Monday Night Raw – February 28, 1994: One Last Shot/Back In Time
Monday Night Raw
Date: February 28, 1994
Location: Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,600
Commentators: Harvey Wippleman, Vince McMahon
Now we go back in time to a taped show following last week’s life show. I don’t know if it makes sense either but we have a big main event this week with Yokozuna defending the WWF Title against Randy Savage. Other than that, we are only a few weeks away from Wrestlemania and the show could use some more build. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a recap of the controversial ending to the Royal Rumble and the double title shot at Wrestlemania. But what if Randy Savage wins? I mean he probably won’t, but it’s a chance.
Opening sequence.
WWF Title: Randy Savage vs. Yokozuna
Yokozuna is defending and has Mr. Fuji with him but no Jim Cornette. Savage knees him in the back to start but gets hit in the face for his efforts. The big elbow misses though and a delayed cover gets two. Back up and Yokozuna chokes away in the corner before ax handling Savage rather hard. A headbutt misses but Yokozuna is fine enough to slam him right back down. This time the big leg misses though and Savage knocks him outside. Cue Jim Cornette and we take a break.
Back with Savage trying (and failing) to get the champ back inside so Yokozuna runs him over again. Savage gets sent into the steps and then back inside, where he gets to fire off some right hands. The top rope ax handle and a high crossbody give Savage two but Yokozuna (with his hair flipped forward so it looks like he’s wearing a big hat) knocks him into the corner for more choking.
The running splash crushes Savage, only to have Yokozuna miss (again) the big leg. Cornette offers a distraction so Fuji can slip in the salt bucket, which Savage takes and knocks Yokozuna silly. That gets a VERY delayed two so Savage drops both Cornette and the elbow but Crush comes in for the DQ.
Rating: C+. Savage was working but there is only so much of what you can do with someone as big as Yokozuna. Other than a few things from the top rope, the majority of Savage’s offense came from avoiding Yokozuna’s big shots. That is going to run out of time rather quickly and that was the case about halfway through this one. It is also one of Savage’s last big matches in the WWF and at least he went out with a good enough performance.
Post match the beatdown is on until Bret Hart and Lex Luger come in for the save.
Post break and we recap what we just saw.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Mike Khoury
Luna Vachon, with a crossed out Doink shirt, is here with Bigelow and Vince says she looks good next to the Fink. The good sized Khoury grabs a headlock to no avail and gets slammed down. Bigelow misses a headbutt (must be a Yokozuna fan) but hits some forearms to the back, setting up the enziguri for the fast pin.
Wrestlemania is coming, with a Broadway show theme that I don’t remember seeing.
Earthquake vs. Black Phantom
The Phantom is in the same gear as the old Blackhearts team and is probably one of the same guys. Earthquake runs him over and hits a splash into the corner. A dropkick of all things keeps Phantom in trouble as Earthquake is working here. Another splash misses but a powerslam plants Phantom again. The Earthquake finishes in a hurry.
Wrestlemania report time, starting with talking about Fan Festival. Then we get a talk about the matches and celebrities, because Wrestlemania is kind of strange at times.
Kwang vs. Jon Crystal
Harvey jumps of commentary to manage Kwang. Against this goon? Sy Sperling, the President of the Hair Club For Men, calls in to talk about giving the Fink a makeover at Wrestlemania, because this is where we’re going for celebrities. Kwang starts with some chops as Vince asks if Fink is going to become a sex symbol. Some choking keeps Crystal in trouble and a superkick finishes him off fast.
Stan Lane tries to talk to Shawn Michaels, but Shawn isn’t dressed (he’s in a towel). Hold on though as he puts on the Intercontinental Title and now he’s good to go. Shawn knows nothing about this whole Razor Ramon as Intercontinental Champion deal because Shawn is the only champion. He’ll prove it at Wrestlemania when he leaves with both belts.
Men On A Mission vs. Brooklyn Brawler/Steve Smith
Mo knocks Smith around as Harvey sounds like he is challenging Vince to a fight (I’d watch that). A double clothesline drops Brawler and Mabel drops the leg to crush him even further. There’s a big boot and a….something to Smith, setting up the double splash for the easy pin.
Rating: D+. Almost a literal squash here and that is is the kind of thing that you can use on a show like this. Men On A Mission was getting a Tag Team Title shot at Wrestlemania and that means they needed to get a boost up here. Nothing to the match, though there is always something to be said about seeing the Brawler out there, just for nostalgia.
We get the normal rundown of what is coming next week to wrap up the show.
Overall Rating: C. This was all about the opener and then whatever else they could put together on the rest of the show. We are on the way to Wrestlemania and the show is mostly put together so that leaves a lot of time to talk about the celebrities. The show is a classic and it is rather cool to see how we are getting there.
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