Despite next to no competition from WCW (Nitro and the nWo were two and three years away respectively), the WWE had a very interesting, historical, and probably their toughest year ever in 1993. As with any huge company that is growing by leaps and bounds, the WWE was juggling several big-ticket items. That’s even before you get to booking the promotion!

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In 1993, the company introduced a new show and a new PPV, juggled several lawsuits and tried to make new top stars while clinging on to the last stages of a certain red and yellow fever that gripped the fan base for nearly a decade. While the year might not be that memorable from an event perspective, it was still a pivotal one. The WWE might not have been on the verge of financial ruin, but had they not planned properly, the company would have a much different look today.

The Creation Of Monday Night Raw

Ric Flair Vs Mr Perfect Monday Night Raw

The year began with a new concept in Sports Entertainment. Monday Night Raw debuted on January 11, 1993, preceded by Prime Time Wrestling. Instead of using taped portions of house shows interspersed with studio banter, the WWE aimed to go live every single week from The Manhattan Center; a small venue near the company’s MSG home base.

The initial thought was that WWE would have a real home base studio, but it was eventually realized that the costs of filming a weekly show, flying in certain talents, and having the ring crew lug the ring all over The Manhattan Center was just too much of a hassle. It wasn’t long before they headed out on the road and filmed two shows a night.

WWE's 1993 Roster Was Very Thin

Lex Luger As The Narcissist

Hulk Hogan hadn’t been seen in the WWE since the prior year’s WrestleMania. 1993 began with Bret Hart as the champion, doing his best to usher in a new generation. It wasn’t before long that Hulk Hogan sought out a return though. The hot angle on Raw became Money Inc. trying to rearrange Brutus Beefcake’s face. That led to Hogan’s return as part of WrestleMania IX; which also ended in Hogan winning the title and Bret Hart getting shuttered along to the side. He’d have to wait a year to regain the title. In the meantime, Hogan lost the title to Yokozuna and the left.

Related: WWE Icons: 10 Things We Learned About Yokozuna

The WWE thought they have found a new hero in Lex Luger; in the meantime Bret Hart wasn’t just the little engine that could - the guy continued to show the brass how wrong they were. Beginning with the King Of The Ring, he worked at least two matches every PPV right up until WrestleMania X. The company had seemingly lost faith in Luger (as evidenced by not winning the title at SummerSlam), for some reason didn’t seem too sold on Bret either. Not to mention, the horrible occupational gimmicks were what was really running wild.

Vince And Linda McMahon Steroid Trial

Amidst all the creative drought running around the WWE, perhaps a lot of the unsure wishy-washy booking came because of all of the drama that was going on backstage and in the big building in Stamford. Vince McMahon had Jerry McDevitt and the rest of his legal team working like dwarves mining for gold preparing and battling at least two big cases. The first began in 1991 and was about former commentator Jesse "The Body" Ventura seeking royalties for using his likeness in various videos over the years (he would win that case and get paid over 800K in 1995). Towards the end of the year, Jerry Lawler was indicted for relations with a 15 year old girl (the charges were dropped pretty quickly, but it did cause the King to miss the 1993 Survivor Series). But the big legal trouble McMahon found himself in, was the fight of his life. He was indicted in 1993 and certainly had his attentions turned towards gearing up for the trial.

Related: Why SummerSlam 1992 Is The Most Overrated SummerSlam Ever

There were a lot of items being juggled around during this time all in the wake of the end of Hulkamania. Since 1984, that was the rudder that steered the entire ship. Now, Hogan was gone and despite a huge amount of fan support behind Bret Hart, they tired to shove The Lex Express down the WWE Universe’s throats. With Luger much more lean, Vince clearly thought he had his next Hogan and a Hogan that wasn’t on the gas (anymore at least). What he hadn’t counted on and still didn’t realize for another year or so was that he didn’t need another Hulk Hogan, just another top guy to rebuild and rebrand around.

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