On January 11, 1993, Max Moon wrestled and lost an Intercontinental Championship match to former tag team partner/longtime rival Shawn Michaels on the very first "Monday Night Raw". The loss to Michaels was a sign of things to come for the Max Moon gimmick as he began losing to midcarders such as Skinner. The Max Moon gimmick only appeared at one PPV, participating in the 30 Man Elimination match at the 1993 Royal Rumble, where he was in the ring less than 2 minutes. In late February, Paul Diamond's contract with the WWF expired and was not renewed.