Raw #86 - November 14th, 1994

Another Savage-less Raw is upon us, this time featuring Ted DiBiase on commentary. The 123 Kid is already in the ring as the show begins, waiting for opponent Bob Backlund to arrive. When the former WWWF champion does enter the ring, he is immediately backed into the corner and it with a series of kicks by the Kid, including the quickest Maneuver (#1 - roundhouse kick) in the history of Raw (delivered less than a minute into the program). Backlund sells in comical fashion.

Cena vs. CM Punk

John Cena is putting his guaranteed Wrestlemania title shot on the line so that he can prove that he can beat CM Punk. See, Cena has never ever beaten CM Punk... except the time he did in November 2009.


If only John Cena had a memory longer than 3 years, he could have spared himself the utterly stupid decision to wager his title shot.

Raw #85 - November 7th, 1994

Tonight's Raw is a mixed bag. On the plus side, it's live. On the minus side, Macho Man is gone and will never return. In his place is Jerry "The King" Lawler, Vince's broadcast colleague on Superstars. Looking back, Jerry Lawler is not nearly as funny as I remember him, while Randy Savage is a comedic genius. Lawler hosts King's Court tonight, as well.

Avatar gets inducted into Wrestlecrap

Read my latest piece on Al Snow's first gimmick in the WWF, Avatar.

CM Punk vs. The Pope

I was not the least bit surprised that CM Punk made a Nazi joke about The Pope on Twitter.

He has had it in for The Pope for years.

Raw #84 - October 31st, 1994

Tonight's Raw is the last one ever to feature Macho Man Randy Savage. Don't expect a tribute or farewell, though, as Vince doesn't know that Savage is jumping to WCW. Lex Luger enters the ring, led by flag-bearer Nicole Matilda (no relation to Davey Boy Smith's bulldog).

"Natural Guy" Austin Steele

Here's a fan-made tribute to Austin Steele, the jobber who faced Mabel on the July 18th, 1994 Raw. I hope that this is the first of many works produced by the readers and viewers of my blog and Youtube channel, especially since I myself started on Youtube as a tribute/supplement to Maffew of Botchamania.

Art0Donnell on Wrestleview

Last week's interview with Wrestleview International Desk is online for one week only! Listen while you can.

Here's the permanent link for the interview once it's off Wrestleview.

Wrestling + Morton Downey, Jr. = Wrestlecrap

Read my latest induction on Wrestlecrap.

Raw #83 - October 24th, 1994

Burlington, Vermont hosts Raw for the second week in a row. Gee, it must be tough for the WWF superstars to travel around the country on the Hart Attack tour, then have to hightail it back to Vermont every Monday night. "The most controversial Native American of all time," Tatanka, will be in action tonight. I don't know, Macho. Sitting Bull might be more controversial. And Leonard Peltier. The Smoking Gunns, Diesel, and Adam Bomb will also be in action. Yokozuna's music plays throughout the intro, playing the former WWF champion to the ring to challenge for the Intercontinental title. I think Yokozuna should be barred from Intercontinental Title contention, having supposedly been born on a Polynesian island, which is not part of any continent. The same goes for the Headshrinkers and Crush. Hey, maybe Rikishi was right about the island boys being held back in the Federation.

Raw #82 - October 17th, 1994

Raw opens up with a series of outdoor clips from Burlington, Vermont, which hosts tonight's live episode. A confused Macho Man (at his last ever WWF taping) says, "This isn't The Learning Channel!" and he's right. The main difference between Monday Night Raw and TLC is that for the past decade or so, Raw has had provided more culturally enriching programming than the cable network known for fashion, decorating, and Honey Boo Boo. Speaking of cultural enrichment, Doink comes to the ring with Dink and the newest addition to his entourage, Wink. They josh around with the Spanish announce team before the Raw intro, over which a Stridex logo is plastered as Todd Pettengill hocks the acne treatment. This is the most disgraceful act of commercialism since Pepsi bought South Korea.

Raw #81 - October 10th, 1994

Bam Bam Bigelow comes to the ring on tonight's Raw to take on Lex Luger. He doesn't come alone, though; he is followed by the other members of the Million Dollar Corporation, except IRS for some reason. Vince McMahon calls this Ted DiBiase's own "Columbus Day parade." I hope he teaches us some more fun facts about Christopher Columbus like he did last year. Instead, Macho Man gives us this quote from Columbus: "One if by land, two if by sea!" Actually, that was Paul Revere in Longfellow's famous poem, but at least this time the misinformation is intended as a joke. Also, "Longfellow" is a great last name.