On January 11, 1993, prime-time cable TV was introduced to Monday Night Raw. The show was a breakthrough for televised wrestling. Instead of airing taped matches from various arenas (ala WWF’s Prime Time Wrestling), Raw was shot to a live audience. At its inception the show lasted an hour and all episodes originated at the Manhattan Center, a venue that later played host to two ECW brand pay-per-views, two WWE owned ECW One Night Stand PPVs, and numerous Ring of Honor events, specifically mega cards like Glory by Honor and Final Battle. The debut show featured two competitors who would go on to be two of the biggest mainstays in World Wrestling Entertainment: Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.
For nearly 900 episodes, Raw is the longest-running weekly episodic programming in existence. Special episodes include “Raw is Owen” (May 24, 1999); the first Brand Extension Draft Raw (March 25, 2002), Raw’s Tenth and Fifteenth anniversary shows; the “Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show” (November 14, 2005) and most recently “Raw is HBK” (March 29, 2010).
The DVD release that arrives August 10, 2010, Raw: The Beginning Seasons 1 & 2, captures the best moments of Monday Night Raw‘s first two seasons. Silvervision has the complete details on the matches and segments that will be included in this four-disc set with a SRP of $39.95 (current pre-order price is $31.99 at Amazon.com). Check it out!
Disc 1
Koko B. Ware vs. Yokozuna
January 11, 1993
The Undertaker vs. Damien Demento
January 11, 1993
Loser Leaves the WWE
Ric Flair vs. Mr. Perfect
January 25, 1993
10 Bell Salute to Andre the Giant
February 1, 1993
Lex Luger vs. Jason Knight
February 1, 1993
Brutus “The Barber†Beefcake vs. “Million Dollar Man†Ted DiBiase
February 15, 1993
The Megamaniacs
February 22, 1993
Bret Hart vs. Fatu
March 1, 1993
Doink the Clown Pie-Faces Elvis
March 1, 1993
Crush on the sands of Hawaii
March 1, 1993
Mr. Perfect vs. Rick “The Model†Martel
March 8, 1993
Doink the Clown vs. Kamala
March 22, 1993
Lex Luger vs. Crush
April 26, 1993
Mr. Perfect attacks Shawn Michaels
May 10, 1993
Lumberjack Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
“Hacksaw†Jim Duggan vs. Shawn Michaels
May 10, 1993
The Kid vs. Razor Ramon
May 17, 1993
Intercontinental Championship Match
Marty Jannetty vs. Shawn Michaels
May 17, 1993
King of the Ring Tournament Qualifying Match
Mr. Perfect vs. Doink the Clown
May 24, 1993
Special Features
1993 Disc 1 Extra
The Smoking Gunns ride into the WWE
April 26, 1993
1994 Disc 1 Extras
Go get him Champ!
It’s only 9 o’clock
April 11, 1994
Disc 2
Shawn Michaels vs. Russ Greenberg
June 7, 1993
2 out of 3 Falls Match
Marty Jannetty vs. Doink the Clown
June 21, 1993
Yokozuna Body Slam Competition on the U.S.S. Intrepid
July 5, 1993
Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
July 26, 1993
Jim Cornette arrives in the WWE
August 2, 1993
“Macho Man†Randy Savage vs. Doink the Clown
August 2, 1993
1-2-3 Kid vs. “Million Dollar Man†Ted DiBiase
August 16, 1993
The Quebecers are new Tag Team Champions
September 13, 1993
Doink the Clown vs. Corey Student
October 4, 1993
Intercontinental Championship Match
Razor Ramon vs. Rick “The Model†Martel
October 11, 1993
Crush hires Mr. Fuji as his new manager
October 18, 1993
“Macho Man†Randy Savage attacks Crush
November 8, 1993
Bret Hart is Wrestler of the Year
November 29, 1993
Razor Ramon vs. Diesel
November 29, 1993
1-2-3 Kid vs. Shawn Michaels
December 6, 1993
Gorilla Monsoon throws out Bobby Heenan
December 6, 1993
Thurman “Sparky†Plugg is ready to race
December 20, 1993
Jeff Jarrett vs. P.J. Walker
December 20, 1993
Special Features
1993 Disc 2 Extra
That’s Double J, Jeff Jarrett
December 13, 1993
1994 Disc 2 Extras
King Kong Bundy
September 26, 1994
IRS taxes the dead
October 31, 1994
Jeff Jarrett does Vegas
December 12, 1994
Christmas at the Heartbreak Hotel
December 19, 1994
Bret Hart wishes everyone a Happy New Year
December 26, 1994
Disc 3
Is Yokozuna afraid of the casket?
January 17, 1994
WrestleMania X Coin Flip
January 31, 1994
Bret Hart vs. Bruce Prichard
February 21, 1994
World Tag Team Championship Match
The Quebecers vs. Razor Ramon & The 1-2-3 Kid
February 21, 1994
Shawn Michaels Locker Room Interview
February 28, 1994
WWE Championship Match
Yokozuna vs. “Macho Man†Randy Savage
February 28, 1994
“Million Dollar Man†Ted DiBiase buys front row seats
March 28, 1994
Lex Luger vs. Rick “The Model†Martel
March 28, 1994
10-Man Tag Team Match
IRS, Jeff Jarrett, Rick “The Model†Martel, & The Headshrinkers
vs.Tatanka, The 1-2-3 Kid, Thurman “Sparky†Plugg, & The Smoking Gunns
April 4, 1994
Debut of The Heartbreak Hotel
April 4, 1994
Jerry “The King†Lawler is dropped on his head
April 11, 1994
Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett
April 25, 1994
World Tag Team Championship Match
The Quebecers vs. The Headshrinkers
May 2, 1994
Sumo Match
Yokozuna vs. Earthquake
May 16, 1994
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Owen Hart vs. Doink the Clown
May 23, 1994
Duke “The Dumpster†Droese makes his Raw debut
May 23, 1994
The King’s Court with Bret Hart & Diesel
May 30, 1994
Not-So-Rowdy on The King’s Court
June 6, 1994
The King’s Court with Duke “The Dumpster†Droese
June 20, 1994
The King’s Court with The King of Harts
June 27, 1994
Disc 4
WWE Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
July 11, 1994
Intercontinental Championship Match
Diesel vs. Lex Luger
July 18, 1994
$10,000 Challenge Match
Tatanka vs. Nikolai Volkoff
July 25, 1994
Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano
August 1, 1994
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon
August 1, 1994
Owen Hart vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
August 15, 1994
The Undertaker vs. Kwang
September 12, 1994
Mr. Backlund demonstrates The Chicken Wing
September 19, 1994
Intercontinental Championship Match
Razor Ramon vs. Yokozuna
October 24, 1994
Jeff Jarrett vs. The British Bulldog
December 5, 1994
Bob Backlund vs. Doink the Clown
December 12, 1994
The British Bulldog vs. Tatanka
December 24, 1994
The King’s Court with WWE Champion Diesel
December 24, 1994
The Undertaker vs. The Brooklyn Brawler
December 24, 1994
This set sure does bring back a lot of memories I have from watching Monday Night Raw in its infancy. Some of the matches included were to be expected but it’s nice to see that the Marty Jannetty/Doink the Clown 2/3 Falls match made the cut. And it will be fun to revisit the old angles and vignettes that were produced that introduced wrestlers like The Smoking Gunns and Thurman “Sparky” Plugg.
