World Wrestling Federation 1993

[GCB]

Second attempt ... Ignore the first incarnation, I’ve got better ideas this time and am more organised. GCB

WWF 1993
POST WRESTLEMANIA 9

This BT will pick up from the night of WrestleMania IX in Las Vegas, Nevada where Hulk Hogan returned to the WWF to capture the WWF Championship from Yokozuna just moments after he won it from Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart. Despite a lack of star names in the main event scene around this time, the mid card was pretty well stocked with some big names of the future – Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, Lex Luger and Shawn Michaels to name a few. This is going to be a little fun project for me to write alongside ‘GCB’s WWE’ (which is definitely not finishing before you ask) and it is the first WrestleMania that I watched. Whilst I’ve since realised that it pretty much sucked, I loved it when I was 12 and it holds a special place in my wrestling memory so I decided to start with it.

ROSTER

WWF CHAMPION
Hulk Hogan

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION
Shawn Michaels

Bam Bam Bigelow
Bart Gunn
Beau Beverly
Billy Gunn
Blake Beverly
Bob Backlund
Bret “Hitman” Hart
Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake
Butch
Crush
Doink the Clown
Fatu
Giant Gonzalez
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
IRS
Jerry “The King” Lawler
Kwang
Luke
Mabel
“Macho Man” Randy Savage
Marty Janetty
“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
Mo
“The Model” Rick Martell
The Mountie
Mr. Hughes
Mr. Perfect
“The Narcissist” Lex Luger
Papa Shango
Razor Ramon
Rick Steiner
“The Rocket” Owen Hart
Samu
Scott Steiner
Sparky Plugg (yet to debut)
Tatanka
The Undertaker
Virgil
Yokozuna
123 Kid (yet to debut)

TAG TEAMS

TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS
Money Incorporated
(IRS / “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase)

The Beverly Brothers
(Beau Beverly / Blake Beverly)

The Bushwhackers
(Butch / Luke)

The Headshrinkers
(Fatu / Samu)

Men on a Mission
(Mabel / Mo)

Smoking Gunns
(Bart Gunn / Billy Gunn)

Steiner Brothers
(Rick Steiner / Scott Steiner)

MANAGERS & OTHER ON-SCREEN CHARACTERS

Afa (Headshrinkers)
Harvey Wippelman (Giant Gonzalez, Mr. Hughes)
Jimmy Hart (Brutus Beefcake, Hulk Hogan)
Luna Vachon (???)
Mr. Fuji (Yokozuna)
Oscar (Men on a Mission)
Paul Bearer (The Undertaker)
‘Sensational’ Sherry (???)
Sunny (Smoking Gunns)

COMMENTARY TEAM

Bobby Heenan (Commentary)
Gorilla Monsoon (Commentary)
Howard Finkel (Announcer)
Jim Ross (Commentary)
‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund (Interviews)
Todd Pettingill (Interviews)
Vince McMahon (Commentary / Interviews)

Jerry “The King” Lawler and “Macho Man” Randy Savage occasionally on commentary.

WRESTLEMANIA 9
@ Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada

[YOUTUBE]AWSskK0bXA0[/YOUTUBE]

Intercontinental Championship: Tatanka defeats Shawn Michaels (C) via DQ
After Shawn Michael’s problems with Marty Janetty, Sensational Sherry comes out with Tatanka hoping to see Shawn get his just desserts. However, Shawn has protection in the form of Luna Vachon who is out to keep an eye on Sherry. Shawn and Tatanka have a great opening match which appears to be heading the way of Tatanka as we near the conclusion of the contest with several near falls. With a shoulder injury bothering him, Shawn decides to take the coward’s way out and he drags the referee out of the ring and throws him to the ground. Tatanka hits the Fallaway Slam for the 1,2,3 but the referee doesn’t count it and disqualifies Shawn Michaels instead. Despite winning the match, Tatanka does not win the Intercontinental Championship.

After the match, Luna attacks Sensational Sherry and Tatanka has to chase her away before a further attack in the backstage area later in the event.

Steiner Brothers defeat Headshrinkers
Scott Steiner takes a real pounding from Samu and Fatu – as well as Afa, the manager of the Headshrinkers – after he is dropped head first over the top rope. However, the Steiners manage to gut the match out and a surprise Frankensteiner allows the Steiners to continue to pick up momentum with the 1,2,3 on their WrestleMania debut.

Doink the Clown defeats Crush
After weeks of getting the better of Crush with his dastardly deeds, Crush finally gets his hands on the evil clown as he makes his wrestling debut in Las Vegas. Crush dominates Doink for the majority of the match, despite a few attempts at a comeback from Doink, and he looks to have the match won as he locks in the Kona Clutch to try and squeeze the life out of Doink. However, a shock is on the cards as a second Doink appears in the ring from underneath the ring when the referee is knocked down. He clubs Crush with an arm cast over the back of the head several times before the two clowns perform a synchronised display. The ‘new’ Doink heads back under the ring whilst the ‘original’ Doink gets the 1,2,3. Despite a referee heading out to tell the hurt referee what went down, they can find no sign of the second Doink and the result will stand.

Razor Ramon defeats Bob Backlund
The veteran Bob Backlund has returned to the WWF and this is his first ever WrestleMania appearance as he faces up against the up and coming newcomer, the ‘Bad Guy’ Razor Ramon. Backlund’s wrestling style gets the upper hand over Razor for the majority of the match as he rolls back the years to when he was the WWF Champion on two occasions totalling six years. However, Backlund is the one taught a lesson at WrestleMania as Razor shows him that a lot has changed since 1984 as he hooks him up with a surprise roll up pinfall.

Tag Team Championships: Money Inc. (c) defeat Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake via DQ
The returning ‘immortal’ Hulk Hogan returns to the WWF for WrestleMania after almost a year away to tag with his friend, Brutus ‘Barber’ Beefcake. Tag Team Champions Money Inc’s vicious attack on Beefcake on a recent RAW caused him to require a facemask but gave him an opportunity to tag with Hogan for a shot at the titles. A highly exciting tag team contest sees IRS and Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase resort to every dirty tactic possible in order to try and defend their titles – including, at one point, leaving the match. However, the referee orders them to return to the ring or lose their titles. Towards the end, Money Inc manage to rip the mask off Brutus and they began to destroy him. Beefcake manages to fight back with a sleeper to IRS but the referee ends up knocked out when DiBiase breaks the hold. In the end, Hogan uses the titanium mask to knock both members of Money Inc out cold and Jimmy Hart – Hogan and Beefcake’s manager, former manager of Money Inc – counts the 1,2,3 and awards the Tag Team Championships to his men. However, another referee rushes down and disqualifies Hogan and Beefcake for illegal use of the mask instead.

Afterwards, Hogan and Brutus scare Money Inc out of the ring and Jimmy Hart tosses the referee out of the ring in disgust after he disqualified Hogan. A big celebration ensues and Hogan and Beefcake open up Money Inc’s briefcase left in the ring to reveal a brick, tax forms and hundreds of dollars that they toss to the crowd.

‘Narcissist’ Lex Luger defeats Mr. Perfect
The undefeated Luger puts his unbeaten run on the line as he goes up against Mr. Perfect. Perfect is aiming to become the first man to not only beat Luger but also to be the first man to avoid being knocked out cold by Luger’s forearm – a lot of suspicion is floating around over the forearm. Luger is accompanied to the ring by some beautiful bikini clad ladies with full length mirrors and sparklers and the former Bodybuilder poses in the ring until Perfect joins him in the ring. Luger, who earlier in the day at the WrestleMania brunch knocked out WWF Champion Bret Hart, resorts to dirty tactics to try and defeat Perfect and keep his unbeaten run going. Perfect outwrestles Luger though and comes within inches of defeating Luger and ending his unbeaten run. Despite winning every match via knockout so far in the WWF, Luger eventually uses a backslide cover to pin Perfect even though his feet are on the ropes. As Perfect complains, Luger blindsides him and knocks him cold – ‘cold as a mackerel’ according to Bobby Heenan – before leaving the ring.

An annoyed Mr. Perfect is not happy and he goes storming back out of the ring and backstage intent on finding Luger and exacting revenge. He spots him in the parking lot and attacks him from behind. However, Luger is speaking with Shawn Michaels at the time and Michaels refuses to stand back. He attacks Perfect and uses broomsticks and trash cans to lay down a beating to Perfect before referees restrain the pair of them.

The Undertaker defeats Giant Gonzalez via DQ
In Undertaker’s third WrestleMania appearance, he appears to be in huge trouble as he faces off against the eight feet tall Giant Gonzalez. After Gonzalez attacked Undertaker at the Royal Rumble – a revenge mission for Harvey Wippelman after Taker destroyed Kamala last year – many speculated that there was no way that he could be beaten. Undertaker travelled to the ring in a chariot – with a vulture for company - for the match which was very awkward at times due to the size of the Giant who dominated for the majority of the match. However, there was big trouble in store for Undertaker when he tried to take out Wippelman – Gonzalez used a cloth covered in chloroform to put the Undertaker to sleep. The Deadman was stretchered out of the ring whilst Giant Gonzalez refused to leave the ring and choke slammed a referee as the crowd chanted for ‘Hogan!’ instead. Unbelievably, Undertaker got back to his feet and headed back out from the backstage area and managed to clothesline Gonzalez and send him scurrying from the ring. A DQ win for Undertaker was announced and an irate Giant Gonzalex had to be ushered away by armed Las Vegas guards to end the war – for now.

WWF Championship: Yokozuna defeats Bret Hart (c) to win the WWF Title
Royal Rumble winner, the 505 pound Yokozuna, came into this match as the heavy favourite after dominating every match he had been involved in since his debut – including matches against Macho Man Randy Savage who he injured, a bodyslam challenge from Hacksaw Jim Duggan and the Rumble match. It appeared that the title reign of the gutsy Hitman would be coming to an end and, in the early stages of the contest, that is exactly what happened as Yokozuna dominated. However, Hart rallied and managed to adapt his wrestling style to counter the sheer size of his challenger. The crowd went crazy at Hitman locked in the Sharpshooter and Yokozuna looked set to tap out when Mr. Fuji rescued him by throwing salt into Hart’s eyes. This meant that Yokozuna could roll up the Hitman and become the new WWF Champion.

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan defeats Yokozuna (c) to win the WWF Title
Before the first title match, Hogan had issued a challenge to whoever won the match – he wanted a shot at the champion. Fuji dared him to face Yokozuna right there and then and when Bret Hart gave him his blessing, Hogan went in to challenge the Japanese sumo wrestler. Fuji tried to throw salt in Hogan’s eyes but he ducked, the salt hit Yokozuna instead. Hogan knocked the Sumo wrestler down and hit the leg drop before making the 1,2,3 to win the WWF Championship – Yokozuna had held the WWF Championship for 2 minutes and 5 seconds before dropping it to Hogan. This meant that the sellout crowd in Las Vegas went wild with delight as their hero raised the WWF Championship high above his head once again.

TV SHOWS

MONDAY NIGHT RAW
Weekly 1-hour episode featuring the main storylines and top stars from the WWF.
Hosted by Vince McMahon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

WWF MANIA
Weekly round-up of action, news and promos from other WWF shows – All American Wrestling, Superstars and Wrestling Challenge.
Hosted by Jim Ross, Gorilla Monsoon, Vince McMahon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

UPCOMING PPV SHOWS

KING OF THE RING
Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
June 13, 1993

SUMMERSLAM
Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
August 29, 1993

SURVIVOR SERIES
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
November 28, 1993

ROYAL RUMBLE
Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
January 23, 1994

WRESTLEMANIA X
Madison Square Garden, New York
March 20, 1994​

 

[georgelfc123]

I'll be keeping up with this as I've always been a fan of the old WWF, and the first WrestleMania I ever saw was WrestleMania 16 but I have seen WM 9 due to Youtube, and WWF was awesome back in those days with Hogan carrying the WWF, and with back-up's such as Yokozuna, Razor Ramon, HBK, Bret Hart etc. so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. But I was a huge fan of your most recent BT, very successful and interesting. The best on here, definitely. So I'm just wondering if this was a wise move..Anyways, good luck GCB!

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

I'll definitely be following this thread. Very interested to see what you'll do with this time of transition in WWE's history.

 

[GCB]

IRL, the RAW after WrestleMania 9 was taped the week before the big event. However, for the purposes of my BT, let’s imagine it wasn’t taped. Every other RAW was taped – again, for the purposes of my BT, let’s assume each RAW is live! The matches are not written out in full, they are just recapped. I haven't got time to write in-depth matches unless it is a PPV of course. Not every major superstar is featured on the show - IIRC, RAW only featured the top stars every 2/3 weeks and Bret, Yoko and Hogan were never on the same show! In fact, IRL, Hogan was in Japan between WM and KOTR and never appeared on RAW to build to his rematch with Yoko. So I'm one up on the WWF already!

Also: remember not to judge the stories by current WWE style. Are they cheesy? Sure. Is it realistic? Damn right it is!

Hope you enjoy this! GCB

[YOUTUBE]1RwnMLOibIM[/YOUTUBE]

MONDAY NIGHT RAW
Monday April 5th, 1993 | Manhattan Center Studios, New York​

After the introduction music plays, the sirens are blaring out and the crowd are going wild as Monday Night RAW returns for the first time since WrestleMania 9 last night. In the ring, a blonde RAW Girl parades around holding up a sign saying “Get Ready ... Get RAW!” whilst the camera spins around the venue before settling on two men at the side of the ring. Those two men are Vince McMahon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and they are both holding microphones and smiling as the camera zooms in on them as they prepare to introduce tonight’s show!

VINCE McMAHON:
Welcome everyone ... to Monday Night RAW, one night on from an incredible WrestleMania in Las Vegas, Nevada, what a show we brought to you last night and what a show we are going to bring you tonight!

BOBBY HEENAN:
Speak for yourself, McMahon, last night was horrendous. I was forced to ride a camel ... backwards! I was forced to sit all night with Ross and the Macho Goof. And just when I thought things were improving, after Perfect was knocked out cold and then Yokozuna won the WWF Championship, Hogan shows up and ruins things once again.

VINCE McMAHON:
Yes, indeed, Bobby Heenan, you are correct. Just moments after winning the WWF Championship from a gutsy Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Yokozuna challenged the immortal Hulk Hogan to a match and he lost in seconds! Just 2 minutes after winning the championship, Yokozuna lost it to the Hulkster!

BOBBY HEENAN:
I don’t know why you’re so happy about that, McMahon. Hulk Hogan didn’t deserve to win that title. Hulk Hogan cheated ...

VINCE McMAHON:
Wait a minute, Bobby Heenan! Careful what you say!

BOBBY HEENAN:
I spoke to Mr. Fuji earlier today, he is not happy about how things went down last night. Expect an official protest later tonight.

VINCE McMAHON:
Unbelievable, that is ridiculous. If there is anybody who should be making an official protest over last night, it’s Bret “The Hitman” Hart after the way Yokozuna defeated him in the first place!

BOBBY HEENAN:
I don’t know what you’re talking about, McMahon, Yokozuna won the championship fair and square. Now, Hogan, well, that’s a completely different matter!

VINCE McMAHON:
Nevertheless, Brain, tonight, we’ve got a great show coming up to follow up a great WrestleMania. Later on, I’ve got to make a huge announcement, we’ve got the new WWF Champion ...

BOBBY HEENAN:
... the ‘phony’ WWF Champion, McMahon!

VINCE McMAHON:
Be quiet, Bobby Heenan! We’ve got the new WWF Champion, Hulk Hogan, here on RAW tonight, we’ve got the wrestling debut of the ever controversial Jerry “The King” Lawler here in the WWF and we’ve got all the fallout from WrestleMania 9!

BOBBY HEENAN:
Have we got Mr. Perfect? Or is he suffering from a concussion after Lex Luger was done with him? Hahahaha!

Vince McMahon looks at Bobby Heenan and shakes his head in annoyance before they are interrupted by the first theme music of the evening ...

*** NATIVE AMERICAN ***
TATANKA​

The crowd leap to their feet as the Native American Tatanka heads out towards the ring. Tatanka quickly enters the ring and skips around the squared circle saluting the crowd by standing on the middle rope and performing chops with his hand in the air which many of the people in attendance reciprocate. Tatanka looks determined this evening after his controversial match with the Intercontinental Championship with Shawn Michaels last night. Despite winning the match, Tatanka failed to capture the belt due to winning via a disqualification after Michaels dragged the referee out of the ring. However, as McMahon informs us, Tatanka remains undefeated and right bang in the title hunt.

*** MODEL ***
“THE MODEL” RICK MARTEL ​

With his ‘Arrogance’ perfume in his hand and his blue jacket around his shoulders, Rick Martel comes out to a barrage of boos as the next man to try and defeat the undefeated Native American. As he gets into the ring, Tatanka is desperate to get started but Martel holds him up by antagonising the crowd and posing instead of preparing for the match. Eventually, Martel is ready and the referee is able to signal for the bell ...

SINGLES MATCH
“The Model” Rick Martel vs. Tatanka

A good back and forth contest ensues as the under-rated Model takes the fight to the Native American Tatanka as he looks to end the undefeated streak. Tatanka is struggling, classic babyface style, for the majority of the opening exchanges but then begins to make a comeback as he no-sells Martel’s right hands. In the end, despite the look of worry on his face, Martel makes a wise decision and he grabs Tatanka by the back of the neck and throws him over the top rope to stop Tatanka’s momentum before it can get going. After posing for a while and taunting the fans, Model goes out of the ring to continue the fight but he gets caught by Tatanka who has had time to recover. Chops across the chest follow before the pair of them – surprised by the referee’s count of 7 – roll back into the ring. Martel swings a clothesline and misses as Tatanka ducks before suplexing the Model hard onto the mat. Tatanka climbs to the middle ropes a few times and delivers overhead axe handles to Martel but then misses with a crossbody that leaves him squirming on the mat as Martel recovers. A cocky, arrogant smile passes his face before he starts to showboat – a bodyslam here, then a dropkick. Martel finally makes the pinfall but Tatanka is out at 2. Martel pounds away but, once again, Tatanka begins his comeback. This time, it results in Tatanka catching Martel with hard chops to the chest, a missile dropkick from the ropes that gets a close 2-count and then ... TATANKA HITS THE FALLAWAY SLAM! The move he has won so many matches with already, Tatanka makes the cover ...

** 1 **
** 2 **
** 3 **​

WINNER (@7:32 via pinfall): TATANKA

Loud cheers from the crowd as Tatanka puts away Martel and extends his undefeated streak which now sits at well over a year since February 1992. Tatanka stands astride the middle ropes and salutes the crowd once more as the war cry echoes around the building followed by his theme before he jumps down and beckons to Howard Finkel to pass him the microphone so that he can speak out to the crowd ...

TATANKA:
At WrestleMania 9, I challenged Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship, I had him defeated in the ring but he managed to get away with it by getting himself disqualified by the referee. You know I had you beat, Shawn Michaels, do the right thing and put the Intercontinental Championship on the line one more time, you and me. I’m challenging you to a rematch, Shawn, one on one for the title. Do the right thing.

Tatanka passes the microphone back to Finkel before saluting the fans one more time and exiting the ring to more cheers as the crowd show their support for the challenge that the Native American just laid down to the Intercontinental Champion, Shawn Michaels.

VINCE McMAHON:
Good points made by Tatanka, Brain, he is laying down the challenge to Shawn Michaels!

BOBBY HEENAN:
Why? He had his chance at WrestleMania and he failed, McMahon. Just because the Native American chicken couldn’t get the job done on Sunday, he wants another chance? If I were Shawn Michaels, I’d tell him to go get stuffed!

VINCE McMAHON:
Of course you would, Bobby Heenan. But everybody else knows that the right thing for Shawn Michaels to do would be to put the title on the line one more time.

BOBBY HEENAN:
If I know Shawn Michaels, he’ll do the right thing, McMahon – but I don’t think Tatanka and you are going to like what he does.

*** COMMERCIAL BREAK ***​

RAW returns with Vince McMahon stood in the ring holding a microphone as he waits for RAW to resume. As soon as the RAW girl has left the ring and the music has faded out, Vince raises the microphone and prepares to speak ...

VINCE McMAHON:
Ladies and Gentlemen, last night we witnessed an absolutely amazing WrestleMania, what many people are calling the greatest WrestleMania of all time, but now attention here in the World Wrestling Federation will turn towards our next pay-per-view offering in ten weeks time.

The crowd cheer as they are about to hear about a new World Wrestling PPV to fill the void between WrestleMania and Summerslam which comes at the end of August ...

VINCE McMAHON:
For the first time on pay-per-view, the World Wrestling Federation will bring you ... the ‘King of the Ring’ ...

Big cheers from the crowd even though they don’t know what it is yet!

VINCE McMAHON:
32 men will enter a tournament that will determine who the King of the Ring here in the World Wrestling Federation really is. Over the coming weeks on RAW and on the WWF’s other shows, we will have two rounds of qualifying matches until we are down to the final eight men. Then, in Dayton, Ohio, in ten weeks time, those eight men will compete in the final three rounds to determine the 1993 King of the Ring!

Excited cheers from the WWF audience who like the sound of this new PPV concept, they cannot wait for it to begin!

VINCE McMAHON:
Furthermore, ladies and gentlemen, the tournament will begin this weekend on Superstars when we have our very first Round 1 match – it will be ... Papa Shango ... against “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan!

The crowd erupt into a loud “Hoooooooooooooooo!” as the first King of the Ring qualifying match is announced ...

VINCE McMAHON:
You can catch the action this weekend on WWF Mania, then next week on Monday Night RAW, we will see two more qualifying matches as we begin the countdown to crowning the King of the Ring!

The crowd are excited about the King of the Ring PPV that is just ten weeks away and there is no doubt at all that this is going to be one of the most prestigious nights in the World Wrestling Federation, a chance to be crowned King and to be named as the best ...

VINCE McMAHON:
And speaking of Kings, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, making his wrestling debut here in the World Wrestling Federation ... JERRY “THE KING” LAWLER!

Huge boos ring out around the arena now as the unpopular Lawler begins to make his appearance ready for action for the first time ever in the WWF ...

*** GREAT GATES OF KIEV ***
JERRY “THE KING” LAWLER​

With the crowd chanting “Burger King” at Lawler, he makes his way out dressed as a King with his crown and robe, a look of disdain on his face as he looks around at the people at ringside. He slowly climbs the ring steps and through the ropes where he takes the microphone roughly from Howard Finkel and then turns on the crowd ...

JERRY LAWLER:
Cut my music! Why don’t all of you morons shut up and show me some respect?

This doesn’t work, the jeers intensify as Lawler looks round expecting silence to fall ...

JERRY LAWLER:
You idiots! You’ve got royalty in the ring and this is the way you treat me? Instead of booing me, you should all be on your knees, bowing down to the ‘King of the WWF’ and preparing yourselves, if I let you, to kiss my royal feet.

Thumbs down from many in the crowd as they show their dislike of Lawler who is not getting off to a great start here in his relationship with the fans ...

JERRY LAWLER:
Now, for the first time ever, you peasants are going to have the privilege of seeing your King wrestle here on Monday Night RAW. I heard McMahon’s announcement before, the ‘King of the Ring’ tournament will be starting soon – well, I got news for you all. The WWF already has its King – ME!

Lawler smirks and points to his crowd as he looks around the hall where people are still booing his comments ...

JERRY LAWLER:
But I’ve decided that I am going to enter the tournament and prove to you all that I am exactly what I say I am ... a King! And when I do, every single one of you will have to get down and kiss my feet here on RAW!

Lawler laughs as he tosses the microphone back at Finkel whilst Bobby Heenan praises the way the King has already made his mark in the WWF. McMahon, on the other hand, is shaking his head in disgust, he can’t believe the lack of respect that Lawler just showed to the WWF fans here in New York tonight!

*** VIRGIL THEME ***
VIRGIL​

As McMahon hypes up Virgil and his chance to shut up Lawler here tonight, the former bodyguard of the Million Dollar Man makes his way to the ring on the run where he leaps over the ropes and into the ring where he shadow boxes as Lawler looks on. The referee signals for the bell, here we go!

SINGLES MATCH
Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Virgil

A fast start from Virgil to the delight of the crowd and things seem to be going his way as Lawler continuously leaves the ring to buy himself some time and frustrate Virgil. The turning point comes when Lawler is arguing with a group of fans who are chanting ‘Burger King’ at him – Virgil climbs to the top rope and sails out of the ring towards Lawler who moves out of the way at the last moment and Virgil clatters to the concrete floor. Lawler rams him into the side of the ring before rolling him back in. A few hard punches later and Lawler appears to be heading for victory, Virgil looks to counter but Lawler resorts to underhand tactics with a poke to the eye. PILEDRIVER FROM LAWLER! Lawler makes the cover with an arrogant smirk on his face ...

** 1 **
** 2 **
** 3 **​

WINNER (@5:28 via pinfall): JERRY “THE KING” LAWLER

The crowd are not impressed as Virgil jumps up ready to go after Lawler; however, the King has hightailed it and is stood outside the ring taunting Virgil as he raises his hand in the air and then points to his head as if to suggest he is smarter than him. Heenan makes his point and says that Lawler just out-witted Virgil, McMahon accuses Lawler of outright cheating to get a win on his first night wrestling in the WWF. As RAW prepares to head into another commercial break, Vince gives us two pieces of huge news – next up, we will be hearing from the new WWF Champion, Hulk Hogan and then later on in tonight’s main event, it will be the return of the Macho Man Randy Savage as he goes one on one with the huge Bam Bam Bigelow ...

*** COMMERCIAL BREAK ***​

RAW returns with another RAW girl in the ring as the cheers of the crowd echo around the Manhattan Center, it’s the first RAW after WrestleMania 9 and the electric in the air is noticeable. McMahon throws to a short video that details the ending to WrestleMania through the use of still images and shows Bret Hart’s battle with Yokozuna, the Sharpshooter that looked set to give Hart the win, the salt shot from Fuji, a shot of Yokozuna with the WWF Championship, a shot of Bret giving Hogan his blessing, a leg drop from Hulk to the Japanese Sumo wrestler and then a final shot of Hogan with the WWF Championship. As the video ends, McMahon reminds us that there will be an encore presentation of WrestleMania 9 on PPV after RAW tonight before the arena explodes as the new WWF Champion heads out ...

*** REAL AMERICAN ***
HULK HOGAN
WWF CHAMPION​

The crowd are going wild as Hogan, dressed in red and yellow as usual, heads out and plays to the fans in his usual way. He listens out to the four sides of the ring as they cheer him, he poses on the ropes with the WWF Championship and considers how good it looks over his shoulder before he goes to the middle of the ring where Vince McMahon is waiting to interview him ...

VINCE McMAHON:
Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome ... the new World Wrestling Federation Champion ... HULK HOGAN!

Hogan again receives an almighty cheer, he is so over with the fans it is unbelievable, he smiles as he looks around the arena ...

VINCE McMAHON:
Hulkster, you are the new WWF Champion! What have you got to say about that?

Hogan pauses for a moment and then answers ...

HULK HOGAN:
Let me tell you something, Vince McMahon, I told the world last night, before the WWF Championship match between the Jap and Bret Hart, I told the world that I would challenge again for the WWF Championship. I made a challenge and when I saw what Fuji and Yokozuna did to the Hitman, I had to go out there and check on him. I had no intention of going back with this WWF Championship belt around my waist but when Fuji made that challenge ...

Hogan looks around the arena with a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eyes ...

HULK HOGAN:
... Tell me, how could I refuse that chance? Bret Hart gave me his blessing, he said “Go, Hulkster, go!” and Bret Hart, brother, I did you proud. Like I said last night, you’re a Hulkamaniac too, just like all of these people here tonight, just like all those people in Las Vegas, Nevada, last night, I did what you wanted me to do, I got into that ring and I kicked Yokozuna’s behind, I won the WWF Championship for a fifth time!

The crowd go wild as Hogan lifts the title up high with both hands and he celebrates once more with the fans ... Eventually, he returns to McMahon and he waits for the next question ...

VINCE McMAHON:
Some people would say though, Hulk, mainly Bobby Heenan over there ...

Boos for the mention of Heenan who looks around with a look of annoyance ...

VINCE McMAHON:
... some would say it was a controversial victory. There was no official contract in place, there was no official bell rung to start the match – some people believe that Yokozuna should still be the WWF Champion.

Hogan looks a little perturbed at this news but he composes himself to answer ...

HULK HOGAN:
You know what, brother, I expect sour grapes from people like Heenan, people like Fuji, people like Yokozuna. The fact of the matter is this, Fuji made the challenge, Yokozuna was daring me to get into that ring and with the power of all those Hulkamaniacs screaming at me to go and beat him, that is exactly what I did. And brother, it felt good, I felt the power of Hulkamania running through my veins, I didn’t fear Yokozuna, I had the thousands of Hulkamaniacs screaming my name, I had Bret Hart’s blessing, I had ...

*** SUMO ***
YOKOZUNA
(with Mr. Fuji)​

With the Japanese flag waving high above him, Fuji leads out the man who was the WWF Champion for just over 2 minutes last night, Yokozuna. They slowly head towards the ring, the crowd booing them, there is a tension in the air now. As Yokozuna and Fuji step through the ropes, Hogan places the WWF Championship over the corner turnbuckle, ready – just in case. Vince McMahon holds the microphone to Fuji who wishes to speak as Yokozuna and Hogan lock eyes in the centre of the ring ...

MR. FUJI:
HOGAN! Hogan ... Listen to me, Hogan! You are a fraud. You do not deserve that WWF Heavyweight belt. The match last night was a joke. My Yokozuna, very upset. You did not beat my Yokozuna. You cheated. Give my Yokozuna his title back ... now!

Hogan considers Fuji for a moment but then moves close to the microphone again to respond ...

HULK HOGAN:
I cheated? Which one of us made the challenge, Fuji? Face it, I beat your Yokozuna fair and square, I beat him 1, 2, 3 in the middle of the ring even when you tried to throw salt in my eyes, the power of all the Hulkamaniacs was behind me, I was able to fight back and overcome you both, fair and square, I beat your man and now I am the World Wrestling Federation Champion. I don’t care what you think, Fuji, I don’t care how upset Yokozuna is. I am the World Wres ...

Suddenly, with his eyes on Fuji, Hogan is blindsided by Yokozuna with a shot to the face. The huge Sumo wrestler begins to pound away on Hogan and then slams him down to the mat, Hogan is completely caught off guard. Yokozuna comes off the ropes and drops a massive leg across the chest of Hogan, the crowd wince as they see their hero squashed to the mat. Yokozuna backs away from Hogan as Fuji gives the orders – Hogan staggers up into the corner of the ring where is WWF Championship belt is but then he is squashed by a running Yokozuna before he is shoved hard onto his back. The crowd realise what is coming as Fuji points to the turnbuckles and Yokozuna, with a stiff stomp to the chest of the grounded champion first, steps up onto the bottom rope as he starts the climb to deliver the Banzai drop. As Yokozuna is making his way up the turnbuckles though ...

*** HITMAN ***
BRET “THE HITMAN” HART​

The second former WWF Champion to head out here tonight does so at a run, he is determined to get to the ring in time to save Hogan. Bret slides into the ring and shoves Fuji hard through the ropes to the outside, he crashes into the back of Yokozuna who is perched on the middle ropes and he unbalances him a little to delay him. Hogan recovers and moves out of the way as Yokozuna steps down from the ropes slowly – he is 505 pounds after all – and turns to face Hart. A running dropkick surprises him again and Yokozuna is all at sea here as he staggers out of the corner, Hart hits a clothesline and Yokozuna teeters. Another clothesline as Hart is desperate to take the Sumo wrestler off his feet. Hart climbs to the middle rope and flings himself towards Yokozuna again, clothesline ... and down goes Yokozuna! CRASH! Bret has taken him off his feet ... But wait a minute!

Here it comes! LEG DROP FROM HULK HOGAN! HOGAN DROPS THE LEG ON YOKOZUNA! Bret watches on as Hogan kneels over the dazed Yokozuna and pummels him – Yokozuna rolls out of the ring and joins Fuji as they make their way out of the ring and the arena. Hogan celebrates and the ‘Real American’ theme rings out around the arena again as Hogan holds the WWF Championship belt high to the rafters. Hart is still watching on as Hogan turns to face him and he offers out his hand ... Bret thinks about it for a moment but then shakes the hand of the Hulkster. Bret exits the ring as Hogan continues to celebrate, he is the new WWF Champion!

*** COMMERCIAL BREAK ***​

RAW returns and we see that Jerry Lawler has come back out and has joined Bobby Heenan and Vince McMahon on commentary. When McMahon quizzes him about why he is there, Lawler informs him that he is out here to scout his potential opponents for the King of the Ring. McMahon announces that it is time for two of the young, up and coming tag teams to go at it tonight ...

*** SAMOAN THEME ***
FATU & SAMU – THE HEADSHRINKERS
(with Afa)​

Wearing traditional Samoan dress and carrying weapons, Afa leads Fatu and Samu towards the ring, their bare feet stepping up the ring steps as they look to get back on track after their defeat to the Steiner Brothers yesterday at WrestleMania 9. Heenan suggests that whilst everybody is talking about the Steiners for the next Tag Team Championship shot, the Headshrinkers deserve their chance more after they dominated the match. McMahon says that whilst that may be true, it is all about pinfalls in the World Wrestling Federation – as Yokozuna found to his cost last night!

*** MEN ON A MISSION ***
MABEL & MO – MEN ON A MISSION
(with Oscar)​

Oscar raps as he leads out the purple and gold clad Men on a Mission, a relatively new tag team here in the WWF. The 300 pound Mo is dwarfed by the 500 pound Mabel as they wave their hands in the air with the crowd to Oscar’s singing. Jerry Lawler begins to make wise cracks about Mabel as he approaches the ring and accuses him of looking like Barney. The Headshrinkers do not look impressed as they wait outside the ring, ready for action, until the referee signals for the bell ...

TAG TEAM MATCH
Headshrinkers (w/Afa) vs. Men on a Mission (w/Oscar)

On commentary, Lawler begins to make comment about the state of the Men on a Mission team and he make several distasteful jokes about them as they compete in their match. Headshrinkers take control as Mo hits Samu with a headbutt ... big mistake! Samu headbutts Mo back twice as hard without feeling any pain at all. This leads to a period of classic tag team wrestling from the Headshrinkers as they cut off the ring and batter Mo as a frustrated Mabel is desperate for a tag. Mo is taking a beating as Mabel continues to wait, aware, thanks to Oscar, of Lawler’s comments on commentary. Suddenly, Fatu misses with a diving headbutt as Mo moves aside, the tag to Samu follows but Mo manages to find the energy to come off the ropes and hit a somersault crossbody that takes him down too. Mo is crawling across the ring looking for the tag and Lawler decides to grab a microphone ...

JERRY LAWLER:
Hey, Mabel, are you going to enter the King of the Ring tournament?

Mabel tries to ignore Lawler as he concentrates on getting the tag from Mo as soon as possible. However, King is not finished here ...

JERRY LAWLER:
Surely you don’t expect me to fear you, do you? You’re a 500 pound tub of blubber dressed in an outfit that would make a cartoon character blush and you expect me to take you seriously in the King of the Ring tournament?

Mabel turns his attention to Lawler for a second and Mo dives for the tag – no tag made. As Mabel turns back round, Samu drags Mo back to the Headshrinkers half of the ring and begins pounding on him again. Outside the ring, Lawler is chuckling away whilst Mabel looks angry and he drops to the floor and begins to walk around the commentary table where Lawler is stood ...

JERRY LAWLER:
Easy there, big fella. I’ve got a tournament to qualify for in the next few weeks, I don’t want you to accidentally fall on me and injure me. Imagine that, if you would, the great Jerry “The King” Lawler ... eliminated from the King of the Ring tournament ...

Mabel comes around the corner of the ring and advances on Lawler who begins to edge backwards ...

JERRY LAWLER:
... BY BARNEY!

Mabel snaps and goes to destroy Lawler but he misses him as Lawler makes his way out of his reach. Mabel stalks after Lawler down the aisle and the King taunts him from the entrance to the arena ... Meanwhile, in the ring, Mo is in deep trouble as Fatu climbs the ropes, he jumps off ... DIVING HEADBUTT FROM FATU! Fatu hooks the leg of Mo ...

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** 2 **
** 3 **​

WINNERS (@6:38 via pinfall): HEADSHRINKERS

Mabel looks annoyed with Lawler who has distracted him so much during the match and caused him to take the pinfall there. Lawler is stood outside the ring and looks worried as Mabel starts to head towards him again, Mo and Oscar following, the big man looks angry as Lawler takes off through the curtain, he isn’t prepared to stand around and wait to discuss things with Mabel. Vince McMahon says that he cannot wait for Mabel to get his hands on Lawler whilst Bobby Heenan suggests that Lawler was the funniest guy he has heard in years here in the WWF.

*** COMMERCIAL BREAK ***​

RAW returns in the locker room where Todd Pettingill is stood with Mr. Perfect who was controversially beaten by Lex Luger last night at WrestleMania before being attacked by Shawn Michaels later in the evening. However, he looks happy enough as he waits for Todd to ask him a question.

TODD PETTINGILL:
Folks, I am backstage with Mr. Perfect, a man who last night was beaten by Lex Luger due to poor officiating. Mr. Perfect, what are your thoughts on your loss, the attack from Shawn Michaels and the upcoming King of the Ring tournament?

Perfect grins, he is ready to speak ...

MR. PERFECT:
You know, Todd, I can see it in your eyes, you expect an angry young man tonight don’t you? And you’d be right, deep down, I am simmering with rage but you know what? I know only one way to deal with Luger, I know one way to deal with Michaels. That way, Todd, is in the wrestling ring, my home from home, the place where perfection rules. Lex Luger wants to jump me from behind with his forearm? Shawn Michaels wants to jump me from behind in the parking lot? Fine, you know what, I take it as a compliment. Not one of you has the guts to face me properly, man to man, in the ring.

Perfect laughs to himself ...

MR. PERFECT:
But that’s OK, guys, there is a solution. You see, I know both of you too well. You’ve both got huge egos and I know that you both want to be the King of the Ring. So, I have a plan – if I enter the King of the Ring, I’ll get to face you both and end your hopes of winning. I will beat you, one on one, to your face, the perfect way. No jumping you when your back is turned, no sneak attacks when you’re not looking ...

As Perfect speaks about sneak attacks from behind, here is another one as Lex Luger suddenly sneaks up behind him with a mirror and smashes it across his back. The crowd wince as Perfect falls to the floor, shocked, Luger throws the mirror down and he stomps away at Perfect’s lower back, the back that he hurt yesterday at WrestleMania, before he pulls the elbow pad off his elbow and starts to drive the forearm into the back of Perfect’s head and neck over and over and over. Officials spill into the locker room to drag Luger away and as they do we see that Perfect is face down on the floor completely knocked out cold. There is real worry amongst the doctors as they arrive on the scene, Luger is smirking as he is ushered away ... The camera switches back to Heenan and McMahon at ringside; McMahon looks disgusted, Heenan is laughing and applauding ...

VINCE McMAHON:
Bobby Heenan, you’re applauding that?

BOBBY HEENAN:
That, McMahon, was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. Perfect was completely knocked cold by the Narcissist Lex Luger! Amazing!

VINCE McMAHON:
Surely even you cannot condone those actions, Brain?

BOBBY HEENAN:
Perfect has had that coming to him for months, McMahon, since he left me. He’s been goading people and getting too big for his boots ... well, tonight, it was payback time for Mr. Perfect! And you know what? Lex Luger – that was perfect!

*** BAM! BAM! ***
BAM BAM BIGELOW​

In the ring, we see that Bam Bam Bigelow is taunting the crowd as his music plays as he readies himself for tonight’s main event match. Bigelow, the ‘Beast from the East’ who didn’t feature at WrestleMania, appears ready to take out his anger on somebody but his opponent is a legend who is making his in-ring return from injury here tonight ...

*** LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY ***
MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE​

Decked out in red and black tassles here tonight to match the RAW set, Macho Man steps out with the crowd cheering his return to the ring with a thunderous reception. Savage, a former WWF Champion of course, milks the ovation as he makes his way into the ring and poses for the crowd who love him to bits. However, whilst he is perched on the turnbuckles, an over eager Bam Bam Bigelow decides that enough is enough and he charges over and drags Savage off the ropes and starts pummelling away at him as the referee signals for the bell to start the match ...

SINGLES MATCH
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Bigelow has stolen the advantage as he pounds away at Savage who has clearly been caught completely off guard. Despite trying to rally, Bigelow has taken control and he hits a stinging headbutt to Savage before a big boot off the ropes leaves him down and out and seemingly in a lot of trouble early on. The referee counts a 2 but Savage’s kick out is weak and Bigelow keeps on top of the contest. Savage cannot get out of the blocks as he continues to take a beating from the ‘Beast from the East’ until Bam Bam drops his entire body weight down on Savage and gets another 2 count. With Savage down on the mat and out, Bigelow goes up the ropes and balances on the top buckle – for a big man, Bigelow flies amazingly. He prepares and then flies off the ropes looking for the headbutt to the shoulder of Savage ... Noooo! Savage rolls away and now it is Savage who is up and able to get his game on. A flurry of right hands from Savage stagger Bigelow before he hits a snap suplex to the big man that shakes the ring. As Bigelow gets up, Savage hits a bulldog and gets a 2 count of his own. The match continues with both men now equal – Bigelow tries to take advantage with a rake of the eyes but Savage uses a poke to the eye to his own advantage! In the end, Savage heads to the top rope with Bigelow down and he hits the Flying Elbow to drive down into the chest of the big man. He hooks the leg, has he done enough?

** 1 **
** 2 **
** 3 **​

WINNER (@8:28 via pinfall): “MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE

RAW ends on a feelgood moment as the Macho Man makes a successful return and McMahon suggests that his return tonight surely means that we have a major contender for either the WWF Championship or the King of the Ring with us now. Savage celebrates as the crowd salute him, Bigelow slinks away a beaten man and RAW ends with Savage stood on the ropes with the crowd cheering for him. McMahon reminds the people watching at home about the encore PPV presentation of WrestleMania 9 and of the WWF Mania show this Saturday which will feature the first King of the Ring Qualifier – “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Papa Shango. Who will get the win and move into Round 2 of Qualifying ahead of the King of the Ring in ten weeks time?