Monday, January 11th, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Sean Mooney is live from outside of Manhattan Center and he stops Bobby Heenan from going in the theater. Mooney informs him he has been replaced by Rob Bartlett and that there are no tickets left. Bartlett thinks it's "Yokozuma", so if for some reason you haven't heard about how terrible he is that should give you an idea.
Koko B. Ware vs. Yokozuna
This immediately feels so different from Superstars in a good way. The crowd is lively and the atmosphere is much more intimate. Vince reminds us that this show is "uncooked". If for some reason you maybe chuckled at Bartlett a few times in the first few moments, I guarantee that you are sick of him by this point. Yoko pushes Koko around a little and stands in the middle of the ring looking menacing. Koko hits a couple of dropkicks, but Yoko sidesteps a leaping attempt and Koko lands on the top rope. Yoko follows it up with a leg drop and a splash in the corner. Banzai Drop and that is all for poor Koko. Yoko continues to show his upside as a monster heel.
Match Rating: 1/4*(out of 5)
We get a Royal Rumble ad, followed by a Bobby Heenan promo talking about Narcissist. He announces that he will unveil him at the Royal Rumble. Heenan sold him like only he could.
Steiner Brothers vs. The Executioners
Doink is still apparently doing the random appearances in the crowd. The Steiner Brothers in the WWF is still weird to me. Steiner squashes are always fun, as they legit destroy the poor jobbers. They toss the poor guys around and mix in some stiff shots. They hit the flying bulldog and get the victory. It's too bad they weren't in the company a few years earlier when they actually had a tag team division.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Mooney is outside again, where Bobby Heenan is dressed up as a woman trying to get into the show. Mooney takes off his wig as Heenan begins to try and bribe his way in.
Razor Ramon is in the ring for an interview ahead of his WWF Championship match at Royal Rumble. They show a clip of Razor jumping Owen during an interview. Please note that Owen was wearing purple Zubaz pants. He tells Bret that he can't do anything about him taking his title at the Rumble and tosses his toothpick at Vince.
Tatanka says they are thankful for those who help with Headlock For Hunger.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Max Moon vs. Shawn Michaels
Back and forth they go to get started and Moon is able to get a hammerlock put on as we go to commercial break. Michaels catches Moon on his shoulder and hangs him up on the top rope. Doink is back out again. Michaels throws Moon into the turnbuckle and then tells the camera that his face has broken so many homes. Bartlett imitates Mike Tyson for the entire match which is just brutal. Moon hits a slingshot, which sends Michaels out of the ring. Moon hits a seated senton off the apron. Michaels recovers and hits Sweet Chin Music. Moon avoids Michaels' suplex the first time, but not the second time. Shawn gets the pinfall victory in a halfway decent match for this era.
Match Rating: *1/2
Royal Rumble Report time with Mean Gene. Yes, please. Shawn Michaels will take on Marty Jannetty and Shawn is confident that Sherri will be in his corner. Gene reminds us that Flair won the previous years Rumble and that just seems like it was ages ago.
Back outside and Heenan is now dressed in another costume and somehow this one takes longer for detective Mooney.
They show a clip from Superstars of Kamala getting yelled at by Kim Chee and Harvey Wippleman. Slick comes out and gets pushed down by Kim Chee. Kamala chops Kim Chee over the top rope and chases after Wippleman.
Damien Demento vs. Undertaker
Undertaker gets a pretty weak entrance for this match. This match is all Taker and makes Demento look like the jobber that he is. Taker hits the Tombstone and that is all. This was just a match to continue to make Taker seem special.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They advertise Mia Farrow vs. Woody Allen for next week. All righty then.
Doink is being interviewed by Vince and out comes Crush. They get into it, but Doink outsmarts him.
Sean Mooney is here for one last shot with Bobby, who is actually getting in. However, the show is over and we are now off the air.
Well, this show definitely had more life to it than Superstars did during this time period. However, this was not exactly a home run of a show and very much a work in progress. Like most things in wrestling, they eventually go back to standard formula and Raw would eventually just kind of feel like a better version of Superstars.
Overall Rating: 46%
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