WWE Monday Night Raw January 11, 1993 The First Ever Raw

WWF Monday Night Raw 

I recently went back to watch the first ever Nitro, and decided to go back and see the first ever Raw. Well, I went back to watch the first ever Monday Night Raw for review. Bobby Heenan wasn’t allowed into the arena, and that was the running gag through the night. Other than that, there was a lot of wrestling packed into a small arena. It was a very small location, and it was definitely fascinating to look at. Here are the results.

WWE Monday Night Raw January 11, 1993 Results

Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated Koko B. Ware
The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated The Executioners
Shawn Michaels (c) defeated Max Moon to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship
The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated Damien Demento

WWE Monday Night Raw January 11, 1993 Review

The night had 4 matches airing live, and it was interesting to see. This was a short show, with a lot of momentum. At one point Razor Ramon cut a promo. Other than that, we had some quick matches, and a surprising appearance by Konnan.

Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated Koko B. Ware

Yokozuna squashed Koko, no pun intended. He was on his way out at this point, so he wasn’t exactly getting a push, that’s for certain.

The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated The Executioners

The Steiners beat the bricks of two jobbers, and that’s about it. There’s not much to say about this match.

Shawn Michaels (c) defeated Max Moon to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship

In a surprisingly good match, Shawn Michaels wrestled Max Moon. This was Konnan, of course. Max Moon put on a nice show, and it was interesting to see a young Shawn Michaels put up with Konnan’s flexibility and outstanding aerial style. Michaels would get the win, but it wasn’t an easy match, with Konnan’s abilities looking a bit better than Shawn at the time. The two would not meet again in the same fashion, since Konnan would go to WCW.

The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated Damien Demento

A throwaway match, with The Undertaker’s no selling and Demento looking hilarious. This was an era of characters, and it showed. This wasn’t great, but it was watchable, at least.

There you have it, a quick rundown of the first ever Monday Night Raw. Was it better than Nitro? I don’t know, maybe? Check out my review of the first ever Monday Night Nitro Here for that information.

WCW Souled Out 1997 Results and Review

Poster From The Event - Pretty Cool For 1997, Honestly

In 1997 big changes hit the professional wrestling world. In the WWF at the time, Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin were getting ready to switch places. The Undertaker, Vader, and several others were caught up in the main event scene, with Wrestlemania 13 going to be a big one that was set up by a lot of frustrating booking. Meanwhile, WCW had been booming with the introduction of the New World Order. The NWO was so big, that they decided to throw Souled Out in January, and the first edition was all New World Order themed. Everything from the mat, the lighting, to the structure of the matches were in favor of the NWO and it was great in my view.

This event took place on January 25, 1997 and it had an attendance of 5,120. If you look at the PPV, the venue was absolutely packed, and it was a very cool building to have a show. The crowd went nuts from time to time, but it wasn’t as hectic as some other events that would come through in 1997 from WCW< but it still had a good crowd. With that in mind, let’s consider the matches, and a review of this big event.

WCW Souled Out 1997 Results

Masahiro Chono defeated Chris Jericho
Big Bubba Rogers defeated Hugh Morris in a Mexican Death Match
Jeff Jarrett defeated Mr. Wallstreet
Buff Bagwell defeated Scotty Riggs
Scott Norton defeated Diamond Dallas Page via Countout
The Steiner Brothers defeated The Outsiders for the WCW World Tag Team Championship
Eddie Guerrero defeated Syxx in a ladder match for the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship
Hollywood Hogan fought The Giant to a no contest in the WCW World Championship Match

WCW Souled Out 1997 Review

Masahiro Chono defeated Chris Jericho

At the time, WCW had a partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling. They had talent come through to face off against their homegrown talent, and this was one of those matches. Jericho was fighting against Chono’s strong style, and it was definitely stiff. There were a few moments where you could tell Jericho and Chono had a language gap, and you could feel the pain that Jericho was getting into for this one. A decent opener, but Chono got the big win for NWO Japan.

Big Bubba Rogers defeated Hugh Morris in a Mexican Death Match

I’m always surprised by how athletic Big Bubba was. Not only that, Hugh Morris had one of the best moonsaults in the industry. This match was fun, under 10 minutes, hard hitting, fast moving, and interesting to watch, but nothing too grand on the line.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Mr. Wallstreet

This was a boring point in the night. The fans didn’t care for either one of these guys, and honestly, neither did I. A standard wrestling match, with nothing too grand to report here.

Buff Bagwell defeated Scotty Riggs

This is a significant match because Riggs and Bagwell were separating. The American Males were no longer and the two were feuding as a result. Buff joined the New World Order and Riggs wouldn’t get much of a push until he got involved in a feud with Raven towards November of 1997. Riggs would be a glorified jobber on WCW television until then. Oh, this match was cool, hard hitting, and back and forth, but in the end Riggs would lose to Buff.

Scott Norton defeated Diamond Dallas Page via Countout

Norton was a beast. This match was hard hitting, and DDP did his best to entertain the crowd, but Norton wasn’t selling nearly as much, and well, he would eventually win.

A Note On The Miss NWO Contest

Throughout the show there was a showcase of middle-age women that were going to be Miss New World Order. This was lame, and everyone involved said it was lame in shoot interviews. This was stupid, and really broke up the flow of the show.

The Steiner Brothers defeated The Outsiders for the WCW World Tag Team Championship

The Steiner Brothers were getting a bit older here, and it showed. Scott was going to turn into Big Poppa Pump soon, but before that, the Steiners put on a nice match with The Outsiders. Hall and Nash were not really working hard in their matches in WCW, at least not every single time they tagged together. This was evident in this match. There were a few good spots, but overall, the Steiners had little to work with out of Hall and Nash. That didn’t matter, the match got the crowd going, and the title change was a great option, even if it was only one night.

Eddie Guerrero defeated Syxx in a ladder match for the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship

Guerrero and Syxx put on a showcase of some serious talent. This is a five star classic if you ask me. I know it’s not as high flying as some of the more recent ladder matches, but for 1997, this was an incredible match, with a lot of pain involved. Syxx’s heel kick from the top of the ladder is worth the price of admission alone. Guerrero taking bumps like crazy was interesting, and overall this match was absolutely a show stopper.

Hollywood Hogan fought The Giant to a no contest in the WCW World Championship Match

Hogan fought the Giant to a really cool match. I suggest watching all of the matches that The Giant had in WCW because he works very differently than when he was in WWE. Remember, the WWE forced him to not only change his style, but also retrain in OVW after his stellar year in 2000. Whatever the case may be, this match was entertaining, and the crowd ate it up. The end came when the ref, aligned with the NWO, wouldn’t count the 3 and Giant got mad and beat him up. The whole New World Order would come out and get choke slammed one by one for their trouble, and this match just ended in a no contest. The crowd kept chanting for Sting, and he never showed up. The New World Order would get the last laugh as they beat up the Giant, pulled his pants down and wrote NWO across his back. No joke.

Final Thoughts on NWO Souled Out 1997

This was a cool match, I love it. I think that above all else, the ladder match was incredible. Syxx gets a lot of crap for who he was and is, but if you watch this match, you’ll realize that the guy could really wrestle. He put on a show with Guerrero, and the two really did a fine job with the ladder. Not a lot of spots like today, but more psychology and movement, great stuff.

The VHS copies of this event are rare, so you’ll have to look into picking it up on the WWE network, sorry folks.

WCW WrestleWar 1992: WarGames Results and Review

The year was 1992 and the WCW promotion wasn’t as big as the WWF at the time. If you weren’t watching WWF, then you probably weren’t a wrestling fan in most areas. But if you loved wrestling, and you knew about WCW, you were mega hyped for this event. WrestleWar 1992 is one of the most coveted of VHS tapes and it has one of the best matches of all time. The show had a lot of matches, but the main focal point was the main event featuring Sting’s Squadron vs. The Dangerous Alliance which was managed by Paul E. Dangerously and Madusa. Yes, those two!

Now, in regards to the show, it took place on May 17, 1992, and there were 6,000 people jam packed into the arena. The crowd went absolutely nuts for some of this, and for others, not so much. The commentary team was Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura, two of the best. With that in mind, let’s see how this went down and my review.

WCW WrestleWar 1992: WarGames Results

The Freebirds defeated Terry Taylor and Greg Valentine for the WCW United States Tag Team Championship
Johnny B. Badd defeated Tracy Smothers
Scotty Flamingo defeated Buff Bagwell
Ron Simmons defeated Mr. Hughes
The Super Invader defeated Todd Champion
Big Josh defeated Richard Morton
Brian Pillman defeated Tom Zenk in the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship
The Steiner Brothers defeated Tatsumi Fujinami and Takayuki Iizuka
Sting’s Squadron defeated The Dangerous Alliance

WCW WrestleWar 1992: WarGames Review

The Freebirds defeated Terry Taylor and Greg Valentine for the WCW United States Tag Team Championship

If you haven’t seen a Freebirds match, you have to watch this match. This was a fast paced, back and forth match with the Freebirds getting so much praise that it’s amazing. You’ll hear the crowd go nuts for everything the Freebirds did. Not only that, Taylor and Valentine were great at putting the boots to the good guys here. The champs lose this one, and you get a huge uproar of praise.

Johnny B. Badd defeated Tracy Smothers

Tracy Smothers is so fast here, it’s impressive. For such a bigger guy, he was running through Badd at times. Badd was able to reverse things and fight, but it was Smothers that really shined in this match.

Scotty Flamingo defeated Buff Bagwell

I don’t like watching Raven as Scotty Flamingo, but hey, we were all young once. Buff Bagwell wasn’t called Buff here, and he lost as the guys mentioned he was still somewhat new in WCW.

Ron Simmons defeated Mr. Hughes

An ok big man’s match, nothing too great here, but hey it works.

The Super Invader defeated Todd Champion

Did you know that the Super Invader was Hercules from WWF? He squashed Todd Champion in this match, so that was that.

Big Josh defeated Richard Morton

A throwaway match. Big Josh wins another squash.

Brian Pillman defeated Tom Zenk in the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship

Zenk is an underrated wrestler. Brian Pillman was able to knock him out after some back and forth, but this match was a testament to the power that WCW had in their early 1990s roster. This was a serious fight, and something that is well worth exploring. Pillman is a gem, and he can really make you cheer for him. Zenk is surprisingly agile, and I wonder why he never made a splash in WWE.

The Steiner Brothers defeated Tatsumi Fujinami and Takayuki Iizuka

A great match with the young Steiners. In their prime, they could go, and it showed. The Japanese stars were fighting strong style, and put the boots to the Steiners, but they would not be denied the victory. If you love tag team wrestling, this is one hell of a match to watch. It was hard hitting, fast paced, and just impressive. The Steiners were so good in their youth.

Sting’s Squadron defeated The Dangerous Alliance

Stings Squadron consisted of: Sting, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and Nikita Koloff

And the Dangerous Alliance consisted of:

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko (with Paul E. Dangerously and Madusa

This was a brutal match. There is nothing else to really say about it, it was brutal. Every guy in this match took a beating. Lots of power moves, lots of blood, great back and forth. The Alliance had the upper hand at one point, but it was one false move that cost them in the end. The Heel team here were monsters, these were grade A monsters, and Stings guys had a bit of infighting before they got into the cage and really tore it up. You owe it to yourself to see this match. It’s only 24 minutes long, but what you get is an insane pro wrestling match that the WWF couldn’t top in 1992, no matter what anyone says. This is a war, loved every minute of it.

The Bottom Line on WCW WrestleWar 1992

Don’t get this on the network if you can help it. You can watch it on there, but the unedited VHS is better. Overall, this was a great example of just how good WCW was in the early 1990s. You’re going to be absolutely thrilled with some of these matches, even though there was a bit of filler here and there. That main event though, wow, what a match. 5 stars from everyone that’s seen it.

You can get this match and more with the WCW War Games BLU RAY Here.

WCW Fall Brawl 97 Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

A sellout crowd in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for WCW’s Fall Brawl on September 14, 1997. This was an instant classic, even if you haven’t seen it, the card looked amazing, which is why I had to watch this play out. I didn’t see it live, but had the VHS tape. I revisit this today to see whether or not it still worth owning, and whether or not the matches are fun to watch. So here we go, a breakdown of WCW Fall Brawl 97.

WCW Fall Brawl 1997 Results and Review

Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Jericho for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship

These are two wrestlers in their prime, and opening up the card. This went roughly 17 minutes, and it was a fun back and forth contest. These two went back and forth, but it was Guerrero that would pick up the win, and Jericho left better off for it. This was a competitive, fast paced, great match that makes this a great PPV to start with, but that doesn’t mean greatness throughout.

The Steiner Brothers defeated Harlem Heat

This was a hard hitting tag match, and it was fun to watch, but the Steiners looked tired after a while. Harlem Heat worked stiff, only to get the loss. Lots of clotheslines here, lots of big bumps, and even a Harlem Hangover attempt. It was fun, but nothing grand.

Alex Wright defeated Ultimo Dragon

This surprised me. Ultimo is an incredible talent, but Wright won this match after around 18 minutes, and it was some of Wright’s best work. Ultimo Dragon was absolutely great, and his offense is second to none. What you should look for in this match is the stiff kicks of Dragon. He doesn’t slap his leg to make a noise, he literally kicks you as hard as he can and it resonates on camera. You can hear it, and Wright’s chest was turning red. Wright wins after a hard battle, and it was fun.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Dean Malenko

I never liked Jeff Jarrett, and Dean Malenko is no captain charisma. This match was not grand, but there were a few moments in which the crowd made this worth watching. It was a bit slow, but it’s to be expected.

Wrath and Mortis defeated The Faces of Fear

A hard hitting big man match. Meng and The Barbarian were absolutely stiff here, dropping people on their heads, and just throwing the young guys around. They’d lose this one, but wow, what a hard hitting bout.

The Giant defeated Scott Norton

Norton was buried here, simple as that. The Giant wins.

Lex Luger and DDP defeated Scott Hall and Randy Savage (NO DQ)

This was mostly DDP fighting Hall and Savage, but Luger got the hot tag and racked everyone for the win. Not a bad match, lots of action, and Savage worked hard and heavy on DDP which set up their match for Halloween Havoc, in a sudden death match.

The NWO defeated The Four Horseman

While the horseman weren’t my favorite in this incarnation, they did manage to beat the snot out of Nash, Bagwell, Syxx, and Konnan. However, it was Curt Hennig that ran in to betray the Horseman with hadncuffs that made this. He tied up the Horseman than slammed a gate into Ric Flair’s head to end the night and the match. What a war. No blood, but wow, lots of stiff shots on Syxx, and Bagwell.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10

While there was some good wrestling, it wasn’t grand. The card fell flat in the middle before picking up in the end. There was no major fall out after this, and seeing Flair get a door slammed into his head is a tough watch. Other than that, this was above average, but only for 3 matches tops.

Pick up Bill Apter's Book of Wrestling Stories Here

Today's reviews are brought to you in part by "Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken!" by Bill Apter. Stories from pro-wrestling past, present, and future as only Apter can tell them. It's available by clicking here. 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1989 Results and Review Better Wrestling VHS Series

In an effort to go back and watch more and more wrestling, I have decided to review older VHS tapes. As you may or may not know, at the height of my tape collecting, I had 1400 wrestling videos. I had amassed a huge collection before getting married and selling it all off. Now with the network, you can relive the action. As such, here we go, a review of the 1989 classic Halloween Havoc from the Philadelphia Civic Center in Pennsylvania. Before a crowd of roughly 7,000, this was one hell of a night for wrestling, and here are my thoughts.

Halloween Havoc 1989 (October 28, 1989)

Tom Zenk defeated Mike Rotunda

You may know Mike Rotunda as IRS in the WWF but here he was part of the Varsity Club. As for Zenk, he’s known as Z-Man and he didn’t really get to far in WWE as far as I know. However, he has some serious talent. He reminds of Rick Martel, and well he was part of the Pan Am connection. This was a 13 minute, finesse wrestling match, with some good spots overall, and classic old school wrestling action.

The Samoan Swat Team defeated The Midnight Express and Dr. Death Steve Williams

This wasn’t half bad. It was a match that was fast paced, hard hitting, and featured a lot of crowd interaction. The crowd was going insane for everything that each team did, especially when Jim Cornette got involved.

Tommy Rich defeated The Cuban Assassin

Not a good match. Rich was looking old. Cuban Assassin was on his way out, so this must’ve been the bathroom break match.

The Fabulous Freebirds defeated The Dynamic Dudes (Tag Team Title Match)

Holy crap, Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas coming out with skateboards and neon gear! This was hilarious to see, and a bad idea. However, the match featured The Fabulous Freebirds, and they were the champions in this match. Michael Hayes came out without the tag title, and Garvin had one around his waist. That seemed odd to me. Overall, the match wasn’t half bad, and the Freebirds were way over with the crowd, and of course after around 11 minutes, they won this one.

Doom defeated The Steiner Brothers

Holy crap, The Steiner Brothers were over, and they were so fast in ring. Doom is Butch Reed and Ron Simmons and they had a hard time keeping up with the Steiners. Also, note, Nancy Benoit was the manager of Doom. Whatever the case is, the Steiners lost this one after getting distracted. However, they put the boots to Doom, and Scott Steiner was really impressive in this one. Holy crap, the dude can move, and the Frankensteiner is a thing of beauty.

Lex Luger defeated Brian Pillman (United States Championship)

Lex Luger and Pillman tore the house down in my opinion. This match was just under 17 minutes, and the two put on a classic. Pillman was flying around, but Luger was doing power moves and trying to ground and pound his way through this one. Eventually Pillman missed from the top rope, and Luger capitalized. A great overall match in my view.

The Road Warriors defeated The Skyscrapers

This was another hard hitting tag team match. Holy crap was it hard hitting. The Road Warriors weren’t selling as much, and you could tell. It was very noticeable that Sid Vicious was NOT as tough as Hawk or Animal. The match went by nicely, but it was The Road Warriors that got the win with a DQ finish. A young Teddy Long was here, so that was interesting.

Ric Flair and Sting defeated The Great Muta and Terry Funk in a Thunderdome Cage Match with Bruno Sammartino as special guest referee

And away we go, the main event was an insane wrestling match, that was very strange. The Thunderdome cage match was supposed to have an electrified top. I didn’t really see that come into play much. However, this match turned into a brawl fast, and you will absolutely be surprised how ripped Terry Funk was in 1989. Furthermore, Sting and Flair teaming without Flair turning on him. Muta was undefeated at this point, and the four guys in this match absolutely fought a hard hitting brawling cage match. Not a lot of blood or anything, but a lot of just straight chops, suplexes and Sting flying off the top rope a lot. Good overall main event, but a little old school for many tastes.

Halloween Havoc 1989 Overall rating: 8 out 10

The best part of this show was the U.S. Title match, alongside the Steiners and the Samoan Swat Team. This type of wrestling was far and away better than the WWF product at the time, that’s for sure. I had a blast with this one, and the crowd reactions are the best with this. The crowd was distinctly involved with all the matches, and the main event had them going absolutely insane.

I recommend buying Halloween Havoc 1989 on VHS, because it's unedited. If you see it on the network, the music, and some of the signs, and broadcast has been edited for time, and WWE's only standards! Click here to get the UNEDITED version. 

WCW Sting & The Great Muta vs The Steiner Brothers 1992 Japan Video

Here is something for you guys, on a Saturday! If you're a big fan of Sting now, you should really check this classic match up from 1992. It is The Great Muta teaming up with Sting to fight off The Steiner Brothers in Japan! This match is insane, you don't see this kind of great wrestling in the wwe right now.

I spent a lot of time tracking down these videos when I was younger. Before youtube you had to really work to get these on vhs, but now you can see them online and via dvd from various sorts of places.

So without further ado, here it is:

Sting & The Great Muta vs. Scott & Rick Steiner "The Steiner Brothers" from 1992
Live in Japan
World Championship Wrestling



and for the conclusion, here is Part 2:



So there you have it, a little piece of Wrestling history. Stick around this site for another classic clip tomorrow, and reviews of WWE Monday Night Raw, ECW on Sci Fi, Tna Impact, and of course Friday Night Smackdown!

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