April 12, 1993 Location: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA (Mid-Hudson Civic Center) Announced attendance: ca 3 500 TV rating: 3.4 (USA Network)[up 70.59% from the previous week’s 2.4]
Welcome everyone to yet another RAW review on the blog. With WrestleMania IX firmly in the rearview mirror, tonight sees Scott Steiner take on IRS, one half of the tag team champions. Also, Tatanka and Papa Shango are in action, and there’s the unforgettable debut of the great, legendary, mythical, iconic… Friar Ferguson!
Here is the list of champions in WWF heading into this RAW:
WWF Champion: Hulk Hogan [8th day of his reign] – previous champion: Yokozuna
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [167th day of his reign] – previous champion: The British Bulldog
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [181st day of their reign] – previous champions: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Note: in title matches, the defending champions’ names appear underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage & Rob Bartlett
This week starts with Money Inc. paying the Beverlys off for information on the Steiners, whom the Beverlys faced last week and are the new no. 1 contenders for the tag titles.
Show’s intro plays and the announcers welcome us to RAW.
Irwin R. Schyster (w/ Ted DiBiase) vs. Scott Steiner (w/ Rick Steiner)
IMG credit: WWE & History Of Wrestling – WordPress
IRS keeps holding on to the ropes to avoid Steiner to start. Steiner finally has enough of it and tries to power IRS into the middle of the ring by his leg, but IRS catches him with an enziguiri. Steiner explodes with a powerslam and IRS immediately bails for some words from DiBiase. That advice? “If you ever jump ship again and they ask you to join the nWo, for the love of god say no”. If only he paid attention. Back in, Steiner takes him down with a number of running shoulderblocks and he goes after the arm. Steinerline gets two. IRS takes over with the help of a cheapshot, but a suplex is reversed by Steiner into one of his own, and IRS bails once again. IRS with another cheapshot, dumps Steiner and DiBiase adds some shots on the floor while the ref is distracted by IRS, and we go to break.
Commercial break
We’re back with IRS working a chinlock while the crowd gives him the “Irwin” chants. Steiner escapes the hold and begins to fight back, but IRS cuts him off with another cheap attack leading to a backbreaker. IRS goes up, which sounds wrong in and of itself, and the landing only finds Scott’s boot. Steiner unloads in the corner and uses IRS’ tie to hit a modified version of Macho Man’s necksnap. Steiner with a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack bodydrop, and the butterfly powerbomb draws DiBiase in to break up the pin and cause the DQ at 12:30.
The Steiners continue the beating on both members of Money Inc and set them up for their Doomsday Bulldog, but the Beverlys come in to save the champions. However, they end up hitting DiBiase by mistake and the Steiners walk away celebrating. A fight nearly breaks out between Money Inc and the Beverlys, but Money Inc retreat.
Rating: Fine singles preview of an inevitable tag team title showdown coming up between both pairs. Money Inc were on an amazing one-year run as champions already, save from that random reign from the Natural Disasters. The match was solid, with IRS trying to avoid Scott Steiner’s strength and quickness as much as possible. This put the Steiners over as credible threats to the heels’ straps, so thumbs up all around. I always enjoyed how Money Inc tried everything to avoid getting their hands dirty, which works especially against a team as explosive as the Steiners. **1/2
Tonight after RAW: WrestleMania IX replay only on PPV. I doubt anyone bought it.
Tatanka vs. Von Krus
Tatanka fires away with a series of armdrags to start, as Doink makes his presence felt at ringside early on. Von Krus, who is the future Big Vito by the way, chops away in the corner, but Tatanka turns that around in short order. Tatanka with a powerslam into an elbowdrop, as well as a vertical suplex. Von Krus catches a charging Tatanka with a spinning back elbow, but Tatanka backdrops him and goes on the WARPATH. He unloads with the chops as usual and ends it with the Not Samoan Drop at 4:00 to remain undefeated.
Rating: Very enjoyable squash match to me. Decisive win by Tatanka, who wasn’t wasting any time here after failing to win the Intercontinental Title at WM 9 (despite winning by DQ). *1/4
WrestleMania IX Report w/ Sean Mooney
Jack Tunney received Yokozuna and Fuji’s complaints and he made an official decision: Hulk Hogan is indeed the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
Doink the Clown claims what happened in the match with Crush was nothing but an illusion.
Giant Gonzalez realized at WrestleMania that you can’t kill a man that’s already dead… whatever that means. Only one man will be able to survive this “bitter rivalry”, Mooney adds. It wouldn’t be me, personally.
Rob Bartlett interviews Luna Vachon
IMG credit: WWE
Luna comes out and immediately declares herself the woman of the 90s, which draws Sensational Sherri to ringside. Luna gets in Sherri’s face saying she would easily beat her up, Sherri responds she’s been in the ring with bigger men and then they go at it. Sherri beats up Bartlett and then suplexes Luna out on the floor, thus turning into the biggest babyface in the world in a minute. Luna attacks Sherri with her belt and tries to rip Sherri’s clothes off, but Sherri fights back and their brawl goes into the crowd, until Sgt. Slaughter comes out to break it up. This was a wild chaotic brawl and it was great! A giant breath of fresh air compared to what they were doing in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania on RAW, aka nothing.
We come back from a commercial break with Randy Savage interviewing Sherri. Luna comes back to start yet another fight, but Sherri fights her off and Luna gets taken to the back rather quickly. Sherri completes the interview with Savage, who raises her hand and puts her over in the end. That was a fun little reunion between them.
Papa Shango vs. Scott Taylor
Just as the show was picking up, a Papa Shango squash. Why do they keep putting him here if there are no plans and the gimmick has been dead for nearly a year now? Was everyone else busy in the back shooting IcoPro commercials at this time of the show and Vince just yelled “ah whatever throw Shango in there for 3 minutes pal”!? The future Scotty 2 Hotty avoids a clothesline and hits a dropkick to start, but Shango whiffs him away to escape and hiptosses Taylor out of the corner. Papa Shango drops a few headbutts, while Rob Bartlett makes his way back to ringside with his clothes totally destroyed from the girls’ fight earlier. Meanwhile, Papa Shango drops Taylor with the shoulderbreaker for the win at 2:24.
Rating: No one cares. 1/4*
Main Event
Friar Ferguson vs. Chris Duffy
IMG credit: WWE & WhatCulture
This is so dumb I don’t even have the words for it. Friar is the former Norman the Lunatic in WCW, and would be repackaged in WWF as soon as after this match since this gimmick is that stupid. He changed to Bastion Booger, so good for him? Ferguson starts with a legdrop, showing he studied WWF main event style. Man, this had everything to work after all. I wonder who stooged him off and ended the World Title aspirations of Friar Ferguson. While this nonsense is going on, Vince announces Money Inc vs The Beverlys in a non-title match for next week. After about a minute of walking around, Friar slams him and splashes him, but stops the pin at two. Oh joy. Ferguson with a nerve hold and a backdrop, and the crowd couldn’t care less. Duffy tries a sunset flip, but Ferguson blocks it by dropping his giant ass on him and that does it at 4:22.
Rating: Terrible idea that no one cared about or remembers. DUD
Next week: an interview with Bret Hart plus Razor Ramon vs Virgil.
Money Inc are standing by in the back to accept the Beverlys’ challenge. The Beverlys jump them from behind and that’s how we go off the air this week.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: It’s been said multiple times how the “how you leave ’em” affect can change any show’s perspective, as the show can be highly enjoyable, but if the last moment or two are infamous, then it becomes a terrible show. This is one of those shows. I absolutely loved the beginning of this week’s episode, with Steiner/IRS doing some nice business after having a solid singles match, and Sherri and Luna having a very chaotic brawl all over ringside that just wasn’t being done during this time. I even enjoyed Tatanka’s squash match a lot, with Tatanka looking serious and determined to get back in the title hunt. And then a Papa Shango squash in 1993 happened, which will always be filler, and Friar Ferguson was the cherry on top of the crappy cake. Watch this episode, but close it as soon as Sherri and Luna are done. 6/10
That’s gonna be all from today’s post. Don’t miss any of the other RAW reviews on the blog. Download the web-app which you can find in your link bar. See you next time!
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Welcome to the SmarKDown Review of AEW’s 2022 Edition Of Full Gear! This event will be reviewed by Tanner!
We’re stationed in Newark, New Jersey for AEW’s 4th Full Gear Event!
Champions Heading In
• AEW World Heavyweight Champion: Jon Moxley [Day 59]
• AEW Interim Women’s Champion: Toni Storm [Day 76]
• AEW World Tag Team Champions: The Acclaimed [Day 59]
• AEW TNT Champion: Wardlow [Day 136]
• AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargil [Day 318]
• AEW World Trios Champions: Death Triangle [Day 56]
• ROH World Champion: Chris Jericho [Day 59]
THE ZERO HOUR
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IMG Credit: Fite TV
QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, Aaron Solo, Cole Karter, & Lee Johnson [The Factory] vs Orange Cassidy, Trent, Chuck Taylor, Rocky Romero& The Very Mysterious Very Evil Mystery Partner (Best Friends) | Ten Man Tag Team Match
*The Mystery Partner is the unbelievably largely surprising DANHAUSEN
IMG Credit: 411MANIA
Danhausen def. Nick Comoroto via Pinfall at 11:51
A very fun and obviously VERY EVIL match to begin our Zero Hero Experience. Always great to see some nonsensical bullsh#t to start our next 4 or 5 hours of even more nonsensical bullsh#t! **3/4
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Brian Cage vs Ricky Starks | AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament Semi Final
IMG Credit: ITNWWE
Ricky Starks def. Brian Cage via Pinfall at 8:59
Not a completely exciting match here, but I’m very happy that Starks got his moment here and beat Brian Cage who is a monster in the ring. **1/4
Jun Akiyama vs Eddie Kingston | Singles Match
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IMG Credit: POST Wrestling
Eddie Kingston def. Jun Akiyama via Pinfall at 10:32
I don’t really know about this match. Japanese wrestling is usually cool hard hitting stuff, but this was real soft with them hardly hitting each other. This also just wasn’t all that exciting structure wise. It’s not terrible, but it’s not all that good either. *1/2
MAIN SHOW
IMG Credit: Wrestling Observer
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“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs Luchasarus | Steel Cage Match
IMG Credit: 411MANIA
Jack Perry def. Luchasaurus via Submission at 18:43
Pretty fun match here to open the main show. I’m not completely on board with them blatantly going outside of the cage and going back in, but after that part they really got going and gave us a very exciting match before Jungle Boy got the feel good win. He almost missed the table too! ***¼
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PAC & The Lucha Brothers(c) (Death Triangle) vs Kenny Omega & The YoungBucks (The Elite) | AEW World Trios Championships Match
IMG Credit: Wrestling Observer
Rey Fenix def. Kenny Omega via Pinfall at 18:42 to RETAIN the AEW World Trios Championships!
I’m very shocked, but also very happy that AEW made the decision to have The Elite lose in their return. It tones down the narrative that they control their push in the company. A smart move on their part. That being said, what a match we have here. Fiery opening sequence into a bloody war with the story of PAC using his sadistic nature to brainwash his partners into cheating a victory. They have a story there and I’m excited to see it. ****¼
Jade Cargill(c) vs Nyla Rose | AEW TBS Championship Match
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IMG Credit: Wrestlezone
Jade Cargill def. Nyla Rose at 8:00 to RETAIN the AEW TBS Championship!
Well that was just ugly. This whole feud leading up to this match was very boring and so I wasn’t too excited for this match. However I didn’t expect this to be the mess it turned out to be. Jade is bad, yes, but Nyla is too good to be botching all over the place and so I felt more disappointed then angry about this contest. Also please ditch the every single match has the same formula shtick it is so annoying… ¾*
Chris Jericho vs Bryan Danielson vs Claudio Castagnoli vs Sammy Guevera | ROH World Championship Match
IMG Credit: ITNWWE
Chris Jericho def. Claudio Castagnoli via Pinfall at 21:42 to RETAIN the ROH World Championship!
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This took a bit to get going, but ended up being a very fun and dramatic match where they successfully made me believe that any of the 4 could win and I appreciate that. I liked the civil war stand offs especially Claudio and Bryan who have nasty good chemistry. Jericho’s attempted jumping judas effect was kinda funny, but I never expected him to do that so hats off to Jericho. ***½
Saraya vs Dr. Britt Baker DMD | Singles Match
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IMG Credit: Last Word on Sports
Saraya def. Britt Baker via Pinfall 13:27
The action is ok, if not kind of underwhelming as the crowd just simply didn’t care and they were just slowly exchanging average moves against each other before Saraya wins her first match in 5 years to the reaction of absolutely nobody. Isn’t that just great. *¼
Wardlow(c) vs Powerhouse Hobbs vs Samoa Joe | AEW TNT Championship Triple Threat Match
IMG Credit: AEW
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Samoa Joe def. Powerhouse Hobbs via Submission at 9:52 to WIN the AEW TNT Championship!
Big meaty men slapping meat! This was a fun brawl with some impressive athleticism and did I mention MEAT SLAPPING??? Joe winning the championship was an unexpected, but welcoming decision as Joe deserves the entire world. **½
Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett vs Darby Allin & Sting | Tag Team No Disqualifications Match
IMG Credit: AEW
Darby Allin def. Jay Lethal via Pinfallat 10:59
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Pretty simple, but fun match here. A couple botches here and there, but it’s alright because we’re here for the nonsensical bullsh#t remember? Jeff Jarrett competing in 2022 against Sting is very funny might I add. **½
Toni Storm(c) vs Jamie Hayter | AEW Interim Women’s Championship Match
IMG Credit: ITNWWE
Jamie Hayter def. Toni Storm via Pinfall at 15:16 to WIN the AEW Interim Women’s Championship!
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Some pretty underwhelming action in the first half, but man they really dished it out with that dramatic closing stretch. I did not expect for these two to be that dedicated that they treated the womens title like the main event…absolutely good on them! ***¼
The Acclaimed(c) vs Swerve In Our Glory | AEW World Tag Team Championships Match
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IMG Credit: TJR Wrestling
Anthony Bowens def. Swerve Strickland at 19:40 to RETAIN the AEW World Tag Team Championships!
This match never really left second gear and obviously went way too long. Another downside is the fact that I simply was not given a reason to care about such a Match. They were given the chance to run Acclaimed vs FTR, but instead decided to further advance an underdeveloped civil war. The action is decent, but the implications just plain suck. **¼
Jon Moxley(c) vs MJF | AEW World Heavyweight Championship Match
IMG Credit: AEW
MJF def. Jon Moxley via Pinfall at 23:08 to WIN the AEW World Heavyweight Championship!
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As Excalibur excellently said…Regal sold his soul to the devil! MJF is the new champion! The match itself is good, but man I love to see this finally happen. The top heel in the entire company is finally the champion! What a glorious day it is! ***¼
IMG Credit: Wrestling Headlines
The show ends as MJF stands tall the World Title and a new advocate!
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Overall Thoughts: Once again AEW gives us the too much too little fiasco where we have a stacked card, but not much delivers. I will say that the first 2 hours was pretty damn entertaining besides the TBS Title match, but the show started descending as we neared the World Title Match and only when we made a pit stop at the women’s Title match did we start speeding up. The main event is fine, but the moment is absolutely glorious and a great way to end an otherwise decent show. 5.5/10
April 5, 1993 Taped show (on March 22, 1993) Location: Manhattan, New York, USA (Manhattan Center) Announced attendance: ca 1 000 TV rating: 2.4 (USA Network)[down 14.29% from the previous RAW’s 2.8]
Welcome everyone to my review of the post-WrestleMania IX edition of WWF Monday Night RAW… taped BEFORE WrestleMania actually took place! Alas, the biggest news coming out of the event is that Hulk Hogan is our new WWF Champion, of course. Check out my WrestleMania IX review for a more detailed recap.
Here is the list of WWF champions post WrestleMania heading into this RAW: (reign durations considering the air date)
WWF Champion: Hulk Hogan [1st day of his reign] – previous champion: Yokozuna
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [160th day of his reign] – previous champion: The British Bulldog
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [174th day of their reign] – previous champions: Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Note: in title matches, the defending champions’ names appear underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Randy Savage
We begin the broadcast with the show’s intro.
Vince and Macho recap what happened the previous night at WrestleMania IX, and promote tonight’s upcoming events: including Jerry Lawler’s televised in-ring WWF debut. Outside of the Rumble match, of course, which he was apart of.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Virgil
Bam Bam shows off his power by shoving Virgil to start. Virg goes to work on the arm and hits a dropkick, while the crowd showers him with “Virgil sucks” chants. Way to disrespect the meatsauce god, you pricks. Virgil completely f-cks up a slide spot, and Bam Bam makes up for it with a powerslam into the falling headbutt, but misses and Virgil rolls him up for two. A crucifix attempt is turned into a Samoan drop by Bigelow. We hit the chinlock, while Vince tries to put over WM 9 as the greatest of all time on commentary. People weren’t buying that crap even in 1993. Bigelow goes for a bearhug now, as this match continues to go absolutely nowhere. Virgil finally fights out of it, makes the comeback with a sloppy flying clothesline followed by an even sloppier missile dropkick that gets two. He totally misses a crossbody though, and Bam Bam comes down with diving headbutt for the win at 6:59.
Rating: Way too long for what it was. I wouldn’t mind seeing Bigelow get the job done in 2 or 3 minutes instead. *
Jerry Lawler comes down to the ring for his match, but the crowd chants “Burger King” at him and he refuses to wrestle.
Mean Gene is in the back with Yokozuna & Mr. Fuji, who claim the match with Hulk Hogan wasn’t even sanctioned. Neither Yoko or Fuji spoke here. Weird, but Fuji wasn’t a strong promo.
Bob Backlund vs. Kim Chee
IMG credit: WWE & Ring The Damn Bell
They’re still trying to get Backlund over as the happy-go-lucky veteran, which wasn’t working at all. He even offers Kim Chee a handshake, which is refused. Backlund takes over with some takedowns, but Kim Chee bails. He takes over with a pair of slams back inside. Bob blocks a suplex but Kim Chee catches him with a back elbow shot. He gets two. Sunset flip gets one and Kim Chee goes to the chinlock. Backlund finishes with a bridge pin out of nowhere at 3:58.
Rating: Bob Backlund’s return as a face just wasn’t working. This match was no good, but at least it was short. 1/4*
Damien Demento vs. Jim Brunzell
Neither guy gets an entrance, and we get Rob Bartlett live on the phone. He’s stuck in Las Vegas and lost all his money. Unfortunately he still appeared on a few more episodes after this. Demento chokes away on the ropes, and Brunzell nearly steals it with a cradle. A sunset flip gets two more for Brunzell. Demento shoves Brunzell down though, and he takes over. Legdrop by Demento, but he stops to talk to himself instead of going for the pin. Demento drops a pair of elbows and it gets two. Brunzell fights back with a dropkick for two. However, Demento takes him out with the neckbreaker, and the lame kneedrop finishes Brunzell at 5:07.
This turned out to be Jumping Jim Brunzell’s final match in the WWF after years of service, first as a member of the Killer Bees and in later years as a jobber. He would wrestle at WCW’s Slamboree PPV the next month, in a weird cameo that no one remembers.
Rating: Brunzell is an exciting wrestler who always knew how to fight from underneath, but there’s only so much you can do against someone as dull as Demento. He is awful and this was yet another boring match from him. 1/2*
Snap into a Slim Jim, yeah!
Jerry Lawler comes out foir his debut match once more, but he gets the “Burger King” chants again and he walks to the back again.
A replay of WrestleMania IX will air on PPV the following Monday. Vince declares “if you’ve seen it once, it’s worth seeing it twice”. Dear god.
Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner) vs. Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake Beverly)
IMG credit: WWE & History Of Wrestling
Rematch from the Royal Rumble right here. Scott starts with a takedown, but Beau claims his hair was pulled and that allows Beau to take over briefly. However, Scott turns things around with the butterfly powerbomb and Beau tags out. Rick comes in as well for the Steiners, only to eat a powerslam from Blake. Rick fights back with a powerslam of his own, though, and Scott gives him the overhead suplex. The Beverlys turn things around with their leapfrog guillotine thing, giving Beau two. And we take a break.
Commercial break
We come back with the referee missing a tag to Rick, as the Beverlys double-team Scott over in their corner. Blake tries a suplex on Scott, who easily reverses it and turns it into his own suplex. Beau cuts off the hot tag attempt, which earns him a tilt-a-whirl slam. This time Rick gets the hot tag, cleaning house like a French maid with a backdrop and a Steinerline on Blake, but Beau breaks up the pin at two. The Beverlys dump Rick, but Scott makes the blind tag and the Frankensteiner puts Blake out at 11:30.
Rating: Solid TV match here, although it wasn’t as good as their effort at the Royal Rumble in January. Still, this was a lot better than anything on this show so far. **1/2
Main Event
Jerry Lawler vs. Jim Powers
Powers jumps Lawler during his entrance to force the match to happen. Powers sends him into the post, throws him into the ring and comes off the top with a double axe. Clothesline by Powers, and Lawler bails. The crowd give him the “Burger King” chants again, which gets him all worked up. Back in, Powers strikes with a hiptoss into a slam, but Lawler bails once again. Powers with a backdrop back inside and he tries a dropkick, but Lawler hangs onto the ropes to avoid it. Fistdrop by Lawler as he challenges Savage on commentary. Lawler eats boot on a blind charge and Powers rams him into the buckle several times. Backdrop by Powers, but he goes for it one time too many and Lawler ends it with the piledriver (pulling the tights on the pin) at 6:16.
Rating: Fun basic match done to establish Lawler as a dick. Fine way to introduce to Lawler as a wrestler in the WWF. *1/2
Lawler challenges Macho Man afterwards, claiming he doesn’t have the guts to walk into the ring with the King.
Next week: Money Inc vs. Bushwhackers. It didn’t happen, thankfully.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Quite unremarkable episode for the first ever post-Mania RAW, although it picked up with the final two matches. The Steiners are always fun to watch, and Jerry Lawler is pretty entertaining also with his heel act. They were the highlight of this week’s episode by far, and made it watchable. The fact that it was taped before WrestleMania didn’t help, as they could only do so much. 5/10
POINT SYSTEM
That’s gonna be all from me today. Make sure you don’t miss any of my upcoming reviews, and catch all my RAW reviews also. Download our web-app, which you can find in your link bar on all devices.
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April 4, 1993 Location: Paradise, Nevada, USA (Caesars Palace) Announced attendance: 16 891 PPV buys: 430 000 (up 30.2% from Royal Rumble 1993’s 300 000 buys; up 9.3% from WrestleMania 8’s 390 000 buys)
Welcome to my WrestleMania 9 review! Tonight, Hulk Hogan is back to challenge for Money Inc’s tag team titles alongside his BFF to the end, Brutus Beefcake. Elsewhere, Lex Luger tries to prove he is beyond Perfect, while The Undertaker battles Giant Gonzalez. And finally, in the main event, WWF Champion Bret Hart puts the gold on the line against the 1993 Royal Rumble winner, the undefeated Yokozuna.
As you all know, this WrestleMania is regarded by many as the absolute worst WM of all time. Let’s move on without further ado and find out if if truly lives up to its, hmm, legacy!?
The list of champions in WWF heading into WM 9:
WWF Champion: Bret Hart [174th day of his reign] – previous champion: Ric Flair
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [159th day of his reign] – previous champion: The British Bulldog
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [173rd day of their reign] – previous champions: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Note: in title matches, the defending champions appear underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & tjrwrestling.com
Your hosts are Randy Savage, Bobby Heenan & Jim Ross (fresh outta WCW!)
An excited toga-wearing Gorilla Monsoon kicks off this year’s ‘Mania and throws it to the debuting Jim Ross, who is also sporting a slobberknocking toga.
Howard F… excuse me, I mean Finkus Maximus, introduces Julius Caesar and Cleopatra to begin the opening introductions.
Randy Savage comes out next, who gets carried to the ring and is eating grapes while he’s at it. You just know Savage is gonna put on a show, regardless if he’s wrestling or not. He joins JR at ringside to call the action.
Bobby Heenan comes out on top of a camel, about to sh-t his pants!
Since this show is all about special introductions and mega celebrations, it seems like the perfect time to add some fresh blood to these reviews. May I present to you… our new custom-made match card graphics!
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WWF Intercontinental Championship – Shawn Michaels (w/ Luna Vachon) vs. Tatanka (w/ Sensational Sherri)
This is Luna’s WWF debut. Although she didn’t really fit next to Shawn Michaels’ “boy toy” gimmick though, and would instead get paired with Bam Bam Bigelow, which worked a lot better given their rather “alternative” looks, so to speak. Shawn would soon find his perfect match in the form of a 6ft 9 man. And he wasn’t even doing Playgirl yet! Sherri is out here with Tatanka just to mess with Shawn, of course. Michaels goes after Tatanka to start, but Tatanka doesn’t let him get the upper hand. Michaels goes for the test of strength, but Tatanka bridges his way out of it and overpowers Shawn. Michaels goes to a side headlock, which Tatanka tries to break, but Michaels kicks the ropes and holds onto it. He goes for that a second time, but this time Tatanka takes him down with a backdrop suplex. Michaels goes up but lands in an armdrag, and then Tatanka whips Michaels into the buckle, who takes his classic flip bump in the corner and lands on the apron, and Tatanka meets him with a chop that sends HBK flying to the floor. Luna tries to interfere but gets stopped by Sherri, allowing Tatanka to remain in control. Shawn rakes the eyes, though, and comes off the top with a sloppy flying sunset flip for two. You could see Shawn shaking while he was up top, as this was still fairly early into his singles run. Tatanka catches Michaels with an atomic drop and hits a DDT, before going to work on the arm.
IMG credit: WWE & thesportster.com
Michaels hurts his own shoulder on a clothesline, which Tatanka no-sells before going to an armbar. Michaels escapes the hold, but eats the post shoulder first on a blind charge. Tatanka gives him a shoulderbreaker and goes up for a flying chop to the shoulder. He goes up for a second one, but Shawn catches him with the Superkick coming down. However, this is still 1993 Shawn, so it’s nothing but a set-up move for him. Michaels dumps Tatanka and comes off the apron with a flying clothesline. He sells the pain on his shoulder too, which is a great touch. Michaels was still not quite there yet, but he wasn’t far off. A neckbreaker and a dropkick each get two for HBK. Shawn hits the chinlock for a while, before coming down with a victory roll of sorts for two. Michaels tries it a second time, which Tatanka turns into an electric chair drop for a delayed nearfall. Tatanka misses an elbowdrop, though, and Shawn comes off the top with a flying double axehandle. However, Tatanka no sells it and BY GAWD HE’S ON THE WARPATH NOW! Tatanka makes the comeback as he runs wild with the chops. A clothesline turns Michaels inside out, and Tatanka comes off the top with a high crossbody for a close nearfall. Michaels with a dropkick attempt, but Tatanka catches him and catapults him into the corner, right into a rollup for two. Tatanka goes for the Not Samoan Drop, but Shawn turns it into a rollup of his own for two. Michaels goes up, but Tatanka catches him with a powerslam in mid air and gets two. Shawn dumps Tatanka and goes for another flying clothesline off the apron, but this time Tatanka moves and Michaels eats the steps. Shawn pulls the ref before getting back in, where Tatanka hits him with the Not Samoan Drop for the win…. via DQ, as Joey Marella calls it off at 18:13.
Luna jumps Sherri with a clothesline afterwards and slams her out on the floor, before running away from Tatanka as he carries Sherri to the back.
Rating: Well, not a bad way to open the “worst WM of all time”. The ending might piss a lot of people off, but personally I didn’t mind it that much. Shawn was turning into quite the worker here already, aside from some moments where he still appeared to be a bit nervous, and Tatanka’s popularity helped this match in terms of heat. There was decent psychology and good selling in this one, there were a number of believable nearfalls and, most importantly, the people cared. This was a pretty good opener in spite of its non-finish. ***1/2
Meanwhile, Mean Gene interviews The Steiners backstage. Scott’s math lesson of the day: this might be their first WrestleMania, but it will be one to be remembered. Boy, was he ever right. And people mock his math skills. Rick wants to make Julius Caesar proud. Now that’s motivation.
The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner) vs. The Headshrinkers (Fatu & Samu) (w/ Afa)
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JR declares this a SLOBBERKNOCKER before it even begins, and Heenan mocks him for it. Fatu shoves Scott to start, and Scott responds with a sick takedown. Now Heenan mocks JR for putting over the Steiner’s college sports history. It’s a shame they only worked together in 1993, they’re showing great chemistry on this show. Meanwhile, Scott wins a slugfest over Fatu and runs him over with a Steinerline, but gets caught in the Samoan corner and is eventually double-teamed. The Headshrinkers toss both Steiners out, but they stop to celebrate and that allows the Steiners to jump back in with flying Steinerlines in stereo. The Samoans regroup and take over back in, with Samu hitting a corner clothesline on Rick. He tries it again, but walks into a Steinerline instead, and Rick sends him into the post. Scott in with the butterfly powerbomb to Samu and a dropkick to Fatu, and Samu goes for a stungun but Fatu pulls the top rope down and Scott gets sent all the way to the floor instead. OK, that was nuts. Afa adds a shot to the head with the giant stick, and Samu takes him back inside to beat him up some more. Off to Fatu for a backbreaker and then the diving headbutt, but Rick comes in to break up the pin.
IMG credit: WWE & enuffa.com
Samu with a spinkick, but misses a blind charge. Scott crawls for the hot tag, only for Fatu to come in first to dump Scott with a knee. And Samu rams his head into the post for good measure. Back in, Scott manages to fight back with a faceplant, but Fatu pops right back up and superkicks him. That was a great spot, however Kish stopped doing it as he got too fat and too slow in later years as Rikishi. Samu with a dropkick, and a rake in the eyes over in the heel corner cuts off Scott’s brief attempt at a comeback, as Scott just can’t get anything in. Fatu locks in the dreaded Samoan nerve hold, Scott escapes and they collide on a double clothesline. Samu stays in control with a powerslam and he goes up for the diving headbutt, which misses after Scott moves out of the way. Finally it’s HOT TAG RICK, and he runs wild with Steinerlines up the wazoo. However, he makes the fatal mistake of trying a double noggin knocker on Samoans, and that earns him a double headbutt from both guys. Challenging science is never a good idea. The Headshrinkers set him up for the Doomsday Device, but RICK TURNS IT INTO A POWERSLAM IN MID AIR!!!!! And he did it off Fatu’s shoulders!! I’d watch early 90s Steiners matches all day. It gets two, with Fatu breaking up the count. The Headshrinkers toss Rick, but Scott comes in off the blind tag to get rid of Fatu with an overhead suplex, only to turn around into a Samu superkick. However, Scott fights back with the Frankensteiner and that finishes Samu at 14:22.
Rating: JR promised a slobberknocker, and a slobberknocker it was! This was four badass wrestlers beating the sh-t out of each other, and the Steiners could just do no wrong with that type of match in this era. Pretty great battle of the bulls here, even if the heat spot was perhaps a bit longer than necessary. ***1/4
Mean Gene is with Doink in the back. Did you know he’s an evil clown who likes to do bad things for his own amusement? Things like, you know, getting rid of Crush or decorating Julius Caesar’s statue.
Crush vs. Doink the Clown
You know something is wrong with creative when this is one of the programs that got more TV time heading into this WM. Hell, Crush even did a stretcher job and was out for a month(!!) while Bret and Yokozuna barely interacted. Doink provokes Crush while making his entrance, leading to a chase as Crush slams him on the floor and sends him into the post. Back in, Doink whips Crush into the buckle and slugs away on him, but Crush no sells and continues to beat him up. Crush with a neckbreaker and the Randy Savage necksnap, which Macho appreciates on commentary. “Love it love it love it YEAH”! Doink takes over with a necksnap of his own though, and drops a number of double axes off the top. Piledriver by Doink, and Crush bails. For a featured story in the buildup to this show, the crowd is pretty dead for it. Back in, Doink slams Crush and goes up, but the Vertical Jump That Always Misses shockingly… misses. Imagine that. Crush catches Doink with a powerslam in mid air and tosses him out with a clothesline, with Doink trying to crawl under the ring. Crush grabs him by the legs and takes Doink back inside for a gorilla press slam, then Crush sets him up for the HEADSQUEEZER OF DEATH but the ref gets bumped. Doink again tries to crawl under the ring, only to get caught by Crush again and brought back to the ring. This time Crush successfully locks in the HEADSQUEEZING CLAWHOLD OF DOOM, but a second Doink (Skinner) appears and knocks Crush out with the fake arm that Doink used to injure Crush in January. The original Doink revives the ref and steals it at 8:28.
Rating: Bleh. This feud was pretty forgettable, as Crush just wasn’t that interesting as a babyface to go up against the unique Doink. The action wasn’t bad by any means, but the crowd didn’t care about any of it. The finish was flat too, Doink pulled much better “tricks” in other instances. But hey, at least Skinner got a WrestleMania payday before leaving the company. Good for him. *1/4
Meanwhile, new announcer Todd Pettengill hangs out in the crowd.
Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund
There are some loud Razor chants at the beginning of the match. Backlund starts off with a pair of takedowns, but Razor takes over with his patented right hands. Razor slams him and slugs away some more, and then Backlund makes the comeback with a bunch of dropkicks and hiptosses. Backlund with an overhead butterfly suplex and an atomic drop, but then Ramon reverses a slam attempt and turns it into a small package at 3:45.
Rating: Not much to this one, it was over as soon as it started. Nice to see Razor Ramon score a big win like this in his first WrestleMania, though. 3/4*
Mean Gene is in the back with Money Inc, but first throws us to the recap from the attack on Beefcake on RAW. Back to the interview, with DiBiase saying the Maniacs have no chance. IRS promises to remove Beefcake’s mask and destroy his face again. Also, he’s heard from sources that Hogan suffered some kind of accident. Yeah, about that.
WWF World Tag Team Championship – Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) vs. Mega Maniacs (Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake) (w/ Jimmy Hart)
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Hogan indeed comes out with a black eye. Money Inc jump the Maniacs before the ring, but they dump the champs like it’s nothing and then continue the posing routine for about two more minutes. Destroyed faces and all. The action gets underway with Money Inc dominating Beefcake, but DiBiase hurts himself on a double axehandle due to Brutus’ mask. Noggins are knocked and Beefcake takes over. Beefcake no sells a few more shots to the face, and brings in Hogan. Hulk slugs away in the corner and, ever the superhero, threatens to punch the referee. And then he ignores the rules and continues to throw closed fists on DiBiase. This dude blatanly CHEATS like a madman and gets away with it! Hogan with a clothesline and a double big boot alongside Brutus. Powerslam by Beefcake and Hogan goes AERIAL with a double axehandle. Hogan dumps Ted with a clothesline, THUMBS IRS IN THE EYE IN FRONT OF THE REF (disqualify this man already for crying out loud!!!!!!) and then dumps IRS as well. Money Inc naturally decide to take a walk and keep their titles due to all the shenanigans going on, but then the ref tells Finkel to announce they’ll lose the titles if they’re counted out. HOW DOES HE HAVE THE POWER?! Where is Jack Tunney when you need him? That’s not in the rulebook… this sh-t is clearly rigged!
IMG credit: WWE
Back in, DiBiase and IRS take turns choking Hogan with the tag rope. All is fair in love and Caesars Palace. Million Dollar Dream is locked in, but Hogan’s arm only drops twice. Savage is so excited that he claims “the fans are hanging from the rafters… if there were rafters here”. That was something! DiBiase manages to put the hold back in, but then Beefcake comes in (illegally, might I add) and puts DiBiase in his own crappy version of the Million Dollar Dream. Of course, Earl Hebner ignores all of this and, on top of that, has the balls to TELL IRS TO LEAVE when he tries to rescue his partner from the insane cheating going on in the ring. Beefcake goes back to the apron like a thief and we get a double KO spot. Tag to Beefcake who comes out running wild, until DiBiase nails him with the briefcase to the back on a criss cross. Money Inc take off Beefcake’s mask as Brutus plays BFF in peril, but Beefcake single handedly takes care of the situation with a double clothesline. He goes for a sleeper on IRS, which DiBiase breaks and even knocks the ref down. Turnabout is fair play, says I. Hogan comes out while the ref is still out and hits them with Beefcake’s mask, and Jimmy Hart comes in with a referee shirt and counts the pin. F-CK OFF ALREADY. The cheaters celebrate with the belts in hand, but thankfully Danny Davis comes out and reverses the decision, giving the DQ win to Money Inc at a WHOPPING 18:27. They obviously humiliate and beat up the poor ref who’s only doing his job and then pose and strut for minutes despite being the LOSERS, and eventually steal Money Inc’s money and hand it to the crowd like the thieves they are.
Rating: All jokes aside, this was brutal. This made no sense, kept going forever at nearly 20 minutes and then just ended in the lamest way possible. The structure was all over the place in this one. 1/2*
Mean Gene is standing by with Mr. Perfect, who stumbles all over his words and calls Luger “The Lexcissist” in a hilarious bit. When you’re the best even at stumbling over words, you gotta be perfect.
Mr. Perfect vs. The Narcissist Lex Luger
The announcers mention something about Luger knocking out Bret Hart with the loaded forearm in the brunch earlier in the day. Was that ever followed up on? I have no memories of any of that. Anyway, they start off slowly by trying to feel each other out, until Perfect strikes first with a kneelift and a dropkick, and Luger bails. Luger takes over back inside and pounds away, but Perfect catches him going for a big boot and goes after the leg. Spinning toehold by Perfect and he sits on the leg, but Luger gets to the ropes. Perfect stays in control with a pair of chops with extra mustard in the corner. Luger whips him into the buckle though, and goes after the back from there. Backbreaker by Lex and he drops an elbow for two. Luger gets two but gets caught with his feet on the ropes. Powerslam gets two for Luger. Perfect sneaks in a quick sunset flip for two, and a cradle gets two more. Perfect backdrops Luger, then catapults him into the corner and follows it up with own forearms for two. Swinging neckbreaker gets two. Perfect goes up for a missile dropkick that gets two more. They battle over a backslide, won by Luger who steals it with the help of the ropes at 10:56.
Luger knocks him out with the LOADED FOREARM OF MYSTERIOUS DOOM immediately afterwards. Perfect eventually gets up and chases Luger all the way to the back, only to get beat up by Shawn Michaels instead.
Rating: Solid match in my view. It wasn’t particularly exciting, but their work was fine enough to keep me into it the whole time. **1/2
And now we move on to this…
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The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Giant Gonzalez (w/ Harvey Wippleman)
We start with the staredown, or stareup as Savage calls it. UT no sells the GIANT CLUBBING BLOWS early on, and we get a battle over a goozle in the corner. Gonzalez goes low right in front of the ref, which somehow isn’t a DQ. Unfortunately, might I add. Alas, UT no sells the dick shot anyway and proceeds to hit him with Old School. Gonzalez comes out of the corner with a clothesline, which is already 10x more than I thought I’d see from him. Gonzalez locks in the TOWERING CHINLOCK OF DEATH, and stays there. And stays there. And stays there. And stays there.
And stays there. Then, Gonzalez takes him out for a pair of laughable “chops” and whips Undertaker into the steps a couple of times. Thankfully for UT, Paul Bearer keeps getting him back up using the POWER OF THE URN. Undertaker makes the comeback back in the ring with punches, but Harvey gets involved and passes a chloroform-filled cloth for the laaaaaame DQ finish at 7:33. Undertaker gets taken to the back while Gonzalez destroys some referees in the ring afterwards, but then UT runs back in and takes Gonzalez off his feet with the running clothesline.
Rating: Just horrible. None of this was any good and the finish was somehow even worse. Much worse. I can’t blame Undertaker for being pissed at the office for the rest of his career since it will forever be remembered due to the Streak. This was complete utter sh-t. DUD
And now, more from the Hulkster who’s in the back with Mean Gene. You see, Bret Hart is a brother, brother, but he still wants the first shot whether if it’s against him or “the Jap”.
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Main Event
WWF Championship – Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji)
Bret dropkicks Yokozuna into the corner right off the bat, while Yoko was still doing his usual sumo taunts. Bret slugs away and tries to use his quickness to get an edge, but Yoko runs him over with a massive shoulderblock and dumps Bret to the outside. However, Bret smartly ties up Yoko’s foot between the ropes and comes back in with a slingshot. Bret adds the middle rope elbow, until Hebner unties Yoko from the ropes and that allows him to catch a charging Bret with a clothesline. Powerslam sets up the legdrop for Yokozuna. Yoko goes to the DREADED SAMOAN NERVE HOLD, which is weird because he’s definitely not Samoan! Whip into the buckle featuring the Bret Hart Bump, but Yoko charges right into a boot in the corner, and Bret takes Yoko down by jumping off the top rope onto Yokozuna’s back. Yoko fights back with the superkick, though, and goes back to the nerve hold. He misses yet another charge in the corner, this time going for the running buttsplash, and Bret comes off the top with a flying bulldog for two. Middle rope elbow gets two. Bret goes up yet again for a flying clothesline that staggers Yoko, and a running clothesline takes him down. Bret slugs away in the corner, but Yoko overpowers him and the turnbuckle pad explodes. Yoko tries to take advantage of that, but he’s the one who ends up eating the exposed buckle. Bret capitalizes by locking in the Sharpshooter, but Fuji throws the salt in Bret’s eyes and Yokozuna steals the win and the WWF title at 8:55.
Rating: Quite the exciting David v. Goliath kind of match, even if it felt a bit rushed at just 9 minutes. But for the time we got, it turned out to be a pretty good title match. This was at a time when both wrestlers were motivated since they were both getting their first serious push in the main event. Bret knew exactly how to put a match like this together, and I thought they got in a few dramatic spots that worked and really got the crowd going. The finish wasn’t the greatest, but then again that’s 1993 cartoon WWF for ya. I probably liked this a lot more than most people. ***
And then, Hulk Hogan comes out to save the world. Because of course he does. Fuji challenges Hogan to take on Yokozuna for the title right there, which is beyond nonsensical.
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WWF Championship – Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Hulk Hogan
IMG credit: WWE & wrestleview.com
Fuji goes back for the salt, but this time it hits Yokozuna. Hogan gets rid of Fuji, clothesline, legdrop and he takes the title at 0:22.
Rating: … DUD
Hogan poses with the World title to close WrestleMania in the best way imaginable.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Honestly, this is not that bad. I’ve seen and reviewed a lot worse shows, including WrestleManias. Of course, the ending is absolute bullsh-t and made everyone look bad except the almighty Hulkster. I’m far from being a Hogan hater, I appreciate his work and how he was able to get so much out of audiences by doing so little, and that is even reflected on some of my past reviews of Hogan matches, but the magic just wasn’t there anymore. Times were clearly changing, and Hogan’s godawful babyface run in WCW was further proof of that. The idea to put the belt on him here hurt Yokozuna, who was undefeated heading into this show and HAD JUST WON THE DAMN THING(!!!); hurt Bret, who had been the reigning World Champion for the previous six months; and hurt the company, since Hogan literally disappeared with the belt and made no in-person appearances on RAW or any other WWF show until King of the Ring. Instead, he went out and wrestled a pair of matches in Japan, where he even buried the WWF Championship on camera. The whole thing was just a disaster. As far as the rest of the show (which is easy to forget and that’s the reason why almost everyone considers this the worst WM of all time): the first two matches were really good, and personally I enjoyed Bret v. Yokozuna and, to a lesser extent, Perfect v. Luger, but everything else was pretty forgettable. I obviously wouldn’t recommend this WrestleMania to anyone, but I don’t think it’s the worst either. 4/10
That’s all from me. Make sure you don’t miss any of our reviews, including from RAW episodes as well as all the other pay-per-views. Also, download our web-app which you can find in the link bar. See you next time!
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Matthew Akpan is a 33-year-old man living in Leeds, England in the United Kingdom. He is a proud wrestling fan with a remarkable story that he wanted to share with us.
Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in March 2013, Matthew is more living proof that autism is indeed a superpower. Graduating from Leeds Beckett University in 2015 with a degree in Sport, Leisure and Culture, Matthew not only speaks three different languages, he’s also a keen volunteer, having presented medals to competitors at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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And in October 2021, Matthew’s love of wrestling and his Asperger’s resulted in his greatest accomplishment. Competing in the 2021 York Marathon, Matthew dressed-up as his hero John Cena and achieved the Guinness World Record for fastest marathon dressed as a professional wrestler; recording a time of 2 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds.
IMG Credit: WWE (John Cena), Matthew Akpan, Sportskeeda
Matthew partook in the York Marathon in tribute to his father, who sadly passed away in 2013 from kidney failure. Matthew and his father watched wrestling together for 20 years, which ultimately led to Matthew’s decision to compete.
Matthew’s story resonated with me on many levels besides that of a love of wrestling. As someone who also has Asperger’s Syndrome, I could relate to Matthew and the struggles, challenges and hardships he has endured. Matthew also competed in the York Marathon for the charity Victim Support; as well as raise awareness of autism. I was honoured to talk with him and discuss his life, love of wrestling and all the positive work he’s done.
IMG Credit: Matthew Akpan/LeedsLive
A year has passed since you won the Guinness World Record. My first question must be…how did it feel after you achieved what you did? What was your family’s reaction?
I felt over the moon, literally. It was a massive achievement for me, and my friends & family were very happy for me. Although it felt very surreal to do this and I felt it put me in a completely different stratosphere.
How has your life changed since then?
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I personally have felt that more people, especially friends and colleagues, have started calling me a celebrity. But my outlook has remained the same. I now use my public figure to try and inspire others to run. For example, setting up a junior parkrun in Leeds to get young people involved in sport from an early age.
You’ve stated in various interviews that you dressed up as John Cena because of all the charitable work he’s done, particularly for children and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. What else would you say is it that make Cena inspirational?
I think if you look at the WWE universe in the crowds now, the most common shirt I see people wearing is Cena’s shirt. I think he represents the Millennial and Generation X culture of kids becoming adults in the 21st century – where in my opinion in the 20th Century and before, it was more parents leading their kids into jobs – for them to be able to choose their pathway in life and go against the status quo, while also holding respect in the way they go about this.
John actually Tweeted your story! How cool was that?!
A fun record worth celebrating for it’s substance and message (and maybe it’s style 🩳). Thanks to @GWR for recognizing a young man who is running for a cause and with purpose. #NGUhttps://t.co/H5AaPflp0y
UNBELIEVABLE! That is when I really thought my efforts have put me into a different world. I do not think anyone could believe it apart from me.
What were your favourite memories/matches of wrestling growing up? Did you have any favourite wrestlers as well as John Cena?
The Rock and Booker T were always personal favourites. I used to pray the night before PPV’s for the Rock to win his match as per the time difference between US and U.K.. Wreslemania 17 stands out as does Wrestlemania 28 – Cena vs The Rock (apparently I read Nia Jax was inspired to wrestle after that match) in Florida. I suppose the first WWE Live event I went to with my Dad at Leeds Arena in 2013; the first WWE event ever to come to Leeds. And now the Rock’s daughter has debuted on NXT, which is amazing.
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What would you say it is about wrestling that appeals to millions of fans worldwide?
For me – I will not speak for the others – it is the theatre-atmosphere and storytelling that WWE and other wrestling companies does so well. For me, you are enthralled by the drama like a box-set series that becomes so addictive you never want to stop watching. The appreciation for ALL the wrestlers and what they do in the ring and how they master their craft and how they use this platform to help people not connected with wrestling in many different ways. And that appeal I feel also allows them to grow their ever-growing fanbase.
You’ve discussed your Asperger’s Syndrome in various interviews and how because of it you’ve been able to achieve so much with your life. What you would personally say makes it advantageous to people?
I think having Asperger’s – and I have other friends who have other disabilities – is that it makes you work harder for success in life. Now granted, you certainly need a good family/friend base around you to activate this as I personally have felt a difference-in-treatment in different areas I have been in since my diagnosis. But because of this constant struggle and fight, I feel you become more rounded as a person; a person people want to be around and learn from. Not everyone will understand you (as I think could be said for people without disabilities as well) but the deeper understanding you have to understand yourself and analyse situations more deeply, I feel then most others without disabilities…it creates a unique pathway where people, employers, friends have a greater respect for you.
When you partook in the 2021 York Marathon, you competed in memory of your father and for the charity Victim Support. Please tell us what it was like training for the event and how much it meant to you.
The training was a standard procedure for me. By that, I mean I run 6 days a week and it was no different to what I had been doing for the past 10 to 15 years. Although we had come out of lockdown, I was more keen and eager than ever to do this and I used the Victim Support charity as people like Cena, the media and others support. Behind closed doors (like I felt my father was) are constant victims, where a lot them do not have a platform to tell their stories and in some cases this ends in death, serious abuse, rape and other horrible scenarios. So trying to support this charity and get this world record was about trying to limit and stop things that I mentioned from occurring as much, and in-time, eliminated completely.
IMG Credit: Matthew Akpan
It’s truly remarkable everything that you’ve achieved and what you continue to do. You’ve done a lot of voluntary work at the Commonwealth Games this year, you’ve been awarded a Blue Peter badge and you’ve told us about setting up this junior park run in Leeds to get young people into sport. What else are you hoping to do for the future?
I am awaiting my training to start in January 2023 – which has been confirmed by BBC – to work for BBC Sport, where I will be working as a Freelance Journalist. Hopefully now I have established myself, I can reach out to more people, and BBC Sport can (in-turn) help me branch my story to more people around the world and change their lives. I also hope that our conversation today has started that and people can follow me via links to my Instagram and Twitter account.
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Count on it! You’re a WWE fan. Do you still watch WWE today and/or any other wrestling on TV like AEW?
I watch WWE – NXT religiously but mainly due to time, I only follow AEW, Impact, Ring of Honor and the indies, so I know what is going on in the wrestling world. The next WWE trip I will go on is WWE Live in Manchester, England in April 2023
Finally, what messages do you have out there for people with Asperger’s Syndrome and fellow wrestling fans?
Literally, NEVER GIVE UP. If something is too hard at that particular point, find a way around it, go for a walk/run, call a friend, watch a movie, and come back to the issue with a fresh perspective. That makes you look at the situational outcome differently than before. And if you like something, stick to it because you never know where something may lead especially when you have a passion for it. I never thought when I started watching wrestling in the 90’s that this pathway would occur. So stay consistent and ask and find help when you need it.
Welcome to the SmarkDown Review Of WWE’s Crown Jewel 2022 PPV! My name is Tanner and let’s get into this!
We’re stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the annual WWE Crown Jewel event!
Champions Heading In
• WWE Champion: Roman Reigns [Day 216]
• WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns [Day 797]
• WWE Raw Women’s Champion: Bianca Belair [Day 217]
• WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions: The Usos [Day 477]
• WWE Raw Tag Team Champions: The Usos [Day 169]
• WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions: Alexa Bliss & Asuka [Day 5]
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IMG Credit: AjBlueBayBelt on Twitter
Brock Lesnar vs Bobby Lashley | Singles Match
IMG Credit: Bleacher Report
Brock Lesnar def. Bobby Lashley via Pinfall at 6:00.
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Ugh. We really can’t just let these guys fight for 10 minutes with zero BS huh? The match was alright while it lasted, but I don’t like that they did an injury spot as it throws away them beating the hell out of each other with no awkward pace. But alas this is the WWE so we must have a WWE style match. The finish was…Jesus. It was bad. Lesnar simply lays on Lashley for the win? That was awkward as hell. This match should’ve been so much better. **
Alexa Bliss & Asuka(c) vs Damage CTRL | WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships Match
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IMG Credit: WWE.com
Dakota Kai def. Alexa Bliss via Pinfall at 12:50 to WIN the Women’s Tag Team Championships!
The finish was sort of awkward, but the match was pretty fun and was much better than their match on Monday. I’m glad the crowd was engaged as the pace deserved such a reaction. A step up from the opener. ***¼
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Karrion Kross vs Drew McIntyre | Steel Cage Match
IMG Credit: WWE.com
Drew McIntyre def. Karrion Kross via Escape at 13:01.
This match takes a while to get going, but is pretty fun towards the closing stretch with both men having near win moments before McIntyre could barely escape Kross. Overall this was better than their Extreme Rules match. **¾
The Judgment Day vs The O.C. | Six Man Tag Team Match
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IMG Credit: WWE.com
Finn Balor def. AJ Styles via Pinfall at 14:00.
This is pretty fine honestly, but not great with them resorting to average action before a hot finish that makes it just a bit above average. Good match overall here and I’m interested in who will join The O.C. against The Judgment Day. ***
Braun Strowman vs Omos | Singles Match
IMG Credit: WWE.com
Braun Strowman def. Omos via Pinfall at 7:19.
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Way better than expected with then taking a simple, but effective approach. Omos showed some really good character/charisma improvement while showing some power against someone like Braun. Braun showed some nice babyface energy too before getting a really impressive powerslam for the 3. Decent match! **¾
The Usos(c) vs The Brawling Brutes | WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships Match
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IMG Credit: WWE.com
Jey Uso def. Butch via Pinfall at 10:47 to RETAIN the Undisputed Tag Team Championships.
This was a pretty decent match. It kind of felt overdone in some sense and there were a few f-ups scattered throughout, but again a very ok match here. **½
Bianca Belair(c) vs Bayley | WWE Raw Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match
IMG Credit: ITNWWE
Bianca Belair def. Bayley at 20:09 to RETAIN the Raw Women’s Championship
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A pretty fun all over the place brawl here with several moments where you were sure the match was over. Some brutal spots too which was a relief to see. I’m not sure if that finish was exactly too logical, but I think Boanca going over was the right move to ensure the realism of the faction war. ***
Bray Wyatt is here!!!
IMG Credit: btsportwwe on Twitter
His cryptic speeches and story with fighting against himself and his own family continue!
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Roman Reigns(c) vs Logan Paul | WWE Undisputed Universal Championship Match
IMG Credit: Sportskeeda
Roman Reigns def. Logan Paul via Pinfall at 24:46 to RETAIN the Undisputed Universal Championship
Wow this was way better than I ever expected it to be with Logan putting on a hell of a performance against Roman who really sold everything well. The possibility of Logan winning was getting more and more believable. Loved Michael Cole’s selling of Logan’s near falls. He was on fire tonight! I didn’t mind the Usos interfering to take down Logan’s group as it pretty much makes sense. Thank god Logan took one spear and it was over. Very good main event! ****
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And that’s the show! Roman Reigns celebrates with The Bloodline to close the show that ran at around 3h30m!
Overall Thoughts: This show did not start off well, but was quickly able to recover with the Women’s Tag Titles Match. Everything else is quite decent with the big highlight of the night being Logan’s impressive performance against Roman. It’s a typical Saudi Arabia Show, but not too bad. I’d give this show an average 6/10
March 29th, 1993 Taped show/replay (taped on March 7th, 1993 and originally aired on March 28th, 1993) Location: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA Show’s original TV rating: 3.3 (USA Network) Replay’s TV rating: 2.5 (USA Network) [down 0.3 from the previous RAW’s 2.8]
Note: I’m reviewing the WWE Network/Peacock version of March to WrestleMania, and not the actual replay version that aired on that Monday night, which might’ve cut some of the matches and/or segments.
Welcome everyone to my review of a rather different episode of WWF RAW. Actually, it doesn’t really count as an episode of RAW, but I’ll add it to my series of RAW reviews since its replay technically aired during RAW’s timeslot. This is WWF March to WrestleMania IX, featuring big matches such as Yokozuna vs. Randy Savage and The Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow. Also, the likes of Money Inc. and Tatanka are in action. There will also be a six-man “mixed” tag team match featuring The Bushwhackers and midgets. Yeah… let’s get into it.
Here is the list of WWF champions heading into this show (reign duration considering the replay/RAW date):
WWF Champion: Bret Hart [168th day of his reign] – previous champion: Ric Flair
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [153rd day of his reign] – previous champion: The British Bulldog
WWF World Tag Team Champions – Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [167th day of their reign] – previous champions: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Note: in title matches, the defending champions are underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
IMG credit: WWE & voicesofwrestling.com
Yours hosts are Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan
The show kicks off with Vince taking us to a recap from the contract signing between Bret Hart and Yokozuna, aired on the previous weekend’s Wrestling Challenge. Before the two could sign, Yoko shoved the table onto Bret’s ribs and squashed him with the Banzai Drop. As various officials came in to take Yoko off the ring, Bret somehow crawled back up to his feet and raised the belt on his own while selling the beatdown.
Bobby Heenan thinks Yoko could’ve easily broken Bret’s ribs right there, but he chose to only leave a message. Vince and Heenan go through tonight’s proceedings. WE’RE ALL MARCHING TO WRESTLEMANIA, PAL!
Randy Savage vs. Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji)
IMG credit: WWE
This is unquestionably the biggest match of Yokozuna’s short WWF career up until here. It would be surpassed by his first ever WM main event a week later, of course. They taunt each other in an attempt to play mind games. A battle over a shove is won by Yokozuna to kick off the action. Savage with a running shoulderblock… but he’s the one who goes down after bouncing off Yoko. Yoko dumps Macho Man and sends him into the post out on the floor. Back in they go with Yoko still in control, but Macho makes the comeback and slugs away, only for Yoko to knock him down with a single shot. Powerslam by Yokozuna into a legdrop. Long gone were the days where that move won the main event of WrestleMania, brother! Yoko rams Savage into the corner, who’s quite beat up. However, Macho avoids a running buttsplash in the corner and Yoko eats the turnbuckle. Savage goes up top, but Fuji knocks him off with the Japanese flag, right into a belly-to-belly that finishes Savage at 6:36.
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Yoko sets him up for the Banzai afterwards, but Savage moves out of the way at the last second and dumps Yoko with a running high knee to the back. Yoko’s all worked up wanting to get back in while the crowd’s going crazy, but Fuji smartly convinces him to walk away with the WM match just a week away.
Rating: It was a basic match to put over Yokozuna in a massive way just a week before his WrestleMania main event. It also got over the fact that Mr. Fuji could be a deciding factor if things started going south for the big man. On another note, I also liked the small detail that Yoko wasn’t able to squash someone post-match for the first time. It might’ve been just a small touch, but it was important to show that it won’t always be a walk in the park for Yokozuna. This accomplished what it had to. **
We take a brief look at the first couple of months of The Narcissist Lex Luger’s WWF run. Vince thinks his forearm shots are suspicious. He was probably just on Icopro, Vince.
Mr. Perfect vs. Skinner
Skinner attacks during the entrance and dumps Perfect right away. Perfect gets thrown into the steps but manages to fight back while on the outside. However, Skinner uses his belt to turn things around back inside the ring. The ref totally ignores it and doesn’t call for the bell because reasons. Vince thinks Heenan and Luger paid them off. Skinner continues in control through biting and choking on the ropes. Skinner misses a blind charge in the corner though, opening the door for Perfect’s comeback. Perfect slugs away in the corner and the kneelift connects. Perfect necksnap and Skinner begs off, but Perfect slugs away in response. Funny line by Heenan asking Skinner if he wants his money… he means the winner’s share! Skinner uses the ALLIGATOR CLAW OF DEATH for a cheapshot, but the Perfectplex does it for Hennig at 5:27.
Rating: Simple match to build up Perfect on his way to WrestleMania. Heenan’s shtick on commentary elevated it and made it entertaining. This was Skinner’s last match in the WWF, and he would leave after being apart of the whole Doink stuff at WM. *1/2
Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan returns to the ring next week at WM 9.
Kamala (w/ Reverend Slick) vs. Kim Chee
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We’re actually getting a blowoff to Kamala vs. Kim Chee? LOL! Kamala appears to be afraid of Kim Chee early on, so Kim Chee slugs away to start. Kamala finally snaps and catches Kim Chee with a bearhug. That goes nowhere rather quickly, so Kamala kicks him and follows it up with the splash instead. Kamala doesn’t know how to pin him, but Slick and the fans help him get there to finish at 2:10. Kamala beats up Kim Chee afterwards to hopefully end this “feud”. On a side note, Kamala was supposed to face Bam Bam Bigelow at WM 9, but that match was cut due to time issues.
Rating: Short and to the point exactly like it needed to be. 1/4*
Meanwhile, the OOOOOOHH OOOOOOHH WRESTLEMANIAAAA video plays!
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Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) vs. Reno Riggins & Jerry Sabin
Sabin surprises IRS with a hiptoss as we get underway. IRS responds by sending him to the floor, with DiBiase sending him into the steps. Back in, Money Inc. force the tag to Reno and take turns beating him up in their corner. DiBiase chops away before taking Reno out of the corner with a backdrop. DiBiase with a suplex, IRS with a suplex of his own and DiBiase puts Reno to sleep with the Million Dollar Dream at 2:55.
Rating: Solid squash as Money Inc. continue their MARCH TO WRESTLEMANIA! 1/2*
Mean Gene interviews the Mega Maniacs
Hogan talks about Money Inc’s attack on Brutus the previous month on RAW, before going on a crazy rant about how he took Beefcake’s motorcycle across Venice Beach and as he got to the Pacific Ocean, heard millions of Hulkamaniacs praying for Brutus to get better. Beefcake goes on an equally crazy rant on how Hogan’s pythons will take him and Hogan straight to the moon. Actually, that’s a pretty accurate resume of Beefcake’s wrestling career right there. Money Inc will go bankrupt, yada yada yada. Jimmy Hart notes that the Mega Maniacs’ future is so bright because soon they will steal a crazy paycheck from Turner for years and main event Starrca…. hmm, I mean sell a lot of new merch and win the tag titles at WrestleMania. That. Yes, that’s what I meant. Beefcake adds the ULTIMATE INSULT by claiming he’ll leave the scissors at home at WM and will instead yank their hair out with his own hands. Whatever floats your boat, Brutus. Now Hogan starts talking about sharks and suntan as this just keeps on going and going. He finally ends it with the WHATCHA GONNA DO and the shirt-ripping routine. If you’ve seen one Mega Maniacs promo, you’ve seen them all. This was one of those.
We see a recap of Tatanka beating Shawn Michaels twice in one week – first in a singles match on WWF Superstars, and then in a six-man tag match on RAW.
Quick promo from Shawn Michaels, who promises to walk out of WrestleMania as the Intercontinental Title despite his recent losses to Tatanka.
Tatanka vs. George South
Tatanka overpowers South at first, but gets caught in the corner for a while. Tatanka whips South into the turnbuckle, chops away and powerslams him to turn things around. South gets a couple more shots, but Tatanka again sends him into the corner to escape before chopping him. South with a cheapshot and he rams Tatanka’s head into the buckle, but Tatanka no-sells it, marches (TO WRESTLEMANIA!!!) around the ring and the Not Samoan Drop ends it at 3:16.
Rating: A normal squash. 1/4*
Shawn comes out to confront Tatanka immediately afterwards. Tatanka says let’s do it right now, and Shawn bails.
WrestleMania IX Report w/ Mean Gene
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Okerlund promotes the double main event – Money Inc v. Mega Maniacs and Bret Hart v. Yokozuna.
We hear from WWF Champion Bret Hart, who’s tired of hearing Fuji and Yokozuna claim how they’ve already guaranteed victory in the title match.
Crush joins us from a boat in Hawaii and gives Doink a demonstration of what will happen at WM… by catching two octopuses. Just when I thought I’d seen it all in wrestling, I keep getting surprised.
The Steiners are ready for the Headshrinkers at WrestleMania.
Six Man “Mixed” Tag Team Match – The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake Beverly) & Little Louie vs. The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke) & Tiger Jackson
Now this promises to be something. The Bushwhackers and Jackson walk around the ring for about a minute doing the usual Bushwhackers routine after the bell rings. Next up, the Bushwhackers leads the crowd in “sissy” chants. The Beverly Brothers finally gets things going with a cheapshot on Luke and they take over. Ass biting follows, including from the midgets, while the announcers wonder how Gorilla Monsoon will look like in a toga at WM. What is going on here!? Jackson dumps Louie with a dropkick and the Bushwhackers stop to celebrate, with Tiger joining them. Jackson chops Louie and splashes him for two, but Louie kicks out WITH AUTHORITY and Jackson lands in the referee’s hands. The ref tosses him onto Louie again and that gets two more. The midget lands on top of the ref again off the kickout, who tosses him aside this time around. Blake cheapshots Butch, who fights back with a kneelift and a bulldog. The Beverly Brothers hit a double-team double axehandle for two, though. Beau whips Luke into the buckle and nails a backbreaker. Another flying double axe by Beau gets two as this just keeps going. Hot tag Butch, he runs wild with clotheslines, Tiger joins in with a clothesline of his own on Louie, and a double-clothesline by the Bushwhackers to both Beau and Blake. It’s a clotheslinefest. Finally, the Bushwhackers clean the ring and set Jackson up so he can finish Louie with a high crossbody at 9:57.
Rating: This comedy match went on for nearly ten minutes and barely succeeded in being, you know, comedic. There was a spot or two with the midgets that worked, but outside of that there was nothing to see here. Heenan and McMahon spent most of this doing predictions for WrestleMania, and wondering how Gorilla Monsoon would look like in a toga at WM, and if he would be riding to the event in an animal. This would be cool at a house show, but on a show that’s supposed to sell WM 9 coming up a week later, I’m struggling to see the point. DUD
Recap of Undertaker’s recent interactions with Giant Gonzalez.
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Main Event
The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
IMG credit: WWE & wwenetworknews.com
Bam Bam throws the first shots, but UT takes him down with a nice drop toehold. Bam Bam bails, leading UT into a pursuit, before catching him back in the ring to retake control. Taker comes back by bouncing off the ropes with a DDT, though. UT with the usual choking in the corner, and takes Bam Bam to Old School. A number of shots and a clotheslines are no-sold by Bigelow, and UT goes flying to the outside after Bam Bam ducks the flying clothesline. We take a break.
Commercial break
We’re back with Bam Bam slamming UT on the floor. Zombie situp by Undertaker, so Bam Bam sends him into the stairs a couple of times. Paul Bearer helps Undertaker get back to the ring using the POWER OF THE URN. He walks into a backdrop suplex by Bigelow, but UT sits back up. Powerslam and again Undertaker sits up. Slam by Bigelow and he drops a couple of headbutts, but somehow Undertaker STILL gets back up. What is in that damn urn, Icopro?! Bigelow sets him up for the diving headbutt, but UT sits up yet again to avoid the move. Pretty slick reversal, actually. Now Undertaker manages to deliver the running clothesline. Chokeslam follows… and Bam Bam takes a walk at 7:39. Giant Gonzalez comes out after the match for a confrontation with Undertaker.
Rating: Actually, this was turning into quite the badass hoss fight until the abrupt ending. It’s understandable, though. Bigelow looked great as he kept unloading on Undertaker, who always kept getting back for more as well. I would’ve loved to see this at WrestleMania instead of the crap they came up with. **3/4
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: I don’t think this show was necessarily bad, but there was some definitely some unnecessary stuff in here. Particularly the whole Bushwhackers/midgets nonsense, as well as a bunch of squashes. Yokozuna v. Savage was a solid short match designed to elevate Yoko, Perfect got a fine win over Skinner in a watchable match, Undertaker and Bam Bam were on their way to having a pretty awesome match in the main event, and Kamala got his revenge on Kim Chee after months of abuse. However, if you ask me if this show boosted my interest in watching WM 9 the following week… not really. But it’s not like it was a terrible show in and of itself, either. 4/10
That’s all from me for the MARCH TO WRESTLEMANIA! Make sure you don’t miss my upcoming review of the actual WrestleMania event. I’ll be introducing a new custom match card design for each match on that review, and it will be used for all PPVs going forward. Don’t forget to download our app for an easier access to the site. See you all next time!
Do you enjoy the content we put out here on SmarKDown? If so and you would like to support us, please consider donating as it would help us improve. You can donate yearly, monthly or just once, choosing one of the amounts below or a custom one as you wish. All donations are appreciated!
March 22nd, 1993 Location: Manhattan, New York, USA (Manhattan Center) Announced attendance: ca 1 000 (capacity: ca 1 000) TV rating: 2.8 (USA Network) [down 0.1 from the previous week’s 2.9]
Hi everyone. Welcome to my review of the final episode of WWF RAW on the way to WrestleMania 9. Well, yes and no, but more on that story later in the review as well as in the next review. This week, the show is back to the Manhattan Center with The Bushwhackers making their RAW debut. Money Inc and Tatanka are in action ahead of their respective title matches at WM9, and Doink faces Kamala in the main event.
Here is the list of WWF champions heading into this RAW:
WWF Champion: Bret Hart [161stday of his reign] – previous champion: Ric Flair
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [146th day of his reign] – previous champion: The British Bulldog
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [160th day of their reign] – previous champions: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage & ROB F*CKING BARTLETT
We kick off with the show’s intro this week.
The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch) vs. Repo Man & Damien Demento
Yes, a Bushwhackers match on the last episode of RAW before WM. They make their entrance through the crowd and lick the RAW girl. I’m shocked this didn’t convince anyone to purchase WrestleMania. Nothing happens for about the first minute or so, until the Bushwhackers bite the heels’ asses. Yes, great stuff. Randy Savage promotes his match against Yokozuna at March to WrestleMania while this nonsense happens, which is what will be airing on RAW’s timeslot the following week. The heels jump The Bushwhackers from behind as Demento bites Luke’s forehead. This match is truly something. They collide on a double shoulderblock attempt, but Demento gets up first and his team remains in control. Butch gets the tag and makes the comeback with the double noggin knocker. The Bushwhackers set up Demento for a double clothesline, but Repo Man trips them up from the outside. Repo Man elbowdrops Demento by mistake and the battering ram finishes Repo Man at 5:28.
Rating: There was biting in the ass and in the forehead, so I guess that counts as diversity in a Bushwhackers match. DUD
Tatanka vs. Reno Riggins
Reno attacks Tatanka from behind to start the matchup, but Tatanka turns things around rather quickly with chops and a backdrop. Reno goes for a sleeper, but Tatanka rams his head into the buckle to escape and gets an atomic drop. Sloppy armdrag by Tatanka and he goes to an armbar. Tatanka unloads with more chops but Reno sidesteps a high crossbody. Reno takes over very briefly, but Tatanka no-sells a whip into the buckle and makes the comeback with the usual before finishing with the Not Samoan Drop at 3:28.
Rating: This was actually a pretty fun squash match. The jobber was quite cocky and had personality, putting Tatanka over in a big way and making his stuff look great. *
Andre the Giant officially becomes the first Hall of Famer in WWF/E history. They play a really touching video remembering his career.
PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATION PAID FOR BY THE FOLLOWING!
Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) vs. Scott Rich & Jeff Armstrong
DiBiase takes over with a shoulderblock and a clothesline on Armstrong. Meanwhile, Rob Bartlett is shown watching some other TV shows in his monitor. What the f-ck is this guy still doing here after ten episodes? He’s horrible. IRS comes in with a quick suplex, before it’s back to DiBiase for some chops. Back to IRS as Money Inc. hits a double clothesline. They exchange quick tags back-and-forth as they cut the ring in half. IRS finishes one of the geeks with his running clothesline at 3:02.
Rating: Not much to this one as the focus was on Rob Bartlett for some stupid reason. It’s not like these guys are in a featured match at WrestleMania or anything. 1/2*
WrestleMania IX Report w/ Mean Gene
Bret Hart defends the WWF Championship against Yokozuna in the main event
Next week, you can see the contract signing for their title match on both WWF Superstars and Wrestling Challenge
Mean Gene goes through some of the other matches on the card
Caesars Palace is being turned into a Roman coliseum to host WrestleMania
Don’t wait until the 11th hour, call your local cable company RIGHT NOW!
Main Event
Doink the Clown vs. Kamala (w/ Reverend Slick)
IMG credit: WWE & Pinterest
Doink comes out with a gift for Kamala, only to take it away from him at the last second. Doink cheapshots Kamala and goes after the arm. Kamala fights out of the hold and goes for the comeback, but Doink rakes the eyes and takes him back down. Back to the arm goes Doink. Kamala escapes with a hiptoss and hits a corner splash as we take a break.
Commercial break
We’re back with Kamala dumping Doink and chasing him on the floor as Doink runs away from him. Doink stops by the gift and finally hands it to Kamala, which distracts him and allows Doink to sneak back in and steal a cheap count-out win at 6:00. I wish I was making this up, trust me. Kamala takes a steel chair afterwards and Doink runs away from him.
Rating: Doink’s original run is awesome but this is face Kamala, so what can you do? Of course it ended with an incredibly lame, childish finish because that was Kamala’s shtick after his face turn. I can’t believe this was their last segment on RAW before WRESTLEMANIA. No wonder people were running away from this gaga. This was really bad. 1/4*
Todd Petttengill wants you to join him for WWF Mania every Saturday morning. Just brush your teeth first.
We’re back with a stupid Rob Bartlett segment alongside his “fan club”. It’s a bunch of fat women whom Bartlett kisses. It’s supposed to be hilarious but it’s really just pointless.
THANKFULLY they cut off this crap and go to a Slim Jim commercial instead.
Vince promotes March to WrestleMania coming up the following Sunday on USA Network: Macho Man vs. Yokozuna and Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow. Sounds like a pretty big card.
The following week didn’t feature an actual episode of RAW. Instead, they aired the replay of the previous night’s March to WrestleMania event during RAW’s timeslot. Instead of skipping RAW and going straight into WM, I will be reviewing that show as if it was an episode of RAW since it technically also aired during RAW (its replay).
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: And I thought last week’s show was bad. Sheesh. This is the last f-cking episode of RAW before your biggest event of the entire year and this is the best you got to offer? A Bushwhackers match when they’ve been working pretty much just house shows for the last year (if not more) and are OBVIOUSLY off the WM card? Really? Kamala falling for an empty “gift” and getting counted-out in the main event? Your last chance to sell WM on a RAW episode and that’s what you end it on? Get outta here. The only positives on this episode were that Money Inc. and Tatanka scored wins over jobbers on their way to WM. That’s saying something. 2/10
That’s all for today’s post. Make sure you don’t miss the upcoming reviews of March to WrestleMania followed by WrestleMania IX itself. Download our web-app which you can find in your link bar. See you next time.
Do you enjoy the content we put out here on SmarKDown? If so and you would like to support us, please consider donating as it would help us improve. You can donate yearly, monthly or just once, choosing one of the amounts below or a custom one as you wish. All donations are appreciated!
March 15th, 1993 Location: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA (Mid-Hudson Civic Center) TV rating: 2.9 (USA Network) [down 0.1 from the previous week’s 3.0]
Hello everyone. Welcome to another RAW review as we get closer and closer to WrestleMania IX. This is the first time RAW isn’t taking place in the Manhattan Center, since the blizzard known as the “storm of the century” forced WWF to change the arena. This week has Bob Backlund vs. Papa Shango and The Nasty Boys vs. The Headshrinkers.
Here is the list of champions in the WWF heading into this RAW:
WWF Champion: Bret Hart [154th day of his reign] – previous champion: Ric Flair
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [139th day of his reign] – previous champion: The British Bulldog
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [153rd day of their reign] – previous champions: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan & “Not Vince McMahon” (aka Rob Bartlett with yet another HYSTERICAL impersonation)
We see clips of the streets filled with snow due to the huge blizzard, while the commentators (well, I should say Heenan and Gorilla) shill tonight’s events and other WWF-related stuff.
If you’re wondering, the actual Vince McMahon missed this episode because he was out on some award show representing the WWF. Savage was there with him too, hence his absence as well.
RAW’s intro plays.
Razor Ramon vs. Russ Greenberg
Razor unloads on Russ (or is it Ross?) right away and shoves him off the corner. Russ goes for something off the ropes, but Razor catches him rather easily and gives him a fallaway slam. Razor humiliates the jobber with some bitchslaps before hitting him with a huge chokeslam. Razor takes him up top for a backdrop superplex, and the Razor’s Edge ends it at 3:08.
Rating: Razor Ramon squash matches are never not fun to watch. He has both the charisma and the arsenal of moves to not only totally dominate, but also humiliate the job guys. Props to Ross for making Razor’s stuff look like a million dollars here. Or is it Russ!? 3/4*
Typhoon vs. LA Gore
For some reason Typhoon comes out to Earthquake’s theme song, who had left WWF earlier in the year. Of course, Typhoon would do the same not long afterwards, shocking the world with his masterful WCW debut that August.
Typhoon overpowers LA Gore with some shoving followed by a shoulderblock. Bartlett is really annoying the f-ck outta me with his stupid “Vince-like” commentary. Typhoon with a corner clothesline and a hiptoss out of the corner. Suplex by Typhoon followed by a sloppy powerslam. Corner splash and a Typhoon splash puts LA away at 2:57.
Rating: With an actual natural disaster going on outside, the world was just dying for a Typhoon singles push. Time to pull the plug on Sheik Tugboat now that Sgt. Slaughter is retired, I guess! Anyway, this was indeed a thing that happened. 1/4*
Bobby Heenan is in the ring for an interview, but he gets cut off because… it’s PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATION PAID FOR BY THE FOLLOWING time!
We’re back with Heenan furious at the timekeeper for not giving him his cue. This guy is awesome! He introduces Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman for an interview. Speaking of awesome, right?
Giant Gonzalez & Harvey Wippleman interview
Harvey puts over Giant Gonzalez and his, uhm, accomplishments thus far. These “accomplishments” include debuting at the Royal Rumble to eliminate The Undertaker, interrupting a battle royal a number of weeks earlier on RAW, and making jobbers run from him on television. Harvey promises the “most awesome force in WWF” will destroy Undertaker at WrestleMania. Gonzalez says he has a giant surprise for Taker. Thrilling promo.
A video airs promoting Hulk Hogan’s return to the wrestling ring live on PPV at WM 9. It also mentions Bret/Yoko very briefly.
Bob Backlund vs. Papa Shango
IMG credit: WWE
Now Papa Shango’s random squash last week makes more sense. Well, that’s a bit of a stretch, but you know what I mean. Backlund gets a couple of single-leg takedowns to start. Papa Shango wins a test of strength, but Backlund grabs the arm to reverse it. Drop toehold by Backlund and he goes to work on Shango, who then catches a charging Backlund with a backbreaker. Papa Shango beats up Backlund on the outside for a while and drops a low headbutt back in the ring. Gorilla and Heenan are starting to get real pissed off at Bartlett. Who ever thought these two would ever agree on anything!!? Only someone like Rob Bartlett could ever pull that off. Meanwhile, Papa Shango takes over with his boring offense which consists of a chinlock. A looooooong chinlock. Backlund fights out of it, but Papa Shango slams him. However, Backlund with a small package out of nowhere wins at 6:58.
Rating: Not terrible. Just incredibly boring. *
WrestleMania IX Report w/ Mean Gene
Gene announces that all WWF personnel, including him, will be wearing togas at the event.
Mean Gene hypes up the main event and shows a video of Yokozuna destroying a jobber after a match during an interview with Raymond Rougeau on WWF Superstars.
We hear from Money Inc, who promise they have a special custom-made briefcase just for the Mega Maniacs.
Undertaker and Paul Bearer cut a brief promo on Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman. They talk about nightmares, sleepless nights and creepy stuff like that.
Luger/Perfect is coming up at WM 9 as well.
WWF Mania ad with Todd Pettengill.
Main Event
The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) vs. The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu)
IMG credit: WWE
The Nasty Boys each kiss the fat RAW girl before the match. Afa is not at ringside for this one. Samu takes over with a corner clothesline on Knobbs, who then fights back with a clothesline out of the corner followed by a backdrop. See, it would be funny if Bartlett added “baaaaaaaaaaaack bodydrop” instead of saing RAAAAAAAAW over and over again. But that would be asking him to be funny, so what can you do. The Nasties with a double-team backdrop to Samu and then Sags with a double clothesline to both Headshrinkers. That gets two on Fatu. The Nasty Boys take turns going after Fatu’s arm as we take a break.
Commercial break
We come back with the Headshrinkers in control. Fatu dumps Sags to the outside where Samu slams him on the floor. The Samoans with a double headbutt to Sags back in the ring, and Samu goes up but misses a flying headbutt, opening the door for the hot tag to Knobbs. The Headshrinkers go for a double backdrop on him, only for Brian to reverse it into a double DDT to both of them. IT’S BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA as they take the fight up the ramp and the match ends in a draw via double count-out at 9:00. It ends up turning into a food fight with chairs and mustard (WITH EXTRA MUSTARD!) getting involved.
Rating: Alright match for what it was, but I don’t know what was the goal of this. We’re approaching WM 9, where the Headshrinkers are facing the Steiners and the Nasty Boys are off the card after literally HANDING their title shot to Hogan and Beefcake (yep…), yet here they are wrestling to a draw and getting into a food fight that will lead to nothing. This wasn’t bad but again, much like most of this early episodes of RAW… what was the point? *1/2
They show a video of WWF’s charitable work narrated by Sean Mooney. That’s always nice. We get a rare mention of Vince McMahon as the WWF’s CEO at the end of said video.
Gorilla and Heenan close the show by saying they’ll bury Bartlett in the snow outside. That would’ve been a more interesting episode, actually.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Another week, another skippable RAW with little (if any) effort to try to sell WrestleMania to the audience, with the show coming up in 2 weeks. Stuff happened here, but nothing was particularly interesting. Rob Bartlett continues to ruin the show too. The worst RAW of the series thus far in my view. 3/10
That’s all from me today. Make sure you don’t miss the upcoming reviews of RAW and other shows, like WrestleMania 9. Download our web-app in the link bar to access our website without having to go through Google. See you next time, everyone. Happy Halloween!
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March 8th, 1993 Taped show (on March 1st, 1993) Location: Manhattan, New York, USA (Manhattan Center) Announced attendance: ca 1 000 (capacity: ca 1 000) TV rating: 3.0 (USA Network) [up 0.1 from the previous week’s 2.9]
Hello everyone. Welcome to yet another WWF RAW episode from 1993. This week has the likes of Tatanka and Bob Backlund in singles action. Money Inc. also compete ahead of their WrestleMania showdown with the Mega Maniacs for the tag team titles. Also, Mr. Perfect and Rick Martel clash in tonight’s main event. Let’s get into it without any further ado…
Here is the list of WWF champions heading into this episode of RAW (reign durations considering the air date):
WWF Champion: Bret Hart [147th day of his reign] – previous champion: Ric Flair
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [132nd day of his reign] – previous champion: The British Bulldog
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) [146th day of their reign] – previous champions: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
Enjoy the review!
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IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Randy Savage & Rob Bartlett (yeah, he’s still around…)
We open with a pre-taped promo from the Mega Maniacs and Jimmy Hart accepting Money Inc’s challenge for the tag titles at WM 9. Hogan sings and welcomes us to Monday Night RAW.
The show’s intro plays.
The announcers shill tonight’s events as we move on to the opener.
Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) vs. ‘El Matador’ Tito Santana & Virgil
IMG credit: WWE & prowrestling.fandom.com
IRS with his usual quick promo before the beginning of the match. DiBiase and Tito shove each other as we get underway. Tito strikes with a back elbow out of the corner for an early two count. Into a headlock goes Tito, with DiBiase getting a few nearfalls off it, but not being able to reverse it. Both guys tag out to their respective partners, and the crowd showers IRS with “Irwin” chants. Virgil with a hiptoss followed by a series of clotheslines. IRS bails, but Tito meets him outside with a punch. Back in, a double-team back elbow smash by the faces gives Tito two. Tito goes to work on the arm while IRS tries to get out of the ring. Virgil comes in without a tag while Ted has the ref distraces, which gets Ted all worked up on the apron. Virgil continues the arm work before bringing Tito back in, who does the same. Tito cheapshots DiBiase off the apron and then fakes yet another tag to Virgil, which is definitely not cheating! We go to a break.
Commercial break
We’re back with Tito trying to fight out of a front facelock by IRS, only to walk right into a knee to the gut from IRS. It’s heat spot o’clock now, with Tito taking a beating from the champs, who start cutting the ring in half. Virgil with the hot tag already, however, and Virg sends IRS into the turnbuckle. Virgil makes the comeback with clotheslines on both heels and a slam to Rotunda. However, a trip by DiBiase on a criss-cross cuts off the OLIVE GARDEN COMEBACK, and Irwin wins it for the champs with a backdrop suplex at 8:00.
Rating: Solid win for Money Inc over a non-team on the way to their tag title defense at WrestleMania. The match was fine, despite the rushed heat spot. **
Meanwhile, Rick Martel steals the plaque from one of the RAW girls and does the modeling in her place.
Tatanka vs. Phil Apollo
Tatanka avoids Apollo early on with a bunch of leapfrogs and dumps him with a hiptoss. Tatanka unloads with the chops, but Phil stops him with a thumb to the eye. Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels joins us via phone call. Tatanka with a powerslam, but Apollo moves out of the way of an elbowdrop. Apollo rams Tatanka’s head into the buckle, but Tatanka no-sells it and finishes it with the Not Samoan Drop at 2:42.
Rating: A normal squash. Phil Apollo got more offense than he probably needed ahead of Tatanka’s big IC title match, but it was otherwise alright. 1/2*
WrestleMania IX Report w/ Mean Gene
Gene briefly recaps the latest Maniacs/Money Inc segments and hypes their match at WM.
Tickets are still available!
Mean Gene promotes Bret/Yoko for the WWF Title in the main event – let’s hear from both of them:
Bret has studied Yokozuna; he knows Yoko is undefeated and he has squashed every opponent he’s faced. He respects that, but knows Yoko and Fuji don’t respect his ability. Bret promises that Yokozuna will walk out of the ring at WrestleMania with respect for him.
Mr. Fuji says Bret is not an underdog, he’s already a defeated man. Yokozuna is gonna excellently execute Bret at WM 9 and walk away with the WWF Championship.
Gene hypes up Undertaker/Gonzalez at WrestleMania, and we hear from Undertaker and Paul Bearer.
Rick Martel steals the girl’s plaque yet again.
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Papa Shango vs. Mike Edwards
Wait, how come Papa Shango is still a thing??? Shango destroys the jobber easily and hits a corner avalanche. Backdrop suplex, but Shango stops his own count at two. He hits another backdrop suplex and goes for the pin again, but stops the pin yet again. Okay, what’s the point when you’re on television once every 3 months or whatever. The shoulderbreaker finishes the dude at 2:31.
Rating: Bleh. 1/4*
COMMERCIAL CONSIDERATION PAID FOR BY THE FOLLOWING: Bret Hart tells you what IcoPro is all about! Macho Man wants you to buy some WWF Figures. Each sold separately, dig it!?
Bob Backlund vs. Tony DiMoro
Bob, clearly still not the crazy uncle yet, wants a handshake but the jobber refuses it. They fight over a hiptoss to start, which is obviously won by Backlund. Vince talks about how Bob can’t wait to make his WM debut next month, as WrestleMania wasn’t a thing yet when Backlund was WWF Champion. Backlund with another hiptoss and he trips up Tony, who bails. We get a fight over a pinfall on the mat, but nobody wins that one and we get a stalemate. And then Bob finally catches him with a butterfly overhead suplex for the win at 3:51.
Rating: Way too long for what it was. With all due respect, no one wants to see Bob Backlund chain-wrestling with a jobber 4 weeks ahead of the biggest show of the year. DUD
Meanwhile, Rick Martel humiliates Rob Bartlett in a quick interview before tonight’s final match.
If you wanna give someone heat, having them talk down to this goof will only achieve the opposite and make them the biggest babyface on the show.
Main Event
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Mr. Perfect vs. Rick Martel
IMG credit: WWE & wwenetworknews.com
They begin with Perfect’s usual powerslam/kick him off spot leading to a stalemate. Martel hides in the corner and then does a cartwheel to avoid Perfect on a criss-cross sequence. Martel tries something off the ropes, but now it’s Perfect who cartwheels his way out of there. That gets a solid pop and leads into another stalemate. However, Martel rakes the eyes to take over and Perfect eats knee on a blind charge. Single-arm takedown by Martel, who goes to work on the arm with an armbar. Perfect uses Martel’s own momentum to dump him to the floor, escaping the hold as we take a break.
Commercial break
We return with Martel taking over with some CLUBBING BLOWS on Perfect in the ring. A gutwrench suplex gets two. Vince declares it a SEE SAW MATCHUP BACK AND FORTH now, so you know he’s enjoying it! Perfect escapes a facelock by Martel, only to run right into a knee to the breadbasket. Martel goes to the apron for a slingshot splash, but Perfect raises his knees to block it. Martel goes back to the midsection to retake control, but makes the mistake of going up and Perfect catches him with a punch in mid-air. An atomic drop knocks Martel all the way into the buckle, and Perfect follows it up with an inverted one. Perfect makes the comeback with a backdrop into the kneelift, but we stop to take a final break.
Commercial break
We return with… Perfect celebrating the win. Hmm, alright then. We see the replay, with Perfect telling us NOW YOU’RE GONNA SEE A PERFECTPLEX before hitting it for the win at 10:00. Vince hypes up Perfect’s upcoming WM match with Lex Luger while he celebrates.
Rating: This was a pretty good match, despite the very lame ending during the break. The action was good and their interactions back-and-forth were fun too, like the deal with Perfect returning the cartwheel spot that Martel did earlier. These two know what they’re doing out there. ***
Perfect brings out the two RAW girls that Martel abused earlier and poses with them to close the show. That was a nice little way to culminate the mini-story told throughout the episode.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: If anything, this week’s episode shows how weak the build-up towards this year’s WrestleMania is. Rick Martel was clearly the highlight of this show, so it’s only fitting he’s out of the WM 9 card. A Papa Shango squash is utterly pointless in early 1993, nothing but filler, and happy-go-lucky 43 year old Bob Backlund hitting one move on a jobber in a 4-minute match accomplishes nothing either. No wonder this comeback run went nowhere, until he became the crazy old uncle and had a huge career resurgence. Money Inc winning was nice, and Perfect/Martel was a good TV match, but otherwise from that there’s nothing to see here. How about some ‘Mania build!!? 4/10
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