The Year in PPV- 1993

1993 really could be considered the first full year of the New Generation because of its focus on building the new talent roster. The Ultimate Warrior had parted ways with the company (again), Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were both on their way out, and Randy Savage was mainly being used on commentary. It was time for new stars to emerge. Superstars like Bret Hart, Yokozuna, the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Lex Luger, and even a tag team like the Steiner Brothers all had opportunities in 1993 to break through the glass ceiling and define themselves as the pioneers of the next era. So why do many fans not look fondly at a year like 1993 and consider it one of the worst years in WWE history?

Let's start by seeing how the momentum of 1993 is established at the Royal Rumble...


1. Royal Rumble

The midcard for the Royal Rumble this year is highlighted by an Intercontinental Championship match featuring Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. The heated feud between the former Rockers is one of the strongest moments of the year and it's great to see one of their matches featured on a PPV, especially when you bring Shawn's former manager Sensational Sherri into the picture. Another great match on the card was the WWF Championship match between Bret Hart and Razor Ramon. At this point in history, it's refreshing to see a PPV title match contested between two young stars of the era. There's no Hogan, Savage, Warrior or Flair in this match, just an opportunity for Hart and Ramon to go out there and prove they were the future of the company, and two of the New Generation's defining characters.

The Royal Rumble match is hit or miss. The 66 minute match length definitely feels accurate, but not in a good way. There are many times where the match is lacking star quality to carry the time between entrants, so the match tends to drag. There are still a handful of superstars that have a chance to shine, including Bob Backlund defying the odds and lasting for over an hour of the match, Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair bringing their feud into the match, Randy Savage entering at number 30, and of course, Yokozuna entering at number 27 and laying waste to everything in his path. This Royal Rumble match is historically significant because it is the first Rumble match where the winner would challenge the WWF Champion in the main event of WrestleMania.

Mild Recommendation


2. WrestleMania IX

If you know any of the controversy surrounding how bad this show is, you might be disappointed that I'm actually going to talk about what's worth watching on the show. Not every match on the show is as bad or poorly booked as everyone says. The show opens with a fantastic Intercontinental Championship match between Shawn Michaels and Tatanka, followed by a fun tag team match with the Steiner Brothers and the Headshrinkers. And, considering the size difference in the two competitors, Bret Hart and Yokozuna actually have a really good match for the WWF Championship. Had that been the match that ended the night, everything would have been fine, but history proves that even in 1993, fans were left upset when a surprise challenger made his presence felt to close the night.

Add an abysmal match between the Undertaker and Giant Gonzalez (easily Taker's worst match at Mania), an underwhelming clash with Lex Luger and Mr. Perfect, a lengthy Tag Team Championship match between Money Inc. and the Mega-Maniacs (Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake) with a cheap ending, a thrown together match between Razor Ramon and Bob Backlund, and a match with Doink the Clown and Crush that has one of the goofiest endings to a WrestleMania match that I've ever seen, and you can start to see where fans have problems with the show. In many ways, this show is considered an absolute disaster and is usually near the top of the list when people discuss the WORST WrestleMania of all-time. For me, there have been worse ones that have bored me and astounded me with its mediocrity. But I get a kick out of WrestleMania IX in a train wreck sort of way. I know majority of the show sucks and the toga party gimmick is ridiculous, but I can appreciate some of the gems on the card and the WWF's ambition to create an aesthetically unique show for Caesar's Palace, with the WWF superstars serving as modern day gladiators.

Mild Recommendation


3. King of the Ring

King of the Ring became the WWF's fifth annual PPV and lasted from 1993 to 2002. The inaugural King of the Ring show is actually pretty positive, but that's only based on the gimmick of the King of the Ring tournament itself. Like the Royal Rumble PPV, the show is a make or break depending on how the titular match gimmick is handled. So, even though Hulk Hogan defends the WWF Championship against Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels defends his Intercontinental Championship against Crush, or the Smoking Gunns and the Steiner Brothers face the Headshrinkers and Money Inc., they aren't what majority of the crowd tuned in to see.

The King of the Ring Tournament featured 8 competitors, with the intended goal that the winner of the tournament would have wrestled 3 matches in one night to be declared King of the Ring. The picture used should give a good idea of who makes it to the finals. Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan very quickly to advance and thanks to two competitors reaching a time limit draw, received a BYE in the semifinals and went straight to the final match. Bret Hart, on the other hand, would have to defeat Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, AND Bam Bam Bigelow if he wanted the crown. Each match is wrestled differently and this night is a testament to why Bret was the Excellence of Execution, to have three great matches, with three different wrestling styles, against three unique competitors.

Recommended


4. SummerSlam

Very rarely do I see a SummerSlam that offers absolutely nothing in terms of historical importance. But that is the case with the 1993 SummerSlam, which is one of the worst SummerSlam PPVs I've seen since starting this blog. Most of the matches are too short to  mean anything and some (particularly the Rest in Peace match between the Undertaker and Giant Gonzalez) can't even rely on match quality to compensate for the match length.

The biggest bonehead move of the night was the booking around the WWF Championship match. After bodyslamming the champion Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid, Lex Luger shed his Narcissist ways and become a patriotic hero for the fans. Complete with a countrywide tour on the Lex Express (yes...that's the name of his tour bus), the man who could've potentially been the next Hulk Hogan for the WWF should have been primed to win the WWF Championship. Without spoiling too much, history shows that Luger never won the belt in his time with the WWF. Winning the belt at SummerSlam could've been a career defining moment for Luger, but with how the actual match turned out, they missed a HUGE opportunity to create an amazing moment.

Skip It


5. Survivor Series

Ignoring the atrocious match of the Four Doinks (Men on a Mission and the Bushwhackers) vs. the Headshrinkers, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Bastion Booger, the rest of Survivor Series is actually very good. The elimination matches are reduced to four-on-four to make up for a lack of quality characters and it works well in favor by producing quicker paced matches. The main event saw the All-Americans (Lex Luger, the Undertaker, and the Steiner Brothers) take on the Foreign Fanatics (Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, Crush, and Quebecker Jacques), and one of the greatest feuds of the New Generation was ignited in a match that saw the Hart Family (Bret, Owen, Bruce, and Keith) face Shawn Michaels and His Knights (Blue, Red, and Black). By the way, if any of you think I'm referring to the Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels rivalry, boy are you in for a surprise.

There are actually some solid underrated gems on this card too. In terms of the elimination matches, I really enjoyed the opening match that saw Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Marty Jannetty, and the 1-2-3 Kid fight Diesel, Rick Martel, Adam Bomb, and Irwin R. Schyster. It does a solid job of getting the crowd warmed up, plus I love the opportunity of seeing some future Kliq and nWo members in their younger years. There's also an odd match in the middle of the card featuring wrestlers from Jim Cornette's Smokey Mountain Wrestling. The SMW Tag Team Championships are on the line between the Rock n Roll Express and the Heavenly Bodies and it's just very strange to see this territory represented on a WWF PPV. Still, it's a fun bonus for an overall memorable Survivor Series.

Recommended


Thoughts: So what went wrong with 1993? It seemed to have all the star power it needed, and most of them can pull out good matches, so where was the issue? I think part of the problem was that a lot of the changes were happening rapidly and so I don't think the year and era were launched properly in terms of the booking, nor were they initially well received by the fans. By the time the era was ending in 1997, the WWF had their act together and were able to emphasize a lot of star power in each of the divisions. Many would probably say Bret Hart's booking was well-done, and I think that is only credible through his match quality, as his feud with Jerry Lawler actually removed him from his main event spot. In my opinion, Yokozuna was the best booked star of the year, thanks to his dominant win at the Royal Rumble, becoming a two-time WWF Championship by defeating Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan, and being a monster heel Champion to close out the rest of the year.


All rights and images are copyrighted and owned by World Wrestling Entertainment