Figure Friday: A Tale of Four Hulksters

With Hulkamania in full gear at the beginning of the 90s (okay, not full gear, but still pretty huge), it was only natural that Hasbro do all it could to cash in on the merchandising phenomenon (and alleged wrestler) that was Hulk Hogan. For that reason, no fewer than four distinct Hulk Hogan figures were created and sold by the toy company between 1990 and 1993. Oh, and not one of them was bald.

Raw turns 20: Then and Now

With yesterday marking the 20th anniversary of the first episode of Monday Night Raw (January 11th, 1993), it's time to take a look back at the landscape of Raw during those first few episodes and see how far the weekly wrestling program has come in the past 20 years.

Then: Undersized champion beloved by smarks.	Now: Undersized champion beloved by smarks.

Figure Friday: Barefoot and Pregnant with The Headshrinkers

The Headshrinkers' action figures were released simultaneously by Hasbro as part of their 1994 series but were sold separately. For this reason, I had a Fatu figure but no Samu figure. Actually, truth be told, I had two Fatu figures and just called one of them "Samu." It was just as well; both figures look practically identical, but closer inspection leads one to notice some subtle differences and revealing similarities between the two cousins' figures.

Jobbers of '93

Von Krus Best known as: Big Vito Future Gimmicks: bald gang member, mafia strong-arm, crossdresser

1993 - The Year in GIFs

ManeuverMania 2

1993 - The Year in Vladimir

If you watched a wrestling event in 1993, chances are you saw Vladimir the Superfan, whether you realized it or not. 

Raw #45 - December 27th, 1993

It's the last Raw of the year, and the WWF is pulling out all the stops, even going so far as to show some clips from a Women's Title tournament final! Vince is joined by the Quebecers on commentary tonight. We also get to see a manager wrestle a match (though in this case, the "manager" is future ECW champion Raven). Pierre takes advantage of his new media platform by speaking French (which might be awesome if he's slipping something completely off-color under the radar).

Raw #44 - December 20th, 1993

December 20th's Raw is already shaping up to be an historic one. We see the first ever non-white Raw girl in the ring, plus this episode is a "special holiday edition." Since this is pre-Attitude era, there will be no Santa's Helper bra and panties matches, just as there was no gravy bowl match around Thanksgiving or costume battle royal around Halloween. Instead, we're wasting time with "matches." Damn New Generation era. Shawn Michaels joins Vince to commentate matches including Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett, and Ludvig Borga vs. Tatanka.

Raw #43 - December 13th, 1993

Tonight's Raw is the first post-Heenan episode. Fortunately, there will be no Rob Bartlett to replace him. Instead, we get the patron saint of Botchamania, Jim Cornette, who is sporting a Santa Claus tennis racket. The Macho Man enters the ring to take on Fatu, delivering an important message to the fans in attendance: "Oooooh yeeeaaah!"

Raw #42 - December 6th, 1993

Tonight's Raw is Bobby "The Brain" Heenan's last. Unlike Rob Bartlett's last episode, there will be no celebrating here at How Much Does This Guy Weigh? For the record, Bobby never was a weasel.  We kick off tonight's show with Shawn Michaels coming to the ring wearing an Intercontinental belt, which Vince says he has no business wearing. I would like to congratulate Shawn for at least remembering to wear the correct-colored belt, as earlier this year the strap was blue, then white. He probably has a whole closet full of IC belts of all colors of the rainbow, like John Cena and his official T-shirts. Vince says that Razor earned that title the old-fashioned way. By this, he means that Razor co-won a battle royal then beat the other co-winner. I don't recall a title ever being awarded that way before. Isn't "the old-fashioned way" beating the reigning champion?

Raw #41 - November 29th, 1993

The forty-first Raw comes live from a brand new arena for the cable program, White Plains, New York. Razor faces Diesel in a non-title match, while Ludvig Borga and Owen Hart will be in action. The "Superstar of the Year" trophy will be awarded tonight; the revival of Slammy Awards would still be two and a half years away.

Raw #40 - November 15th, 1993

From Kentucky Fried Rasslin'. Macho Man is not at the announcers' table on tonight's Raw, as Jack Tunney has sat out Savage after last week's outburst against Crush. On the other hand, Shawn Michaels has been reinstated as of that Saturday, and not a moment to soon, as he replaces Jerry Lawler at the Survivor Series next Wednesday due to the King's "legal problems" (a euphemism for "being accused of raping a thirteen-year-old girl"). Bobby Heenan says that he is glad that this happened, implying that he really hates Lawler, or else that he wants to see Shawn take on Bret. Vince calls Michaels Razor Ramon's "arch nemesis," despite the two never having feuded. Razor takes on the Brooklyn Brawler in what I can only assume is a non-title match.

Raw #39 - November 8th, 1993

Raw's thirty-ninth episode emanates from the exotic locale known as Bushkill, Pennsylvania. Nothing says exciting action like the Poconos. Once again, it seems that the production crew can't get the regular graphics on screen for this live episode, so we get the same dated-looking logos and lettering (even for the early 90s) that we've come to expect from Raw's non-Manhattan Center events.  Tonight's advertised main event is Scott Steiner, who is looking to wrestle yet another country, versus Finland's Ludvig Borga.

Raw #38 - November 1st, 1993

Bastion Booger is stuffing himself before the thirty-eighth Raw even gets underway. Not only is this food unhealthy, it's all raw! And that's the name of the show you're watching! Vince speculates that we're going to have a Maalox moment tonight when Booger takes on Razor Ramon in a non-title match. Vince runs down tonight's card, and apparently, Adam Bomb isn't facing some jobber after all, like I had thought at the end of last week's show. He's actually wrestling Virgil. There's a world of difference. Tonight is the night after Halloween, but there will be no Halloween theme for tonight's Raw, since it's 1993 and everyone is already in goofy costumes. Case in point: The Smoking Gunns battle Well Dunn on tonight's show.

Raw #37 - October 25th, 1993

Tonight's Raw features Ludvig Borga, Diesel, and Men on a Mission, as well as a Superstar vs. Superstar match (finally) between faces Marty Jannetty and the 123 Kid. But first, we get a recap of the Savage-Crush summit, which ended with Crush attacking his very own brudda, Macho Man Randy Savage. Could this signal the return of Lanny "The Genius" Poffo to team with brother Randy against Crush and Yokozuna? No, of course not. What kind of stupid question is that?

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 #34 - October 4th, 1993

Tonight's Raw, episode 34, features a battle royal to decide the top two contenders for the vacant Intercontinental title. Tatanka is the first man to enter on camera, though many competitors are already in the ring, including MVP (not the famous MVP; he is serving time for armed robbery at this time). Vince puts the total weight of the battle royal at 5,795 pounds, meaning that the men have gained 39 pounds since last week. Heenan says that this battle royal is like none he's ever seen. "You could injure your back. You could hurt your dick." He might have been saying "neck;" perhaps he still has that cold from last week. For this battle royal, he picks Booger.

Raw #33 - September 27th, 1993

WWF President Jack Tunney opens the 33rd episode of Raw by announcing the suspension of Shawn Michaels for avoiding title defenses (Really? Shawn Michaels?). Michaels is therefore stripped of the Intercontinental title, and the new champion will be decided next week and the week after that via a battle royal and singles match, respectively. I don't know the real story behind the suspension, but I'm positive Shawn's name will be drug through the mud next week when 20 contenders test their mettle in the ring for the vacant title.