1993 has come and gone here on this review series. And what a year it was for the world of professional wrestling. The near fatal steroids scandal had rocked professional wrestling to its very core, and most importantly began a change in the very complexion of the WWF. Gone were the roided up freaks that existed just a year prior, and now taking their spot were lighter workers with less bulging muscles and more ability.
Well, except for Lex Luger, but what are you gonna do?
The biggest thing to happen in 1993 was the debut of Monday Night Raw. Replacing Prime Time Wrestling on the USA Network, McMahon had finally achieved his dream of prime time live programming on network television. Of course, the show was only live for the first few weeks, and with the company's exit out of their original home of the Manhattan Center, it became easier to just stick with taped shows week after week.
The first few months of Raw were shaky at best. There were good matches from time to time, like the "loser leaves WWF" match between Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair. You had to deal with a lot of aimless shows, as it still wasn't the flagship product. It also felt really poorly put together. The most infamous case being the Raw where Hulk Hogan returned, and yammered on for way too long. This caused the show to end in the middle of a match between Undertaker and Skinner.
Vince wanted Raw to be more of a variety show, and tried to skewer in more pop culture references to the product. And his bright idea was that he needed to add a radio jock to the commentary table. Enter the bane that was Rob Bartett. Bartlett was an unfunny jock that added nothing to the matches themselves, and thought that all he needed to do was do awful impressions, and make bad puns. Let's not forget the time he dressed up like Elvis for no good reason. Bartlett was thankfully replaced by mid-April by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, who actually added more to the product by being both funny, and having a mind for the business. They don't call him "the brain" for nothing.
By mid-May, Raw had finally found its niche in terms of how it presents its product on a weekly basis. You get one big match a week, and the rest of the show are enhancement squashes for the talent. Mostly against the regular rotation of jobbers like PJ Walker, Dan Dubiel, Scott Taylor, Phil Apollo, and good old Barry Horowitz. Raw by late '93 is a more balanced product than what it was at the start, and for the most part is a fun show to watch.
While more often than not the biggest angles still happen on Superstars, you still get a great moment every now and then. From Money Inc. breaking Brutus Beefcake's face, to 1-2-3 Kid upsetting Razor Ramon, to the feud between Macho Man and Crush, Raw has definitely become appointment television, and has a purpose. It's a fun show to watch, even if some weeks it can be a drag to sit through. Nonetheless (to quote Vince McMahon) I've been enjoying this ride so far.
Next up is my picks of best and worst of 1993. Matches, PPVS, Gimmicks, Superstars and more. What worked and what didn't in the year that was 1993.
BEST PPV: King of the Ring 1993
The inaugural King of the Ring Pay Per View may very well be the WWF's finest in terms of the in-ring competition for the event. While sure, you had some duds like the eight-man tag match and Tatanka vs Luger, the rest of the card was solid throughout. The Hogan/Yokozuna match had an iconic screwjob finish that more importantly led to Hogan's exit from the company for the remainder of the 90's. But what makes this PPV worth placing as best of '93 is the three matches of Bret Hart to earn the coveted crown. A hard fought brawl with Razor Ramon followed by a more technical affair with Mr. Perfect. These two matches wore down the Hitman and gave him multiple injuries. And finally came my match of the year with Bret and the heavyweight Bam Bam Bigelow. And it all ends with Lawler attacking Hart and kickstarting their rivalry. I said it before, I'll say it again. King of the Ring is a must watch show.
WORST PPV OF 1993: Wrestlemania IX
Wrestlemania should be considered the biggest and best show of the year. After all, it is their Superbowl of Wrestling. But the 1993 event from Caesar's Palace comes close to being the worst of all time. A dull card filled with disqualifications and count outs. No classic bouts. Hell, even the Undertaker's match with Giant Gonzalez was horrible. And it ends with what may be one of the worst endings in WWF history as Hulk Hogan gets another championship that he doesn't deserve. And as we'll elaborate a bit later, his toxic actions as champ. Wrestlemania IX is one of the worst events of all time, and easily the worst pay per view of 1993.
BEST MATCH OF 1993: Bret Hart Vs Bam Bam Bigelow: King of the Ring 1993
It was hard to pick my favorite match of the year. In a year with Ric Flair vs Mr. Perfect, Shawn vs Marty, Even the other two Bret Hart matches from this same night, my choice for best match of 1993 for me was the finals of the 1993 King of the Ring between Bam Bam Bigelow and Bret Hart. The match was a great back and forth brawl that most importantly told a great story. Bret Hart had been beaten and injured from his previous matches with Razor Ramon and Mr. Perfect, so he was coming in the wounded man. Meanwhile, thanks to a bye due to Tatanka and Luger being double counted out, Bam Bam Bigelow was fresh thanks to only having to wrestle Hacksaw Jim Duggan earlier in the night.
And thus we had the underdog Bret battle Bigelow in a match that saw multiple near falls, nonstop action, and in the end, Bret overcomes the challenge of Bigelow to become the King of the Ring. It's a great technical showcase not only for Bret but for Bam Bam who put in one of his best matches, and showed just how underrated a wrestler he really was. This match is highly recommended as does the pay per view as a whole, and it's easily my match of 1993.
WORST MATCH OF 1993: The Four Doinks vs Bam Bam/Booger/Headshrinkers: Survivor Series 1993
The Doink the Clown character was so great at one point. You'll see me gush a little later over it. But by the time we reached Survivor Series 1993, the very concept of the character jumped the shark and never looked back. We were billed a match with four Doinks at Survivor Series that year. This wasn't too crazy since Doink had been pulling the multiple Doink character for a while in his heel run. So naturally you'd think this would be fine if at least one of the Doinks is the real deal, right?
No, instead we get the worst debacle of a comedy match of all time. We don't get either Matt Bourne, or the new Doink in Ray Apollo. Instead we get Men on a Mission and the Bushwhackers in Doink Paint and Doink wigs stinking up the ring. As for the match itself, we get to see great workers in Bam Bam and the Headshrinkers (and Booger, but he's not too good) job to water balloons, banana peels and Mo on a scooter. What made Doink a great character was he could wrestle in the ring, and his antics would follow post-match. They weren't the focus of the match themselves. And all this match did was make the heels look like goofs and the babyface team look like a bunch of geeks in clown paint. And to add salt to the wound, we only get the real Doink at the end via the video screen. To hell with this match. It's not a wrestling match, it's not a comedy match, and it's a precursor to the downfall of Doink the Clown. Easily the worst thing to come out of 1993.
BEST STORYLINE OF 1993: Jerry Lawler vs Bret Hart
However, he met his maker at Summerslam when he would have to face Hart in an actual match. Being the coward king, Lawler would feign an injury to keep from wrestling Hart, and even send Doink to aid him in his victory. However, Bret overcame Doink, and finally got his hands on Lawler. And while the match was more a brawl then a match, it still did the trick as Bret, finally having Lawler where he wanted him, locked in the sharpshooter for almost five minutes. Lawler would win, but Bret got some revenge. The feud continued until November, where it hit a snag due to some serious legal issues with Lawler that I've mentioned before.
Still, for a storyline to keep Bret out of the title hunt, I feel it did a great job, helped establish Lawler as a great heel in the WWF, and led to some great comedy with is jabs at Stu and Helen. It's a feud that we haven't seen the end of either in this retrospective, and I await it, as it's already won me over, and it's my pick for best storyline of 1993.
WORST STORYLINE OF 1993: Lex Luger Vs Yokozuna
Now, before I start, I want to preface that I liked how this storyline started. It's where this storyline headed, and the ultimate culmination of the main chapter in 1993 that gets its spot here. July 4th, 1993 on the USS Intrepid saw new WWF Champion Yokozuna issue the body slam challenge. It was answered by newly babyface Lex Luger who slammed the Samoan who is pretending to be Japanese. This led to a massive Babyface push for Luger as he would campaign across the US for a shot at the WWF championship. It was all going so well... then Summerslam happened.
Both men have a hard fought match (one of Luger's better outings), the ending of the match is what brings this as the worst storyline of the year. Luger, who had been given one shot and one shot only against Yokozuna for the championship uses his metal plated forearm to knock the champ out of the ring. Instead of trying to get the champion back in to, you know, win the title, he counts along with the referee as Yoko is counted out. Confetti and balloons rain down as the faces hoist Luger up as if he's won the title.
But he didn't win the title.
Be it a possible wrestler revolt if Luger had won the belt over Bret who was more deserving of his rematch since Mania, or be it that Vince wanted to wait until Wrestlemania X. The fact that we end with Luger looking like a goof, and the company celebrating the fact that he didn't capture the championship makes this one of the most asinine endings to a wrestling event ever. And in the end, Luger never recovered from it. He had his fans, but that lightning in a bottle opportunity to put the gold on him was squandered because Vince was foolish enough to wait and see. So despite the strong start, this is still a deserving worst storyline of the year candidate.
BEST GIMMICK OF 1993: Heel Doink the Clown
Before I started this retrospective, I had no idea just how good the character of Doink was. I had really only seen some of his later antics,and the character whenever it was brought back to WWE TV in the 2000's. But seeing this heel run really made me appreciate how great a character Doink truly was. Donning green hair and creepy clown makeup, Doink was more intimidating than you'd expect. He could be nutty one moment, then dark and serious the other. And what really threw people for a loop was the fact that he was a technical wrestler. So not only could he outwrestle you, but he could outwit you in the mind games department.
And of course being a clown means antics aplenty. But where the face Doink relied on these for the majority of the match, Doink would pull his tactics post-match, or right at the end. He'd hit you with a fake plaster arm or trick you with a present filled with nothing. He'd throw water at people, hit people with pies, and his most bewildering of all is the Double Doink, where he'd create multiple versions of himself to confuse the opponent. The original twin magic, if you will.
I think Heel Doink has become one of my favorite characters ever, and going through the run of Matt Bourne in 1993 gave me a better appreciation of the man himself. He played the role perfectly, better than anyone else could. And already I don't see Ray Apollo doing half as well. He just can't fill those big floppy shoes. Heel Doink: My pick for best gimmick of 1993.
WORST GIMMICK OF 1993: Friar Ferguson
I still have no idea what Vince was trying to get at with this character. Let's bring in Mike Shaw and dress him up as a wrestling monk. Did Vince have a problem with the Catholics? Did he just think that Shaw looked like Friar Tuck and wanted to have fun? I'm at least thankful that this character only lasted two weeks, and for once the intervention of the Catholic Church led to something worthwhile instead of their regular nonsense. Shaw became the equally bad Bastion Booger later on, but no matter how nasty Booger was, my pick goes easily to the foolish friar for worst of 1993.
BEST NEWCOMER OF 1993: The 1-2-3 Kid
There were a lot of new talent to come into the company in 1993. The Smoking Gunns, Adam Bomb, Jeff Jarrett, Johnny Polo, Mr. Hughes, Luna Vachon, and even my old buddy Friar Ferguson AKA Bastion Booger. But none had a bigger impact in the year than the 1-2-3 Kid. He got the biggest upset ever over Razor Ramon, and became an instant star. And well deserved too considering just how talented he is in the ring. Not a good talker mind you, but in terms of speed, strikes and high flying presence, it's hard to find many more in 1993 as solid as the kid. And hopefully we don't lose a lot of that in the year to come. So despite a lot of great talent, it's easy to call the 1-2-3 Kid my favorite in 1993.
WORST NEWCOMER OF 1993: Giant Gonzalez
Vince McMahon loves one thing in wrestling, and that's the massive giant. I think that ever since Andre the Giant left the business he's been trying in vain to find anyone who could eclipse the legend from Grenoble. And one of his worst attempts was with 7'7 Jorge Gonzalez. However, while Andre was at least mobile, Gonzalez was a mess in the ring, barely able to do any physical moves other than chops and chokes. Gonzalez was also not in the greatest of shape, so the bright idea of the people involved was to put him in an airbrushed monkey suit complete with airbrushed ass crack.
We only saw him a couple times during this year, but every time he was terrible, culminating in two terrible pay per view matches with Undertaker. Yes, nothing says "imposing monster" like needing chloroform to subdue your opponent. Thankfully Gonzalez wasn't long for the WWF and was gone by September. I'm certain Jorge was a nice person, and it is a shame he has since passed away, but I will not miss him in the ring, and am at least glad we're moving past the Giant Gonzalez era of the WWF.
BEST MOMENT OF 1993: 1-2-3 Kid Beats Razor Ramon
I could put a lot of great moments from 1993 in this spot. Luger slamming Yokozuna, Marty Janetty beating Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship, even Bobby Heenan being thrown out of the WWF by Gorilla Monsoon. But none are more important than the major upset by the then Lightning Kid over established star Razor Ramon. It all felt like a regular squash match when all of a sudden the kid pulls a moonsault out of nowhere and pins Razor for the 1-2-3, henceforth giving him the name of the 1-2-3 Kid.
It immediately put the Kid on the map as a new star, one who you couldn't underestimate just because of his size. He could be the ultimate upset artist.And on this night, the night that established him as a WWF Superstar, he shined brighter than ever. Very rarely do you get timeless moments like these, and this is more than deserving of the best of 1993.
WORST MOMENT OF 1993: Hulk Hogan wins the WWF Title
So, what amazing moments would we see during this three month Hogan reign? Why, nothing at all as Hogan would never appear on television to wrestle or defend the title until his match with Yokozuna at King of the Ring. And in between all that, Hogan goes to Japan where he devalues the WWF Title as "a trinket". And if the massive influx of Hogan douchebaggery wasn't bad enough yet, Hogan, who once said he would put Bret Hart over at Summerslam, decides not to because Bret was "too small, brother". Instead he cuts and runs after losing his title to Yokozuna thanks to a screwy loaded camera finish at the King of the Ring. So for a title he didn't need nor deserve, and his general dickery at full blast, I can easily say nothing in 1993 was worse than seeing Hogan as WWF Champ one more time.
WORST SUPERSTAR OF 1993: Babyface Doink the Clown
I'm betting you thought this would go to Tatanka, what with how much I rip into him? No, if anyone deserves the spot of worst superstar of 1993, it goes easily to the babyface Doink. Matt Bourne's heel Doink was iconic, a great technical worker that could also play mind games on his opponents. So naturally it got over and people were chanting for Doink. And like Vince often does, he mistakes this as "well, they like Doink, let's make him a face." And that's where we go downhill. Matt Bourne is gone, and replacing him is Ray Apollo, who is far less talented in the ring. But don't worry, we'll give him a little clown buddy in Dink who will do goofy hijinks at ringside to distract Doink's foes. And it just comes off as annoying.
It's amazing how fast the WWF ruined one of their best characters by making him kid friendly. The heel Doink could be wacky, but still somewhat of a sociopath underneath. You never knew his true intentions in the ring. But this face Doink has none of that. It's all just being goofy and carrying midgets around in baby carriages. I hate it, and it's only just starting. And it's the easiest choice for worst superstar of 1993.
BEST SUPERSTAR OF 1993: Bret "The Hitman" Hart
Yes, my pick for the best superstar of the year should come as no surprise. Bret Hart was easily the best in the company in 1993. He could have matches with anyone and they were top tier, must-watch affairs. I've already gushed on his matches at the King of the Ring, and his feud with Jerry Lawler. But I also liked his match with Razor Ramon at the Royal Rumble, his match with Fatu, and while the match wasn't very good, his involvement in the Harts vs. Shawn Michaels and the Knights was easily the best of the match. I'm even enjoying the storying involving him and Owen, and I know that's going to get better as 1994 rolls on. Simply put, he really is the best there is, best there was, and the best there ever will be, and much deserving of the best superstar of 1993 spot.
OTHER HONORABLE MENTIONS:
BEST TAG TEAM: The Steiner Brothers
WORST TAG TEAM: Well Dunn
BEST MANAGER: Johnny Polo
WORST MANAGER: Harvey Whippleman
BEST COMMENTATOR: Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
WORST COMMENTATOR: Rob Bartlett
BIGGEST RIP OFF:
WHERE THE HELL IS MY WOODY ALLEN/MIA FARROW CAGE MATCH???
And that's pretty much my thoughts on 1993. It was a pretty fun year, and it was great to see the early evolution of Monday Night Raw. We're entering an interesting year in 1994. In it we'll see a family feud get more intense, a title feud culminate in a ladder match, the end result of waiting on the Luger push, a rowdy return, double deadmen, and the title reign that would start the worst year in the history of the WWF. And I can't wait to see it all. So see you next time when we cover the January 3rd, 1994 edition of Raw.