Keith's WWF/E Raw 25 Year's of "MONDAY Night RAW!! Review thread

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Keith

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To mark Raw's 25th year as a show throughout this year I will be reviewing random episodes from the show's 25 years on the air. My choices won't be in order of them airing, and I won't pick episodes that I know to be great (besides one or two things I know about the episode). The point is its a random viewing experience. I should have a review up per week most weeks. And I will rank the episodes come the end.

WWE Raw February 3rd, 2003 Edition: 506

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With three weeks until the No Way Out Pay per view Raw GM Eric Bischoff steps up his game to save his job by heading off to Texas to talk Stone Cold into returning and signing with Raw. He leaves Chief Morley (Aka Val Venis) in charge for the night.

Cue one of the best Raw intro themes!:mark:

The show comes live from Washington DC. We open with Test and Stacey coming to the ring. Two weeks on from Stacey getting injured by a Chris Jericho chair she has returned and would like Y2J to say sorry for his 'accident'. Test acting just as heelish as Jericho is more forceful, and demands he says sorry to Stacey. As is typical Y2J he is too concerned with himself and talking about his number one contenders main event with Scott Steiner. Christian blind sides the faces, before Test recovers to clear the ring and decides its best if he and Stacey leaves the arena.

Chief Morley's first act of the night is to book odd couple tag partners RVD and Kane in a singles match later on. The highlight of this segment is Van Dam's Spiderman quip at Kane.

Three Minute Warning VS. The Dudley Boyz
Three Minute Warning upset The Dudley Boyz in a match that barely went past the one minute mark after a fast count from special ref Rico (Chief Morley appointed). Post match Spike Dudley runs in to even up the fight. Rico ends up tasting the wood! No rating for this one.

Back in Texas Easy E gets lost on the highway and his usless limo driver is struggling to find the right place. I love this guy with his little torch and the map:D

Tommy Dreamer is supposed to wrestle, but Triple H has other plans. In fact he has an Evolution to start! This is the group's official debut. Hunter cuts a decent heel promo hyping up each member of the group and future plans. For the record Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista make up the rest of the stable. The highlight of the promo is the line, "Evolution has just past you by" that was one sweet heel line!:cool: The crowd heat is pretty good for this segment. The heels take their place in a skybox to watch the rest of the show.



Bischoff hits a dead end at Stone Cold's house in Texas. It turns out the Rattle Snake isn't home, and instead can be found at drinking Saloon 'The Longhorn'. Eric is getting slightly miffed sensing he might be getting the run around.

Victoria (W/Stevie Richards) VS. Molly Holly
J.R. hits two peaches at the start of this match. First when talking about Trish claiming that she's "Canada's finest export":lmao and even better describing Molly as being dressed for Fleetwood Mac concert:lmao Now that is comedy! The match itself was very basic. It was solid for what it was, but very one sided with Molly being used in the jobber's role. It was two short for them to really do much. Victoria goes over with the Widow's Peak at the second attempt. Post match-Jazz builds her monster heel momentum by destroying Molly, and standing up to Victoria, who wisely decides to fight another day. **



Goldust decides that he is holding Booker T back, so decides that if they fail to win the tag belts back tonight that they go their separate ways.

Tag Team Championship match: Lance Storm and William Regal (c) VS. Goldust and Booker T

The exchanges between Booker and Storm are really smooth (reminds me of their fantastic WCW match in the UK in 2000). The challengers have spark and the crowd are into what turns out to be an enjoyable match for the length given. Storm scores the win with a leaping kick after Goldust miss cues and butts heads with his own partner. Booker and Goldie have an emotional parting of the ways. ***



At the Longhorn Bar Eric first asks for a Material then "A gray goose with a twist":lmaoWhat makes that even better is that we all know the real Easy E would be drowning in cold ones Stone Cold style:dancing:This is a very realistic and enjoyable segment. BTW Bruce Pritchard said on the Bischoff edition of "Something to Wrestle with" that these were real locations in Texas and that they filmed real punters for the skits. It turns out Eric has once again missed Austin who has moved on to the next drinking establishment:D

Kane VS. Rob Van Dam
The contrast in styles between these two just click for a fun match with a good flow and some nice high spots. RVD heels it up nicely, and I enjoyed Kane's clothesline off the top! The finish was a bit cheap ending in a DQ for RVD when Jeff Hardy (trying to make a name for himself?) attacks Van Dam as he looks to his the Five star frog splash. The two reunite teach young Jeff a lesson post match. ***



Post-break Shawn Michaels makes a surprise appearance giving Jeff Hardy (still in the ring) some advice about thinking before acting, and about finding his true identity. HBK references his past as a rookie and the famous heel turn on Marty. But Jeff once again goes the hot head route and takes some sweet chin music as a result. This was a effective segment.

Maven VS. D-Lo Brown (Teddy Long)
D-Lo wins a lifeless match with his sitout powerbomb. His new heel character is struggling to connect, despite Teddy asking the crowd to be "Down with the Brown"8D *

With the main event coming up HHH says he has plans for the match. Which is funny, because Evolution don't get involved in the match..:hmm:

In Texas for the final time, Eric once again misses out on Stone Cold. Instead he loses it with a local who claims that Austin won't sign for him, and as a result next week Mr. Macmahon will fire Bischoff. The segment ends with Eric smashing the guy with a pint glass. These segments were great fun.



A dejected Goldust is brutally attacked by Batista and Orton and ran into a powerbox electrocuting him in the process.. Em.. Shocking?:fp:

Number One Contenders Main Event for the World Title Chris Jericho VS. Scott Steiner
In a running theme of the night (see Test at the start), the face in this one Steiner is acting just as heelish as the actual heel Y2J (at least with Test they were building for a heel turn later). This is another one sided and predictable match. Jericho does his best, but at this point Steiner is a shadow of his former self and lost cast. Over course Steiner goes over in a match that didn't linger long in the memory. **



Mr. Macmahon ends the show telling Morley that next week he will in fact fire both him and Bischoff (but might there be a twist in the tail?...).

Story of the Night: Highs and Lows

Highs:
1. Easy E steps up his game to try and save his job by hunting down a rattle snake in Texas, but instead finds himself butting heads like a fish out of water with the locals.

2. Evolution officially transform into the 4 Horsemen Circa 2003 in an impressive segment.
The compelling Booker T/Goldust partnership gets a fitting send-off, but with a dark twist for Goldie.

3. Kane and RVD steal the show in the ring, and come together to teach Jeff Hardy a lesson. In a nice cameo HBK follows suit.

Lows:
1.
Another rushed Ladies match (though the build for Jazz is working quite nicely).

2. D-Lo's new heel character stutters and Maven still has much to learn.

3. The main event proves a non-event.

Match of the Night: RVD VS. Kane
Worse Match of the Night: Maven VS. D-Lo Brown

Segment/Angle of the night: Bischoff at the Longhorn Bar in Texas (but I loved the whole thing).

Verdict: Some strong matches in the second half of the show along with the Evolution and Bischoff segments made this a very watchable Raw which kept things bubbling nicely. A solid show if not anything great.

Grade: C+

Next Week...
I jump back a decade to the May 17, 1993 Edition of Raw, which includes one of the biggest upsets in WWF/E history and a surprise challenger for IC Champion Shawn Michaels.
 

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Also if people want to suggest episodes for me to watch then feel free.
 

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Do the 5/3/93 RAW, I picked a random early one so it's mostly squashes but one of the jobbers is Duane fuckin' Gill lmao and Jim Duggan gets an IC Title shot that lasts 11 minutes

EDIT: WAIT just saw you were gonna do one similar to this one next so just do that one instead IDC
 
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Keith

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Do the 5/3/93 RAW, I picked a random early one so it's mostly squashes but one of the jobbers is Duane fuckin' Gill lmao and Jim Duggan gets an IC Title shot that lasts 11 minutes

EDIT: WAIT just saw you were gonna do one similar to this one next so just do that one instead IDC

Is that Duggan match the Lumberjack match? That's one of better Duggan matches IMO. I will do that show soon for sure, thanks.

The next review will probably be up either later tonight or tomorrow.
 

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I don't think so, the results said he won by count-out so that'd be hilarious if so. Maybe it resulted in a lumberjack match afterwards because of that.
 

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the show with Bret and 123 kid.
 
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I don't think so, the results said he won by count-out so that'd be hilarious if so. Maybe it resulted in a lumberjack match afterwards because of that.

Yeah I think they did have a rematch which was the Lumberjack match because of the first one ending in a count out. Guess I will have to try and watch both at some point.

the show with Bret and 123 kid.

Good choice! I loved that match at the time. It was a cool baby face VS. Baby Face deal and Bret made him look a million bucks.
 

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WWF Raw, May 17, 1993 - Edition: 17

W
ith Mania IX in the distance Vince and co. are gearing up for a new PPV experiment with the first ever King of the Ring PPV set for June 13 in Dayton Ohio from the brilliantly named Nutter Center:foley:



This Raw of course comes from the show's regular home of the Manhattan Center in New York. Vince, Macho and Da Brain are at ringside. We open with a recap of the HBK-Perfect brawl from last week. The two brawling on the hood of a car is both brilliant, but oddly funny. They should have more segments like this today.



The smoking Gunns VS. Jobbers

"Bang Bang" No its not Cactus Jack making a surprise appearance in WWF, its the God Awful Smoking Gunns with their scary porn star style Mustaches. They beat two jobbers in a sloppy squash. Only thing of note is the jobbers look like two out of shape 90s gym rats...



The ad for the new WWF Mania show reminded me just how hard it was to erase Todd Pettengill from my mind (no matter how hard I tried...).

WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels is intereviewed in the ring by Vince, who he refers to as "Vin Man":fp: Besides that HBK cuts a decent promo bregging about his Intercontinental reign so far, and claims that he will defend the title anytime, any place and against anyone. In classic wrestling fashion these words come back to haunt the Champ as someone walks into the ring in dodgy street looking clothes turns out to be..."MARTY JANNETTY!":DAMN:This was Jannetty's first WWF appearance since losing to Shawn at the Royal Rumble in January. Despite HBK's attempts to back out of Marty's challenge, Jannetty and Vince were having none of it. The match is on for later in the show.

Razor Ramon VS The Kid
Or this week "The Lighting Kid" as the L on the back of his tights would suggest. One of the most famous moments in Raw's short history at the point, and for 12-year-old Keith it was a "Oh my God" moment for sure:mark: The match itself was short and basic, but well booked for what it was. Razor was a Pro proving just what a promising heel he was, and the announcers did a fine job of selling their "surprise";) The finish was logical too. The soon to be 1-2-3 Kid's first year in WWF was a perfect example of a novel and effective way to book a rookie. **



Tatanka VS. Scott Taylor
The native American is another guy who I dug as a kid, but don't look back too fondly on now. Nothing to report in-ring. The announcers discuss the Razor-Kid match which is fair enough.

Its KOTR Report time with "Mean Gene!" Another feature I miss today. Gene could run circles around the young punks WWE employee today:)



Oh and Sherri's in love with Da Brain according to the Weasel:lmao

Kamala VS. Yokozuna
This was actually a watchable big man match. WWF were trying to transition Kamala into a face run at the time. Yoko does a good job in carrying the action, his selling was strong. Yoko goes over with the Bonsai drop in a finish that protected Kamala. **1/2



Intercontinental Championship Main Event Shawn Michaels (C) VS. Marty Jannetty
Not as good as their Rumble match, but again this two really spark off each other and it makes for an entertaining back and forth main event. Highlights include Marty's Japanese arm arm drag followed by a headscissors take down, and cockscrew body press off the top for a hot two. The heat is raised when Perfect appears to prevent Shawn taking the cheap way out. HBK sells his fear effectively. The closing couple of minutes are packed with drama and near falls. The finish with Perfect throwing the towel in HBK's face allowing Jannetty to cradle him for the three count and the title was a bit of a weak finish. The match goes around 9.40 and the crowd go home happy. ***1/2



Story of the Night

Highs:
1.
The Kid makes WWF history by upsetting one of the Federation's hottest talents Razor Ramon and you better believe "The Bad Guy" is pissed and will not take this lying down.

2. Marty Jannetty makes a surprise return to the WWF and upsets ex-partner Shawn Michaels to become the new Intercontinental Champion in dramatic main event with just a little help from Mr. Perfect. The former Champion will look to put this loss right and get revenge over Perfect in the coming months.

3. Yokozuna carries on his march to the KOTR and his WWF Showdown with the Hulkster, with a decent win over in a confused Kamala.

Lows:
1.
The Smoking Gunns are the pits and Tatanka isn't much better in his squash match win.

Match of the Night: IC Title
Worst Match of the Night: Gunns match.

Segment/Angle of the Night: Marty's return.

Verdict: Quite typical of the show at the time. But some Raw's from 93 had no stand out moments, this had two and a decent big man match. Worth watching for the title change and the Kid's upset.

Grade: D

Next time...
The first Raw of 1996 (a big year in the Monday Night Wars) sees an odd experiment with the first ever Raw Bowl, plus Diesel faces King Mabel and Goldust shakes things up in the IC title picture.
 
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Monday Night Raw January 1st, 1996 - Edition 141



The first Raw of 96 sees WWF enter into a one time only experiment combing American with Wrestling in the Raw Bowl. This included the Raw Bowl mult-team elimination match competed under Football style rules. The wrestlers involved worn Football Jerseys. Going the whole hog WWF had cheer leaders, and a brass band, and other Football tie-ins and references (Jim Ross and Doc Hendrix were called Jumbo Ross and Dandy Doc for the night, and the winners of the Raw bowl were supposed to win the 'Lombardi Trophy'). Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are the announcers, and they decide to commentate in over the top football style announcing and make football references throughout (this gets very annoying).

WWF Raw Bowl Match - Razor Ramon and Savio Vega VS. The 1-2-3 Kid and Psycho Sid VS. The Smoking Gunns VS. Owen Hart and Yokozuna

Goldust's User hands Razor a gift (flowers) from Goldust to further their feud. Despite the match rules being dumb (time outs are included), and the announcers, there's some decent action here. Bart Gunn body slamming Sid is a nice little surprise spot. The first elimination is Razor and Vega. This happens when 1-2-3 Kid calls for a time out as "The Bad Guy" is on the verge of eliminating him. A pissed Ramon hits a Razor's Edge anyway, but a distraction from the Million Dollar Man allows Sid to get a cheap shot in from behind, allowing the Kid to get the pin. The Smoking Gunns look set to be eliminated when Billy takes a kick in the back of the neck from the 1-2-3 Kid. As the heels set him up for the Bonsai Drop Burt swaps Billy with Owen, and not noticing Yoko nails his own partner with the move. Owen and Yokozuna are eliminated. The final part of the match pitting the Gunns against Sid and The Kid is probably the weakest. Razor returns to get his revenge on the Kid, and the Gunns win the first and last Raw Bowl. I think the heels should have gone over myself. **1/2




Following the "half-time report" WWF kill time by replaying the naff Hogpen match from In Your House V between rookie Hunter Hurst Helmsley and Henry Godwinn. The effects of said match has stayed with Hunter since. On a similar note the following week the promotion re-ran the Bret Hart/Davey Boy Smith title match from the same PPV.

King Mabel VS. Diesel
Its main event time! Well blink and you'll miss it... Diesel wins in record time after hitting a running boot from the bell. At this point the WWF are building Diesel for a heel turn and presenting the idea that he is on a mission to win back the WWF Title. But since he is still a face for now he steals the Raw Bowl Queen away from Lawler at ringside.

Who else to present the Lombardi Trophy to the Gunns, than long term WWF employee Steve "Brookyln Brawler" Lombardi himself. Of course the faces are not very impressed and gang up on the Brawler. This was quite fun.

The show ends with Vince announcing Vader's WWF debut in the Royal Rumble match in three weeks time. And we get the debut of the "Billionaire Ted's Wresslin' War room skits. These were WWF's way of knocking WCW's attempts to over take them in the ratings by buying up many of their top stars. In the skits Hulk Hogan is represented by "The Hackster" and The Macho Man is "The Nacho Man". The joke in this skit is that the Executives want the old dudes to perform the sort of high risk moves delivered by the WWF stars. But of course they are too broken down, but these old timers can still Rock 'N' Roll':lmao Of course these cheap shots at WCW were pointless, but they made for entertaining skits.



Match of the Night: Raw Bowl
Worst Match of the Night: N/A (though I might lob the Hogpen in)

Segment of the Night: Billionaire Ted's Wresslin' War room.

Verdict: A truly lame hour of TV. The Raw bowl match was a bad idea, and despite having solid action was mostly a wash out. Repeating the Hogpen match was an insult, as was the four seconds squash job in the Diesel match. Nothing real of the note happened throughout the show.

Grade: F

Next Time...
The War between the WWF and WCW gets taken to the Extreme in one of the most shocking Raw's in history, as I jump forward to July 9, 2001.
 

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Can't say the Billionaire Ted skits weren't spot on.
 

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Can't say the Billionaire Ted skits weren't spot on.

Well not quite spot on because Macho and Hogan to a lesser extant could still go;) They look less of a cheap shot now because Vince won the war.
 

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I meant Ted Turner buying old shit for his network.....that's exactly what he was doing at the time.....Hogan and Macho started in the 70s.....more old shit he bought... see the comparison?
 

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I agree on that. Still think WWF dropped the ball letting Macho go. That Shawn Michaels feud could have been sweet. We will never know the full story on Macho's departure though.
 

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Macho Man resented being a commentator and thought he had alot left in the tank. Vince didn't think so, he bailed and took his Slim Jim deal with him. He also quit on the phone while he was drunk.
 
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Macho Man resented being a commentator and thought he had alot left in the tank. Vince didn't think so, he bailed and took his Slim Jim deal with him. He also quit on the phone while he was drunk.

Source? And Macho was right by the way. He proved in WCW that he still had a good four years left in him.