Monday Night Raw Match Of The Week
3 min read
We’re back with another installment of The Monday Night Raw Match of the week! This week we go back to the year 1994. Bret Hart was the WWF champion, and face of the company. Bret was undeniably the biggest good guy in the company at the time, and there was no one who was as popular as him in the eyes of the fans.
There was another young man making his way up the ranks though, and it was inevitable that their paths would cross. The 1-2-3 Kid was becoming such a huge fan favorite due to his small stature and underdog booking. The 1-2-3 Kid had racked up impressive victories against Razor Ramon and Ted DiBiase, before earning a huge upset victory over Nikolai Volkoff to earn a shot at Bret Hart and his WWF Title
This match had all the dynamics in place to be a classic before the bell even rang. A young upstart with an amazing hot streak, a wily veteran at the top of his game, and an anything could happen feel, all made this match something truly special. From the outset, Bret Hart and 1-2-3 Kid wrestled an amazingly technical match, with each wrestler going back and forth between chain wrestling holds and counters. The crowd was hot and very much into the match. You could hear loud dueling chants for 1-2-3 Kid and Bret Hart, and those chants only intensified as the match went on. Both competitors traded high risk moves and stiff shots, adding to the realism of the match. Bret Hart sold very well for the Kid, making all his moves look potent and damaging, every near fall drawing the crowd in deeper and deeper.
Towards the end of the match, 1-2-3 Kid has kicked things into high gear, pulling out all his best shots to try to keep the Hitman down. There was even a false finish midway through as The Kid went for a crucifix and Bret Hart reversed. Hart dumped 1-2-3 Kid hard on his back and went for the pin. Kid got his foot on the rope but the ref didn’t see it and counted to three. Hart, refusing to take a cheap victory, demanded that the match restart. From that point we see the intensity of the match increase an insane amount as the 1-2-3 Kid started to really go on the offense. It looked like he had the Hitman beat when he climbed to the top rope to attempt a missile dropkick, but Bret Hart reversed into a Sharpshooter, winning the match in the process.
This match is widely considered one of the greatest matches in Monday Night Raw history for good reason. An excellent back and forth match, which saw the rookie and presumed future of the company, take the sitting champion to his limit made for a classic match. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think about it in the comments!
