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.

WWF Monday Night Raw 18/07/1994

Diesel vs Lex Luger

This is one of those matches that starts off feeling pretty pedestrian, but really drew me into it by the end. There’s nothing fancy, with Diesel in particular very much going through his routine, but they work in enough nearfalls and a hot ending to make it work. I thought Luger was terrific here, hitting a lovely powerslam before taking a big spill to the floor to give Diesel control. Hard not to chuckle at Jim Ross and Randy Savage praising Diesel’s “technical skills” because he can lock on a sleeper. Lex earns a series of two counts on his comeback, with a second rope clothesline coming closest. There’s also a very close fall for Diesel, as Shawn Michaels superkicks Luger as he goes for the torture rack following a ref bump. Sadly, we get a cop out ending, as Razor Ramon comes down and all four men fight for a double DQ.

Mabel vs Austin Steele

Fun squash, with Mabel showing off his strength. Nice overhead suplex, big corner splash and a Bossman Slam get the win.

Owen Hart vs Reno Riggins

As the #1 contender to the world title, Owen maybe gives Riggins a bit too much offence here. Then again, it helps the story, as Owen gets frustrated at Riggins keeping up with him and starts putting in nastier blows. A slick belly-to-belly leads to the sharpshooter for the win.

Thurman Plugg vs George South

This is a pretty by the book squash. Liked the early spot where South went for a leapfrog, only for Plugg to stop and kick him in the stomach. Plugg has pretty basic offense here, but it’s all executed well enough. Top rope crossbody, with good height, gets three.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Gary Sabaugh

This was one of the better Bigelow performances, as he lays waste to Sabaugh. His corner splash is fast and painful looking, and a standing enzuigiri looks decent. However, Bigelow ends up winning with the worst looking move in the match, a Million Dollar Dream turned into a shitty bulldog. I think he quickly dropped this move, and with good reason. 

WWF Monday Night Raw 27/06/1994

Mabel vs Bam Bam Bigelow

Disappointingly, this is the sole competitive match on this episode, and it only goes a few minutes. What we do get is pretty fun, with two big agile guys colliding with some real impact. This is mainly angle though, as Luna runs distraction, but remains on the apron, so it’s no surprise that she gets sent flying when Bigelow accidentally runs into her. Bigelow goes out to check on her and gets counted out. Pretty blah.

IRS vs Rich Myers

IRS is truly a terrible squash worker. Less than a minute in and he locks in the abdominal stretch, then works basic holds on Myers before getting the win with an STF. Just really dull stuff.

The Headshrinkers vs The Executioners

In contrast, the Headshrinkers know exactly how to work a fun squash. They actually work a bit heelish, ripping at an Executioner’s face and picking him up on two counts. Still, the work is a lot of fun, with hard body slams, quick powerslams and a superkick by Samu that hits flush on the jaw of an Executioner. Samu hits a DDT from the corner that looks a bit clumsy, but the double team Stroke that wins it looks good.

Kwang vs Mike Moraldo

Kwang squashes always deliver the goods. Moraldo looks pretty decent, as he moves well enough that Kwang looks even more impressive when he hits a sudden flash move. They work an early quick tempo, with Moraldo getting a two from a crossbody, but as he gets up Kwang nails a big kick. A throat thrust looks vicious and the running leg lariat in the corner looks terrific. Really liked the ending as Moraldo ducks a big chop, but gets nailed with a huge kick as he gets up for the win. Really fun stuff.

Lex Luger vs Dave Thornberg

This was basically Luger vs a wrestling dummy, as he ploughs through his opponent in a straightforward manner. Luger’s huge clothesline looks great before the torture rack gets the win.

WWF Raw 06/06/1994

Crush vs Tatanka

This is a repeat of the King of the Ring qualifier from the previous show, this time fought under lumberjack rules. This is given a load of time, running over two ad breaks, and they sadly don’t really need to have so much time. It’s a very plodding match, and the lengthy Crush control is pretty dull. He’s been pretty fun in squash matches, but his offence isn’t very interesting. Twice, he cuts off Tatanka comebacks with sloppy inverted atomic drops. Tatanka is more fun when he makes his comebacks, his chops always looking decent, but he’s made to look like an idiot far too often. He does dumb things like stand and threaten IRS, rather than pay attention to his much larger opponent behind him. The lumberjack spots are pretty fun, things always threatening to break down on the outside, and I appreciate that the heel lumberjacks attacked Tatanka first, which justifies the ending. Crush ends up outside the ring, and like an idiot attacks the faces trying to get him back up. In the melee, Lex Luger comes to ringside, blasts him in the head with the bionic elbow, and rolls him in for the Tatanka victory.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs John Paul

Best Bam Bam squash yet. Paul is a higher rank of jobber, so he’s allowed a modicum of offence, which seems to force Bigelow to not just take his time in the bout. Bigelow’s corner blows actually look deadly for once. Paul gets a nearfall from a sunset flip, but Bigelow hits an odd twisting splash to win. Finisher looked poor, but this was fine.

Razor Ramon vs Keith Davis

Davis is the “artist” better known as Jeff Hardy. Pretty fun squash here, Ramon is such a dick to his jobbers, makes them far more fun to watch. Things like choking Hardy over the ropes, saying “Welcome to the big time, kid”, then booting him in the head. Crowd loves it too, even when Ramon trolls them by picking Hardy up in a Razor’s Edge position, but instead just dumping him stomach first on the turnbuckles. The real Edge gets the win shortly after.

WWF Raw 16/05/1994

Very brief episode of Raw this week. A lot of time is spent on the Earthquake/Yokozuna sumo bout which ends this broadcast. Couple of fun matches though...

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Sparky Plugg

Nothing makes a wrestler sound less threatening than Vince repeatedly referring to him as “Sparky”. I’ve not really enjoyed Bigelow on these old Raw’s, but this was pretty good. They worked a simple cat-and-mouse match, with the future Bob Holly using his speed to try and evade Bigelow. His hope spots are interspersed nicely, and I dug some of Bigelow’s offense here. His shots to the kidney with Holly trapped in the corner looked vicious. Plugg makes his comeback by avoiding a Bigelow corner charge, and hits a nice flurry of moves – bulldog, DDT, top rope crossbody – for two. Luna trips him as her runs the ropes, and this leaves him prone for a slingshot headbutt to give Bigelow the win. Best that both guys have looked in 94 thus far.

Diesel vs Mike Moraldo

Moraldo is a jobber with a thinning mullet, but he’s pretty fun here. Throws a few mean punches before letting Diesel hurl him over the top to the floor in a big bump. He also eats Snake Eyes with a big chest bump before the Jackknife gives Diesel the win.

Owen Hart vs Tony Roy

Owen looks great here, moving swiftly and with nice looking execution. His gutwrench suplex looks terrific. Loved Owen sitting back with a chinlock and having to be stopped by the ref from hitting Roy in the head with a clenched fist. Roy gets a brief flurry, but misses a dropkick and Owen immediately locks in the Sharpshooter to win. Loved Owen going straight to victory the moment he’s in the briefest trouble

WWF Raw 25/4/1994

Jeff Jarrett vs Razor Ramon

Non title match here, with Razor still holding the gold. Jarrett goes for some smart controls early, sliding to the floor and suckering Ramon out to be attacked. Jarrett shows a few nice bits, including a neat diving fist drop. Annoying ad break clip returns with Ramon hitting a sunset flip, and I liked that Jarrett tried to block it, only for Razor to physically hook the arms with his legs to pull him over, instead of Jarrett toppling for no reason. Ramon makes a comeback, which draws out Shawn Michaels. Razor beats him up handily, but Diesel comes out to draw the DQ. Was pretty good until the non-ending.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Tony Devito

Bigelow remains a pretty dull squash worker, with lots of dead time between his moves. Just nothing compelling despite his execution being fine. An enzuigiri and a headbutt get the win

Heavenly Bodies vs John Paul & Jason Headings

Paul feels like a guy higher on the jobber tier, so he doesn't get totally punked out, looking semi-competitive until he's hit with a double superkick by the Bodies. Del Ray hits a lovely sitout powerbomb on him before Headings comes in. Headings' first act is to grab Pritchard, rush into the corner with him to allow a Del Ray "blind tag", then go to the centre of the ring for an Irish whip. Just looked very amateur, and the Bodies should have known better. They make up for it by blitzing Headings with some fun double-teams: Pritchard back suplexes Del Ray onto Headings, they nail him with a combo powerbomb/neckbreaker and finish the job by Pritchard holding Headings in place for a Del Ray moonsault press.  

1-2-3 Kid vs Duane Gill

Kid squashes are always fun, as they actually feel like competitive bouts. Here, Gill gets to throw Kid from the ring and knock him back down as he tries to climb back in. I like that Kid retorts by using a springboard clothesline to get in, using offense as an opening. Nice leg lariat gets the win.

Owen Hart vs Rich Myers

Really vicious Owen showcase here, with some nice punches and stiff headbutts thrown. Also, loved the bulldog, where it looked like he really was trying to drive Myers’ face into the mat. Nice stuff, ended with a sharpshooter. Owen is up there with Jarrett and Kid as the best of these 94 Raw squash workers.

WAR 2nd Anniversary Show 07/07/1994

Ashura Hara, Jinsei Shinzaki & John Tenta vs Jado, Gedo & Hiromichi Fuyuki

This was pretty fun. The Jado/Gedo/Fuyuki team attack at the bell and isolate Hara, with a nice triple team seeing Jado and Gedo elevating him for a top rope seated senton by Fuyuki. This is followed by a triple team powerbomb before we clip. We return to Tenta doing some awesome wobbling selling as the opposition try to down him, before he catches Gedo on a crossbody and hits the splash for 3.

Koji Ishinriki, Koki Kitahara & Takashi Ishikawa vs Akio Kobayashi, Koji Kitao & Masaaki Mochizuki

This is pretty much all clipped out. Kitao looks slow and lumbering on offence, which contrasts with Mochizuki, who blitzes Ishinriki with a flurry of kicks before Kitahara rolls him up for the win.

Arashi, Kendo Nagasaki & Masashi Aoyagi vs Animal Hamaguchi, Nobukazu Hirai & Shoichi Funaki

Bit of a mess this one. I did enjoy Nagasaki tying Funaki up in knots on the mat, and I liked how fired up Hamaguchi was when he finally tagged in, but this dragged even with clipping. Hirai gets a nearfall by German suplexing Aoyagi, but eats a kick to the head to be eliminated.

Atushi Onita, Bam Bam Bigelow & Genichiro Tenryu vs The Warlord, Chris Jericho & Vampiro

Really enjoyed this. There were some nice little touches, like Jericho controlling Tenryu, only to get felled by one vicious chop. Also loved the Warlord posing, only for Bigelow to interrupt it with an enzuigiri to the head. Vampiro is isolated and beaten before we clip, returning with Warlord catching an apron dive by Tenryu, slamming him onto a table. Jericho goes too short on a Lionsault, hitting Onita in the face with his knee. Tenryu and Onita hit a botched double team powerbomb on him, and as it all breaks down , Onita nails another powerbomb on Jericho for the win

Jinsei Shinzaki, John Tenta & Ashura Hara vs Koji Ishinriki, Koki Kitahara & Takashi Ishikawa

Matches are all full from this point on. Loved the Hara/Ishikawa section at the start, just two stocky bulls going at each other. The Ishinriki/Kitahara/Ishikawa squad looked more impressive here than in the first round, with Kitahara planting Shinzaki with a massive German suplex. He also punishes Shinzaki with kicks, which seem to bust him open from the mouth. The end sees Hara and Ishikawa resume hostilities, with Ishikawa levelling Hara with a big clothesline, only for Hara to hit one of his own for the win.

Bam Bam Bigelow, Genichiro Tenryu & Atushi Onita vs Arashi, Kendo Nagasaki & Masahi Aoyagi

This one breaks down early, with Onita leading a big fight on the outside in the crowd. He ends up on the losing side of his fight with Nagasaki, who belts him with the ring bell and absolutely buries him with chairs. It’s a really fun scene. Back inside, Tenryu gets punished and isolated, loved him selling Aoyagi’s kicks to the chest with big bursts of spit. His team mates lure all the opposing team into the ring for a fight, which buys Tenryu some time to recover. By the time the ref has settled things down, Tenryu is sufficiently healthy to hit an enzuigiri on Arashi and tag Bam Bam. Bigelow blitzes Arashi and moonsaults him for the win. Really good bout.

Ultimo Dragon vs The Great Sasuke

This is for Dragon’s UWA middleweight title. This is a whole heap of fun, really felt like two guys going all out. They work a decent acrobatic series to start, but things heat up some more when Sasuke sends Dragon outside and nails a big Asai moonsault, landing in the crowd. Love the spot back inside where Dragon can’t superplex Sasuke, so instead dropkick’s him to the outside and nails his own massive Asai moonsault. Beautiful Tiger suplex by Dragon gets two. High spot of the night sees Sasuke send Dragon to the outside, and nail this nutty dive from the top turnbuckle to the floor, landing precisely between two guard rails. There’s an odd transition back to Dragon offence, as he gets fired into the ropes, and just runs at Sasuke and clubs his back. Bit out of nowhere. Ultimo nails a dropkick as Sasuke attempts a quebrada, and hits a corkscrew moonsault for the victory. Great match.

Bam Bam Bigelow, Genichiro Tenryu & Atushi Onita vs Jinsei Shinzaki, John Tenta & Ashura Hara

Loved the start of this, where Bigelow and Earthquake squared off. Fun big man stuff, with Bigelow failing to slam Quake, but somehow succeeding with a suplex, weakening him enough for a second slam to work. Really liked Tenryu and Hara facing off, just two stodgy guys exchanging blows. There’s fun little bits scattered throughout, like Onita failing with a DDT on Quake, who is too big to send down. Also loved the massive belly-to-belly suplex Tenta hits. Hara gets back in, and just gets worn down by Tenryu, who hacks away with some chops. A nasty pair to the throat see Hara in real trouble, and he gets isolated and worn down for the rest of the bout. He eats finishers from Bigelow and Onita, and only survives because of team-mates making the save. He kicks out of an Onita powerbomb, but foolishly doesn’t tag out when he has the chance. Bigelow interferes, drawing the partners into the ring, but this means Hara now has no-one to save him. A Tenryu powerbomb only gets 2, but an enzuigiri and another powerbomb win the match for Tenryu’s team. Probably the best match of the tournament.

WWF Raw 28/2/1994

Randy Savage vs Yokozuna

Even though you knew Savage wasn’t going to win this match so close to Mania, they still did a good job of building this up, including Savage talking about doing the right thing and defending the title vs Luger and Bret. This was a really good effort from both men, with Savage setting a high tempo early by attacking Yoko before the bell. Savage is on fire, getting a close 2 on a clotheslines, and though Yoko tries to subdue him on the mat, Savage is too resilient and evades a Yoko splash. I liked Savage knocking Yoko to the outside, but really struggling to get the big man back in the ring. It made Savage look good, as if Yoko was only just holding on, and it allowed Jim Cornette to distract Savage and give Yokozuna the opening he needed to take control. They’re putting Savage over strongly here, so he soon regain control, and I loved Yoko’s wobble-selling as Savage hits a series of punches and a double-ax handle to try and knock him down. The end sees Fuji handing a wooden salt bucket to Yoko, only for Savage to grab it and use it himself. Flying elbow looks to have won it, but Crush comes in for the DQ. Really good bout.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Mike Khoury

Bland squash. Bigelow mainly hits punches and drops some elbows, though I liked him catching Khoury on a crossbody and hitting a World’s Strongest Slam. Standing enzuigiri gives Bigelow the win.

Earthquake vs Black Phantom

Phantom was a pre-fame, in-good-shape Gangrel. This was pretty enjoyable, including a fun spot where Quake dropped an elbow when Phantom did a dropdown from a Irish whip. Nice fat man dropkick from Earthquake, and a slam and sitdown splash finish.

Kwang vs John Chrystal

The Kwang gimmick sucked, but this is the second fun Kwang squash we’ve seen. Nice series of kicks, big meaty slams and a nice superkick to the jaw to win. No complaints here.

Men On A Mission vs the Brooklyn Brawler & Steve Smith

It’s for the best to pretend the Mo sections didn’t happen. His offense never looks good, and he’s pretty pointless. Mabel is really fun as the dominating force, hitting a massive legdrop on the Brawler, though his elbow drop only seems to graze Smith. Assisted splash on Smith gets the job done.

WWF Raw 31/01/1994

Dull episode of Raw here. A lot of time is taken up with the Bret Hart/Lex Luger Wrestlemania X cointoss, and not much in the way of in-ring action

Marty Jannetty vs Johnny Polo

Here’s tonight’s big match, and it’s the opener featuring a manager as a competitor. This really isn’t very good, and you suspect Polo has been told not to look too competent, as this is way worse than his Scotty Flamingo stuff. I liked the opening comedy, where Polo tried to attack Jannetty, who was holding a mic, only to end up getting tied up by Marty in the cable. Jannetty is one step ahead, even landing on his feet when thrown to the floor and rushing back to hit a crossbody for two. Polo takes control going into the break, and keeps holding Marty down with chinlocks, as well as hitting a spectacularly blown back bodydrop, where Marty kind of skids over his back. Control transitions back to Marty via my least favourite reversal – the heel tries a double axehandle to lying-down opponent but gets a boot to the face instead – and he finishes with a Rocker Dropper for 3. Polo really was no fun in control, and he controlled too much of it.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Miguel Rosado

Half-hearted squash of the pot-bellied Rosado here, who tries a really shitty dropkick early on. I liked Bam Bam just hurling him across the ring, but this is very by the numbers. A diving headbutt, not even from the top, gives Bigelow the win.

Kwang vs Rich Myers

Myers has offence so weak he makes Dolph Ziggler look like Super Dragon. Kwang actually looked ok here, dug his big over-the-top-rope corner spin kick, and he had a few nice kick combos. Kwang hits a few throat thrusts whilst holding Myers by the hair, stopping him falling down, and a superkick gets three. Perfectly fine

 Earthquake vs Corey Student

Decent squash for the returning Quake. Nice belly-to-belly, big running clothesline and a running corner splash all looked great, before he hit the seated splash for the win. Enjoyed this.

WWF Royal Rumble 1994

Last year, I did a super-topical Royal Rumble post on the day of the event, so decided it'd be an idea to do one again this year. As I'm in the middle of my 1994 Raw project, I thought it'd make sense to do the 1994 Rumble, the first one I watched when my parents got Sky

Tatanka vs Bam Bam Bigelow

This was supposed to be Tatanka vs Ludwig Borga, but Borga was injured. Probably an upgrade to get Bigelow here, with the result being a decent little PPV opener. It kicks off at a high tempo, as Bigelow tries to jump Tatanka before the bell, but Tatanka uses his speed to avoid the attack, and manages to take control. Nice DDT by Tatanka, but he misses a big crossbody. Bigelow hits a corner splash on Tatanka, getting real nice speed on it. Bam Bam slows things down with a bearhug, but it’s a bit embarrassing as he initially tries to hold Tatanka in the air, but has to put him down right away. Bigelow doesn’t even bother working the bearhug, so it’s a dull period of the match. There’s a double crossbody spot where both guys fly into each other at full speed. Bigelow stops Tatanka hulking up with an enzuigiri, which is a nice touch, but he misses a moonsault. Tatanka hits a top rope crossbody for the win.

Bret Hart & Owen Hart vs the Quebecers

I was interested to revisit this match because, as memorable as the match-ending angle is, you don’t really hear much said about the match. On the whole it’s quite fun, though not as memorable as you’d hope from these two teams. I really liked Jacques’ heeling it up after Owen gets the best of him, hugging Pierre and cowering on his knees. Bret going for flash pins early makes sense, given that he and Owen still had the Rumble to come. The Quebecers briefly get control of Bret, and Owen keeps doing more harm than good by trying to get in the ring, as it draws the attention of the ref away from the Quebecers cheating. This is an ongoing theme throughout the match, which builds up Owen’s hot-headedness and desperation to win for the final angle. Loved Owen’s beautiful overhead belly-to-belly on Pierre when he does get in. Then the big match-changing spot occurs, as some Johnny Polo interference causes Bret to crash through the ropes to the floor, injuring his leg. The Quebecers focus on this injury, including a nasty looking leap off the ringsteps to the knee. All the time, an impetuous Owen is trying to get to Bret and distracting the referee. Even as Owen brawls with Pierre, Jacques is hitting Bret in the leg with a foreign object. Pierre goes for the top rope cannonball to the leg, but Bret moves just in time. Bret opts to try the Sharpshooter rather than tag Owen (a stupid move, though you could justify it by pointing out that Bret is the wrong side of Pierre), but can’t hold the move due to his injury. The ref instantly calls off the match (though the Fink is keen to point out “Bret Hart DID NOT submit” on his announcement), and a furious Owen kicks out Bret’s leg. Fun match to start off a great angle.

Razor Ramon vs IRS

Both guys exchange some nice punches early, nicely surprised by IRS. Razor takes a huge bump over the top running the ropes. I was really happy to see someone reverse the “heel leaps off the top rope to hit unknown move, only for the face to get his boot up” trope, as IRS grabs the foot and hits a big elbow to Razor. Unfortunately, this is the highlight of IRS’ offensive run, as the rest is pretty pedestrian. It also includes a really long chinlock. A ref bump sees the end, as Shawn Michaels runs in to level Razor with his phony IC title, and after a loooong time, IRS crawls over to cover Ramon for the win. However, a 2^nd ref comes in to advise what happened and the match gets restarted. Rather unfairly, as IRS is still celebrating his win on the 2^nd rope, and he gets planted with a Razor’s Edge for the victory. An uneventful bout.

The Undertaker vs Yokozuna

Another match that’s more famous for the post-match angle. The match itself is pretty lacklustre, and painfully slow. After the two exchange some chairshots outside the ring, Yoko thinks a clothesline is enough to conquer the Undertaker, so really takes his time putting him in the coffin. It’s not. Taker hits a sloppy chokeslam, that looks more like Yoko slipping on a banana, and a big DDT to roll Yoko into the casket. You can see Taker desperately killing time for the first outside attacker to stop him closing the lid, before Crush turns up, followed by the Great Kabuki, Tenryu, Bigelow, Adam Bomb, Jeff Jarrett, both Headshrinkers and Diesel. We all know what happens next (urn blows green smoke, heels close Taker in the coffin, Taker talks to the audience from the coffin and rises to the ceiling), but the boring match is often forgotten about as a reason to hate this whole deal.

Royal Rumble

Scott Steiner and Samu start off, which is pretty fun as neither is afraid to lay in their blows. Owen is brought back as an early entrant, earning major heat. The heel turn definitely worked. Diesel gets his first vestiges of a big push, as he gets to go on an elimination spree. He clears the ring (with Owen’s elimination getting a big pop, and clears the ring one-by-one of the next entrants…Bob Backlund, Billy Gunn, Virgil (much to the delight of Ted DiBiase on commentary). This conveniently gives enough time for them to cut to the back where Jim Cornette’s hired guns Tenryu and Kabuki are beating up Lex Luger. Back in the ring, Randy Savage comes out and is a big enough star that Diesel doesn’t get to eliminate him. We get glimpses of a potentially great Savage/Jarrett match, which I don’t think ever took place (but I’d love to be wrong), but Jarrett is quickly eliminated. Loved the ferocity of Savage’s attack on an entering Crush, you can really feel the hate between the two. Savage gets eliminated, and we get a Diesel/Crush segment. Doink enters and stands back, laughing at the two heels fighting, until they look over and spot him. They rightly batter him, then present him on a platter for an entering Bam Bam Bigelow. Bammer hurls him over the top to the floor. Loved that.

Shawn Michaels soon enters and, after facing off with his bodyguard Diesel, shakes hand with him. However, Shawn does nothing to stop his friend being eliminated, setting the tone for a year of tension between the two. Both Mabel and Mo from Men On A Mission end up in the ring at the same time, but seem to be idiots as they barely work together. You’d think Mo would be desperate for Mabel to help him. Instead, when all the entrants gang up on Mabel, Mo is left standing idly by like a moron until Shawn attacks him. The way Mo was just gormlessly staring, he needn’t have bothered. Luger comes out to a decent pop and swiftly eliminates the useless mercenary Kabuki. Tenryu is out next and, though he’s also being paid to make sure Luger doesn’t win, he doesn’t actually spend much time fighting Lex, which was surely the point of him entering. A non-entrant is believed by the commentary team to be Bret. Bret does come out a couple of entrants later, earning a massive pop. However, he gets no offence on getting in, as Crush goes right to the leg. I liked the continuity of Marty Jannetty going right after Michaels upon getting in the ring. Reminds me of how Tito and Martel would always square off in the Rumble. Somehow, fucking Mo is still around at the end of the Rumble, and takes a shitty elimination – he gets superkicked while facing away from the ropes, then spins round and dives over the top. So bad. The final four is Bret, Lex, Michaels and Fatu, going down to just Bret and Lex as they simultaneously eliminate the other two. The two exchange blows and both end up going over at the same time to be crowned joint-winners. A memorable end to a decent Rumble match.

WWF Raw 10/01/1994

The Quebecers vs Marty Jannetty & 1-2-3

Really fun match, and actually really well booked. Given that the Quebecers were due to defend the tag belts vs Bret and Owen at the Rumble in two weeks, you’d give Kid and Jannetty no chance. The story here was that the Quebecers were looking past their opponents here, which gives Kid and Marty the opening to dominate the early goings with quick tags and some nice double team offence. Loved Jannetty elevating Kid to allow him to hit a high dropkick. During the break, we see Kid/Jannetty had “won” the match following a Jannetty superkick, only for the Quebecer to have his foot on the ropes and the match continue. This normally is used to protect the team that’s going to lose. The Quebecers are still getting overrun, and it takes Pierre pushing Kid off the top rope to the floor to get an advantage. They decimate Kid with some big double teams, including a lovely clothesline/legsweep combo. Jacques piledrives Kid and Pierre hits a top rope cannonball. This should be the end, but the Quebecers are so confident that they go for a second. This allows Jannetty to come in (cheat?) and drag Kid to his corner for the hot tag. Jannetty runs wild and this lets him and Kid hits a suplex/crossbody to pin Jacques for real and the titles. Massive shock result, and a really cleverly booked match. Loved this. 

Ludvig Borga vs Brad Anderson

Pretty crap squash to be honest. Borga is pretty plodding and the most exciting part is probably Anderson hitting a few clotheslines. Borga wins with a torture rack. 

The Undertaker vs Ray Hudson

The description of this episode on the Network describes Hudson, rather sarcastically, as “ever impressive". Another dull squash, with Taker throwing Hudson to the floor for some blows, then throwing him back in for a low elevation chokeslam. Taker finishes with a leaping tombstone. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Bastion Booger

This is a heel vs heel match set up by Booger’s lust for Luna causing them to lose a tag match the previous week. They cut a decent tempo here in a match that gets no reaction. Bigelow takes a big bump over the top on a missed charge, so Luna blows kisses to Booger to distract and allow BBB to recover. He does this with a botched slam, a real slam and the diving headbutt to win. Pretty poor.

WWF Monday Night Raw 03/01/1994

As well as my ongoing WCW 1992 project, I decided to use the Network to watch all the Raw's from 1994. This was the start of my second big moment as a wrestling fan, as my parents bought Sky, allowing me to watch WWF programming weekly. I've not seen this stuff since it first aired, so it should be interesting to revisit

Yokozuna vs Dan Dubeil

Before this match started, I was pretty sure I remembered Dan Dubeil’s name for some reason. This is a really fun squash, with Yoko just ragdolling Dubeil. There’s a lovely snap to a slam and a great looking belly-to-belly suplex. Then the reason I remembered Dubeil’s name….Yoko hits the Banzai Drop and lets his legs out, just squashing poor Dubeil. Brutal end to a great squash.

 

The Smoking Gunns vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger

Though both members of the heel team are big guys, Bammer is noticeably more agile and mobile than Booger. With Bigelow in the ring, the Gunns are able to use their speed advantage to take control, with Bigelow able to bump and make them look good. With Booger in, he’s so cumbersome that the Gunns end up bumping around for him more, to make his offence look more impactful. Bart Gunn even takes a 360 bump off a Booger clothesline. I liked the spot where Bart tried to take Booger down with a sunset flip and Billy came in to hit Booger with a bulldog, which would make sense as Bastion would be trying to lean forward to avoid Bart taking him down. The heels work a rather dull heat section on Bart, before the hot tag sees the Gunns run wild on Bigelow. Outside, Luna Vachon rubs Booger’s hump to revive him, and he takes this as a sign of her affection for him. This leads to a rather horrid ending as Booger essentially molests Luna, and Bammer rolls out to attack him, leading to the Gunns countout win 

Jeff Jarrett vs John Chrystal

Decent squash, and one where Jarrett was clearly already in command of his character. Loved him ducking out of the ring at the very start, and cheapshotting an opponent he’s superior to over the referee’s shoulder. Jarrett is pretty cocky during the match, and this keeps leading to Chrystal getting shock roll-ups on him, which in turn leads to Jarrett cranking up the aggression before the cycle repeats. JJ gets the win with a spiking DDT 

Shawn Michaels vs Brian Walsh

Curiously, Michaels gives Walsh loads here, even letting him get the better of Michaels on the mat. Walsh gets two from a slingshot, before Michaels cuts him off. Right away, Michaels throws Walsh out to Diesel twice in succession, as if wanting to cut off the threat in it’s prime. Michaels works a rather dull chinlock before Walsh gets another roll-up for 2. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music and a piledriver to win the weakest squash of the show.