WWF RAW November 29 1993 Review (Razor Ramon Vs. Diesel)

November 29, 1993 Location: White Plains, New York, USA (Westchester County Center) Announced attendance: ca 3,000 TV rating: 3.1 (USA Network) [same as the previous episode's 3.1 rating]

Welcome everyone to my first RAW review after the 1993 Survivor Series PPV. Diesel battles Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon in a big matchup. Owen Hart is in action after the confrontation with his brother, Bret Hart, at Survivor Series. Plus, Bam Bam Bigelow, The Steiners & Ludvig Borga are in action.

The following is the list of WWF's champions heading into this RAW episode:

• WWF Champion: Yokozuna [169th day of his 2nd reign] - previous champion: Hulk Hogan

• WWF Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon [63rd day of his 1st reign] - previous champion: Shawn Michaels, before it was vacated

• WWF World Tag Team Champions: The Quebecers (Jacques & Pierre) [77th day of their 1st reign; Jacques' 1st individual reign & Pierre's 1st individual reign]

Note: in title matches, the defending champions are underlined

Enjoy the review!

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan

RAW's intro plays.

The announcers recap Survivor Series and hype tonight's bouts.

Coming up tonight: the WWF Superstar of the Year presentation!

The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) vs. Mike Khoury & Reno Riggins

Scott Steiner overpowers Khoury early on and hits a full nelson suplex. Steinerline by Rick, who wants some of Riggins. Rick slams him into the turnbuckle before tagging Scotty back in. Scott with a single leg crab followed by a very impressive delayed vertical suplex into a piledriver. Meanwhile, McMahon talks about the return of the Women's Championship on commentary. Scott drags Khoury back in so he can finish him off with a tilt-a-whirl slam and the Frankensteiner in 3:45.

Winners: The Steiners

• Rating: The Steiners never fail to deliver in their squashes. Explosive and effective as always. 3/4*

Promotional video for the Survivor Series Encore.

Jeff Jarrett vignette - he's trying to meet Buddy Lee.

Razor Ramon vs. Diesel

This week's featured match on RAW. Also, Diesel's first real test in his first big singles match on WWF TV.

The fans chant for Razor as he goes to work on the big man's arm to start. Diesel shrugs him off rather easily, though, and shoulderblocks Razor. Diesel misses a second one, with Razor taking him down. Diesel with a back elbow smash to stay in control followed by several shots to the back. He drops a few elbows on Razor's back and gets a couple of nearfalls. Diesel with a bearhug, Razor finds a way out of it only to run straight into the Big Boot. Snake Eyes follows and Diesel gets two. Diesel goes back to the bearhug with the crowd supporting Razor. He escapes with the help of a thumb to the eyes before hitting a flying bulldog for two. Razor with a big slam, he's thinking Razor's Edge... but here's Shawn Michaels to cause the DQ at 5:19.

Winner: Razor Ramon by DQ

• Rating: I enjoyed this match up until the understandable DQ ending. Granted, my expectations were low knowing Diesel's in-ring limitations at the time, but I thought they did a good job. The crowd definitely helped, as they couldn't get enough of the machismo! **

Shawn Michaels delivers Sweet Chin Music to Razor Ramon. He grabs the IC Title and sets it up for a piledriver on the belt, but The 1-2-3 Kid saves the day with a crossbody to HBK and a spinkick to Diesel.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Luna Vachon) vs. John Chrystal

Bigelow, fresh off a humiliating loss to the Doinks at Survivor Series, destroys the poor guy right from the get-go. Bam Bam keeps calling out Doink the Clown everytime he takes Chrystal down. Nice enziguiri by Bigelow for the win at 3:14.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow

• Rating: Nothing bad with the match but this feud with Doink should've ended at the PPV. 1/4*

We see a recap from the last episode of Wrestling Challenge - Santa Claus came out to give Doink the Clown a present, and it was Dink.

WWF Superstar of the Year Presentation

Vince McMahon hosts the presentation. Since the voting was so close between two top stars, McMahon wants to honor the runner-up as well. The runner-up comes first: it's Lex Luger. Luger cuts a brief promo and introduces the 1993 WWF Superstar of the Year, Bret Hart. He thanks the fans for never giving up on him and promises to go after the WWF Championship soon. Bret dedicates the trophy to his friends and family, including all of his brothers.

Speaking of one of his brothers...

Owen Hart vs. Chris Duffy

Owen comes out with shades and gives them to a fan at ringside. Now that's original! Owen is already getting a few boos here. Owen starts off with a series of hiptosses, a shoulderblock and a spinkick to Duffy. Dropkick by Owen while the fans shower him with "we want Bret" chants. Owen with a chinlock, and Duffy actually hits a back elbow smash. An enziguiri knocks Duffy silly to the floor, where Owen meets him with a dive. Owen comes back in with a missile dropkick before putting Duffy away with the Sharpshooter at 2:48.

Winner: Owen Hart

• Rating: Entertaining performance by Owen, who changes his style and continues teasing the obvious heel turn. 1/2*

Bobby Heenan tries to get a word with Owen Hart, who walks away without saying anything.

Main Event

Ludvig Borga vs. Scott Taylor

Borga jumps Taylor before the match even starts. Slam by Borga but he misses an elbowdrop. Taylor scores with a dropkick and two clotheslines that have no effect. He goes for a third one, only to run into a huge clothesline by Borga. A chokeslam and the Torture Rack finish Taylor after 2:27.

Winner: Ludvig Borga

• Rating: Borga was messing with the crowd but they just didn't care. 1/4*

The 1-2-3 Kid accepts Shawn Michaels' challenge for a singles match next week.

END OF THE SHOW

Final thoughts: Not a bad follow-up to Survivor Series. Bam Bam Bigelow and Ludvig Borga's squashes did nothing for me, but apart from that everything served its purpose. Razor vs. Razor Ramon was decent with a good angle to build up Shawn Michaels vs. The 1-2-3 Kid for next week. Good way to advance the Bret/Owen program, as well. 6/10

POINT SYSTEM

Click here to find out how the point system works.

Wrestler	Result	Star rating	Main eventing	Extras	Total
Razor Ramon	0.5	2	0	0	2.5
Scott Steiner	1	0.75	0	0.5	2.25
Ludvig Borga	1	0.25	1	0	2.25
Rick Steiner	1	0.75	0	0	1.75
Diesel	-0.5	2	0	0	1.5
Owen Hart	1	0.5	0	0	1.5
Bam Bam Bigelow	1	0.25	0	0	1.25

That's all from today's post. Make sure you don't miss any of the upcoming blog posts. Coming up soon will be WCW Starrcade 1993 and more episodes of WWF RAW as we get ready to close the book on 1993. Until next time!