Monday Night Raw Review - January 11, 1993

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Yokozuna def. Koko B. Ware

If you're expecting anything more than a glorified squash match, you will be sorely disappointed. That said, that was exactly what this match should have been. Koko B. Ware, albeit entertaining at times, was the epitome of what an enhancement talent should be given he was over with the audience (to an extent) and fans cared when he lost. The crowd was in awe whenever he was hit by Yokozona's power moves and it was a dominant victory for the future WWE Champion, so the match was successful in that respect.


The Steiner Brothers def. The Executioners

Similar to Yokozuna, The Steiner Brothers were riding a wave of momentum going into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view later that month where they would face The Beverly Brothers, who weren't seen or heard from on this show. The Steiner Brothers scored all their signature maneuvers and the crowd ate it all up. There wasn't much more to the match than that, but it was fun while it lasted.

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Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels def. Max Moon

Involving a gimmick as stupid as Max Moon, I didn't think I would like this match as much as I did. It didn't blow me away or anything, but it was a relatively solid match and they worked well together. Then again, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the match quality considering Michaels was one of the participants. Putting the title on the line on the debut episode was a nice treat and it built to Michaels defending against Marty Jannetty at the Royal Rumble.


The Undertaker def. Damien Demento

How incredible is it that Undertaker is the only wrestler from the first episode of Raw that is still with the company today? He and Shawn Michaels were neck-and-neck before he retired in 2010. Given his gimmick, you'd think Demento would have been the perfect opponent for Undertaker, but the match wasn't anything special. WWE would put him up against far worse wrestlers in the years that followed. Thankfully, this was kept short and sweet.


Crush Chased Doink the Clown

Doink had been making random appearances all night long, so I was glad they led to something later in the night instead of being forgotten about. However, if it was only going to last a minute, why bother doing it at all? And why have it close the show instead of Undertaker's win over Damien Demento? Of course, it wasn't a terrible decision, just a mind-boggling one at that.


Overall Show

This show is worth watching alone for the fact that it's the first episode in Raw history and it has certainly stood the test of time. Granted, none of the four matches were particularly memorable, and the closing segment was strange, but the Intercontinental title match is the closest thing you'll get to a competitive contest. The other bouts, while not exceptional, at least hyped matches for the Royal Rumble. Raw was only an hour long two decades ago (those were the days), so it's an enjoyable episode and fun to watch from a historical standpoint.