On This Day: March 22, 1993 – Monday Night Raw: Wait….Vince Is The Boss?

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 22, 1993
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Attendance: 1,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, Rob Bartlett

If nothing else these On This Day reviews are letting me see a lot of old Monday Night Raw. We’re less than two weeks away from Wrestlemania which means it’s time to really hammer home the card for the biggest show of the year. Tonight is likely to have a lot of talking about the show without a lot of good wrestling to back it up, but that was the norm for these older shows. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look at the WWF stars at something called the Michael Landon Awards. This is set to A Whole New World from Aladdin of all things. Apparently this is for children’s leukemia research. Nothing wrong with that. Hogan gives a speech asking for leftovers for some reason. He introduces a video about how the wrestlers do what they do for the kids and how much kids love them. This comes off more like a fluff piece than anything else.

Now we get some clips from wrestlers telling us to not smoke or do drugs. Interestingly enough here, Vince is actually acknowledged as the president and CEO of the WWF. I don’t think that’s ever been mentioned before this. Back to the awards ceremony as Hogan talks about meeting a kid who died a few weeks later before introducing Vince who is receiving some award. Hogan sucks up to Vince for a bit, calling Vince a hero.

Vince comes out to accept the award to a sped up version of Gonna Fly Now from Rocky. He talks about how great it is to make a kid feel good for just a few moments and how good it feels to give a dying kid a feeling like that and take their minds off their problems for just a few moments. Vince accepts it on behalf of his superstars who really deserve it.

We’re now ten minutes into an hour long show. Thanks Vince.

Damien Demento/Repo Man vs. Bushwhackers

The Bushwhackers come out of the crowd for no apparent reason. We take a break and they’re STILL in the crowd. Damien and Butch finally start and Butch bites Demento’s trunks. Repo Man gets the same as you can feel the COMEDY. The Whackers clear the ring Things finally settle down to Luke vs. Repo Man with the heels double teaming a bit. Repo Man pounds on Luke a bit as this needs to end like NOW. The ice cold tag brings in Butch for some clotheslines and a double noggin knocker. Everything breaks down and the referee walks completely around a Butch cover without seeing it. Battering Ram pins Repo.

Rating: F. This was HORRIBLE and I have no idea who would think this was worth watching. The Bushwhackers were shockingly still employed at this point which stuns me more than anything else from 1993. Nothing to see here at all as this squash (I think that’s what it was at least) and it was ridiculously boring.

Reno Riggins vs. Tatanka

Riggins is one step up from the Brooklyn Brawler and gets caught in a backdrop just after the bell. Off to a quick sleeper by Tatanka and he chops away. There’s an armbar by Tatanka followed by some HARD chops in the corner. Tatanka misses a cross body out of the corner but after some very basic stuff from Riggins, it’s time for the War Path. Some chops and a powerslam set up the Papoose To Go (Samoan Drop) for the pin on Riggins.

Rating: D. Somehow this is match of the night so far. Tatanka was a good guy at least fast paced and fun to watch, but at the end of the day being an Indian is only going to carry you so far as a gimmick. Also what kind of a name is a Papoose To Go? I know what it is, but what kind of a name is it for a finishing move? Is it clear I don’t have much to talk about here yet?

We hear about the formation of the WWF Hall of Fame and get the video for the first entrant; Andre the Giant. There’s some cool old footage in here. Andre would have died about two months before this show.

Money Inc. vs. Scott Rich/Jeff Armstrong

Money Inc.’s tag titles aren’t on the line. DiBiase and we’ll say Rich start things off. Vince doesn’t know which is which so why should I have to? A quick clothesline puts Rich on the floor as Bartlett is watching TV while on commentary. Thankfully he would be gone soon after this so we didn’t have to put up with his comedy anymore. Off to IRS vs. Armstrong for a bit before it’s quickly back to Ted. This needs to end already as well. Ted hits a powerslam and IRS clotheslines Rich down for the win. Next.

We get the Wrestlemania Report which is Gene Okerlynd in a studio hyping up the few announced matches we have so far. Oh and we’re going to have togas.

Kamala vs. Doink the Clown

Doink has a present for Kamala to start. I’ve seen them do this same bit on house show matches. Kamala wants the box but Doink gets in some chops to take over. Off to an armbar by the clown and he easily takes Kamala to the mat. Kamala finally fights up and armdrags Doink down before hitting a splash in the corner. We take a break and come back with Doink in control again. Kamala fights up and chops him out to the floor but it’s time for the box again. Kamala tries to open it up and gets counted out.

Rating: D. Erg end this stupid show already. This was another boring match that has been done better than it was here on other shows. Doink was such an interesting character but they turned him into a safe and fun character because that’s how the WWF worked back in the day. Also Kamala was mentioned to be facing Bam Bam Bigelow at Mania but that match was scrapped for some reason.

Post match Kamala sneaks up on Doink and chases him away.

We end the show with some fat chicks who are apparently the Rob Bartlett Fan Club.

A preview for the March to Wrestlemania special ends things.

Overall Rating: F-. This might have been the worst Raw I have ever seen. Nothing was built up for Mania, there were no good matches, the “comedy” wasn’t funny and it set up possibly the worst Wrestlemania of all time. I have no idea what they were thinking at this point but it needs to be tweeked FAST.

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