few of the matches for SummerSlam, with the exception of the Kid/Schyster and Razor/DiBiase bouts, get any real attention on during this show. The World title Yokozuna/Lex Luger showdown, the main event of the card, gets almost no hype at all.
The promos are good for what they are, but unremarkable, especially considering that we see what every well may be the final Money, Inc., promo in history here.
The squashes are stiff and fun, the way most fans liked them at the time, and the commentary isn’t as bad as one might expect it to be. For those easily offended, the final “Macho Midget” segment is going to sting.
That being said, this is a great hour of WWF action that deserves a second glance. Who knows, you may end up liking it, and that’s never a bad thing!
Already subscribed to the WWE Network on Peacock? Then you can relive this classic pre-SummerSlam ’93 edition of WWF Monday Night RAW right now or experience it for the very first time! As always, let us know what you think in the comments section below!
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