Monday, May 17th, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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They show the entire Mr. Perfect/Shawn Michaels brawl and then cut to Lord Alfred Hayes in the same spot. He says that there is a big surprise tonight.
The Smoking Gunns vs. Tony Vadja & Glen Ruth
I wish I loved anything as much as Vince loves the Smoking Gunns' guns. This is the Raw debut of the Gunns. The Gunns execute a number of quick tags to go to work on their dangerous opponents. They continue their quick tags and hit their leg drop finisher for the victory. They looked good here, which I would assume was the point.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Vince McMahon is in the ring to interview Shawn Michaels. Michaels says that he is a man of his word and that he has been defending his title all over the world. He debunks rumors that he is a reluctant champion and says that he will take on anyone anywhere. Someone walks into the ring in sunglasses and a hood and it's none other than Marty Jannetty. Vince is all excited and wants the match tonight. This is Vince at his absolute dorkiest.
Razor Ramon vs. The Kid
Razor hits the Kid with some stiff chops and then throws him across the ring. Razor catches him and then hits the fall away slam. Kid ducks under Razor and he hits his face in the ring post. The Kid hits a moonsault and gets the surprise victory and the crowd is stunned. This is obviously one of the more famous moments in early Raw history. Razor is livid and the Kid quickly runs to the back. The match was too short to be good, but this was tremendous.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Tatanka vs. Scott Taylor
Tatanka hits a running clothesline and follows that up with a back body drop. Taylor ducks a chop, but Tatanka tosses him over the top rope. Tatanka hits a scoop powerslam and continues to chop poor Scotty 2 Hotty. I'm not quite sure why this match got more time than the Razor one? Taylor gets in his 10 seconds of offense until he hits the Samoan drop for the easy victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's time for Mean Gene with the King of the Ring Report. They go over the brackets with Bret Hart taking on Razor Ramon, Lex Luger against Tatanka and Jim Duggan against Bam Bam Bigelow.
Kamala vs. Yokozuna
After a whole lot of nothing, both men charge at one another and Yoko sells losing his balance. They charge a second time and once again Kamala almost causes Yoko to lose his balance. They talk about Yoko gaining weight for the match with Hogan, which causes Vince to chime in that Hogan is getting leaner. I can't imagine why? Kamala hits a series of chops and almost knocks Yoko down until Mr. Fuji grabs his leg and allows Yokozuna to take control and then splash him in the corner. Banzai Drop from Yokozuna and that is all. Well, it was short and better than you would think it would be.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty
They go at right away, knowing that time is most likely on their side here. Marty gets a quick roll up for a close call. Marty is on fire and clotheslines Shawn over the top and then hits him with a baseball slide. He then launches himself over the top rope. One can only wonder what Marty's potential was in an alternate universe where he isn't his own worst enemy. Marty ducks a superkick and hits a flying headscissor into a pin attempt. Michaels does the Ric Flair flip over the rope on the Irish whip from Marty. Shawn grabs his title and begins to walk away, but Mr. Perfect is there to stop him as we go to commercial break. When we get back Marty brings Shawn in the hard way. He goes for another flying headscissor, but this time Shawn counters it and hangs him up on the top rope. Michaels slows things down and hits a dropkick. Marty counters another dropkick into a slingshot and gets a 2 count. Marty hits a leaping reverse crossbody and gets yet another nearfall. Shawn gets a close call and the moon is out in NYC, but Marty kicks out. Shawn hits a superkick, but gets distracted by Mr. Perfect. Perfect throws the towel in his face and Marty rolls him up and gets the victory. Marty Jannetty is your new Intercontinental Champion. That match had another 5-10 minutes in it, but what we got was very good.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Well, as far as memorable episodes in 1993 go, this one had it all. The return of Marty Jannetty, the crowning of a new Intercontinental Champion and the big upset of Razor Ramon. There's not much else you could ask for in 1993 WWF on a 46 minute show.
Overall Rating: 74%
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