Raw Retro Review: Episode 3
By Mike Smith
WWE.com
The third episode of Raw takes place one day after the Royal Rumble. With Bret Hart retaining his title, and Yokozuna winning the Rumble match, a solid WrestleMania main event lies ahead, as long as Hart doesn’t lose the title in that time. Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan are on commentary.
Repo Man outside the building w/ Sean Mooney
Mooney is outside waiting for Repo Man to arrive, when he pulls up in a tow truck. Repo Man says he is going to repo “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s career, just like he did to his hat last week. Very similar to what Repo Man said last week, but it’s a good way of attacking this very strange character. Plenty of credit goes to the Repo Man, he’s very committed to his character.
“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Repo Man
Savage picks up the win with the top rope elbow drop. Good match that saw Savage get his revenge, and his hat back.
Kamala vs. Brooklyn Brawler/Slick interview at ringside w/ Vince McMahon
Kamala get the win following the Big Splash. Exactly what you’d expect from a Brooklyn Brawler match. Slick at ringside is certainly a lot of fun.
After the match, Slick said Harvey Wippleman better watch out, because if Kamala sees him and old memories come back, Slick may lose control of him. The highlight of this was Bobby Heenan and Rob Bartlett fighting with each other on commentary over who’s in charge when McMahon goes to interview somebody.
Royal Rumble Report
Mean Gene recaps the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He talks about Bret Hart retaining hit title and Yokozuna’s Royal Rumble win and begins to hype their potential title match at WrestleMania IX. Mean Gene then talks about Bobby Heenan’s unveiling of Lex Luger. Mean Gene seems against the personality of Lex Luger, but then seems to be admiring Luger’s physique at the same time, saying he looked like the “Bronzed Adonis.” Then he talks about the spectacular Giant Gonzales and his presence in the Royal Rumble. Gonzales wasn’t in the match, but still entered to take out The Undertaker. I said it last week, Mean Gene does a great job of legitimizing wrestling in these segments.
Ric Flair vs. Mr. Perfect in a Loser Leaves Town Match
Mr. Perfect hits the Perfect Plex for the win. Bobby Heenan left the commentary table to greet Flair at ringside, before returning when Mr. Perfect started to make his way to the ring. This match was an absolute thing of beauty and these guys had great chemistry the whole match. After Flair was pinned, Heenan unleashed a string of censored profanity on commentary that was hilarious. This was Flair’s last televised match before heading back to WCW.
Overall Impression
The difference between the dynamic that Raw had in the early days, and the dynamic that it has in 2014 is startling. That being said, these early episodes are very enjoyable. However, I would like to see how the show flows when they get away from a PPV.
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