WWF 1993

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

WWF Monday Night Raw Report

March 19th, 1993

Nothing like the final MNR before WrestleMania to make you wish for simpler times...when we would have seen an hour of Hulk Hogan & Co. beating up on jobbers, instead of half an hour of that and half an hour of matches that seem important, but aren't.

And we start out with the former, as The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) takes on the Brooklyn Brawler, in what Gorilla Monsoon refers to as 'a hotly contested matchup'. Sure, Gorilla. And the Repo Man has a match at WrestleMa--crap. You know what they should do with the Brawler? Turn him face, and give him a gimmick based on where the show is..."The Pittsburgh Penguin"..."The Orange" if it's in Florida...and so on. In case there was any doubt, a tombstone at 4:04 provided us with a finish. I'll leave where the Tombstone came from up to you to figure out.

Shawn Michaels is out to the ring next...guess they've learned their lesson - introduce the opponent before the match. HBK prattles on and on about how Tatanka might have gotten lucky and defeated Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Neidhart, and King Kong Bundy, but tonight, he will face the one man that he can not defeat...Sid Justice??? Justice enters the ring to the mixed reaction of a confuzzled audience, but those eventually turn to boos. Boos for the atrociousness of Sid's workrate, I hope. Sid takes the mic and talks about how there is only one WWF Intercontinental Champion, Shawn Michaels...and a week from now, he will STILL be the only WWF Intercontinental champion. I believe it.

The British Bulldog is next in our cavalcade of wrestlers out to the ring...he cuts his obligatory promo on The Undertaker for Sunday night. "Taker...you think I'm scared of a dead man?" "GGGGOOOONNNNGGGG!!!!!!!!" As the ring turns blue and the fog rolls in, British Bulldog runs out of the ring, answering his own question. Ironically, Taker never actually comes out.

The Nasty Boys take on the Headshrinkers in what should be an epic battle that seems surprisingly familar to me. Maybe because I've already seen it many times before. The two do seem to have some really good chemistry from all these matches. They're hiding each others' weaknesses, and playing up their limited strengths. On a related note, the WWF needs some new tag teams. I suppose you'll get one with the new Hart Foundation, but what about a new heel team? Barry Darsow and Jacques Rougeau's new gimmicks? British Bulldog and Rick Martel? Kamala and The Berzerker? As for this match, Brian Knobbs hit Samu with a mean rollup at 6:21 for the win.

Vince McMahon introduces us to a video package of the Hulk Hogan/Jake Roberts feud. Man, out of all the guys he eliminated from the Rumble, he's put in a match with the one guy in the storyline that he DIDN'T? Where's the logic in that? Still, it'll be a nice old-school match, and they're not pushing it down our throats.

Crush is out next...good for him! Monday Night Raw needs more Crush! And not the Hawaiian Crush either. That gimmick seems to have been dropped, thank God. Now he's just 'Crush', wearing the same flamboyant spandex, but acting more like a poor man's Hulk Hogan than a type of pizza. Good change, as long as either (a) it gets more depth or (B) it's just temporary. Crush's opponent is Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji), which should give away the outcome of the match. Although Crush is hanging in there. Maybe this means a push. Maybe indeed. Yokozuna wins it clean with the Banzai Drop at 5:14. Surprisingly good match.

CUT BACKSTAGE! Mr. Perfect is standing by alongside Gene Okerlund! You know, the last time these two were together on camera, Perfect wound up with Shawn Michaels' spit in his eye. Hope that doesn't happen again. Perfect finally gets to tell his side of the Ric Flair story. Of course, since the story started with offhand comments by Flair, he doesn't really have much of a story. So he uses the time to smack Flair around good. Flair's washed-up, there's a new generation coming in, it's too bad the match isn't on New Year's Eve, yadda yadda yadda. (With due respect to George Costanza)

CUT BACKSTAGE AGAIN! We're in the Hart Foundation Locker Room! But only the Originals are there...Jim Neidhart informs us that Owen Hart and Cowboy Rick Titan are busy lifting weights, preparting for their match on Superstars against two young up-and-comers (read: jobbers). So, we get Jim and Bret cutting a promo on Yokozuna. I'll live. Nothing too special...Jim will accompany Bret to the ring to counter-act any 'shenanigans' that Mr. Fuji partakes in, thus proving my theory that he's now just a manager. Also, the match now has a 'No Rematch' stipulation. I call a DQ ending!

And now, the match you've all been waiting for...a heroic, undulating...non-title match between the Steiner Brothers and the Natural Disasters. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this is the first time that these two teams have met all year. And they didn't know this match was taking place until maybe three weeks ago. Says something, doesn't it? And unfortunately, this match doesn't look that good. Hopefully they plan their Sunday match better. The Steiners were made to look really...well, not weak, but clueless in this one, as they'd fall for all the Disasters' tricks, such as isolating them. At the 7:33 mark, Typhoon grabbed a steel chair, and went to hit Rick Steiner with it, but the ref yelled at him not to. As they were arguing, Earthquake (the legal man) hit Steiner with a low blow and made the cover!. The ref gave the three count. Post-match, the two teams brawled for a bit, until a host of refs hit the ring to break it up.

CUT BACKSTAGE! Sean Mooney is standing by with the Repo Man! And not just the Repo Man! There's also a pair of Bret Hart's sunglasses, a a Hulk Hogan bobblehead, a two-by-four, presumably from Jim Duggan, Cowboy Rick Titan's hat, IRS' briefcase, and, oh yeah, a Rolls-Royce. Repo Man informs us that, for stealing all this stuff, and then running his big mouth, he is now looking at life in jail..."Of course, that will never happen, because this Sunday night, I will beat the living tar out of that wannabe cop, the Big Bossman! And then he cackles. Lord, how he cackles.

MAIN EVENT TIME! Tatanka against Sid...if Tatanka wins, he gets an IC title shot on Sunday night. If Sid wins, then the shot goes to...I don't know...Brian Knobbs or somebody...you know, I just figured it out. They're giving us Tatanka against a whole bunch of people who can't work, just so Tatanka against Michaels seems amazing. That explains everything! Tatanka seems really fired up this one, and basically squashes the giant Sid Justice! Sid can barely get anything going, as the spirit of his ancestors (and apparently their unfulfilled dreams of pro wrestling gold) leads Tatanka to an easy victory, culminating with a Tomahawk Chop at 6:22! The minute the bell sounds, Shawn Michaels runs out to the ring, and hits an unsuspecting Tatanka with the Rockerspear! As we fade out, Shawn Michaels is standing over the fallen bodies of both Sid and Tatanka, wtih a smile on his face! Six days until WrestleMania!

THE GOOD: The main event really served its purpose well...the British Bulldog segment was solid...hmm...not as much as I feel should be here.

THE BAD: The build to Bret/Yokozuna has been atrocious...Barry Darsow on the mic, too.

THE UGLY: Repo Man having a match at WrestleMania, while Randy Savage, Marty Jannetty, Ted DiBiase, and others, are left off the card.

GRADE: B-

[Hewey]

Pretty good show leading into Wrestlemania. Surprised that Sid would do the job to Tatanka and I hope that you don't job Michaels out to Tatanka at Wrestlemania, Hell if it was a non title match sure but Tatanka as the IC champ? I'm really looking forward to the Davey Boy Smith and Undertaker match up. I liked the hype to it and I think it could be a great match. I don't like how you put the tag title match on TV when it's scheduled at Wrestlemania. Makes it seem less important. Maybe the Disasters will get taken out and a new team will be put in it?

The card for Wrestlemania looks quite solid but doesn't look like there will be any classics in it but the hype for the card is always better than what the quality of the matches will be in my opinion. For some reason I think Martel/Backlund will be the show stealer.

Keep up the awesome work, Can't wait till Wrestlemania man

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

WWF News and Rumors

March 19th, 1993

Well, here we are...assuming that the mailman got this to you on time, we are two days away from WrestleMania IX...here's a rundown of the card.

(NB: You can just copy the matches from my sig...)

WWF Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart© vs. Yokozuna - The build for this one could have been so much better...Bret's seemed almost like a sidetrack to the Hart Foundation re-uniting...still, it should be a solid match...the No Rematch stipulation makes me assume there's a DQ ending...I see Yokozuna winning by DQ, stipulations backfiring, but it could go either way.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels© - This one will depend on how Shawn Michaels is feeling, how much his concussion's affecting him, on Sunday. Tatanka will be billed as 86-0 for the show, which, as far as I can tell, will be as accurate as the numbers in the past month or so. I can't see them doing two DQ finishes in

[Hewey]

Final WrestleMania IX Card

WWF Championship: Bret Hart© vs. Yokozuna

Steel Cage Match - Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels©

Hulk Hogan vs. Jake Roberts

The Undertaker vs. British Bulldog

WWF Tag Team Championships: The Steiner Brothers© vs. Natural Disasters

Bob Backlund vs. Rick Martel

Double Jeopardy Match - Big Bossman vs. Repo Man

Jim Duggan vs. Razor Ramon

Marty Jannetty vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

The Hart Foundation vs. The Headshrinkers

[VA Finest 1]

WWF Championship: Bret Hart© vs. Yokozuna

Winner: Bret, I hope he wins

Steel Cage Match - Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair

Winner: Flair, knowing Flair someone will cause a shock by debuting and helping Flair win the match

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels©

Winner: Michaels, I liked Tatanka when I was a little kid but, Tatanka as IC Champ, c'mon now

Hulk Hogan vs. Jake Roberts

Winner: Hogan, As much as I'd love for Jake to DDT Hogan out of the WWF, ain't gonna happen, no way Hogan loses at Wrestlemania

The Undertaker vs. British Bulldog

Winner: Taker, Bulldog is a dead man walking

WWF Tag Team Championships: The Steiner Brothers© vs. Natural Disasters

Winners: Steiners, Don't know how but they'll get the job done, it wouldn't surprise me to see Money Inc play some role in the match

Bob Backlund vs. Rick Martel

Winner: Martel

Double Jeopardy Match - Big Bossman vs. Repo Man

Winner: Bossman

Jim Duggan vs. Razor Ramon

Winner: Razor

Marty Jannetty vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Winner: Bam Bam

The Hart Foundation vs. The Headshrinkers

Winner: Hart Foundation

[BKMastermind375]

WWF Championship: Bret Hart© vs. Yokozuna

Steel Cage Match - Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels©

Hulk Hogan vs. Jake Roberts

The Undertaker vs. British Bulldog

WWF Tag Team Championships: The Steiner Brothers© vs. Natural Disasters

Bob Backlund vs. Rick Martel

Double Jeopardy Match - Big Bossman vs. Repo Man

Jim Duggan vs. Razor Ramon

Marty Jannetty vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

The Hart Foundation vs. The Headshrinkers

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

SPECIAL EDITION

March 19th, 1993

Hello there! Due to a printing problem, the majority of the News and Rumors section was obscured in this week's SWD! Not wanting to waste your money on reprinting it, we decided to print a special edition, single page letter, delivering the gist of the missed type, and mail it directly to you!

We ran down the WrestleMania card, and gave our predictions! To recap: Yokozuna over Bret Hart by DQ, Shawn Michaels over Tatanka, Mr. Perfect over Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan over Jake Roberts, The Undertaker over the British Bulldog, the Steiner Brothers over the Natural Disasters, Rick Martel over Bob Backlund, the Big Bossman over the Repo Man, Razor Ramon over Jim Duggan, Marty Jannetty over Bam Bam Bigelow, and the Hart Foundation over the Headshrinkers!

Confused about those last two matches? Well, the Hart Foundation/Headshrinkers match was added on Superstars with absolutely no reason behind it, while Jannetty vs. Bigelow was also added on Superstars, as the result of an angle in which Jerry Lawler drew Jannetty out to the ring, and set him up for an ambush by Bigelow!

These are the tiebreakers for our PPV Prediction Contest:

1) Will Randy Savage make an appearance?

2) What will be the first match broadcast?

3) How many titles will change hands? (Tag titles count as one.)

4) Will anyone debut?

5) How am I going to book 11 matches in 9 segments? Or what will I do instead?

Also, WWF:NE Action Hour held its final show (cancelled due to low ratings), featuring Jim Powers retaining the WWF:NE Heavyweight Championship over Terry Taylor in the main event!

Finally, since we went to press earlier today, Combat Zone Coastal Wrestling announced the full card for their first ever debut show! Here it is...

SWD's own Chris Irvine vs. Nikita Koloff

Hillbilly Jim vs. George 'The Animal' Steele

Paul Wight vs. Jimmy Golden

The Rock 'N' Roll Express vs. Brian "The Prince" Lawler & Horace Hogan

Tito Santana vs. Bob Orton as the main event.

Should be interesting. More on that next week.

(OOC notes: The board ate up the majority of my post...and I didn't realize it until it was far too late to salvage it...the CZCW stuff was just filler.)

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

(OOC notes: I've been rather busy the past coupld weeks, so the show was notably delayed...also, my updates are now going to be shorter, but thus more frequent, which I hope will be a change for the better)

WWF WRESTLEMANIA IX REPORT

March 26th, 1993

The greatest show on Earth...the most spectacular event of the year...the ultimate in sports entertainment...and that's just what Vince McMahon called it in the opening video montage. Tonight, (highlights of Yokozuna and Tatanka), new champions might be crowned. Tonight, (highlights of the Big Bossman and the Repo Man), justice might be served. Tonight, (highlights of Hogan, Flair, and Michaels), you WILL be entertained!

Opening match is the much-beloved battle between Bob Backlund and Rick Martel (w/Harvey Wippleman). This is a solid, mat-based match...probably showcasing the future of WWF wrestling, to some extent. Unfortunately, the crowd doesn't seem to like the future, as they are silent for this psychology-laden but mainstream appeal-bare match. I, and pretty much everyone I've spoken to, was expecting a Martel squash, but that wasn't the case, as the match was at least even, if not slightly to Backlund's advantage! Still, a solid opener, which ended when Martel reversed a chicken wing into a Boston Crab at 8:26!

Match number two was the epic struggle between the Steiner Brothers and the Natural Disasters, with the winners becoming WWF Tag Team Champions...right off the bat, the pattern was clear, as Scott Steiner tried to suplex Earthquake, but couldn't get him far enough off the ground...couple minutes later, Typhoon sat on ol' Scotty and squished him good...Typhoon knocked out Rick Steiner with a splash, but Scott was able to tag himself in, and shove Rick to the outside...unfortunately, this left Scott to go at it himself for the rest of the match, which he just couldn't do...Earthquake won it with a splash at 8:52, which meant that the Natural Disasters are now WWF Tag Team Champions! The Disasters excitedly grab the titles, and prance around the ring happily!

Deciding to give us some big-league feel on the lower-card, we now get The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) and the British Bulldog in what should be either a really short match or a really long one. Looks like a long one, as Taker tries to chokeslam the Bulldog right off the bat, but gets a kick to his undead groin as compensation. Taker is the powerhouse, but Davey Boy has the agility to avoid most of his big moves. Man, we're getting a lot of this pattern lately. Taker shows some subtle signs of going heel...although I guess it's hard to tell with him. I'm counting teasing the top rope walk and then not doing it as a sign of turning heel, FYI. Finish comes after 10:10, when the British Bulldog, up on the top rope, went for a flying headscissors but Taker turned it into a Last Ride, and got the pinfall!

Vince McMahon introduces us to a video package of highlights from 'before we went on the air tonight'. We're given a whole bunch of matches, announced by Sean Mooney and Bobby Heenan. We see the beginning of the Hart Foundation taking on the Headshrinkers, and then most of the end, about 3:51 in total. From what we're shown, it's basically a squash match, with Owen Hart putting Fatu in a Sharpshooter for the pin. Next up, Marty Jannetty against Bam Bam Bigelow, of which we see the final 2:25. Bigelow seems to be demolishing Jannetty with his size, but Jerry Lawler runs out from the crowd, and hits Jannetty with his cane. Yes, Jerry Lawler is now carrying a cane. Jannetty wins by DQ. The Bossman/Repo Man match is the next to be cut...we actually get 4:41 of it, but it's chopped up into four parts. The Bossman wins, and handcuffs Repo Man afterwards. Wave bye-bye to the crappy gimmick...Final condensed match is the Jim Duggan/Razor Ramon battle...Razor wins it in 2:49 of highlights. Clean.

Back to live action, as Jake Roberts (w/Damien) is out to take on Hulk Hogan (w/pop of the night). Hogan, as you may recall, has to some extent put over Lex Luger, 'Chilling' Charles Wright, Yokozuna, and Rick Martel already this year, and got his compensation tonight, when he destroyed the Snake. Roberts, by the way, showed absolutely no signs of drinking, which is good. It took only 6:02 for Hogan to put his foe away, winning it with a legdrop. It was about what I expected.

Tatanka's out next...followed by the Intercontinental champ, and here we go...Tatanka is fired up for this one, and meets Michaels head-on with a series of, uh, chops. Michaels laughs it off - that's a good sign. Michaels isn't laughing when Tatanka picks him up and delivers a scoop slam - that's a bad sign. The champ decides that he better take this seriously, and whips Tatanka into the corner, but a superkick sends him reeling back. It's not all over for Michaels, though, as he locks Tatanka in a headlock, and starts to work his advantage. From there on, it's back and forth...long match...Tatanka with a roll-up out of nowhere at 15:11! 1...2...3! Tatanka is the most unlikely Intercontinental champion ever! Tatanka is celebrating wildly!

So of course, it only makes sense for 'Jive Soul Bro' to hit, right? Yes, Slick is out to the ring, in which Tatanka is still celebrating. Slick grabs the mic, and informs us all that Tatanka is his latest client! So, let me get this straight. Tatanka is the Intercontinental champion. Slick is managing the Intercontinental champion. Slick is managing Tatanka. Something doesn't add up here, and I think it's people finding this entertaining. Apparently Slick is going to make people realize what Tatanka is all about. You know, if you treat the champion as a joke, the fans will treat the title as a joke, and you're screwed.

The steel cage is lowered - which means it's time for Mr. Perfect against Ric Flair. The amazingness which this match shall produce more than makes up for the lack of build. I hope. Starts off a little slow-paced for my liking, with a rest-hold only three minutes in. Turns out to just be a tease; this match is solid. Not quite as good as I'd have hoped, but still pretty damn good. Match of the night for sure. Near-fall at 15:41 as Flair started climbing up the cage on one side, Perfect climbing on the other side. Flair stopped at the top, and rattled the cage, holding on Spiderman-style. Perfect went falling like a ton of bricks, and Flair hit him with a splash. Amazingly, the match went for another ten minutes, until Flair put Perfect in the Figure-Four. Amazingly, Mr. Perfect started to climb up the cage while in the hold, and put some neat little reversal on...by the time they reached the top, Flair was out cold, but still had the hold locked on...Perfect shook him off like a wet dog and climbed out for the win!

Main event...Bret Hart (w/Jim Neidhart) against Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji)...WWF Championship on the line...referee immediately asks both Neidhart and Fuji to leave the ring area, to ensure that it will be a clean match...Neidhart starts to walk back...Fuji stays put...only after a threat of DQ do they both leave, and the match get underway. David vs. Goliath rules applied here - Bret never once managed to get Yokozuna off the ground. Yokozuna went up for the Banzai drop at 10:05...Hart went to toss him onto the mat, but they both fell down...hard to tell if that was botched or planned...Yokozuna at one point just sat on Bret for 36 seconds...Fuji ran back to the ring at 18:14, and threw salt in Bret's eyes...while he stumbled blindly, Yokozuna hit the SQUISH for the win and the title! Remember kids: no rematch stipulation!

THE GOOD: They're not insulting our intelligence by making us believe Tatanka deserves to be IC champ...the highlights package was put together well...unfortunately, that's about it.

THE BAD: Hogan putting himself over, every title changing hands when none should have, Rick Martel's push already subsiding...shall I go on?

THE UGLY: THIS was WrestleMania? This feels like utter crap...I see the WWF embarking on a long downward spiral...WCW might be the better choice right now...

GRADE: C

[Hewey]

Good show though Tatanka as IC champ sucks big time. Hopefully Shawn gets even with him sooner or later. Tatanka with Slick? Is Slick gonna dress like Tatanka now? Glad to see Undertaker and Hogan picking up wins because that's more realistic plus Taker jobbing at WM is a no, no imo

Yokozuna won which I now fear will put him into a feud with Hogan. It'll produce bad matches but it's realistic for Vince. Surprised to see Taker using the last ride too....

Edited October 3, 2004 by Baby Hewey

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

WWF Monday Night Raw Report

March 26th, 1993

'Twas the night after WrestleMania, and all through the ring, not a creature was sure why Marty Jannetty calls himself King...Tatanka would wrestle to keep his streak and belt...but when Randy Savage made his entrance, the crowd, they would melt...welcome to Monday Night Raw!

And sure enough, our new Intercontinental Champion is out first, as Tatanka (w/Slick) steps into the ring. His challenger...Blake Beverly? Okay, so WWF:NE Action Hour goes off the air, and Blake is returned to the main company for no apparent reason. At least he's a halfway decent jobber. Which is all he gets to show us in this match, as he...is...SQUASHED! Tomahawk Chop (I guess that's his full-time finisher now) for the win at 6:22. After the match, Slick and Tatanka pose to a mixed reaction - babyface pops and X-Pac heat. By X-Pac heat, I mean Headshrinker heat.

CUT BACKSTAGE! Gene Okerlund interviews Jake Roberts! Roberts is in bandages after suffering a severe beating at the hands of Hulk Hogan last night! Roberts talks about how badly he was hurt by the Hulkster, and then he drops a bombshell on us...the doctors say he might never wrestle again! No big loss.

CUT TO ANOTHER ROOM BACKSTAGE! Bret Hart is walking around, head hung low after losing the WWF Championship last night. In the background, Ric Flair is talking to a few heel jobbers - I notice the Brooklyn Brawler, as well as costume-less versions of Barry Darsow and Jacques Rougeau. When Flair sees Hart, he starts laughing, and implores the other heels to laugh at him. Bret glances in their direction, before turning around and leaving.

And now, making his WWF debut, here is Craig Pittman! Pittman does not get music, nor does he appear to have a gimmick, which means he's doing the job. And out next to be the jobbee, I suppose, is Lex Luger. Hey, Luger wasn't on the WrestleMania card, was he? I thought it could have been worse somehow. As I predicted, this is a Luger squash. Torture Rack at 4:55. After the match, Luger poses for the crowd, showing off his massive muscular development.

Luger finally stops posing, and Paul Bearer comes out to the ring, unaccompanied, but looking like he's about to do a promo. Bearer grabs a mic, but Luger yanks it out of his hands. Lex asks Bearer what he's doing interrupting Luger's time...picks Bearer up...and slams him onto the concrete floor! The Undertaker, um, 'runs' out from the back to make the save...but before he can get to the ring, Luger quickly runs away.

Next match is a non-title bout between The Hart Foundation (w/Jim Neidhart) and the Natural Disasters. The more I see him, the more I like Rick Titan. Sure, a non-Hart being involved with the Harts is weird, and so is a cowboy being in the group, but his wrestling style fits in perfectly. Big guy who can work on the mat. Owen works typical tiny babyface in peril routine, while Titan is able to hold his own strength-wise with the Disasters. Finish comes at 8:20, when Typhoon low-blows Titan, and the ref calls for the DQ. Surprisingly good match.

CUT BACKSTAGE! Hulk Hogan is walking! And whistling! Walking and whistling, walking and whistling. And, HEY! Out of nowhere, we get Yokozuna, who grabs Hogan, and 'Chilling' Charles Wright, who starts WAFFLING him with some amazing punches! Wright just loading away on Hogan, until an unseen force pulls him back! Wright turns around, and faces the unseen force...RANDY SAVAGE! RANDY SAVAGE IS BACK! Of course, we knew that, since he was advertised as being in the main event, but still...

Bret Hart steps into the ring to cut a promo, and the crowd goes wild for the ex-champ! The Hitman is somehow able to quiet them with a wave of his hand - I guess losing the title has really got him over! Bret grabs a mic, and starts talking - he admits that he lost fairly last night, and that he was the one who added the 'no rematch' clause, so he is not going to waste time looking for revenge on Yokozuna. He's not the WWF Champion anymore, and he can live with that. But what he can't live with is people like Ric Flair laughing at him. "Ric, the WWF Champion beat me. And I beat you. So what right do you have to be laughing at me?" I smell a rematch.

Crush vs. Jake Roberts was supposed to take place here, but because Roberts is 'injured forever', it doesn't. Crush grabs a mic and asks for a match with anyone who will take it. Razor Ramon comes out to the ring, and accepts the challenge. The match commences immediately, and it turns out to be more or less a squash. For Razor. Razor's Edge at 6:38 for the win. After the match, Crush walked to the back, while Razor just stood there for a while, before he too left.

CUT BACKSTAGE! The Steiner Brothers and Money Inc. have ventured into the same hallway! Both pairs of ex-WWF Tag Team Champions stare at each other for a while, before the Steiners walk off. DiBiase takes some money out of his briefcase, and tells IRS he's going to put it to good use. I'd buy one of those chili dogs from the concession stand. Man, those things are good.

Main event time...all four superstars get seperate entrances. First out is 'Chilling' Charles Wright, to very little of a reaction. Following him is new WWF Champion Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji), to heel heat, but not as much as you should get from your champ...entrant number three is Hulk Hogan, to a HEE-UGE pop, and finally Randy Savage, to a HEE-UGER pop. Good idea, bringing Hogan out first to make Savage's pop have to be that much louder, since he's returning and all. Savage and Wright start this one, and brawl for a bit. Pattern develops that Yokozuna, for whatever reason, doesn't want to face Hogan, and will always tag Wright in to face him. Unfortunately, Hulk Hogan is better than 'Chilling' Charles Wright, and he hits Wright with a legdrop at 9:22 for the win. After the match, The Mega Powers posed in the ring to a huge pop, and we went off the air for the night.

THE GOOD: Randy Savage's return was done perfectly...they could be on to something with Jake Roberts...Bret Hart's new character should be good...

THE BAD: Tatanka, new Intercontinental champion, being in the opener.

THE UGLY: Lex Luger's mic skills.

GRADE: B

[Hewey]

Good show, Some new feuds look to be interesting. Taker/Luger should be pretty decent and Hart/Flair's gonna be great. Glad to see you using Savage since Savage was always pretty over with the crowd and could put on enjoyable matches. Though you seriously need to get the belt off of Tatanka since he has "X-Pac" heat. Maybe a Tatanka/Razor feud?

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

WWF News and Rumors

March 26th, 1993

Before we get to the main feature, I just want to say...I found WrestleMania to be really lackluster, but MNR the next night did a great job of starting new storylines. Kudos to the WWF for finally getting their act together.

Two huge stories this week, and the first is that Jack Tunney has tendered his resignation to the WWF, effective April 30. Tunney has accepted a job with the Coastal Zone Combat Wrestling operation in Miami. Tunney will be the on-screen President of CZCW, as well as being a part of the booking committee and head of talent relations. CZCW will still hold its planned shows on March 28 and April 25 without Tunney.

The other major story in WWF land this week revolves around the signing of a major WCW and former WWF star. SWD has not been able to learn of the real identity of the star, however.

Here is your report from WWF Superstars...open up to a replay of 'Chilling' Charles Wright and Yokozuna attacking Hulk Hogan backstage, but Randy Savage makes the save, just like he did on Monday. Opening match puts B.B. (WWF:NE's Billy) Gunn against the British Bulldog...Bulldog with a squash, Gunn does a good job of selling...running powerslam finish at 5:46...a replay of the Paul Bearer/Lex Luger angle...that's my designated bathroom break...The Headshrinkers take down The Bushwhackers in 6:11, after Samu hits Luke with a rollup...it's what you'd have expected from them...an encore presentation of the Yokozuna/Wright vs. Mega Powers match from MNR...Marty "The King" Jannetty keeps his name out there by beating The Berzerker in 4:41 after the Rocker Dropper, which he now refers to as the Crown Dropper...commentators inform us that Jack Tunney has barred Jerry Lawler from all WWF arenas...Bret Hart's promo is shown again...man, that was good...main event is the Big Bossman against Rick Martel (w/Harvey Wippleman). They give it 8:06, and the two do a strong job...Martel wins it via a Boston Crab, thank you for watching.

Also, here is your preview for Monday Night Raw this coming Monday...

Randy Savage will be wrestling for the second straight week, as he will take on former Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels in a huge matchup! What will happen when the Macho Man and the Heart Break Kid go at it?

Last week, Ted DiBiase said that he had 'everything under control'. This week, he will go one-on-one with something that definitely ISN'T under his control, Scott Steiner!

Mr. Perfect will be in action!

Plus: WWF Intercontinental Champion Tatanka, the Nasty Boys, and much more!

Quick WWF house show results from last Tuesday and Wednesday...Bam Bam Bigelow d Craig Pittman...Money Inc. d The Nasty Boys after a low blow...Big Bossman d Blake Beverly...Marty "The King" Jannetty d Samu...The Steiner Brothers d 'Bumbling' Barry Darsow & Kamala in the night's comedy match...Tatanka d Rick Martel to remain IC champ...The Hart Foundation d Natural Disasters by DQ in a carbon copy of their TV match...The Undertaker d British Bulldog in a carbon copy of their WrestleMania match...Bret Hart d Jake Roberts...Lex Luger d Mr. Perfect in the main event.

Top pops: 1) Bret Hart...2) The Undertaker...3) Tatanka, sadly.

Neat heat: 1) British Bulldog...2) Lex Luger...3) Money Inc.

Match of the night: Hart/Roberts

Quick WWF house show results from last Thursday and Friday...Marty "The King" Jannetty d Blake Beverly...British Bulldog d Craig Pittman...The Nasty Boys d The Headshrinkers...Ric Flair d Virgil...Mr. Perfect d Bam Bam Bigelow...Money Inc. d Jim Duggan & Crush via low blow...Hulk Hogan d The Mountie...Tatanka d Rick Martel to retain IC belt...The Hart Foundation d Natural Disasters by DQ yet again...Yokozuna d Randy Savage to remain WWF champ.

Top pops: 1) Hulk Hogan...2) Randy Savage...3) Mr. Perfect

Neat heat: 1) Ric Flair...2) Yokozuna...3) British Bulldog

Match of the night: Savage/Yokozuna.

With eight out of eleven matches picked correctly, congratulations to BKMastermind375, who won our WrestleMania prediction contest!

Also, in the interest of increased fan interaction, we now present yet ANOTHER type of contest! In addition to our monthly PayPerView prediction contests, we will now offer up a sort of 'fantasy booker' role, in which we ask you a question about what you would do if you were in charge of the WWF, you answer, and the best answer gets a prize! And now, it is not the same prize as our other contest. Here is the first question:

Who would you have win King of the Ring, and why?

Send in your answer, to Stampede Wrestling Digest!

(NB: You can just reply in the thread, or you can PM me your response...I'm serious about there being a different prize.)

Finally, here is this week's mailbag! We are now cutting back to one question a week.

Dear SWD,

How long do you think Tatanka's win streak will last?

Thomas Shea

Boston, MA

I would have said 100-0 a week ago, Thomas, but now that Tatanka's the IC champ, I can't see him dropping it that soon. I have a feeling that the number of wins will be completely arbitrary - they'll have him lose when they've found the right person to beat him.

That's it for this week, see you in seven!

[magik]

ryan_the_canuck, I have recently started reading your diary and I almost can't tell with words how I like it. The backstory was maybe not realistic, but I entered in your world and it's amazing.

Right now, I'm not really far into your diary (still on the second page), but I wanted you to know that your diary is good and that it showed me a new way of how it can be done.

And I have to tell it... I love it!

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

WWF Monday Night Raw Report

April 2, 1993

THE SHOW IS STARTING! We have...Vince McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon on commentary! Randy Savage vs. Shawn Michaels as the main event! And right now...Craig Pittman and Virgil!

They're not taking on each other, thank god. They're teaming up against the Natural Disasters in a non-title encounter. Pittman is showing signs of a gimmick - he comes out with the old bag on a stick, hobo-style. He also wrestles as more of a hobo - mostly punches, some basic wrestling. Looks good. Unfortunately, the punches don't do much damage against the giant Disaters...Earthquake pins Virgil following a splash at 5:33.. You know, the Disasters don't have any challengers for the PPV, do they? I guess you could count the Hart Foundation...

Mr. Perfect comes out to the ring to cut a promo. We are shown a video of the finish to his WrestleMania match with Ric Flair - the more I see it, the better it looks! Perfect doesn't say anything much of note, just that at WrestleMania, he proved he was PERFECT by defeating Ric Flair, and tonight, he'll defend the 'Title of Perfection'.

Cue RICK MARTEL (w/Harvey Wippleman)! Does this mean Martel's getting depushed? Does it mean that the 'Title of Perfection' actually exists? What does it mean? Well, there's no championship belt. The match is the solid technical encounter you'd expect from these two. No signs of a Martel de-push, which is good. Perfect-plex for the finish at 7:05. Longer than it seemed. Really strong for a TV match.

We come back from commercials, to find Tatanka (w/Slick) in the ring. Actually, it's more like Slick (w/Tatanka). Slick does all the talking. Apparently Slick was offended last week when Slick saw Jake Roberts come out to the ring in a wheelchair, claiming that he was injured, that his career was over...Slick (w/Tatanka) is calling Roberts out! Jake's music hits, and he wheels out to the ring. Jake grabs a mic, and reiterates his point about being a cripple. Jack Tunney is next in the calvacade out to the ring - he informs Jake that if he is not fit to be an active WWF wrestler, he will no longer work for the WWF. Slick also reminds Jake that Tatanka was the man who defeated him in his comeback match...Roberts leaps out of the wheelchair, and goes berzerk on Tatanka...Jack Tunney and Slick somehow manage to restrain him. Odd segment.

CUT BACKSTAGE! Bret Hart is walking! He crosses paths with Ric Flair! Flair smirks...Hart scowls. Gene Okerlund runs up to Flair, and asks him what just happened. Flair says that Bret must have realized that a match between the two has been signed for In Your House II. When asked why that makes him so happy, Flair says something about capitalizing on Hart's moment of weakness. That'll be a good match.

Unlike the Nasty Boys against the Headshrinkers, yet again, which is what we get now. Surprisingly, the duo of Knobbs and Saggs exhibit the superior wrestling techniques, and dominate much of the match. I hope that doesn't answer my question about the top tag challengers. Knobbs hits Samu with a DDT at 4:52 and makes the cover for the win. After the match, the Nasty Boys walk out to the crowds and slap hands.

CUT BACKSTAGE! There's Sean Mooney! With Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji)! Again, the manager does most of the talking - although I forgive them this time, given Yokozuna's capabilities in English. Fuji rips Hulk Hogan for five minutes, talking about how Hulkamania is dead, and Yokomania has taken its place. Sounded funny coming from him. I guess Hogan is the next challenger for Yokozuna by default.

Scott Steiner against Ted DiBiase is the next match. Steiner is bigger, but DiBiase is able to hold his own. Nice subtle booking, always making IRS the weak link in Money Inc.'s chain. After 5:22 of solid wrestling, IRS runs into the ring brandishing his briefcase, which uses to hit Steiner. The ref sees this, and disqualifies DiBiase. DiBiase starts yelling at IRS, until IRS says something to calm him down...

Immediately, Money Inc. starts to smirk, and the duo looks at Scott Steiner...before attacking! IRS's briefcase and DiBiase's fist do a number on Steiner...Rick Steiner is nowhere in sight! Vince McMahon informs us that Rick took the day off! A host of referees and jobbers hit the ring to protect Scott Steiner!

Gorilla Monsoon introduces us to a video package...we see the highlights of the Mega Powers vs. Yokozuna and 'Chilling' Charles Wright match from last week. I take it they're going somewhere with this.

Main event time, Randy Savage against Shawn Michaels. Now that Tatanka's IC champ, look for an injury angle here. They've got a good ten minutes left in the hour, so we'll see what they do. Back-and-forth match, Michaels spending more time off the mat than on it...bumping like crazy and doing a whole bunch from the top rope. They've booked this one to show off both wrestlers' strengths...at the 6:29 mark, 'Chilling' Charles Wright runs into the ring with a chair! Wright creams Savage with the chair...Savage is knocked into Michaels, who goes unconscious...the ref squad hits the ring to break it up again...we go off the air to the sight of Shawn Michaels being loaded on to a stretcher.

THE GOOD: Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair has amazing build...Tatanka vs. Jake Roberts should be better this time around too.

THE BAD: The Tag Championship match getting less build then a match between two other true tag teams.

THE UGLY: HBK's injury being highlighted over Wright's attack on Randy Savage. Not smart.

GRADE: C+

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

WWF News and Rumors

April 2, 1993

They finally came up with a Shawn Michaels injury angle, six weeks after he sustained the injury...he does have a legitimate concussion, and a return date is unknown at this time.

With Jack Tunney's resignation last week, everyone (or at least SWD) has been wondering what will happen to the WWF Presidency as far as the on-camera product goes. Although we do not have a name, look for the new President to be more involved in storylines, and not necessarily uphold the right...and no, that wasn't meant to suggest The Mountie as a replacement.

Here is your report from WWF Superstars...open up to Mr. Perfect's speech about being the 'Champion of Perfection'...Adam Copeland (the man who played Moonwalker #2) comes out, and introduces us to the newest force in wrestling, B.K.M.A. 035, the wrestling machine. Carlos Ashenoff (the guy who played Moonwalker #1) is portraying the machine, wearing what looks like a modified version of his Max Moon short...B.K.M.A. takes on Kamala...plenty of comedy spots, Kamala eventually wins it with a schoolboy at 6:11...after the match, Kamala rips off the machine's one arm, proving it to be just another jobber...recap of the Tatanka/Jake Roberts segment...match between the two is official for In Your House II...Bob Backlund beats Leonardo Darsonio (Barry Darsow as a stereotypical Italian) in 4:51 with the Chicken Wing...replay of the Scott Steiner/Ted DiBiase match and ensuing beatdown...The Hart Foundation (w/Jim Neidhart) defeat The Dancing Fools (this week played by Eddie Guerrero and PJ Walker in masks) when Owen Hart locks Eddie into a Sharpshooter at 7:22...match of the night, if not week, there...encore presentation of the Shawn Michaels injury angle...main event has Razor Ramon defeat Crush in 7:11 with a piledriver. Strange show, seemed surprisingly up-tempo for Superstars.

WWF Tuesday & Wednesday house show results...Bam Bam Bigelow d Craig Pittman...Lex Luger d Virgil...The Headshrinkers d The Bushwhackers...Marty Jannetty d Blake Beverly...Money Inc. d The Hart Foundation via a low blow from DiBiase onto Titan...Razor Ramon d Bob Backlund...The Undertaker d British Bulldog...staredown between Taker and Lex Luger...Natural Disasters d Steiner Brothers to retain Tag belts...Randy Savage d Jake Roberts...Yokozuna d Mr. Perfect to remain WWF champ in the main event.

Top pops: 1) Randy Savage...2) The Undertaker...3) Mr. Perfect

Top heat: 1) Yokozuna...2) Lex Luger...3) Jake Roberts

Match of the night: Backlund vs. Razor

WWF Thursday & Friday house show results...Bob Backlund d IRS...The Headshrinkers d The Bushwhackers...Ric Flair d Virgil...The Nasty Boys d Rick Martel & The Mountie...Tatanka retains IC belt over Bam Bam Bigelow...British Bulldog d Big Bossman...Hulk Hogan d Blake Beverly...Natural Disasters d Hart Foundation clean to retain Tag belts...Randy Savage d Razor Ramon...Yokozuna d Mr. Perfect to remain WWF champ in the main event.

Top pops: 1) Hulk Hogan...2) Randy Savage...3) Mr. Perfect

Top heat: 1) Ric Flair...2) Yokozuna...3) IRS (I don't know why.)

Match of the night: Savage vs. Razor

Finally, here is your preview for the April 5, 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw:

A huge rematch from WrestleMania takes place, as Mr. Perfect squares off with Ric Flair!

An update on the injury that Shawn Michaels suffered last week!

The Nasty Boys will square off with the Natural Disasters in a non-title match!

Plus: Razor Ramon, Hulk Hogan, The Bushwhackers, and much more!

[Guest killacam2006]

Hey man ive recently started reading your diary and im really enjoying i like the way the shows are just summed, because i don't really like to read detailed word for word diaries, i wish more diaries were more like this dude, keep it up!! :thumbsup:

[Hewey]

Caught up with the latest show and it was good, HBK's injury seems like a way to turn him face which I don't really mind all though I think Michaels at the time was just reaching his peak as a heel. Maybe it's a swerve? Savage feuding with CCW seems all right too. I always liked Charles for some reason. Seems like Yokozuna was only given the belt so Hogan could take it off of him, I don't really see Yokozuna holding it longer than KOTR or possible SummerSlam.

Keep up the awesome work Ryan

[Guest ryan_the_canuck]

WWF Monday Night Raw Report

April 9, 1993

Welcome...to MONDAY...NIGHT...RAW!!!!! Y'know, they should really come up with an acronym for RAW. 'Really Awesome Wrestling'? 'Raggedy Ann's Wife'? 'Rent A Wendys'?

If you ever go down to Cobb County, Gerogia, you'll run into the Big Bossman. Unless, of course, he's busy wrestling Lex Luger in the MNR curtain-jerker. Ultimately, this match was what you'd expect of the two, save the disappointment of Bossman's first match since his big WrestleMania victory making him look like a jobber. Seriously. This match is just used to show off Luger's strength, as he picks the Bossman up and gives him a powerslam, making the cover for the win at 4:35.

GGGGGGOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!! The Undertaker's hallowed percussive instrument hits, and he (w/Paul Bearer) makes his way to the ring. With the fog obstructing our view, we have trouble seeing what has transpired...but Taker and Bearer eventually walk to the back the same way they walked in. The fog disappears, and Lex Luger is nowhere to be found. Our commentators immediately debate whether he managed to escape, or whether Taker abducted him.

The Bushwhackers enter the ring to a surprisingly large pop...not like they'll get pushed or anything. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the Aussies' first appearance on MNR? Opposition for the Bushwhackers is provided tonight by Ted DiBiase and IRS, collectively known as Money Inc. The former tag champ basically have their way with the fun-lovers from down under...or at least DiBiase is...IRS is roughly on their level, by the looks of things. DiBiase slaps Luke with a Million Dollar Dream, and Luke submits at 6:17! After the match, DiBiase orders the production crew to show a replay of the win, and appears to point something out to IRS.

CUT BACKSTAGE! There's Gene Okerlund! And 'Chilling' Charles Wright! Okerlund asks Wright, flat-out, about his injuring Shawn Michaels last week. The chilling one has heard the news, just like the rest of us...(actually, Chuck, we haven't)...and he is deeply concerned, and extremely regretful. And, just for the record, Its. Not. His. Fault. But Wright has another surprise in store - he's challenging Randy Savage to a match at In Your House II, and this time, making sure there won't be any interference, because he wants to feel the sweet feeling of proving that you are better than the Macho Man. Kinda corny, no?

Gorilla Monsoon now introduces us to a VIDEO PACKAGE of Bret Hart's promo last week, and the announcement of Hart vs. Ric Flair at In Your House II!

The Brooklyn Brawler comes out to the ring...Hulk Hogan gets a HEE-YOOGE pop as he comes out to squash Lombardi. And he does. Squash him, that is. It took all of 2:37 before Hogan hit his legdrop and got the win. Post-match, Hogan inmmediately took the mic, and issued a challenge to Yokozuna. Wave bye-bye to Yokozuna's title reign, everyone.

We go now to a CLOSE-UP OF THE ANNOUNCERS' DESK, where Vince McMahon informs us that, as a result of the injury he suffered in his match last week against Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels has suffered a concussion, and is injured for an indefinite amount of time. Unfortunately, that is not a work, although it's being portrayed as one. He also announces that the Steiner Brothers will take on Money Inc. at IYHII.

Time now for a non-title bout between the Nasty Boys and the Natural Disasters. Theoretically, unless the Disasters win clean here, this is our Tag Title matchup at IYHII. Can't say I'm thrilled. Then again, these four put on a solid match, considering their liminations. Knobbs & Saggs don't try to sell the champs as unmovable giants, which works surprisingly well. At the 7:06 mark, Knobbs hits Earthquake with a schoolboy out of nowhere, and gets the cover! Earthquake gets up, and he is P-I-SSED...the Nasty Boys scamper out of there before anything can happen to them.

Yet another video package - in case it wasn't confusing enough the first time around, we see the whole Tatanka/Jake Roberts/Jack Tunney segment from last week yet again. We also learn that Tatanka will be in action next week on MNR.

CUT BACKSTAGE! Hulk Hogan is WALKING! Isn't this how Jake Roberts attacked him last month? This time, he gets Mr. Fuji, who slips him a note, written in Japanese, and says 'Your challenge is accepted, Hulk-san.' Fuji then departs, leaving Hogan to wonder what the note says.

WrestleMania rematch time, as Mr. Perfect takes on Ric Flair! With only five minutes left in the show, you know something screwy's gonna happen here. And it does, as Bret Hart comes out to join Vince & Gorilla at the commentary desk. Bret talks about his new direction, which is to show all the Ric Flairs of the world that Bret Hart is not a one-trick pony. Flair can somehow hear this, and leaves the ring to attack Bret. Mr. Perfect wins by count-out, but Flair doesn't care about losing the match...him and Hart get away from the announcers' desk, so Mr. Pefect decides to threaten Flair as well...but Razor Ramon comes out of nowhere and floors Perfect with a brass knuckle-aided punch! Razor then uses the knucks on Hart, and he and Ric Flair pose for the crowd as the show goes off the air!

THE GOOD: The finish had a big-league feel to it...the Taker/Luger storyline continues to be more and more intriguing...Charles Wright is actually getting a push.

THE BAD: The Nasty Boys are apparently the number one contenders for the tag straps.

THE UGLY: I'm fully expecting to see Hulk Hogan show up next week and proclaim that he knows all of the world's languages.

GRADE: A-

[EddieRuckus]

Grammar/Spelling-Since this is a magazine report style write-up style, I'll give you some slack for any mistakes you may have..

9 Points

Storyline/Angles/Promos/Booking-Good Booking and planning with the angles, really invokes the reader in the diary. However there aren't that many written out promos which hurts your score a bit.

16 points

Match Writing-First time I've ever read magazine style results in a diary, and you know what? I like 'em. Not too short or not too long and you seem to do it wonderfully.

14 points

Layout/Color Use-Really nice layout, and some of the font has a magazine type feel to it as it was back in 93.

5 points

Backstory/Diary Updates-Awesome backstory, one of the best I've read so far. It was really interesting how you commented on the time machines for retro diaries. The diary updates/magazine rumor articles are great and add a lot of indepth thought to the magazine and seem like something that an actual magazine would do. One bit of advice: don't buy time machines from black markets, they never go forward in time :thumbsup:

10 points

Total Score-54/60 points(or a 90% which translates into a A- letter Grade)

What is the deal with all of these good diaries? I might have to make the club 55 and above if my signature starts filling up...

[Hewey]

Good MRN, Razor/Perfect could be an awesome feud. Both men will no doubt put on a good match. IYH looks solid but I don't know about Yokozuna dropping the title just yet, Maybe at KOTR? I think Hogan/Yoko will end in a DQ or something at IYH and you'll drag it out until KOTR. Looking forward to the next update