Original Airdate: Monday, September 19th, 1994
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, Massachusetts
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So even though this episode again was taped before SummerSlam, the intro is all about the heel turn of Tatanka. What a way to draw viewers in.
Lex Luger vs. Executioner
I continue to be surprised at how over Luger is with the live crowds, although this one seems to be a little sweetened. This variation of the Executioner looks like your friends dad playing wrestler. Luger explodes and puts him in the Rebel Rack for the victory. I still don't get why they just didn't turn him heel.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Next week it's a King's Court with British Bulldog.
Jerry Lawler vs. Duke Droese
Lawler cuts a promo before the match on Droese being a piece of trash. I feel like they forgot about this feud for a couple of weeks. I guess with it being taped over 30 days before this, they kind of had to. We get lots of stalling, which is pretty typical of Lawler during this era. Droese finally gets his hands on him and gets 10 punches in the corner. This match is so good, we're getting a second commercial break. Lawler is a able to slow things down and take control. Lawler goes outside the ring to grab Duke's garbage can, but Dink pops out of it and squirts him. Lawler chases him and gets counted out. "The squirt gave him a squirt" - Randy Savage. Dink comes back and Lawler grabs the can again. Doink is behind him so he runs out through the crowd to get away while Doink and Dink laugh. As bad as this was, it was entertaining in the way a B movie is.
Match Rating: *
Heavenly Bodies vs. Mike Bell & Steve King
They seem to be semi-remembering that they have a tag team division lately. I can't say enough how much I like the Bodies. Prichard hits a variation of the sitdown powerbomb and Del Ray follows it with a moonsault for the victory. More of this please.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Vince McMahon brings out Bob Backlund for an interview. The character work is great because he is really crazy. He talks about how he used to like all the fans but now he is just so disappointed. Lots of plebeian talk here. Backlund says he didn't use the Chicken Wing to make the people happy. He says it is the best hold in wrestling and even Bret Hart can't get out of it. The crowd calls him a has been, so Backlund says that he runs more in a day than most people do in their life. It's too bad he has to wrestle, because this is great TV. He then claims that if anyone can get out of his Chicken Wing while pinned to the mat, he will retire from wrestling. He takes of his and challenges someone. They bring out Lou Gianfriddo from the WWF magazine and would make me look like a big guy. He puts him in the hold and snaps. Vince tries to pull him off along with a bunch of officials and eventually Randy Savage. This was really well done and one of the better interview segments in Raw history up to this point.
Sparky Plugg vs. Richie Rich
Man, all that money didn't do much for Richie Rich. Vince apologizes for not calling much of the match and just talking about Backlund. He then just continues to talk about Backlund even more. Plugg hits a top rope crossbody for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Yokozuna vs. Phil Apollo
No Jim Cornette for the Bodies or Yokozuna. I guess they had to save on travel expenses. Yoko is noticeably bigger on his comeback here. Yoko shows a little bit more aggression than normal with a series of right hands in the corner. He hits the Banzai Drop and that is all. After the match, Undertaker's music hits and Yoko heads to the back.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After a very poor episode of Superstars, this Raw more than made up for it. Bob Backlund was fantastic in his interview and just something totally different than what we were used to seeing at this time. The squash matches had a lot of energy to them too, which is surprising for a taped show. Thumbs up here.
Overall Rating: 61%
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