Monday Night Raw 4-26-93 Review

Monday, April 26th, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York

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We are back live in the Manhattan Center and Bobby Heenan has taken over Rob Bartlett's spot as the third announcer, which has to be the biggest improvement in the history of wrestling announcing.

Damien Demento vs. Mr. Perfect

After a fine bit of stalling, Perfect hits a dropkick. It always kind of amazes me that a guy like Demento is willing to have that haircut just to be a jobber. Would any WWF fan think any differently of him if he just had a normal haircut? Demento throws Perfect through the rope and he takes out the cameraman on the way down. Perfect fights back with some chops and a running kneelift. Demento tries a splash, but Perfect gets his knees up. Perfect hits the Perfect Plex and that's all. I'm still not sure why they aren't doing more with Perfect, but he continues to look good here in early '93.

Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)

We get a child reading their essay "There's No Hope With Dope". The essay is about the girl being at her own funeral and then at the end, Undertaker walks in and agrees that there is no hope with dope. This was...something.

Heenan claims that there will be a proposal on Raw and that he will make sure that she says no.

The Narcissist Lex Luger vs. Crush

Vince shows the x-ray of Luger's steel plate in his forearm, which is hilarious. If there is one big difference between modern wrestling and this time period, there is way less stalling at the beginning of matches now. Crush shows off his strength by hitting the gorilla press slam and Luger retreats outside to regroup. Crush hits a dropkick and an arm drag as we go to commercial break. Luger tries to go for a hip toss, but Crush hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Luger runs off the ropes and drives a knee into the back of Crush and sends him outside. Luger runs off the apron and hits a double axe handle. Luger then uses my favorite move in wrestling, the bear hug. Crush escapes, but Luger hits a body slam. Crush hits a suplex and both men are stunned. Crush hits a back suplex and after a little bit of an awkward spot, a bodys lam. Crush puts on his finisher until he spots Doink in the balcony. He releases the hold and calls Doink to the ring. Doink points over to the other balcony and there stands the second Doink. Luger hits Crush with an elbow and knocks him out of the ring, giving Luger the countout win. I have to say, I am shocked that Luger was booked so weakly here. The majority of the match was surprisingly entertaining, but the ending just felt off.

Match Rating: *3/4

We get a promo for King Of The Ring. They run down a couple of the upcoming qualifiers, which I really wish were on the network.

Mr. Hughes vs. Jason Knight

This is the Raw debut of Mr. Hughes. Heenan is shown watching shows on other stations, both of which are Turner owned networks. I'm not sure this is the best way to hype up a new superstar. Hughes hits a chokeslam type move for the victory.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a vignette for the Smoking Gunns riding horses in the desert.

Vince McMahon is in the ring and introduces Shawn Michaels. This is some segment, as Shawn makes a homophobic remark and then the crowd does the same. They show the footage of Michaels attacking Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania. Shawn then screws up and calls him Grover instead of Oscar the grouch when referring to putting Perfect in the trash can. Perfect comes out with officials trying to stop him. Michaels gets in a cheap shot and Perfect chases him to the back.

They show footage of Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka's feud.

Typhoon vs. Skull Von Krush

Solo Typhoon matches are just so bizarre to me. They get Hacksaw Jim Duggan on the phone, as he will be facing Shawn Michaels next week. Typhoon hits a splash and it's over.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Heenan goes out to the fan to interview the couple they referenced earlier in the show. They get married and Bobby Heenan makes a Cracker Jack joke. This was all terrible.

Well, on one hand, we got a surprisingly decent Crush and Lex Luger match and one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen on Raw in the essay. On the other hand, we had to sit through an uncomfortable Shawn Michaels interview, a Typhoon match and way too much time devoted to a wedding proposal. I guess I'll go somewhere in the middle.

Overall Rating: 48%