Feature: Steve Anderson on Prime Time, Raw, and Rob Bartlett



So, Raw is 800.

While I admit to not seeing every episode of what was originally WWF Monday Night Raw, I do remember the dawning, not to mention a time when it wasnât the flagship programming of todayâs WWE.

Sit a spell and let olâ Uncle Stevie tell you about it.

Before Raw, there was the two-hour Prime Time Wrestling airing on Monday nights. It went through various formats, the most famous being Bobby âThe Brain❠Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon hosting the weekâs festivities. From there, it became a show taped before a studio audience — some say WWF employees forced to stay at work late — with Vince McMahon joining Heenan.

The final format for Prime Time was the roundtable discussions, ala the McLaughlin Group. Such luminaries as Hillbilly Jim and Hacksaw Jim Duggan would offer their insight.

Iâm not kidding.

Prime Time Wrestling was an opportunity to catch up on any WWF programming you may have missed over the weekend. They would air matches and angles from the syndicated Wrestling Challenge and Superstars of Wrestling. The banter between Heenan and Monsoon was akin to Abbott and Costello. Classic and very funny. Why it was changed, I donât know. It was a classic example of âif it isnât broke, donât fix it.❠Yet, they tinkeredâ¦and tinkeredâ¦and tinkered.

Until we got Hillbilly Jim and Hacksaw Jim Duggan offering their insight.

Again, Iâm not kidding.

On January 4, 1993, Prime Time Wrestling left the air. Monday Night Raw would take over the following week. A live broadcast from the Manhattan Center. The venue was unique and intimate. Almost a throwback, far removed from the large arenas where the WWF appeared. In case youâre wondering, the card featured:

Yokozuna defeating Koko B. Ware

The Steiner Brothers beating The Executioners

WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels over Max Moon

The Undertaker defeating Damien Demento

Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob (Who?) Bartlett appeared. Bartlett was (and still may be) an area âcomedian❠who primarily appeared on Imus in the Morning. He portrayed various wacky characters, including Blind Mississippi White Boy Pig Feets Dupree, an old blues musician from Louisiana.

Hilarity.

NOTE: The above reference came from Bartlettâs Wikipedia page that Iâm reasonably certain he wrote himself.

In fairness, Bartlett made the transition quite well. When he wasnât providing surprisingly insightful commentary, he was entertaining as hell, making Vince, Savage and everyone viewing Raw break up in gales of laughter.

Ok, NOW Iâm kidding.

He was a train wreck. Not funny. Not insightful. He would soon be gone.

A live wrestling show back then was unheard of, yet there it was. No worrying about spoilers or finding out what would happen on an upcoming episode. There was an energy and excitement that you just couldnât get from a taped program.

The live broadcasts lasted for a year. For whatever reason — likely money — Raw started alternating the live broadcasts with an airing from a Tuesday TV taping. Over time, Raw would go back to live broadcasts, mainly in response to WCWâs Monday Nitro hanging their shingle on Monday nights.

799 Rawâs later, here we are. Weâve had highs (the Attitude Era) and lows (see the Bartlett reference above). Weâve seen the birth of Mr. McMahon and the famed Hand of Mae Young and Mark Henry.

God, I wish I was kidding on that one.

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