WWE Monday Night Raw Episode 4 (01/02/1993)

If you thought that once Raw got itself going properly following the Ric Flair/Mr Perfect match on episode 3 and that after that point it would be all must-see television, you would be sadly mistaken. Episode 4 of the show rattles through 5 almost entirely pointless contests with very little to offer- the most competitive of these is a 3-minute match between Typhoon and Doink The Clown, which believe it or not, Vince McMahon had taken the time to advertise ahead of time. Of the other bouts on the card only one goes more than 4 minutes and none are particularly satisfying (with the possible exception of watching Yokozuna run through the set of 3 or 4 awesome big-man moves that he delivered in all of his matches). This show is almost entirely focussed on the return to the promotion of Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake ahead of the storyline that would lead to Hulk Hogan’s contribution to the upcoming Wrestlemania 9- firstly, with a long interview segment featuring Vince McMahon asking ‘The Barber’ about what had happened to him to keep him away from WWF for nearly a year, and secondly when Ted Dibiase and IRS respond to Beefcake’s story and set the scene for the following week’s main event. While this set up isn’t the most enthralling television, it does at least give this episode of the show a reason to exist.