[1993-06-21-WWF-Raw] Razor Ramon vs 1-2-3 Kid ($10,000 Match)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I love this feud! The initial angle is what gets remembered the most, but the way they followed up on it was awesome. Because of the gimmick, every nearfall in this match has so much heat. The in-ring is totally in sync with the storyline, as Kid is doing a lot of ducking and running and Razor is out to settle a score. Kid takes a ridiculous inverted bump off of a chokeslam and Razor spends a huge chunk of the match toying with him and beating him up for fun. Kid ends up slipping off the top rope in a nasty spot. I love the finish of this, as Kid takes the money and runs, where he had a parked car waiting for him. The awesomeness continues.

[JadedWrestling]

I love this feud! The initial angle is what gets remembered the most, but the way they followed up on it was awesome. Because of the gimmick, every nearfall in this match has so much heat. The in-ring is totally in sync with the storyline, as Kid is doing a lot of ducking and running and Razor is out to settle a score. Kid takes a ridiculous inverted bump off of a chokeslam and Razor spends a huge chunk of the match toying with him and beating him up for fun. Kid ends up slipping off the top rope in a nasty spot. I love the finish of this, as Kid takes the money and runs, where he had a parked car waiting for him. The awesomeness continues.

Argh... I've just ordered some other stuff but starting to wish I'd gone for this yearbook JUST for this match. Another of my first memories from when I was getting into wrestling and I remember the finish being absolutely awesome. Great stuff, and I'll definitely be picking this one up soon!

[Kevin Ridge]

Again I think it’s pretty impressive that this stuff led to Razor turning face so soon after. Kid can’t beat Razor this time so smartly just runs off with the money bag instead.

[PeteF3]

A few weeks ago we had the best episode of WWF television in history to that point, in terms of major angles and surprises. Now we have probably the best in-ring episode of WWF television in the pre-MNW era, as this is a terrific contest that tells its story perfectly. Kid throws everything he has at Razor and gets a bunch of near-falls, before Ramon takes over and absolutely brutalizes the Kid. One of the sickest chokeslams ever just about knocks the Kid out, and then Razor toys with him with submission holds, before setting up for a Razor's Edge on the exposed concrete! Kid escapes, and is about to dive off the floor when he loses his footing and goes SPLAT in one of the most sickening spots of the year, non-Foley division. And yet, it fit in with the story of the match and they covered it just fine. They cleverly re-do the finish to the previous match, but this time Razor kicks out of the moonsault. That's when the Kid grabs the sack of cash and bails. Incredible that the Kid was able to even finish the match considering the punishment he took.

 

It's unbelievable how much the WWF is leaving WCW in the dust now. It's always been more cohesive and better-promoted, and at many times been better booked. But now the one point of difference that was always in WCW's favor--the ring work--has evaporated. Even as business is declining the WWF is at a real artistic peak.

[soup23]

Fun stuff with a beatdown, a splat, and Kid still getting the upper hand while not pinning Razor again. Effective and memorable feud overall. *1/2

[garretta]

I wasn't a fan of this for two reasons.

 

First, I thought this was badly booked. Maybe there's an element of genius that I'm not seeing here, but for me there are only two possible finishes: 1) Waltman beats Hall again and becomes a mainstream player or 2) Hall murders Waltman and we don't hear from Waltman again for quite a while. There's no story left if we go with option two, so it's obvious that Waltman should go over clean..........except he doesn't. He steals Hall's money and runs out of the Mid-Hudson Civic Center like his hair was on fire. Vince and Savage go crazy over how brilliant he supposedly is, but I don't see it. I see someone who knew he couldn't hang with big, bad Razor Ramon and took the coward's way out, which spoils the whole "1-2-3 Kid" saga for me.

 

If you're going to have Waltman pull a runner, at least let Hall steal a tainted victory (foot on the ropes, tights pull, etc.) first. Then Waltman's been screwed out of what's rightfully his, and him stealing the money is comeuppance for Hall. Or, since Hall said that Waltman didn't have to beat him again, simply have Waltman take the bag and run before they ever lock up, thus making a bigger fool out of Hall than he has already. But to do it the way they did makes it seem like Waltman was running for his life, and that's not an admirable quality for a babyface at all.

 

Second, Vince was sickening with the constant "ONE, TWO THREE, HE GOT HIM.......YES HE DID, AND IF YOU SAY HE DIDN'T I'LL HOLD MY BREATH TILL I TURN BLUE!" routine. Once in a while it was cute when he first started doing it, but he's doing it for every nearfall these days, and anyone who picks up on it either thinks he's an idiot or is laughing so hard they have trouble watching the rest of the match. Savage and Heenan stuck to their roles well and are starting to gel as a two-man back-and-forth, but Vince is already at the bottom of the barrel, with the hole he's digging only getting larger. The sad thing is, neither JR nor Gino work well enough with Heenan anymore to take Vince's place, even if he'd let them. The in-ring WWF product may be better than it's been in a while, but even with JR on board, the announcing's seldom been worse.

 

I forgot to mention that Hall looks awesome here, probably better than he has in the WWF so far. Granted, that's not exactly Bret Hart he's throwing around like nothing, but he still looks like a world beater. No wonder the fans started wanting a face turn; who wouldn't want someone this powerful on their side of the fence?