Figure Friday: The long-lost Steiner, Crush

Last week, I looked at the figures of Money, Inc. and showed how they were so cohesive a team that they even shared a lower body. This week, I profile another pair of WWF figures from Hasbro, the Steiner Brothers. The Rick and Scott figures really have nothing in common... except that they both borrow heavily from Brian "Crush" Adams. Allow me to explain.

Raw #59 - April 18th, 1994

Monday Night Raw comes at you taped from the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The show opens with a replay of Jerry Lawler's mishap from last week, perhaps in an effort to promote a new "Bloopers, Bleeps, and Blunders" tape from Coliseum Video, which Macho Man references. This week's King's Court features the WWF's female wrestler, Alundra Blayze, who sits atop the Federation's one-person women's division. Also, Bret Hart faces off against Kwang in a thankfully non-title match, which leads Savage to suggest that he himself get a title shot.

Raw #36 - October 18th, 1993

Forget Brian Pillman. Randy Savage was shooting on Raw back in 1993. 

The thirty-sixth episode of Raw is one for the history books. Like such important meetings as Reagan and Gorbachev or Kennedy and Krushchev (Not Crusher, but Nikita. Not Koloff, but Krushchev), the Crush-Savage Summit will change the course of history. The confrontation will take place after "months of speculation and accusation" (actually less than one month). The opening montage of Americans and Soviets highlight the fact that wrestling feuds have really been running out of fuel ever since the Cold War ended.

Raw #35 - October 11th, 1993

Tonight's Raw, number 35, will mark the second Intercontinental title change and third title change overall in Raw history. It also is the concluding episode of the first of many Shawn Michaels title forfeitures on Raw. Vince McMahon narrates a montage of last week's battle royal, which he explains is the culmination of years of sacrifice by the wrestlers. That doesn't explain why Abe Knuckleball Schwartz is in it, though. It is very difficult to make a story out of a match with 20 men punching and kicking each other.

The opening match is Razor Ramon vs. Rick Martel, who is wrestling his third match in one night, as the past three Raws have all been filmed in New Haven on September 27th. heenan bets that if Razor wins the belt, he'll melt it down into "some cheap necklace." Who does he think Ramon is, the Supreme Fighting Machine Kama? This episode is airing on Columbus Day, the significance of which Vince explains like so:

Raw #31 - September 13th, 1993

Tonight's Raw, number thirty-one, is the first after Summerslam 1993, which saw Lex Luger fulfill his two-months-long dream of beating Yokozuna (except for the part about winning the title). The show opens with Vince McMahon explaining the rules to tonight's tag team title match. The Steiners will defend against the Quebecers, a team only even mentioned once before on Raw, under Province of Quebec Rules. Under these stipulations, the titles can change hands on disqualification or countout, and disqualifications can be brought on by top rope moves, piledrivers, and throwing your opponent over the top rope. Why the Steiners would agree to these rules, I have no idea. It's not like the Quebecers were even anywhere near the front of the line for the tag titles.

Not Raw #31 - August 23rd, 1993

This week's episode opens in a studio with Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan. Vince tells us that this is not Monday Night Raw. Well, looks like my work is done here.

Of course, the show doesn't end there. Tonight's program will be a one-hour version of the previous night's Summerslam Spectacular special (or Triple S, as in would be known after joining D-Generation X). Stay tuned for some highly edited action on this hour-long infomercial for the pay-per-view.

Raw #28 - August 2nd, 1993

Episode twenty-eight emanates from "waaaay upstate New York," Alexandria Bay. Vince and Bobby are at ringside, but not Randy, who is competing tonight against Doink, who last week appeared with two other Doinks in the Manhattan Center. Randy tells us he is "jacked up and pumped up to the max" in Alexandria Bay, "land of a thousand islands." Too bad Raw would stop holding shows here once Vince found out that the Land of a Thousand Islands was actually just the Land of Ketchup and Mayonnaise Mixed Together. Macho Man promises a "little surprise" for Doink.

Raw #22 - June 21st, 1993

The twenty-second episode of Raw is live from Poughkeepsie, New York, meaning that it's another night of second-rate graphics because the regular Raw graphics are on a computer at the Manhattan Center. We start off the show with a replay of The Kid's upset of Razor Ramon "six" (four) weeks ago. After the Raw intro, Vince runs down tonight's card, including the long-awaited rematch between Razor and the Kid, as well as a 2/3 falls match between Doink and Jannetty.
 

Flesh-toned tights are a bad choice
made worse as VHS tape degrades.

The Steiner Brothers make their entrance with the tag team titles in hand and are introduced as the new tag team champions. Care to explain, Vince? Their opponents are Barry Hardy and Reno Riggins. Vince goes on to explain that there has been not one, but three title changes in the past week, with the Steiners trading the belts with Money Inc. twice since Monday's house show in Columbus. That's four non-televised title changes so far this year. Scott lands a double-leg takedown on Hardy for a Nice Maneuver (#1) and a tag to Rick, who is wearing tights full of upside-down numbers. Leave the numbers to Scott, please. Rick picks up Hardy over his shoulder like a dominator and runs him gut-first into the top turnbuckle for a Maneuver (#2). Perhaps, Vince wonders, Rick Steiner can slam Yokozuna like that at the Stars and Stripes Challenge on July 4th. Scott tags in and hits a lightning-quick belly-to-belly on Barry Hardy. Steiner throws Hardy to his own corner and dares Reno Riggins to tag in. Steiner hits a Frankensteiner on Riggins, who lands head-first onto Steiner, for the victory.

Raw #19 - May 31st, 1993

The nineteenth episode of Raw is live once again after a taped edition last week. Marty Jannetty will be defending his title tonight a mere two weeks after winning it. Likewise, Hulk Hogan will defend his title at King of the Ring a mere two months after winning it.
 

The Beast from the East walks to the ring with Luna Vachon, prompting Macho Man to wonder, "Which one is the beast?" Sherri pulls Luna Vachon into the ring, but Bam Bam pulls out his future main squeeze to break up the catfight. Bam Bam whips Marty into the ropes and shoulderblocks him, sending Jannetty flipping to the ground. He continues the Irish whips and clotheslines until Jannetty ducks and fights back with strikes and a chop from the top rope that would have been called a tomahawk chop had Tatanka done it. Bam Bam appears to catch Jannetty with a back body drop, but Jannetty lands on his feet with a Maneuver (#1). Sensational Athletic Maneuver (#2) or not, Bigelow still locks a bear hug on him. Bigelow puts Marty in the corner, but Jannetty counters with what looks like a botched head scissors or victory roll and appears to land on his head. Jannetty recovers to hit another Maneuver (#3 - flying head scissors) to take down the big man. Bam Bam counters another Jannetty head scissor attempt with a Maneuver (#4) of his own, slamming down his opponent with an electric chair.

Raw #12 - April 12th, 1993

Not pictured: sack with a dollar sign on it.

The twelfth episode of Raw opens up with Money Inc. very loudly smacking stacks of dollar bills into the Beverly Brothers' hands in exchange for inside information on the Steiners. Blake says that the Steiners' suplexes are devastating, which reveals a great deal: Vince McMahon is publishing his own thesaurus, and the Beverlys have been reading the manuscript.

Raw #11 - April 5th, 1993

Virgil puts his name on his tights
so no one else grabs the
zebra-striped long johns by accident.

Welcome to the eleventh episode of Monday Night Raw! We are taped from the Manhattan Center. Bad news: last night's Wrestlemania IX event sucked. Good news: Rob Bartlett has been written out of tonight's show. This show being taped before Wrestlemania, the announcers don't give away any specific results on camera. Vince McMahon says that last night's Wrestlemania was one of the greatest of all time, yet another sign that this show was taped before the event actually happened.

Raw #7 - March 1st, 1993

The seventh episode of Raw starts off with WWF champion Bret Hart making his way to the ring to defend his title against Fatu. Bret is WWF champion, after all, so it's only natural that he'd make lots of live appearances (remember this next month). For some reason, Rob Bartlett feels that he isn't annoying enough already, so he is dressed like Elvis tonight. Note that tonight's episode is in New York City, as usual, and not in Memphis, and that Elvis neither was born nor died any time near March 1st, the date of tonight's show.

Raw #5 - February 15th, 1993

Tonight's Raw is the first in two weeks, and to mark this auspicious occasion, it has been pre-recorded. We open with short promos by both Brutus Beefcake and Ted DiBiase, flanked by a nervous Jimmy Hart who bobs up and down and tells Ted, and I quote, "There's no need for that, baby. No need for that now." Even when he's hinting at a face turn, the Mouth of the South has no "off" button, baby.