Sage Cortez
I’m very eagerly anticipating watching these WWF matches and angles. I mean, it’s the lead in to SummerSlam. The LEX EXPRESS is going strong. The programming is good (to me anyway). WWF wise there’s very little to complain about. They had some great workers doing good things. Sure, there was some crap and I’d never deny that, but it’s easy to not pay attention to it when it comes on during these Raw episodes. To the matches!
– Taped to air July 25th, 1993, on Wrestling Challenge, from the Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland
Jerry Lawler vs. Owen Hart
Pre-Match Thoughts: This right here is the kind of thing I do these reviews for. Reviews equal motivation to seek things out, which leads to watching these kinds of matches. The more they had Lawler around in the WWF, the better. Some people will certainly disagree with that. Lawler thought he would beat Owen up to teach his brother some respect. It’s somewhat strange to me that the High Energy theme stuck with Owen for all those years. Lawler told Owen that he could save himself some embarrassment and leave after kissing his feet, but babyfaces never do that.
Match Review: Owen slaps Lawler in response to that proposal, so here we go. Owen gets a Burger King chant going, which the crowd is happy to oblige. I want some BK onion rings now. Lawler hits Owen with a right hand, but Owen backdrops him which causes Lawler to tuck tail and run away. Lawler gets back in the ring, but Owen works him over again. Lawler misses some punches, so Owen dropkicks him, causing Lawler to hug the referee. That’s some old school heeling. Lawler reaches in his tights for a foreign object, but decides to keep it there. Owen rams Lawler into the buckle a few times, so Lawler goes for the object and hits Owen with it to gain control. Lawler drops a fist on Owen, then chokes him with the ropes for a while. Owen hits Lawler with a European uppercut, then a spinning wheel kick follows that. Owen backdrops Lawler again, then heads up top for a missile dropkick that gets 2. Owen misses a charge to the corner, so Lawler PILEDRIVES him and pins him for the victory at 6:33. Lawler then grabs a microphone and cuts a promo, saying that he hopes Bret is watching this match. After that, Lawler decided to stomp a mudhole in Owen and walk it dry.
My Thoughts: Lawler did a great job in that match, all he did was some punches and a piledriver to pick up the win. Good way to keep him strong heading into SummerSlam. They also did a series in Memphis that featured some really good promos by Owen, Bret, and Lawler. I should watch that one of these days. **1/4 despite what some may consider to be a lack of hard work in this match. It’s not always about that.
– Taped to air July 26th, 1993, on Monday Night Raw, from the Manhattan Center in New York City, New York
What a strange start to an episode. They had Doink talk about Randy Savage interfering in his match a few weeks before this. Apparently Doink may have a surprise for Savage. Evil Doink, with the yellow teeth and all that…was a perfect look. Must be said.
Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) vs. Bret Hart
Pre-Match Thoughts: Glad to see a rematch of their KOTR bout. Maybe it will be just as good. Maybe better. Maybe not. Apparently Stu and Helen Hart were in the crowd. There’s a lot of stuff on these episodes that is catered to my interests and right up my alley. This is only the second Raw match Bret had worked to this point. That’s hard to believe.
Match Review: Bret tries to start things off quickly, but Bam Bam goes straight to the eyes and knocks Bret down to the canvas. Bigelow shoulders Bret down too, but Bret ducks under a big right hand and takes Bigelow out of the ring with a clothesline. Bret threatens to go after Luna too, but in the end he follows Bigelow out to the floor and brings Bigelow back in the ring. Bret goes up top and flies down with a THESZ PRESS, but Bret apparently hurts himself. Bigelow goes to work on that left knee, and it’s now time for a commercial.
Back from that, Bigelow had given Vachon a kiss. Bret was on the floor selling his knee, but he rolls back in there only for Bigelow to take him down with a back suplex that gets 2. Bigelow then throws Bret hard into the corner, and follows it up by taunting him. That’s cold. Bret tries to come back with a cross body, but Bigelow catches him for a powerslam that gets 2. Bigelow follows up with a diving headbutt, then another, but a third misses. Bret picks Bigelow up and back suplexes him, then hits him with a dropkick. Bret follows that with an elbow smash, and it gets 2. Bigelow hits Bret with a dropkick of his own, then it’s time for a chinlock. Another commercial. Great.
Still in the chinlock as we come back from that, and given this was taped it was also certainly edited. Bigelow rakes Bret’s eyes to keep him from gaining any control, but Bigelow misses a dropkick and Bret capitalizes with a backdrop. Bret hits Bigelow with another elbow and covers for 2, then rakes Bigelow’s eyes on the ropes. Payback is what that is. Bret drops Bigelow with a Russian leg sweep, and that gets a 2 count. Bret follows up with a flying clothesline from the second rope, and it gets 2. Bret tries a sleeper, but Bigelow rams him head-first into the buckle to put a stop to it. Bret takes Bigelow out with a bulldog not long after that, then goes for the SHARPSHOOTER only for Jerry Lawler to have commandeered a microphone. He’s in the balcony with Bret’s parents! Bret tries to get in the crowd to get Lawler out of there, but Bigelow attacks him and stops it. Lawler’s comments are really bad, by the way. Bigelow rams Bret into the post, right as Lawler calls Stu a rapist. In so many words. Bigelow continues to beat Bret up in the ring, then covers him for 2. I think the crowd thought it was over. Stu couldn’t talk loud enough to make this work. Bigelow slams Bret and lands on him with a senton, then sets him up in the corner for something. Down he comes, and he misses a rolling senton splash. That was so physically impressive and the crowd wasn’t really paying attention. Bret goes and hits Bigelow with some clotheslines to knock him down, yet another elbow smash, and covers for 2 again. Bret drops Bigelow with a DDT, then gets distracted again and I guess it’s time to really leave. He goes into the crowd and gets counted out after 17 minutes or so.
Lawler keeps going and going even though Bret is headed his way, but he gets out of there just in time.
My Thoughts: This wasn’t as good as the King of the Ring match, but it was quite good even though Lawler’s running commentary took me out of the whole thing. Still, lots of hard work here and it took up nearly half the episode. I’m glad that Bret was unable to win the match, because it wouldn’t have made any sense. WWE lately has fallen into traps where they’ve had their top guys win matches there’s no way they should win. ***1/4. Can’t fault the quality of the work.
Looks like three squashes and possibly an interview to close things out. First up was Mr. Hughes. He wrecked his jabroni with a Bossman Slam.
The Smoking Gunns were next. I don’t really associate them with this era for some reason, probably because they didn’t often make PPV. The camera angles betrayed the fact that the commentary team wasn’t even out there to watch the match. The Gunns could and probably should have been pushed harder given their athleticism, but they were probably deemed to not be a draw.
Oh boy, it’s a LUDVIG BORGA VIGNETTE. BIG MAN FROM FINLAND. Why were we supposed to hate someone from Finland?
Of course, immediately after that, an interview with Lex Luger was aired. Guess there may be a series of interviews. The Lex Express stuff was pretty far overboard.
Lastly, we got to see Doink the Clown. He started staring at Randy Savage during the match, and that situation escalated when it was over. Doink got hold of a microphone and called Savage out. Called him the macho boy. Doink got in his face, and talked about Savage interfering in his match with Marty Jannetty. Doink then challenged him to a match, which Savage accepted for the next week! THERE’S THREE DOINKS NOW!
– July 27th, 1993, from the Civic Center in Plattsburgh, New York
Shawn Michaels (WWF Intercontinental Champion) and Diesel vs. Razor Ramon and Marty Jannetty
Pre-Match Thoughts: I guess they’re going with the Razor Ramon turn already. This sounded too unique to pass up, even though it was in front of an extremely small crowd. Somewhat hard to believe that the WWF was really going to places like this to tape television. I wonder exactly how much Diesel does here and whether or not he looks more polished as a worker. I assume there’s no way he looked more polished at this point. Stan Lane and Ted DiBiase on commentary is…not right.
Match Review: Marty and Michaels start this one, and Marty has a toothpick. Will he use it the way Razor does? Doesn’t look like it. He arm drags Michaels twice, then Michaels claims his hair was pulled. Diesel makes a tag in, and I assume Marty won’t arm drag him. Diesel shoves Marty back to the corner, so the fans want to see Razor in there with the big guy. Instead, Marty gives it another try and gets punched in the face. Diesel grabs Marty by the hair and tosses him across the ring, so now it’s Razor time. THE OUTSIDERS COLLIDE. They lock up, and Diesel hits Razor with some knees and elbows. Michaels tags back in and heads up top, but Razor catches him for a bear hug and tags in Marty for a clothesline from the top that gets 2. Marty takes Michaels down with a headlock, and gets some 2 counts off it as well. Michaels gets out and tries a bodyslam, but it doesn’t work and Diesel has to grab Marty’s hair to stop him from doing anything. Diesel tags in for a gutwrench suplex, then back out he goes so Michaels can beat up his former tag partner. Diesel tags back in and gives Marty a backbreaker, which turns into a submission attempt. He lets go, then grabs Marty for a bear hug. Marty fights out of it, but Diesel hops over him and boots him in the face. Michaels tags in again, and Marty catches him with a facebuster only to get cut off from the tag. Diesel misses a charge to the corner and tags out, then Michaels misses a charge and gets BULLDOGGED from the second rope.
Razor finally makes the tag in and cleans house, taking Michaels out with his fallaway slam. He runs over and pops Diesel, then clotheslines him over the top. It’s 2 on 1 against Michaels, so after a superkick from Marty, Razor drops Michaels with a CHOKESLAM for the victory at 11:30!
My Thoughts: To say that was a big reaction from the crowd would be an understatement. I actually can’t remember a throwaway tag team match getting a reaction like that in the WWF at any point prior to this. Pretty cool. Obviously, Razor Ramon would be over as shit as a babyface. Sky was the limit in my opinion. Not a bad match either, they made Diesel look good. **1/2.
– Taped to air July 31st, 1993, on Superstars, from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania
Luna Vachon vs. Sensational Sherri
About time they aired a match between these two on television. Took long enough. Bam Bam walks out with Luna, and says that Luna is hurt. Which makes him angry, of course. Sherri slaps him, which gives Luna a chance to start choking Sherri after Bam Bam corners her. Tatanka runs down to ringside to deal with Bigelow, knocking him out of the ring. Tatanka finally saves Sherri, and we don’t see her again in this country for quite a few months. Crappy way for her to go. That obviously wasn’t a match.
– Taped to air August 2nd, 1993, on Monday Night Raw, from the Castle Recreation Center in Alexandria Bay, New York
This Raw looks quite interesting, given a Savage vs. Doink match was scheduled to take place. Before that, we had the pleasure of seeing the Steiner Brothers in a squash match. This arena looked so small, may not have even had proper air conditioning. Can’t believe they did a televised show somewhere like this.
Next up, it was ADAM BOMB. What a geek. Good powerBOMB finish, though.
Doink the Clown vs. Randy Savage
Pre-Match Thoughts: Very nice of the WWF to give us a match as interesting as this one. It was pretty much guaranteed that there would be more than one Doink taking part in this match. Wonder if it went down that way. Crowd popped big for Savage’s entrance as if this was a surprise to them. Savage was dedicating this match to Crush, apparently.
Match Review: Savage checks under the ring to make sure there are no other Doinks around, and apparently there are not. They lock up, and Savage spends some time dodging punches. The two play to the crowd a bit, and Savage takes Doink down with an arm drag. Doink goes to the eyes, which makes Savage angry enough to grab a chair. Doink attacks Savage as the referee takes the chair away, and goes to work with punches and knees to the back. Doink hits Savage with a clothesline, then applies a Boston crab. Doink holds the ropes for leverage, but gets caught and has to let go. Savage comes back with a turnbuckle shot, but Doink cuts him off and hits him with some forearms. Doink has a backdrop blocked, then misses a charge to the corner and Savage knees him to the outside. Savage decides to follow him out there, but gets posted as we go to a commercial.
We come back with Doink having a neckbreaker submission on Savage, but it gets reversed until Doink goes to the eyes. Doink nails Savage with a dropkick, then goes to a neck vice until Savage picks him up and rams him into the buckles. Doink comes back with a belly to belly suplex, and covers for 2. Doink goes to an abdominal stretch, but Savage hip tosses him to break it. Doink puts a chinlock on Savage, and bodyslams him when it’s broken. Doink goes up top for his BUTT SPLASH, but Savage moves out of the way. Doink tosses Savage over the top, then Savage decides to crawl under the ring! On the other side, we have a MIDGET MACHO TO DISTRACT DOINK. Doink chases the midget around the ring, until Savage cuts him off with a bodyslam and throws Doink back in the ring. Doink gets distracted again, so Savage catches Doink with a small package for the win after 11:22! After the match, the dwarf runs in the ring and bites Doink’s butt.
My Thoughts: That was a good finish. Pretty inventive, something that fit Savage’s character really well. Good match too, quite unique. These two guys were in wrestling so long that they knew exactly what to do in this situation, and had perfected their respective routines, obviously. Good matchup for one another, good chemistry. That was fun. **3/4.
After that match, there was a phone interview with Ted DiBiase, who lost a match to the 1-2-3 Kid on the weekend. They showed video of it. It was due to Razor Ramon showing up to distract DiBiase, of course.
BAH GAWD IT’S JIM CORNETTE! Of course, they had Bobby Heenan run into the ring and hug him. How awesome. Heenan then gives him a formal introduction, and Cornette then talks about Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He talked about the Heavenly Bodies too. Sounded like he was there to talk trash about the Steiners as well. Obviously, they were building to the Steiners and Bodies match at SummerSlam.
Awesomely, they had Jim Cornette go on commentary for Mr. Perfect’s squash match. I was just thinking that they hadn’t had Perfect on Raw very much. Cornette was in full blown motor mouth mode already.
Closing things out, there was more video from the LEX EXPRESS. To see the old computers on that video really takes me back.
– Taped to air August 9th, 1993, on Monday Night Raw, from the Castle Recreation Center in Alexandria Bay, New York
Mr. Hughes (w/Harvey Wippleman) vs. Tatanka
Pre-Match Thoughts: I wonder if the WWF really thought that fans were dumb enough to think shows from the same arena two, three, or four weeks in a row were live shows. Hope they didn’t think so poorly of their fans, but who really knows.
Match Review: Hughes attacks from behind, so here we go. Tatanka tries to come back with something, but botches his leapfrog and we wind up at square one. Hughes corners Tatanka and beats him up, but misses a charge to the corner and Tatanka rolls him up for 2. Tatanka gets in some chops, but Hughes goes to the eyes. Tatanka’s cross body gets 2, then Hughes nails him with a clothesline. Very sloppy match. Hughes grabs Tatanka by the hair and knees him from behind, and hits him with a second clothesline.
After a commercial, Hughes has a neck vice on Tatanka. Some real bad canned heat here. Hughes misses another charge to the corner, so Tatanka starts hitting him with his chops to the head. Tatanka shoulders Hughes down, then Hughes tosses Tatanka over the top. Hughes follows, slams Tatanka on the floor, and rams him into the apron. Tatanka comes back with a backdrop, rolls in the ring, and picks up the count-out victory after about 6 minutes. Wippleman gets in the ring for a distraction, so Hughes attacks Tatanka from behind with the urn.
My Thoughts: The canned sound here made this nearly unwatchable. I really hated it. The match itself wasn’t very good, these two had no chemistry at all and couldn’t put on something that looked cohesive. 1/2*, not the best outing by either of these men.
The Lex Luger push has been put all over their programming at this point. This interview was the second time he’d been shown within about 15 minutes of air time. I don’t see any value in him talking about college football. This is coming from someone who loves college football.
This match is STRANGE. We have the Macho Midget and the Bushwhackers facing the Brooklyn Brawler, Blake Beverly, and Little Louie. I’d never give something like this a full review. The way Vince was laughing at this stuff is unnerving. This match wasn’t completely terrible, some of the comedy bits were amusing. Can’t rate it. Macho Midget’s splash for the win was pretty good.
Next up, we had a contract signing with Lex Luger and Yokozuna! Jim Cornette was with the champion! He’s apparently the American spokesman for Yokozuna. This is hilarious. Of course Cornette knows all the English anyone would need to know and will make sure everything’s good. Vince’s introduction of Lex Luger was hilarious. For some reason Lex Luger and Jack Tunney didn’t read that this will be Luger’s ONLY title shot. That’s a pair of dopes, right there. Luger said he only needed one shot.
Following that, it was time for newly turned babyface Razor Ramon to have a squash match.
Closing out the show, we had Cornette introducing the Heavenly Bodies prior to their squash match. This gimmick was too much. Actually can’t believe Vince gave these guys a chance given their look. Good debut.
– August 16th, 1993, on Monday Night Raw, from the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York
Ted DiBiase vs. 1-2-3 Kid
Pre-Match Thoughts: Nice way to get Kid involved on Raw again. Really looking forward to this match. The thing is, an underdog gimmick doesn’t work if they always win. Given Kid pinned DiBiase on Wrestling Challenge and this was a rematch, he can’t really go over clean, can he?
Match Review: DiBiase attacks Kid to start things off, and decides that he’s going to punish him. DiBiase hits Kid with a knee to the gut, and while Kid is getting back into the ring, we have a phone call from Razor Ramon. Kid eats a back elbow from DiBiase, and DiBiase follows up with a suplex. Kid decides to duck to the outside, and DiBiase hits him with an elbow on his way back in there. DiBiase throws Kid hard into the corner and Kid ducks to the outside again, then Kid gets back in the ring quickly and takes DiBiase out with a sloppy cross body that gets 2. Some dropkicks get 2 as well, then Kid gets elbowed on a charge to the corner. Dibiase misses his own charge to the corner, so Kid goes up top and flies down with a cross body for 2. He goes up top once more, but here comes IRS to push him down for the DQ after about 5 minutes. IRS and DiBiase put the boots to Kid for a while, but here come…THE STEINER BROTHERS. They clean house on Money Inc., and that’s the end of the whole thing.
My Thoughts: This match was nowhere near what it could have been, but the point wasn’t to have a match, it was to make Money Inc. look strong in anticipation of their match the following week against the Steiners. I’m okay with that. Like I said, Kid can’t always look good in these matches or he wouldn’t be the Kid anymore. *1/2.
Next up, it was a squash match with the Headshrinkers. They DESTROYED these two guys, it was amazing. One of the best squashes I’ve seen.
Following that, Marty Jannetty took on Bastion Booger. Booger’s ring outfit looked dirty, which brought some realism to the table as pertained to his gimmick. Marty won the match after reversing a butt splash into a pin of his own. He did his best, but there’s only so much you can do in a match like this. *1/4. I thought that was a bad finish.
Money Inc. walked out for an interview where they addressed the Steiner Brothers, and said interview mostly served to kill time. Disappointed that the Steiners didn’t run out to cut them off.
MEN ON A MISSION TIME! The crowd liked them. Mo was essentially meaningless, the draw there was Mabel because of how giant he was.
Lastly, Bam Bam Bigelow was there for his showcase match. Not a great episode, I guess.
– August 17th, 1993, from the Civic Center in White Plains, New York
Marty Jannetty vs. Shawn Michaels (w/Diesel) in a STEEL CAGE MATCH for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Really interested to see this match, given the rules it may not be spectacular, but my excitement levels are the same. No idea why Diesel is there but he’ll probably play a part. I’ve never seen this before, for what it’s worth. At least as far as I know.
Match Review: This starts with Marty nailing Michaels with a clothesline, then he throws him across the ring by his hair. After choking Michaels with a shirt, Michaels tries to leave and Marty has to pull him back into the ring. Marty throws Michaels hard into the corner, then nails him with a dropkick. Marty follows with another clothesline, and covers for no count. It’s escape rules, dude. Michaels blocks an attempted cage shot, then hits Marty with his own dropkick to take him out. Michaels hits Marty with a backbreaker, but Marty gets up and slingshots him into the cage! A referee runs in and counts 2, which is like…dumb? I’m confused now. Marty rams Michaels into the cage again, but Michaels goes to the eyes and beats him up. Michaels misses a charge to the corner, so it’s time for Marty to try to climb out. Diesel reaches the door and holds it shut, so now I see the purpose of Diesel at ringside. Marty kicks the door into his face, but Michaels grabs the leg and stops him from leaving. Michaels now throws Marty into the cage, and tries to leave only for Marty to grab his pants. Michaels tries to go over the top, but Marty grabs his leg and follows him up there! Michaels elbows him to the canvas, so Marty grabs his pants so the crowd can be mooned. Haha. Michaels goes to a sleeper, but Marty runs him into the steel cage after some time. Marty nails Michaels with an atomic drop to send him back into the fence, and now the crowd is into this. Marty decides to make his way out, but Michaels grabs him by the hair and throws him to the canvas. Michaels makes his way up to the top of the cage and climbs over the fence, but Marty grabs his hair to stop him from dropping to the floor. Marty and Michaels are now sitting on top of the cage throwing bombs, until Michaels pokes him in the eye. Michaels winds up perched on top of the cage, but Marty takes him and slams him down! Diesel decides to climb up the cage to stop Marty from leaving, but gets knocked down with a series of right hands. Michaels goes for the door at the same time, drops to the floor, and wins the match after hitting the floor before Marty at 13:13.
My Thoughts: This was a typical house show cage match, with one big spot, the narrative of both guys trying to climb out of the cage, and a heel champion winning with help from someone else. If you’ve been to a house show with a cage match on it I’m sure you’ve seen this formula before. **1/2. Not what I was hoping for.
– Taped to air August 22nd, 1993, on SummerSlam Spectacular, from the Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York
Money Inc. vs. The Steiner Brothers in a STEEL CAGE MATCH for the WWF Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: I’ve heard good things about this match and I’m not even slightly bothered by the last cage match being disappointing. It’s also the last match where Money Inc. teamed up. The only way someone could win the match is if both wrestlers in a team climbed over the top. That’s the interesting part, the strategy.
Match Review: IRS immediately tries to climb out, but Rick Steiner walks over to cut him off. DiBiase tries as well, but gets cut off the same way. This is a bad strategy. Scott rams DiBiase into the cage, then Rick decides that both Steiners should try to climb out. Money Inc. stops them, and DiBiase drops Scott with a back suplex. IRS hits Rick with a back elbow, and it’s time for them to go again. The Steiners block them, and Scott decides to go himself only to also be blocked and crotched on the top rope by IRS. DiBiase climbs up, but Rick grabs him and crotches him on top of the cage! IRS goes for the exit, but he gets crotched too. Scott makes his way out with the help of his partner, but DiBiase quickly scampers up there and suplexes Scott back in. That looked a bit dangerous. DiBiase hits Rick with a back elbow, then attacks Scott from behind, leading to a double team. Rick tries to climb out, but gets cut off AGAIN. DiBiase has a backdrop blocked, then all four guys decide to climb up the cage. IRS SUPERPLEXES Scott off the top of the cage, then it’s time for a commercial. NO.
Money Inc. tries to climb out of there when we come back, but Rick suplexes IRS to stop that. DiBiase’s head cracks off the cage too, so when the Steiners climb out, Scott Steiner makes it to the other side of the fence. Money Inc. tries to hang him on the bars, and eventually they pull him back in. Rick hits IRS with a STEINERLINE, then IRS climbs over to Scott and starts choking him with a belt. Some of these near escapes are crazy. Scott chokes IRS with the belt now, maybe it’s the tie, I don’t know. Scott is brought back into the ring by DiBiase, then when IRS tries to leave, Scott picks IRS up on his shoulders. That looks insane. IRS rakes the eyes to stop that, then Rick and DiBiase run into each other. IRS and Scott Steiner decide to climb out as their partners are knocked out, and I suppose that leaves Rick Steiner and Ted DiBiase in there. BUT WAIT, IRS IS CLIMBING BACK IN. He decides to cut Rick off and stop him from leaving, so Scott climbs back up the cage. He’s perched on top of the cage, and FLIES IN WITH A DOUBLE AXEHANDLE. The Steiners try to leave again, but DiBiase cuts Rick off by grabbing his headgear. DiBiase chokes Rick with the belt again, and Scott decides to actually leave this time. No idea why. DiBiase drops Rick with a backbreaker, so Scott climbs back into the cage. Haha. IRS tries to leave, and he’s out. So, DiBiase tries to follow, but Scott grabs his leg and we have a tug-o-war. DiBiase is pulled back into the ring, and tied up as well. The Steiners decide to leave at the same time, so IRS tries to get in the ring and he grabs both Steiners at the same time to stop them. This match is too much. DiBiase drops Scott with an inverted atomic drop and IRS gets kicked in the face, so Rick leaves the cage. Scott hits Money Inc. with a DOUBLE STEINERLINE, so this time Rick can stay out of the cage. He cheers his brother on, but Scott is stopped from leaving. IRS decides to leave, but Rick runs over to that side of the cage. DiBiase also decides to leave, as we can now see Rick has IRS on his shoulders! Scott decides to climb out too, as DiBiase beats up Rick Steiner. However, Scott jumps from the top of the cage at just the right time, and the Steiners retain their titles after about 18 minutes.
My Thoughts: For some reason, despite nothing in this match really resembling wrestling, I thought this was quite a good wrestling match. I think it’s strange to see a WWF cage match where the escapes feel important, but that was somewhat screwed up when the guys started climbing back into the cage. Still, I was able to ignore the logic of that and soldier on, and I liked what I saw. The pace of the match was perfect and it felt like the teams were willing to do whatever they needed to do to win. The whole match was built around the escapes, but that’s entirely logical in an escape cage match. ***1/2.
There’s not a ton of WWF news to share, which is too bad as I’d love to share some. As everyone knows, Gene Okerlund left the WWF not long after this. Ted DiBiase was also wrapping it up. Perhaps the best thing that happened in the WWF was Vince McMahon going to Memphis and doing some heel work, but I didn’t intend to cover that at all. Next up is Clash of the Champions 24!
Best: Jim Cornette showing up. Has to be.
Worst: Bastion Booger being on my computer screen.
