Thursday, 12 July 2018

WWF Monday Night Raw 08/08/1994


The “Undertaker” vs Butch Banks
Nothing like kicking off with a painfully dull squash. Really slow paced match, with Brian Lee successfully aping the methodical pace of the real Taker, which unfortunately doesn’t make for an entertaining bout. Lots of choking against the ropes, awkward looking big boot before an admittedly nice chokeslam gets the win.

Lex Luger vs Chad Miller
Doesn’t feel like Lex is really putting his all into this. He openly telegraphs some armdrags, doesn’t bother rolling back on a failed O’Connor roll and spends the bulk of this three minute squash working Miller’s arm. Miller hits a few crap leaping kicks to really highlight how poor this is, before Luger hits the flying forearm to win.

IRS & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Tatanka & Doink the Clown
Surprisingly decent tag match, with an ending that actually benefits from hindsight. Million Dollar Corporation members IRS and Bigelow have a tag title match at Summerslam, whilst Tatanka is facing Lex Luger in the belief he’s sold out to the Million Dollar Man, so there’s some storyline strands tying this all together. Doink is the odd man out, so the smart money would be on Doink taking the fall. There’s a nice spot early on in this where Doink catches a boot from Bigelow, and instantly I thought “Ah, Bam Bam is going to hit an enzuigiri here”, only for Doink to duck the enzuigiri and hit big elbows to Bigelow’s back. Odd moment where Tatanka hits two clotheslines to stagger Bigelow, only for IRS to try and pull the ropes down as he runs them and tries a third time. However, Tatanka completely no-sells this and hits a clothesline on Bigelow anyway. The heat gets worked on Tatanka after IRS interferes more successfully. There’s a short period of heat on Tatanka before he collides full-force with Bam Bam as they both try crossbodies. Looks like a car crash. Doink gets the hot tag, but Tatanka manages to distract the referee, leading to a Bam Bam enzuigiri to Doink, followed by the Write-Off to give the heels the win. Knowing as I do now that Tatanka joins the Corporation in a few weeks time, this is a lovely little detail, with Tatanka “accidentally” giving Bam Bam and IRS the win.

Bob Backlund vs Kevin Kreuger
This is evidently just after Backlund turned heel, as he’s still got the floppy hair and acts like a cheery 80’s babyface. He just outwrestles Kreuger, sending him to the mat and letting him get up, only to send him back down again. He keeps looking for cheers, cheers that he’s not going to get. The “We Want Bret” chants from the crowd visibly annoy him, and he instantly whips on a crossface chicken wing to tap out Kreuger. Really effective, you can see the gradual swing into madness.

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