Going Back To The Beginning...Of Monday Night Raw

As of the time of this writing, we are just days away from the launch of the WWE Network.  In the weeks since the new venture was first announced,  it has become one of the most polarizing topics in not just the world of wrestling, but in all of entertainment.  Will it change not just the viewing of WWE product but other forms of entertainment?  Will it cause more duress for the already struggling (and overpriced) cable companies?  Will the content of the network fulfill the needs of wrestling fans of the past, or just the modern day WWE Universe?  To be honest, we've had little facts given to even begin to answer some of these questions.  Others can only be summed up with the age old adage that "time will tell."

Twenty-one years ago, this same company also changed the face of their business, albeit in a slightly smaller scope.  What would eventually become the flagship program of the late '90s professional wrestling boom, Monday Night Raw, was launched on the USA Network.  Many fans are hoping that past episodes of this wrestling phenomenon will be available on the upcoming WWE Network.  In the meantime, a somewhat overlooked DVD release that has been available for a few years has already offered the best of the early days of wrestling fans favorite Monday night television destination.

"WWE Raw-The Beginning-The Best Of Seasons 1 & 2" was released on DVD in 2010.  While not a season set with each and every full episode that many fans have long asked for, this four-disc set was released long after it became apparent that WWE had no intentions of releasing full episodes or pay-per-views for much of anything from the past.

The early years of Raw are very different from what current fans think of the show as today.  The idea was to have a wrestling show emanating from smaller, more intimate locations where absolutely anything could happen.  Many of the segments featured squash matches, where big name WWF superstars were pitted in one-ended contests against preliminary talent.  Although these are occasionally done today if the situation calls for it and preliminary talent still exists (i.e. Dolph Ziggler), the business largely abandoned that sort of presentation once the competitiveness of the Monday Night Wars called for nonstop stars to capture all-important ratings. 

Nevertheless, these early episodes usually contained one quality "main event" match, and those are ultimately what is presented here.  The WWF had not quite adopted their "New Generation" mantra of the mid-1990's, and it may surprise some as to just how many '80s stars continued to shine here.  From the unarguable first classic match of Monday Night Raw featuring Mr. Perfect vs Ric Flair, to a generous dose of the greatness of early Doink the Clown (as portrayed by Matt Borne), the WWF roster of the time was nowhere as weak as some critics would have you believe.

When I mentioned the Doinkster, I wasn't clowning around.  From the cover of the collection to at least ten appearances in the set itself, the Doink character is firmly represented.  Beneath the paint, Doink had an incredible technical wrestler in Borne.  That, coupled with great psychology and his ability to actually make the character evil, leaves little doubt as to why fans fondly remember Doink's initial WWF stint.

Taking us from the birth of Raw in 1993 to the very end of 1994, we are treated to nearly two full years of superstars and storylines.  While some angles were still progressed on WWF Superstars, you can see how Raw slowly began to take over the reigns of flagship show.  The brief 1993 return of Hulk Hogan, the rise of Bret Hart to main event status, and the reign of terror that Yokozuna held over the WWF championship scene are all here.  Pepper that with lots of Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Lex Luger, and even some of my favorites in Jeff Jarrett and Rick Martel, and you have quite the set.

What I really enjoyed were segments and vignettes that really haven't been replayed or re-released by WWE all that often.  Things like Jarrett's "Double J" intro vignettes and Jim Cornette shockingly debuting on Raw while Bobby Heenan explodes with joy are finally here to be seen once again in original broadcast quality.  Even some of those wacky early Raw commercials and the infamous July 4, 1993 "Bodyslam Challenge" have made it onto the set. 

Monday Night Raw, like everything else in wrestling, was a completely different animal then.  For those who weren't around then and only know the current product, the differences would probably be jarring.  I know that the new product will never go back to smaller venues due to business, but certainly something from these days could be incorporated into the style and look.  Seventeen years of the screen, stage, and ramp that came with the "Raw Is War" title are about ten years stale already.

Complaining aside, I think what really grabbed me about this set was the aforementioned mixed roster.  Back then watching these shows first run, it never hit me that such a wild mix of talent made up the then-WWF Superstars.  In retrospect, the 1993 roster is a lot like the WWF lineup of ten years earlier.  A mix of veterans, up-and-comers, and no real cornerstone star of the promotion.  In '83, Backlund was stale to many WWF fans.  In '93, Hogan was stale to many WWF fans.  And while The Hitman would never reach the plateau that the Hulkster did, these men would both eventually become that cornerstone star of their respective eras.

Overall, this is a surprisingly fun set that deserves at least one go-around in the DVD player.  Seeing as that I did not miss viewing a single Raw episode as it was aired until a good fourteen or so years after its debut, I can tell you that these DVDs really capture the feeling and atmosphere of what Raw was.  Some rumors have said that the WWE home video lineup will be available on the upcoming Network.  If that turns out to be the case, this set might be one to dog ear for required viewing.  Whether it does show up or doesn't, this is a four-disc set worthy of space on any shelf...uncut, uncensored, and uncooked.

Hockey Is Here...WWF Style!

 As all fans know by now, NHL hockey is back!  The lockout which caused fans to miss a half season worth of action, not to mention the always entertaining Winter Classic, is finally over.  Had it not, the superstars of the 1991 WWF could have easily come to your rescue, sticks in hand, ready for the rink!  And how does the former toy company Remco fit into all of this?

Remco is best known among wrestling fans for their mid-1980's line of AWA action figures.  Famous for a wide variety of characters and their primitive yet charming design, the AWA line is highly collectible to this day.  Although Curt Hennig and Rick Martel were both among the wrestlers featured in the line, both wrestlers as well as ten others would be produced by Remco in 1991.  This time for the WWF.

Before the Monday Night Wars/Attitude Era, there were two "boom" periods of WWF merchandise where the company and its characters were seemingly everywhere.  Those times were between 1985 and 1987 and 1990 and 1992.  Both periods were highlighted with popular action figure lines (LJN and Hasbro respectively) and everything from lunch boxes to pencils to bedsheets were produced.  One could argue that the first boom of merchandise is remembered in a better light due to the association with the Rock 'n Wrestling era, but many fans still fondly recall the second largely featuring the neon styles of the Ultimate Warrior and company.  It is the latter era that brought us Remco's WWF Superstars Shoot-Out tabletop hockey game.

Although there were other tabletop hockey games on the market at the time (including a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles version also manufactured by Remco and using very similar box art), there was no better toy for a fan of both the WWF and the NHL.  The game was mainly available in 1991 and 1992 with the design planned sometime in late 1990, based upon the characters and gimmicks.

One team consists of Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Big Boss Man, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Tugboat while their opponents are Sgt. Slaughter, "Macho King" Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, The Model, and Earthquake.  The figures of each are highly detailed and roughly two and a half inches tall.  Their sticks are individualized based upon each wrestler's gimmick.  Some of the sticks, such as Duggan's 2x4, Macho King's scepter, and Hogan's barbell would be the envy of any real hockey player while others such as Warrior's neon tassles, Tugboat's tow rope, and Damien are "stiffened" out to provide an adequate tool.

The 36" by 17" rink really makes it one of the biggest wrestling toys of the time.  The control mechanism is the same as most tabletop hockey games and all of the materials used to make the rink itself seem to have stood the test of time.  The same cannot be said for the many stickers included with the game.  The most often missing are stickers that were applied to the sticks of DiBiase, Perfect, and Earthquake.  The two pucks included also had stickers, those being of the WWF winged eagle championship design.

The game also has the distinction of including the only figure of Tugboat.  While Fred Ottman has appeared in figure form as both Typhoon and Shockmaster, this goalie figure of Tugboat is still the only ever released of the gimmick.  The Tugster was scheduled for release in the Hasbro figure line but was switched to Typhoon following television storylines.  Thankfully for us, Remco kept the original design.

I can recall the puck occasionally getting stuck under a stick and holding up play, but ultimately this toy was a blast.  I can only imagine how popular an item like this would be with today's stars, but I doubt that it would have the quality craftsmanship that went into this between the sturdy construction and character detail.

Examples do show up for sale, but a complete set would be fairly hard to build.  The aforementioned DiBiase, Perfect, and Earthquake stickers are often missing and I can recall the rink stickers occasionally being scuffed up by a particularly rough pass.

A classic era, a bevy of all-time greats, and one of the most entertaining toy concepts of the last century all bundled into one great piece of wrestling memorabilia.  Sounds like the ultimate wrestling hat trick to me!

What's red, yellow, Hasbro, and rare? Not The Hulkster...

In the last entry you were treated to the 2010 King of the Ring. This time, we take you back to 1994...


Although all of the vintage wrestling figure lines are popular and highly collectible, Hasbro hysteria has reigned supreme in recent years. From 1990 through 1994, Hasbro produced their legendary WWF figure collection. Each figure had an action feature and although many different characters were produced over the years, the line clearly lacks managers and other non-wrestler figures.

A classic blue ring was released with the first series of figures and highly marketed in commercials starring Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Including an American flag and figure-sized replica of the WWF Championship, features on the ring itself have long made fans wonder if perhaps more was originally intended.

A deep groove around the ring apron of the toy has led fans to speculate that a steel cage attachment (similar to one released with the Galoob WCW ring of the same era) was planned at some point. Although the ring was released in the United Kingdom with a soundbox attachment, no evidence of a cage toy has ever been found.

With the line growing and the WWF always changing, 1993 must have seemed like a good time to Hasbro for them to update their ring.

1993, you ask? I thought we were going back to 1994? While it is true that the ring hit the shelves in 1994, nearly every toy in those days took about a year to make it from production to retail. This is perhaps why this ring is styled after 1993's new WWF pay-per-view event, King of the Ring.

While the original 1990-released blue ring could still occasionally be found on shelves, the box was greatly outdated with pictures of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, and Rick Rude. All of the aforementioned stars were either no longer in the main WWF spotlight or out of the company altogether.

While the style of the ring itself changed, most everything else was the same. The same style box and molds for the ring, posts, flag, and belt all remained the same. A dynamic artists rendering of Bret Hart literally punching Yokozuna out of the ring was an instant attention grabber.

Adorned with three King of the Ring logos, it is somewhat curious that the base is yellow with red posts and turnbuckles. One could go as far as to speculate that this may have originally been intended as a "Hulkamania" ring planned during Hogan's brief WWF return in 1993.

Other sticker changes include a WWF logo replacing the stars and stripes on the flag, as well as a different WWF Championship logo. Also of note is the sticker which is to be placed on the tv monitor molded to the base. While the original ring featured a sticker of The Hulkster, this version featured a blank white sticker. A look at the rarely seen instruction sheet reveals that a sticker of none other than Vince McMahon was originally intended here.

The instruction sheet also includes a listing of nearly every WWF figure produced by Hasbro at that point. If you were not fortunate enough to have been following wrestling at the time, believe me when I say that ANY reference to past WWF superstars was a shock in and of itself.

When the ring was finally released in 1994, it coincided most closely with the "red carded" series of figures. Yokozuna, Lex Luger, and Bam Bam Bigelow all made their Hasbro debuts in this series and were accompanied by re-paints of Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect. A re-released Undertaker including his trench coat rounded out the series of six.

Even in 1994, the ring did not last on shelves for very long. Production on the item was no doubt short thus leading to high collectibility. The box, instructions, flag, and stickers are least often found. The belt and ropes are exactly the same as the blue ring release and thus are replaceable. The two King of the Ring logo stickers on the side apron are most often lost as they did not completely attach to the ring due to the grooves in the apron mold. The ring is dated 1989, as the original ring mold was undoubtedly one of the earliest items designed by Hasbro (the initial line did not hit stores until mid-1990).

Even a stripped-down version of this item will sell from $50-$100, while examples with more of the original stickers and accessories can go for quite a bit more. Boxed examples would be correctly priced at several hundred dollars. It is one of the highest valued pieces in the entire Hasbro collection.

While many collectors want the item today for display, it all boils down to the fun originally had with the toy. Many King of the Ring tournaments were held in the ring with the WWF Hasbro line, but the most savvy young collectors knew that crazy cross-promotional matches could be had using figures available from years past.

All Hail The King!