Raw is War - September 8th 1997

• The show kicks off with a recap of last night’s Ground Zero PPV which I don’t need to include because you’ve all read my coverage of it already haven’t you? The important headlines; Goldust’s wife Marlena must now act as the personal assistant to Brian Pillman “day and night” for the next 30 days, The Headbangers are the new WWF Tag Team Champions, Stone Cold is injured and, in a fury, he delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to Jim Ross and in the main event The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels battled to an awesome and very entertaining no-contest. Oh and Bret Hart retained the WWF title over The Patriot but who didn’t see that coming? Why am I recapping all of this when I normally don’t? Well because full disclosure, it's been a couple of weeks since I watched Ground Zero so this is to remind myself! 
• In the arena, Vince McMahon brings out the new Commissioner of the WWF Sgt. Slaughter who gets a lot of boos. He’s been mostly a babyface since his appointment so I can only assume the boos are because he had to strip Stone Cold of the Tag Team titles last night. Slaughter says that the PPV was “three hours of chaos” and issues an ultimatum - there WILL be law and order in the WWF whether the superstars, fans or officials like it or not. That brings him to the Texas Rattlesnake who he declares is officially suspended for his actions last night and he won’t be reinstated until he’s medically cleared to compete. That gets a nice loud “Austin” chant. That also means that the Intercontinental Championship is vacant and so a tournament starts tonight. The tournament will conclude at the Badd Blood PPV, but he misspeaks and says that it will “commence” at Badd Blood which means the opposite. He insists that Stone Cold be at the PPV to present the title belt to the winner of the tournament in person. That predictably leads to the glass shattering and Austin marching to the ring. This is awesome as the crowd go nuts and Lawler and JR on commentary react with an immediate “oh no, what's he going to do now?” attitude. The Rattlesnake is pissed and tells Slaughter that he will break any and every rule he makes whenever he wants to. Austin throws down the title belt and then gives the Commissioner of the WWF a Stone Cold Stunner! Austin does not give a damn! Vince McMahon gets in his face as the ring fills with officials and security but backs down quickly when Stone Cold gets in the owner’s face in return. The crowd cheers as Stone Cold looks like he might punch Vince’s lights out next. Austin sits down on commentary and puts on the headset, telling Vince he’ll just take his job if he wants. Hilariously, the fans in the front row are a little vigorous in patting him on the back and shoulders and he has to tell them to calm the hell down after they make his headset fall off! Stone Cold leaves - taking his Intercontinental title belt with him - and things manage to settle back down. Both Slaughter and JR did a really good job of taking the Stunner by the way; that’s not news from Slaughter given that he’s a wrestler but fair play to JR. After those replays, officials and security try their best to make Stone Cold Steve Austin leave the arena but it doesn’t seem like they’ll have much success.

• There was no Raw for the last two weeks but what we got instead was “Friday Night’s Main Event”. Two weeks ago, Bret Hart faced Vader in a match where Owen Hart and British Bulldog ran in and beat him down three on one, and then last week in a tag team match, thanks to Vader, The Patriot pinned Bret Hart. That leads into this which is a non-title, no holds barred match between WWF Champion Bret Hart and Vader. At the Badd Blood PPV, Bret Hart and the Bulldog will face The Patriot and Vader in a tag team flag match. Vader is now a big babyface by virtue of being American. Bret cuts another anti-America promo before the match and then when Vader runs to the ring, Bret hits him with the WWF title belt to start the match with the advantage. This is a short but fun match with lots of brawling on the outside. Vader hits a beautiful powerbomb and then sets up the Vader Bomb which brings Bulldog running down to the ring to help his brother-in-law. The Patriot comes out too, followed by Owen Hart but with a three on two advantage and a steel chair in hand, Bret hammers on the two Americans. They’re about to deliver a piledriver to The Patriot onto a steel chair so Stone Cold runs down and rescues him, going right after Owen Hart! He grabs the chair and chases the Hart Foundation away from the ring meaning I think Vader wins by forfeit but really this is a no-contest. In a no-holds barred match. 

• The Godwins beat up a pair of jobbers. I’m not sure what the match was supposed to be but the commentators tell us that Phineas and Henry aren’t scheduled. They clear the two unnamed jobbers out of the ring and then call out the new WWF Tag Team Champions Mosh and Thrasher. The champions accept but, seeing as this is non-sanctioned and unofficial, must be non-title? The finish comes out of nowhere as a man dressed like one of The Godwins slips into the ring and hits Mosh, allowing Henry to steal the victory. They’re about to kick this guy out of the arena as a fan but The Godwins stop it and introduce him as Uncle Cletus Godwin. He speaks with big bucked teeth and a goofy accent; I have zero memory of this guy so he must not be around for long. The Godwins are surely the number one contenders after that non-title victory though.

• In the opening match of the tournament for the vacant Intercontinental title, Dude Love faces Brian Pillman (with Marlena). The Marlena story has gotten more intricate with the reveal that she dated Pillman before Goldust (kayfabe) so not only has Pillman got Goldust’s wife as his “personal assistant” but she’s his ex-girlfriend too! The gorgeous Sunny comes out to act as special guest ring announcer for the next match and dances with ladies’ man Dude on his way to the ring. 

• Dude says that with all that's going on, he needs someone to watch his back and promises that he will only be here for moral support - it's Goldust. When he comes out he only has half of his head in the Goldust facepaint which I think is supposed to represent that he’s only half a man without his wife. That’s a nice gesture. Pillman is introduced but he isn’t here; he’s on the phone. He says he won’t be at the arena until the WWF can promise his safety and then shows part 1 of his “X Files” which is him in a hotel room in just a towel claiming to be exhausted after a night alone with Marlena; he even holds up a pair of women’s underwear and shows how messy the hotel room is after “a night of passion”. Poor Goldust is distraught in the ring, as you would be! Pillman says we’ll see part 2 later.

• After the mid-show break, the WWF’s “mini division” is on show with Piratta Morgan (a chubby guy dressed as a pirate) vs. the most popular mini, “the world’s smallest athlete” Max Mini. Max impressed as Ground Zero, mostly in his comedy spots with Jerry Lawler which were funny enough that King pretty visibly broke character and smirked through it all. Max wins this with a crucifix pin roll up.
• This Raw features the first mention of the Hell in a Cell which Jim Ross calls a “specially designed steel cage” and it will host the rematch between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. I probably don’t need to hype this one up to you guys but I am damn excited to watch this one. In the ring, Vince McMahon interviews The Undertaker. Last night Michaels had help from “the insurance salesman” Rick Rude as well as Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna. They haven’t specified what HBK’s relationship is with them yet but the Hell in a Cell having a roof on it is designed to not only contain these two men’s fight but also stop any interference. The Undertaker threatens Michaels but because it’s an old school Taker promo it's all riddles about resting in peace and claiming souls. Shawn Michaels appears on the titantron to fire back verbally; he escaped last night because he is a survivor unlike any other. He says if he’s going down then he’s taking Undertaker with him.

• In the next Intercontinental title tournament match, Owen Hart faces Goldust. When they show us the graphic for the tournament, neither Dude Love nor Brian Pillman has advanced so it looks like Dude hasn’t simply won by forfeit and that match is now scheduled for further down the line. Owen has the WWF Champion Bret and European Champion Bulldog with him. Goldust rushes the ring and hammers away on Owen, obviously upset and angry about this Brian Pillman situation. Goldust gets himself disqualified for ignoring the referee’s instructions so Owen Hart advances. Bret and Bulldog rush the ring but the three on one attack is stopped by Stone Cold who comes through the crowd with a broom in hand and clears all three of them out of the ring for the second time tonight. The Rattlesnake continues to shout abuse at Vince McMahon too; he’s pissed at WWF management for not letting him wrestle despite his neck injury. He’s no coward and wants to get in the ring and fight anyway! Stone Cold leaves but Goldust’s night isn’t over as he’s forced to watch part 2 of Brian Pillman’s X files, this time he shows a steamy shower with “I love you Brian” written in the steam on the mirror. Marlena/Terri doesn’t appear in this video either so it's left to our imagination as to whether he’s lying or not.
• Backstage The Hart Foundation are interviews and Bret rants that Austin is a wild animal who should be suspended for life! 

• Savio Vega joins commentary to watch a triple threat match between The Patriot, The British Bulldog and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. This is a bit of a weird match isn’t it? As Bulldog makes his entrance he’s attacked from behind by HHH and Shawn Michaels! They hammer on Bulldog’s leg, driving it into the mental ramp over and over and wailing on it with a steel chair. Why would they do this? Well because Bulldog is supposed to defend the European title against Shawn in England at One Night Only on September 20th. This does cement once and for all that Michaels, Helmsley and Chyna are a unit and working together but where does it leave our triple threat match? Savio Vega is more than happy to take Bulldog’s place seeing as he won a big triple threat at Ground Zero last night. His commentary spot is then filled by Shawn Michaels who spends the match confidently predicting he’ll win the European title in England AND will win Hell in a Cell. He shows an enormous amount of confidence and arrogance as he gloats at Vince McMahon that he is the biggest and best star in the WWF. The triple threat itself is fine; the fans aren’t very into it and lightly boo the action and don’t really get behind The Patriot the way you’d think they would either. Moments after I wrote that, the crowd started chanting “boring” so HHH fired off a couple of “suck it” taunts in the people’s direction. The referee gets knocked down so HBK takes his chance and jumps up onto the apron, knocking Patriot off the top rope allowing Helmsley to win the match with a roll up on Savio. Michaels grabs steel chairs for them as Los Boricuas and Vader come down and with Savio and his back up as well as Vader and The Patriot circling them, HBK, HHH and Chyna hold them at bay, swinging the chairs. The Hart Foundation also come out but that’s just to add a little final exciting cliffhanger to Raw as the show ends while they’re walking onto the stage. A weird, disjointed end to Raw with multiple feuds and stories crossing over at the end. That’s not a bad thing though; Raw was significantly more exciting and made a lot more sense week to week than WCW at the time even if the company was still badly losing the Monday Night War. I’ll talk all about that very soon. 

Raw is War - September 15th 1997

• No Vince McMahon this week so commentary is handled by the familiar Attitude era duo Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler combination. 
• The Intercontinental title tournament continues with Ken Shamrock vs. Faarooq of The Nation of Domination. Shamrock appears to have some internal bleeding but guts it out and catches Faarooq off guard with a Northern lights suplex to pick up the win and advance! The rest of The Nation runs down to attack Shamrock but Hawk and Animal follow closely behind to back up their buddy Shamrock. The LOD and Shamrock are supposed to wrestle The Nation in a six man tag team match at Badd Blood so does that mean that if Shamrock makes it to the finals, he’ll have to wrestle twice at the PPV? 

• Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler speak to Stone Cold backstage. Lawler mentions that Vince isn’t here tonight because he’s scared of Austin and says that Owen Hart has a surprise for him later. Lawler brags to JR about how Stone Cold is always nice to him because he likes him, it's just people like JR who the Rattlesnake doesn’t care for. Being friends with Lawler usually denotes people as a heel. More on that later.
• El Pantera faces Taka Michinoku in the Light Heavyweight division. This is a great match. Jerry Lawler does his best to ruin it by talking endlessly about Brian Christopher but does at least give big, impressed reactions to the various sensational dives and counters. Taka picks up the win with a Michinoku Driver and gets a respectful positive reaction from the fans. Love it.

• Jim Ross interviews The Truth Commission and asks how they will deal with “the American originals” because they’re facing the LOD tonight. Recon and Sniper will do the duties as a tag team tonight. “In War, second place does not count!” That match is next and the crowd was into it, but that has nothing to do with the Truth Commission and everything to do with how popular Hawk and Animal are. They’re about to hand Recon and Sniper their first loss when The Interrogator breaks up the pin and causes the disqualification. Ken Shamrock runs down to back up the LOD and the story here is that no one’s blows have any effect on the giant 7 foot Interrogator. The Nation of Domination runs down to return the favor from earlier and with a seven on three advantage, Hawk, Animal and Shamrock are beaten up and left laying in the ring. 

• Sunny is out to once again act as special guest ring announcer (and stops on her way to the ring to kiss a little Asian boy on the cheek like a super babyface) for the mini tag team match; El Torito and Piratetta Morgan vs. Max Mini and Mr. Lucky. The camera stays focused on Sunny as she dances to their theme songs. Thank you, camera man. Max peeks up Sunny’s skirt; that’s not cool! The crowd oohs and aahs these four men’s offence and to their credit, JR calls this match like a normal match talking about their debut years, history and dissecting the offence while Jerry Lawler tells us how impressed he is by these little guys. The mini division is, slowly but surely, getting over with the 1997 fans. It breaks down and after a string of dives to the outside, Max Mini splashes El Torito off the top to pick up the win. The fans cheered big for the finish too; Max Mini is over! 
• The match was supposed to be last week but takes place this week instead; Brian Pillman vs. Dude Love in the Intercontinental title tournament. Pillman has dressed Marlena to his liking and when she gets to the ring she meekly says that she misses her daughter and her husband and wants to go home. Lawler is disgusting here with the way he talks about her; I know its just a storyline but this made me angry. The crowd chants “Pillman sucks” at the Loose Canon. Goldust is barred from the arena tonight to ensure Pillman’s safety. This is a really good match between two talented guys as Marlena looks like she’s about to cry at ringside. Dude looks like he has the match in hand until Goldust comes through the crowd and attacks him! Pillman wins via disqualification and advances in the tournament. Dude Love doesn’t seem to mind and cheers on Dustin getting his payback on Pillman. Referees and officials grapple with him as Pillman grabs Marlena/Terri and rushes her out of the arena against her will. She’s still “his property” afterall. 

• After the mid-show reset, Jerry Lawler gets in the ring to interview Stone Cold Steve Austin. He’s spent the whole show talking about how Austin likes him and he only stunned McMahon and JR because he doesn’t respect them. JR encouraged him to go for it and do the interview if he’s so sure but after his behaviour and actions during the previous match I’m sure I wasn’t the only one watching this hoping to see another Stunner tonight. Lawler sucks up to the Rattlesnake and laughs at JR and Sgt. Slaughter taking their Stunners last week. Stone Cold tells JR he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Slaughter got one because no one tells him what to do! He promises that Owen Hart still has hell to pay which brings out the Hart Foundation; Bret calls him an animal and a hoser, and Owen serves the Rattlesnake with a restraining order! He can’t come near Owen or he’ll be put in jail. Jerry Lawler continues to suck up to Austin and predictably takes a Stone Cold Stunner! Good. Jim Cornette joins JR on commentary for the rest of the show to replace the now injured Lawler. 

• We’ll see if Stone Cold obeys the restraining order as next up is Owen Hart vs. The Patriot in singles action. This is a solid match and when Stone Cold does come out onto the stage, the police are quick to be there and block his progress. He leaves but they stay on the stage to keep a look out on Owen Hart’s behalf. Patriot isn’t a terrible wrestler at all and Owen is obviously very good and they gelled well together. Austin does come back, this time through the crowd, and his presence distracts Owen Hart enough for him to be rolled up and defeated by The Patriot! Owen isn’t so bothered by the loss and instead demands the police go and arrest him for breaking the law. The Rattlesnake jumps the barrier and leaves, making them follow him out of the arena that way. 

• In an infamous segment, Jim Ross interviews Shawn Michaels in the ring wearing nothing but a tiny, tight pair of shorts. See, HBK came to the ring with his bulge looking a lot…larger than normal because he’d stuffed them. JR and Vince McMahon were both furious with him for the stunt but the guys in the locker room found it hilarious and Michaels used that to justify it; they should be doing the stuff that amuses them on TV to try and amuse the people too! It's an important foundation point in the Attitude era. The actual content of his interview? He plans on being the first man to win every singles title by winning the European title in England on Saturday and then he calls WWF management the real problem because they continue to punish him and push him down the card despite him being the best thing on every show. This is a good promo, and the fact is that all of this is how Michaels felt for real at the time. He main evented the last PPV, had the best match on the show and he gets to be the first man inside Hell in a Cell because he’s the best which is a thinly veiled shot at WWF Champion Bret Hart who, for the second PPV in a row, will be not be in the main event. The Undertaker appears on the titantron and calls Badd Blood Shawn Michaels’ final resting place. HBK fires up and yells that he made the Deadman taste his blood once and he’ll be doing it again! 

• In the main event, WWF Champion Bret Hart and European Champion British Bulldog try to start a Canadian gold rush against The Headbangers for the WWF Tag Team Championships. This match did a lot to make Mosh and Thrasher look good; Mosh actually outwrestles Bret for big chunks of this match and their teamwork is more on point which serves them well. This match got plenty of time and when Bulldog hits the running powerslam, he and Bret appear to win the Tag Team titles! Earl Hebner continues his streak of being the worst referee in wrestling, spotting that the illegal man was pinned and he restarts the match. Bulldog stupidly hits Thrasher with the American flag right in front of the referee to get himself and Bret disqualified. Hilariously, as Bulldog was trying to bring the weapon into the ring a fan in the front row grabbed it and the two of them had quite an intense and angry tug of war over it where it seemed like Bulldog might actually knock the guy out! Bret chokes Mosh with the flag until The Patriot and Vader run down to save The Headbangers and the show ends in chaos.

Next up is the UK exclusive PPV “One Night Only” which took place on September 20th 1997! I’ve reviewed that too so click here and read it before re-joining me for the final shows before Badd Blood: In Your House!

Raw is War - September 22nd 1997

• This Raw took place in Madison Square Garden, something the company has made a big fuss about. This was the very first Raw to take place in “the world’s most famous arena” and opens up with a Jim Ross narrated video package about all the huge, history-making moments that have taken place there. Lovely stuff. It’s funny that they manage to do all of this without showing any, if any, Hulk Hogan. He was the main man in WCW at the time so that’s understandable.
• The opening match is an Intercontinental title tournament match with Rocky Maivia (who commentary keeps calling The Rock) taking on Ahmed Johnson. The Nation accompanies Rocky to ringside but Commissioner Slaughter forces them to leave to make this one on one. Interesting tournament update as, with Ken Shamrock now injured and unable to continue, he’s been replaced in the semi-finals by the man who injured him, Faarooq. Rock shows a LOT more personality here as a cocky, angry heel than he ever did as a bland smiling babyface. Ahmed wins this with a Pearl River Plunge to advance in the tournament. 

• There’s a few reasons this episode of Raw is War is legendary and the first is made apparent when Stone Cold Steve Austin appears in the crowd to let us all know that he’s here and that tonight somebody is going to get their ass whipped. Vince McMahon seems very concerned about that. 
• After a recap of the One Night Only PPV in England (which you’ve all just gone and read about, of course), The Undertaker heads down to the ring to address the new European Champion Shawn Michaels who he will meet inside Hell in a Cell in two weeks at Badd Blood. Vince McMahon conducts the interview and breaks the news that while Shawn’s European title won’t be on the line at Badd Blood, the winner of the match will face Bret Hart for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series the following month. Undertaker says his normal stuff about resting in peace and Shawn Michaels burning in hell but interestingly he also calls out Bret Hart. Shawn Michaels interrupts and again claims that the WWF is trying to pile up the odds against him with matches like this but promises to rise to the occasion just like he always does. The segment ends there with a commercial break.

• Sunny is on guest ring announcer duties again this week, this time for a Tag Team match of Nation members Faarooq and Kama vs. The Legion of Doom. Hawk and Animal motor through the Nation and set up the Doomsday Device but D’Lo Brown and Rocky Maivia run down to attack them, saving their team mates but ending this via disqualification. Ahmed Johnson runs down too to try and help out but it’s still four vs three so Ahmed, Hawk and Animal are left beaten up by The Nation. 
• Owen Hart faces his friend Brian Pillman in the first of two semi-final matches in the Intercontinental title tournament. This match marks the debut of Owen Hart’s second, much cooler theme song. Both of these men have their own stories; Owen has four police officers with him because of his restraining order against Austin and Brian Pillman has Marlena with him, dressed in a very revealing outfit against her will. She does look amazing to be fair to Pillman, he has taste! He has his arm in a sling which the commentators have made no mention of it as he enters the ring.

Vince mentions that on October 6th, which is Raw is War the night after Badd Blood, Terri and Dustin will be renewing their vows to celebrate her nightmare with Brian Pillman being over. Brian says that he has a tragedy to share with us; he makes some crass jokes about having basically raped Marlena last night and injured his arm while doing so. He has to forfeit this match to his close friend Owen Hart and allow him to progress to the championship match on PPV. Commissioner Slaughter rushes down to the ring and is unhappy with that; he doesn’t believe that Pillman’s arm is broken and tosses a microphone to him which he catches, giving the game away. Slaughter says that this match WILL take place or Pillman will never wrestle for the WWF again. Ok, thats fine. Just lay down for him then? The two of them do wrestle but very slowly, with low impact take overs and take downs like they’re trying not to hurt each other. That’s pretty funny. After a bit more back and forth, Goldust comes down to attack Pillman but strikes Owen Hart first on his way to the loose cannon, giving Owen the victory via disqualification. Goldust chases off after Pillman and leaves Owen in the ring to celebrate; that’s cut short too when Stone Cold attacks him from behind. He hammers on Owen who makes a quick getaway and the police surround the Rattlesnake. Vince McMahon runs up into the ring to stop him from being arrested, barking at Austin that he needs to get a hold of himself and calm down! This, right here, is one of the most important segments in WWF history. Austin is pissed at WWF management because he wants to wrestle but the doctors won’t clear him, and they stripped him of both of his titles. Vince McMahon has been increasingly acknowledged on TV as the real life owner of the company and he tries his best to talk sense to Stone Cold, telling him that he is not physically able to compete and might end up paralysed! What happens next? Well, I feel like you can probably guess!

• This was the first time someone got physical with Vince McMahon on TV, and as Austin is arrested the crowd deafeningly chants for the Rattlesnake. JR and Lawler speculate that Stone Cold is sure to be fired now! 
• The next match is scheduled to be Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Dude Love in a Falls Count Anywhere match but, for the second time tonight, we get a legendary moment in WWF history and a massive debut; Cactus Jack! I can’t do this justice so here’s the whole segment (and match) from WWE’s YouTube channel with all three faces of Foley in one place at the same time!
• These two have a damn entertaining brawl all around the arena, up and down the entrance ramp as the crowd chants ECW for Cactus. Jim Ross deserves a lot of credit for hammering home the vast differences between the three faces of Foley. This is a first ever type match for Raw too as they disappear backstage and score near falls on the concrete too. This became commonplace during the Attitude era but this episode of Raw kicked it all off! Cactus wins with a piledriver through a table at the top of the entrance ramp. Awesome stuff.

• Shawn Michaels comes down to the ring with a steel chair in hand and takes a seat in the middle of the ring to regale us with the tale of how he became European Champion and the only Grand Slam winner in WWF history but first, he calls out The Undertaker. He tells him to bring “his big dead ass” to the ring so he can tell him face to face what he’s going to do to him at Badd Blood. It’s a setup; when Undertaker comes out he’s attacked from behind by Triple H and then Shawn Michaels rushes out with the steel chair to join in. Rick Rude and Chyna follow and with a four on one attack and a steel chair, Michaels and his new entourage absolutely destroy The Undertaker. This group needs a name doesn’t it? The Undertaker shakes off the attack and the four of them run away before he can get to his feet. All they seem to have done is make the Deadman angry! 

• In the main event, WWF Champion Bret Hart faces Goldust in a non-title match. Bret feels like an afterthought on these shows lately doesn’t he? That’s because he was deeply unhappy with the company, feeling like Vince had officially chosen Shawn Michaels over him, and was in the process of negotiating a big money deal with WCW. In short; Vince knew he was on his way out the door. More on that next month. Bret grabs the mic before the match and says he doesn’t give a crap who wins the Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood because either way he’s not afraid of The Undertaker and he owes Shawn Michaels an almighty beating for what he did to the British Bulldog in England. This is a competitive match with Bret giving Goldust the shine. Shawn Michaels comes out onto the ramp to watch this match closer and has fun goading the fans who, in very 1997 fashion, chant things like “Shawn is gay” and “faggot” at him. It was an offensive time. Bret locks in the Sharpshooter to pick up the submission win but then won’t break the hold until Shawn Michaels runs down to attack him from behind. The two of them start trading punches and hammering on each other as Helmsley and Chyna run down to help out HBK, followed by Owen Hart and an injured Bulldog to help out Bret! Rick Rude comes down, as does Jim Neidhart who is making his return - we haven’t seen him since before Summerslam! Undertaker is the last man to join the fight and shows no favourites, clearing the ring and planting both Bret and Michaels with a double chokeslam! Awesome stuff, what a great episode of Raw! 

Raw is War - September 29th 1997

• This week’s show opens up with a video package recapping Stone Cold’s recent path of destruction including stunning the owner of the WWF last week on Raw. Will he be fired here tonight when he faces Vince McMahon in the ring? It’s narrated by Michael Cole who had replaced Todd Pettengill on the weekend shows but hadn’t made too many appearances on Raw or PPV yet.

• In the arena we waste no time and in the ring, Vince McMahon introduces European Champion Shawn Michaels for an interview. He dances to the ring with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude in tow. This unit doesn’t have their name yet but come on, we all know who this is and what’s on the way. HBK and HHH have fun, goofing around and holding up the bunny ears behind an angry Vince McMahon. Rude refuses to give any information on his relationship with these men; he operates with strict confidentiality. He asks if Vince needs some protection himself after what Stone Cold did last week. Vince calls Shawn a wise ass and asks how he’ll survive Hell in a Cell at Badd Blood. Michaels calls himself and his group “the Outlaws of the WWF” which feels like them experimenting with a group name. He also calls Helmsley Triple H more than once before handing the mic off to his new partner in crime. Helmsley says he’s waited two years for his chance and now he’s going to just take his chance, and really hammers home that he and Michaels have been close friends for a long time. Commissioner Slaughter comes down to the ring and, as HHH and HBK pantomime that he spits when he talks, hiding behind the European title belt and wiping spittle from their eyes. He books Triple H vs. The Undertaker for tonight which upsets them both, and then The Hart Foundation comes out. Bret tells them that they have more to worry about than The Undertaker - they will suffer for their crimes against the Harts starting tonight. Michaels and HHH pull goofy, sarcastically “afraid” faces after Bret’s threats which gives Lawler a big laugh and he calls them the Beavis and Butthead of the WWF. 

• After a long recap of the European title change at One Night Only, The British Bulldog gets a bit of a babyface reaction when he enters to face Vader. There’s been little to no mention of their Tag Team flag match at Badd Blood and it feels like The Hart’s feud with The Patriot has fallen by the wayside as the Hitman focuses more on Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. That’s fair, that’s who I’d focus on too. This is a decent big man match and Vader has it won with the Vader Bomb but the Hart Foundation rushes the ring, including Jim Neidhart who is back (for now) to beat Vader four on one. The Patriot must have heard me criticising his PPV build because he comes out to help Vader. He fails badly and is beaten up and locked in a figure four around the ring post as Bret tries to break his leg. 

• In the semi finals of the Intercontinental Championship tournament, Faarooq battles Ahmed Johnson. The leader of the Nation has his three teammates as backup so Ahmed brings Ken Shamrock and the LOD with him as backup. Ahmed has his hand heavily bandaged because it was sliced open during his match with The Rock last week. He is very injury prone isn’t he? Ahmed is back to getting babyface reactions and cheers but I don’t think he should be; he joined the Nation and was then kicked out so he’s still a bad guy in my mind. Ahmed is all pumped up and attacks Faarooq with the ringsteps, hammering on his arm with them and then slapping the referee for trying to stop him. Faarooq advances to the finals to meet Owen Hart at Badd Blood for the vacant Intercontinental title. It’s pretty lame how many of these tournament matches ended via disqualification; both Owen and Faarooq got to the finals that way! After the match, Shamrock, the LOD and Ahmed brawl with the Nation and clear them out of the ring. Hawk made me laugh by putting on D’Lo’s leather cap.

• In a pre-taped video, Brian Pillman (while in bed with a terrified looking Marlena, so that just straight up confirms he’s a rapist, yeah?) says that if he’s going to wrestle Dude Love at Badd Blood, he wants a guarantee that Goldust won’t interfere - he wants him handcuffed to the ringpost. This is all very sad in hindsight as the match won’t happen, but we’ll talk about that at the PPV itself. Little did anyone know, this is the last time we’d see Brian Pillman on television and Vince actually ends the segment by saying “I hope that is the last we’ll see of Brian Pillman”. The plan is for Goldust and Marlena, or Dustin and Terri, to renew their vows on Raw the night after the PPV. That leads into Dude Love coming to ringside and dancing his way to the announce table to commentate on the next match which is The Sultan (I thought he was gone?) vs. Goldust. Dude breaks the news that if he beats Pillman at Badd Blood, Goldust will get a match of his own against Pillman immediately afterwards. They certainly had plenty planned for that match didn’t they? Goldust scores with a big running bulldog headlock to pick up the win as the camera focuses on the fact that he’s wearing his wedding ring, something which JR says is unusual for a wrestler to do. King’s jokes about Marlena were particularly gross during this match and I wanted Dude Love to beat him up, but that’s not really The Dude’s way of doing things.

• Throughout the show they had cameras set up at the arena entrance awaiting the arrival of Stone Cold Steve Austin. After the mid-show reset, the Rattlesnake has arrived and he marches to the ring and calls out Vince McMahon. The boss has had something to say to him all week, and with Lawler encouraging him to fire Stone Cold, the owner gets into the ring to have this face to face chat with his employee. They get face to face and Vince acts tough, saying if Austin doesn’t give a damn then neither does he anymore. Austin dares him to fire him but Vince says that he has three options; he can show up next week with a certificate from a doctor which says he’s allowed to return to the ring, or he can return to the ring if he signs a document that says that if he does get hurt the WWF is absolved of any legal ramifications. The third and final option is that Vince fires him right here and right now. It sounds like we’ll get our answer next week on Raw but Steve ends it by saying that if Vince does fire him on TV in front of the world he will beat his ass in front of everyone. Vince does his best to keep his cool and actually does a fantastic job of acting here, looking angry as Austin sticks his middle fingers in the owner's face before he leaves. 

• The Headbangers defend the WWF Tag Team Championships against Jose and Jesus from Los Boricuas. They had a great match with the other two Boricuas at One Night Only so I’m hoping this will be a good one. This match features the new on-screen graphics to denote a title match which debuted at One Night Only in the UK. The Headbangers are supposed to face The Godwins at Badd Blood but whether that match is for the Tag Team titles depends on the outcome of this match. Los Boricuas actually have this match won but The Godwins - including Uncle Cletus - rush the ring and cause a disqualification, attacking and beating up all four men. The other two Boricuas rush down and join in the fight and they’re eventually split up by referees and officials. 

• Vince McMahon interviews Owen Hart in the ring and asks him, with a big smile on his face, about his t-shirt and why he would provoke Stone Cold Steve Austin. Owen is very proud of himself and says he’s a family man and will do whatever it takes to protect his family. Owen openly talks about how Vince’s father started the WWF and sucks up to the owner, basically encouraging him to fire the Rattlesnake. When he’s done talking, one of the police officers he has escorting him unmasks - it’s Stone Cold Steve Austin! He turns Owen’s lights out with a Stone Cold Stunner and then takes off through the crowd chased by the remaining police officers. He has broken Owen’s restraining order time and time again now! 

• Triple H enters first, flanked by Chyna and Shawn Michaels but as Undertaker enters he’s attacked from behind by Bret Hart and the British Bulldog. They hammer on him until The Patriot and Vader come out to even the odds and the four of them brawl to the back. The damage is done and Michaels and Helmsley go after The Undertaker and beat him down on the ramp. HBK makes the mistake of celebrating too early and Undertaker manages to fight them off at least long enough to get to the ring and start the match properly. With Michaels taking cheap shots every chance he gets, Helmsley dominates The Undertaker until he fights him off. This “match” only went about four minutes and was more of a storyline than a match. He sets up a Tombstone on Hunter so Rick Rude hits him in the back with a metal briefcase. It contains a bodybag and after a Sweet Chin Music, Michaels, HHH and Chyna seal Undertaker up inside it. They high five and celebrate until the bag dramatically sits up! Undertaker bursts out of the bag and despite the three of their best efforts, the Deadman fights them off anyway! Michaels finally has no choice but to run away and the brawl goes up the entrance ramp. Michaels tries to leave but when he goes through the curtain he’s confronted by a scary red glow - the power of The Undertaker! The Deadman drills Triple H with a Tombstone on the entrance ramp as Michaels climbs the titantron, desperately trying to escape The Undertaker’s wrath!