Monday Night Raw : January 11th 1993

Monday Night Raw 11/1/93  or 1/11/93 



I have no idea why it took me so long to realise that they were showing every episode of Raw from the first one onwards and they're already up to August 1994 so I've got some catching up to do. These episodes are incredibly short so they're easy for me to write and upload, and perfect for constant content while I work on some Greatest Hits posts.


I've seen this episode before as an extra disc on the Raw Anniversary DVD but that was about three years ago so I've forgotten most of it. Without further ado, here is the debut of Monday Night Raw.




Live from the Manhattan Centre in New York!


Bobby Heenan is not supposed to be here and is banned from the building but that won't stop him from trying to get in to see the show.



I wish I was old enough to appreciate the days of having the Macho Man Randy Savage on commentary.




Koko B. Ware vs Yokozuna
The match that has the honour of being the first match in Raw's long history and lo and behold it's an old fashioned squash. Yoko is still undefeated. This was a quick match in which Koko got no offense at all. There's always something fun about watching someone getting squashed and this time it happened quite literally. 1/4*



Watch the Royal Rumble Live January 24th!  I'll probably review that after the January 18th Raw.



Heenan taunts Mr Perfect in a pre-taped promo about the mystery of the Narcissist. His identity will be revealed at the Royal Rumble Pay Per View. I wonder who it could be?



The Steiner Brothers vs The Executioners
Yet another squash match here on Raw, but this one makes the Yokozuna squash look like a relaxing stroll through a park. The Steiner's just beat the tar out of these jobbers and they looked as if they were having fun doing it. Doink the Clown was running around the crowd for some reason. A painful-looking squash. 1/2*



A woman is trying to get into the building to see her nephew on Raw. Turns out its Bobby Heenan. I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of him on this night.



Razor Ramon is out with a weird looking suit (I'll just blame the 90s for that one). Ramon says he's ready to face Bret Hart at the Royal Rumble for the WWF Championship. He says it took Bret eight years to win the big one and it only took him eight and half months to get to the top. He taunts Bret as he talks about beating up Owen in the locker room. Pretty bland promo to be honest.



Tatanka encourages us to put a Headlock on Hunger and donate to the Somalia Relief Fund.



Shawn Michaels vs Max Moon
The IC Championship is on the line. Who in the name of holy shit is Max Moon? That looks like the worst gimmick ever. Sounds like something TNA might have came up with on their worst day. Still it's a Shawn Michaels match so it's gonna be good in some way and he managed to make it quite entertaining. What the hell was with the fake Mike Tyson interview during the match? That was freaking weird. A slightly entertaining match with HBK bumping all over the place as he retains his IC Title. **



Watch WWF Mania on Saturday mornings!


A report for the Royal Rumble as Gene Okerlund tells us about the show. Shawn Michaels vs Marty Janetty has been announced for the PPV.



Mr Perfect, Yokozuna and Hacksaw Jim Duggan are looking to win the Rumble match and head to Wrestlemania IX.



Bobby Heenan is trying to get into the building again and this time he's dressed as a Jewish man. Is that considered politically incorrect nowadays?


We get footage of Kamala attacking his managers.



Time for the main event!



The Undertaker vs Damien Demento
I've never heard of Demento before and yet he somehow got the honour of being in the main event of the first ever Raw show. At least we get to see him getting his ass kicked by the Undertaker. A very short match in which Taker quickly disposed of Demento with a tombstone piledriver. 1/4*



Doink the Clown pisses off Crush with a water pistol. Strange segment.


Bobby Heenan is finally allowed in the building but unfortunately the show is over.



If this was just a normal Raw it wouldn't be that good at all, but because it's the first one ever it gets a free pass and is worth watching once. It's a short show and it's never really boring so it's got that going for it.