Raw is War - March 24th 1997

• The night after Wrestlemania! This has become an episode of Raw that fans look forward to for returns, debuts and big storyline shifts to set the stage for the coming year. That’s a modern invention but let’s see how 1997’s edition stacks up to the lore of “Night after Mania”s. There’s big news right away as Jim Ross breaks the news that Mankind has been named the number 1 contender and so The Undertaker will make his first defence of the WWF title at the next In Your House against him. 
• Last night The Headbangers won a four way to earn a shot at the Tag Team titles and that kicked off Raw against Owen Hart and the Bulldog. There’s more news for In Your House in this match too - the winners of this match will defend the titles on PPV against the Legion of Doom. Hawk and Animal speak to us from backstage and say they’ll tear out their opponents brain stems. Jesus. Vince makes himself laugh asking about the kitchen sink they had at Wrestlemania in the street fight. For about the 12th week in a row Owen and Bulldog get into a heated argument during their match and Owen actually threatens to walk out on his own partner. After a commercial break he’s still there but reluctant to tag in, and did at least break up a pin attempt to keep the gold on he and Bulldog for now. The match breaks down and when Owen and Bulldog start shoving each other and it turns into a fight the referee rings the bell and calls off the match. Bulldog and Owen fight tooth and nail and the ring fills with referees to break them up. Owen has had enough of Bulldog and says that he is the ONLY reason they are Tag Team Champions and he wants a shot at Bulldog’s European title. Bulldog is the babyface here and gets the crowd behind him when he tells Owen he beat him fair and square and if he wants a crack at his title then he can have it any time he wants! High drama to start Raw is War.

• From the back an emotional Mankind speaks to us from the floor. He cries and whines that Uncle Paul has left him, but won’t say any more. He’s all alone now and says he’s beaten Undertaker before and he can beat him again for the WWF Championship.

• Hunter Hearst Helmsley (with Chyna) takes on Bart Gunn. Bret Hart appears on the titantron. He’s impatient and can’t wait to say what he has to say to the American public tonight. Vince warns him about his foul language from last week and from last night at Wrestlemania and looks so disappointed in the Hitman. During this match Goldust cuts a promo on Triple H; Marlena is injured and isn’t here tonight and won’t be here next week either. He challenges Helmsley to a rematch next week with no Marlena or Chyna at ringside, a final battle to settle the score between them. Hunter distracts the referee so that Chyna is able to bodyslam Bart on the outside and that leads to a Pedigree and the victory for HHH. 

• There’s a match between more masked luchadore talent from AAA. It’s a six man tag team match and according to my googling, one of these men under the mask is the man we’d see in the WWE decades later as Elias! This is a really fast paced match which gets a positive reaction from the fans who weren’t used to this kind of thing in 1997 - this is the WWF trying to compete with WCW’s cruiserweight division but sadly they didn’t commit enough to it. This could have been awesome. Bret Hart chimes in during this match too - he’s impatient and wants his time to speak, he’s sick of waiting! 
• Earlier today Vince McMahon spoke to Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia and his dad Rocky Johnson. Rocky says it means a lot to him that his dad was there and shared that moment with him at Wrestlemania. There’s a weird little bit of tension between them; it seems like Rocky didn’t want or need his dad’s help and Rocky senior promises to not interfere in his matches again. I wonder what the plan is for these two?

• Honky Tonk Man joins commentary for the next match which is The Brooklyn Brawler vs. Flash Funk. Honky is still looking for a young piece of talent to manage and lead to greatness but he doesn’t seem too impressed by Flash Funk despite him basically being the babyface version of Honky’s own gimmick. He is a good dancer! Flash wins with his awesome 450 splash off the top rope because of course he does.
• Vince McMahon interviews Ken Shamrock and asks why he stopped last night’s submission match - he explains that Stone Cold Steve Austin did NOT submit and he did NOT say I Quit. He had to stop it because the man was unconscious. He couldn’t protect himself. Vince makes sure to hammer home that Bret Hart tried to attack Stone Cold while he was defenceless and it would have been much worse had Shamrock not stepped in. That’s accurate. Shamrock’s opinion of Stone Cold? He doesn’t like him as a person but he is the toughest, there is no quit in that man. Good stuff.

• Bret Hart comes down to the ring for his interview with Jim Ross but has no interest in being interviewed and dismisses him to cut his promo in peace. He issues an apology to all of the fans around the world naming Europe, Japan, the middle east and Canada before making a point that he does NOT apologise to America or its fans. He whines (which isn’t a judgment, that’s the point) about how the fans cheered for “a gutless scumbag like Austin” or “a pretty boy who poses for gay magazines” like Shawn Michaels before reminding us of the last two years of his career being screwed over and cheated over and over again. He’s not wrong but his attitude stinks. He finishes his rant with “American wrestling fans from coast to coast can kiss my ass!” He is finally interrupted by Shawn Michaels who tells Bret that he can say whatever he wants about him but at least he lives life honestly and openly, unlike Bret who pretends to be a paragon of virtue. They drop some real life on each other (Michaels believed that Bret was bitter and holding on to his spot long past the point of it being the right thing to do, and Bret just didn’t like Shawn as a person and didn’t want the top guy to be like him). Shawn defends the fan’s right to cheer and boo for whoever the hell they want and to live their lives however they want before challenging Bret to fight him right here, right now. Bret tells him to get out of his face so Shawn steps forward and asks Bret how he knows that HBK was in a magazine like that - he had to flip through the pages and check him out didn’t he! Bret attacks Shawn and goes after his injured leg, wrapping him up in a figure four around the ring post which Michaels sells like his leg is being broken! Referees spill out to try and break them up but the Hitman is a man possessed. Sycho Sid comes down to get his hands on Bret - he cost him the WWF Championship last night at Wrestlemania - so Bret bails out and after teasing going back to fight, leaves and gets a lot of boos for it. This was an awesome segment and not only is Bret now firmly established as a heel but Sid is now a big babyface. The commentators really emphasise how disgusting it was of Bret to attack an injured man from behind like that. 

• In a non-title match, Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia battles Leif Cassidy. Rocky gives Leif the run-around on the outside and comes off the apron with a crossbody but the match is interrupted when Bret Hart comes back down to ringside. He goes straight to the commentary desk and puts on a headset - the Hitman has a lot more to say it seems. The match becomes secondary to Vince asking Bret what has caused him to snap and what is wrong in his mind. Bret doubles down; the fans are cheering for scumbags like Stone Cold, Sid, Shawn Michaels and even The Undertaker. Rocky wins the match with a crossbody off the top rope which gets next to no reaction. The Hitman attacks the rookie Intercontinental Champion and goes right after his leg. He says that if we want to see a bad guy, he’ll show us a bad guy! He hurts Maivia’s leg and takes his leave, giving the finger to kids in the front row as he leaves. He’s a monster! Stone Cold Steve Austin isn’t here tonight by the way, if you’re wondering why he hasn’t rushed the ring to kick Bret Hart’s ass yet. He will be back next week! 
• Ahmed Johnson takes on Nation of Domination member Savio Vega (with Crush and the rest of the Nation). Faarooq suffered a separated shoulder during the street fight last night so he’ll be MIA for a little while. Ahmed jumps off the top rope with a front flipping senton which looked messy but hit with a lot of impact. The Nation keeps their distance but as soon as Savio gets in real trouble Crush pulls him out of the ring to safety. Johnson grabs his 2x4 (not a euphemism) and dares the Nation to try him. He says this has gone too far and he will make them a deal; if he beats any member of the Nation then they have to leave the WWF. They can put anyone they want forward to face him. The Nation doesn't say anything and just raises their fists. I assume we’ll need to wait until Faarooq is back for an answer. JR and Vince sounded very confused by his challenge so I suspect he forgot his lines and didn’t say what he was meant to. He also bangs his 2x4 on the ground as he leaves and it bounced out of his hands! Ahmed is such a botch-machine.

• Paul Bearer is backstage pacing like an animal. He refuses to speak to Vince; it seems like The Undertaker winning the WWF Championship without him has shaken him to his core and he’s abandoned poor Mankind and Vader! That leads into the main event segment of the show; the new WWF Champion The Undertaker heads down to the ring for an interview with Vince McMahon. He gives credit to both Sycho Sid and to his next challenger Mankind but says the WWF title belongs to the people and he is our knight who will protect it for us - I like that a lot. His victory speech is interrupted by Paul Bearer who slowly walks to the ring and asks Undertaker to hear him out. Mankind appears on the titantron begging Uncle Paul to come back to him - he needs him. The show ran out of time and ended abruptly here so we’re left wondering what Paul Bearer has to say to The Undertaker, and why Mankind has been neglected when he clearly had such a strong attachment to Bearer? A confusing but intriguing final segment, and it makes me wonder if the Bret and Shawn segment ran long and got their time cut at the end of the show? I hope not. 

Raw is War - March 31st 1997

• Raw kicks off the same way last week did, with the implosion between the WWF Tag Team Champions. Owen Hart gets his rematch for the European Championship against the British Bulldog. The fans are strongly behind the Bulldog here and this is a competitive back and forth match; these two had one of the best Raw main events so far last month so letting them just wrestle for a long stretch is a good way to start a show. Owen comes close to winning the gold with a nice piledriver and a gorgeous elbow off the top rope but Bulldog got his foot on the ropes to break the pin so he puts his focus on Bulldog’s leg. These two are supposed to defend the Tag Team titles against LOD on the next PPV so they need to get this out of their system and get back on the same page! They beat each other up in a really good match but when the referee goes down, Owen grabs a steel chair and tries to take this too far. That brings out big brother Bret who struggles to hold the two apart. He grabs the mic and lectures them on family values, reminding Bulldog that they were friends until the American fans drove a wedge between them. He reminds Owen of how close they were as children and tells his little brother that he loves him. It seems to sink in - Owen looks emotional and for the first time since January 1994 Owen and Bret Hart are together. Owen cries and tells Bret he loves him two and the pair of them hug! The three of them group hug and thanks to Bret Hart Owen and Bulldog have settled their issues and the three Harts are united! You know Bret is a heel now because long time rival Jerry Lawler actually praises him and calls this beautiful! For the second week in a row, Bret Hart has given us an awesome segment that has driven the story forward in an interesting and logical way. 

• Sunny joins commentary to watch the next match which is another AAA masked man vs. masked man match. Super Nova vs. El Moscow. I don’t mean to dismiss these gentlemen in the AAA matches by not even knowing their names in previous weeks but I know from experience that these matches end up not meaning anything as the division doesn’t last long and we don’t get to see these men mix things up with anyone else. Sunny shows off that she speaks a little Spanish and then abandons Vince, King and Ross and joins the Spanish commentary team instead. Weird. 

• What a Rush! Jim Ross interviews Hawk and Animal in the ring about their Tag Team title match at In Your House 14: Revenge of the Taker on April 20th. Has their gameplan changed now that Owen and Bulldog seem to be back on the same page? Animal is pumped up and pissed that the Harts keep insulting the United States. Their plan is to kick their asses, but do at least emphasise how important being the WWF Tag Team Champions is. 

• Honky Tonk Man joins commentary again and it seems like he might have finally found his man to manage. Jesse Jammes defeated a jobber with the pumphandle slam while Honky sings his praises. He gets into the ring to offer his services to The Real Double J not just as a singer but as a wrestler (I did say he was a perfect fit for what Honky wanted months ago). Jesse makes like he’s considering it and takes Honky’s prized guitar before smashing it on the mat! He’s better off without the manager. 

• Crush and Savio Vega of the Nation of Domination take on a pair of jobbers. It’s an exhibition squash for the Nation members but the main thing here is that Shawn Michaels calls in to discuss his knee injury. Bret Hart made it much worse last night so he’s recuperating at home. He gets heated when Vince asks about Bret and says he won’t discuss it on the phone but he will be on Raw is War next week to address Bret in person before hanging up. 
• Paul Bearer heads down to the ring and begs The Undertaker to take him back as his manager. This is transparent - he only wants him back because he’s the WWF Champion again. At the end of Raw last week when the show ended abruptly, what we missed was Mankind begging Paul to take him back as Paul was in turn begging Undertaker to take him back! Bearer gets emotional and cries as he pleads with the Deadman to take him back. The Undertaker does come down to meet his former manager. He smartly locks the coffin that Paul wheeled to ringside before he gets in the ring; he’s seen this before, with someone hiding inside waiting to jump him. Undertaker tells Bearer that he cannot forget betrayal but he MAY be able to forgive. He’s considered Paul Bearer for the past week and hands him the WWF Championship belt…before surprising him with a big right hand to the face! Paul scurries out of the ring and runs away from the Deadman who slowly stalks him around the ring wanting to continue the beating. He's about to hit him with the urn when Mankind comes from under the ring and throws a fireball directly into The Undertaker’s face! The champion collapses holding his face and Mankind and Bearer reunite and hug. Sycho Sid runs down to the ring and chases them off through the crowd - he and Undertaker seem to have formed a bond based on respect - and the injured Undertaker holding his face in pain flails around and fights off the referees, disappearing off through the crowd too. It was a trap by Bearer and Mankind and while Undertaker didn’t fall for it, he took a fireball to the face all the same. Mankind is possessed and Jim Ross explains that he attacked officials on Shotgun Saturday Night too. After the commercial break Sycho Sid says that Mankind messed with The Undertaker and that was a mistake, just like Bret Hart messing with him. He tells Mankind that he will burn in hell for what he has done to The Undertaker. Damn. 

• Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Goldust with their managers both barred from ringside so they can finally settle things once and for all. These two wrestled at the Royal Rumble and at Wrestlemania so this is very much a PPV quality feud which made me think about Raw a couple of years before this where every show was full of meaningless squash matches. It’s very nice to be writing about an era where everything that happens on Raw is for a purpose. Goldust starts really aggressively but a well timed counter into the ring steps lets Hunter take things over and work him over. Despite being barred from ringside, Chyna does come out onto the stage to try and distract Goldust. It doesn’t work and he hits the Curtain Call on Hunter which is sure to end the match so Chyna runs down to the ring and punts him in the ribs, breaking the pin and causing a disqualification! Referees and officials fill the ring to stop the attack including the first ever Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson. Helmsley shoves him so Pat fires up and starts throwing punches at him! Chyna isn’t having any of that and attacks him from behind. Goldust gets back up and fights off HHH but Chyna still won’t back down! She wants to fight Goldust and isn’t afraid of anyone! This was a chaotic finish and keeps the feud between HHH and Goldust going but made Chyna look like a monster. I mentioned earlier that Mankind attacked an official at the weekend - that was Gerald Brisco. Between that and Pat Patterson getting physical tonight it seems like the company wants more involvement from non-wrestlers!

• Stone Cold Steve Austin makes his first appearance since Wrestlemania 13. He tells Bret that he NEVER said I Quit and even on his best day he can’t beat him. Stone Cold says that it doesn’t matter if you think he’s a class act or a piece of trash - he is who he is and isn’t changing for anyone. It doesn’t matter if he’s in the ring with “a good guy” and gets booed or “a bad guy” and gets cheered, he’s here to whip somebody’s ass and no one can stop him. He tells Bret Hart to put on a clean pair of panties and wrestle him again! Bret appears on the titantron and says he DID kick Austin’s ass and will do it again. Austin tells Bret that one day he’s going to look down at his grave and see “here lies Bret Hart, the biggest piece of crap that ever walked the Earth and he’s in the ground because Steve Austin put him there!” Awesome.

• In the main event as a result of the sneak attack last week Rocky Maivia defended the Intercontinental Championship against Bret Hart! Mentioned on commentary is that Bret will face Sycho Sid at In Your House. I don’t believe that match will take place but I guess we’ll let it unfold. This is definitely Rocky’s biggest challenge against main eventer Bret Hart. There’s a little bit of a behind the scenes story here as early in his career, Rocky was in the crosshairs of the infamous Kliq, with Michaels and HHH using their powers to whisper in Vince’s ear that he should be shunted down the card and Helmsley should be pushed in his place. Bret Hart saw what they were doing and so took him under his wing a little and pushed for him to be included in this storyline and given this high profile match to protect him and keep his momentum going. Bret and Rock have always spoken very positively about each other. Bret focuses on Rocky’s leg but when he locks the figure four around the ring post again the referee is forced to ring the bell and disqualify him for refusing to break the hold. Stone Cold rushes the ring to attack Bret, followed by Owen and the Bulldog. The newly reformed Hart Foundation (Lawler called them that on commentary which feels like he’s prematurely told us where the storyline was heading) beats on him three on one until Hawk and Animal rush down for back up! Owen, Bret and Bulldog run for the hills, leaving through the crowd with a pissed off Austin chasing and trying to get his hands on the Hitman.

Raw is War - April 7th 1997

• Owen Hart and the British Bulldog open up the show and create a nice display of the UK and Canadian flags, with Owen’s Slammy awards and Bulldog’s European Championship. Owen says thank GOD for Bret because without him they’d still be feuding to make the people happy. He warns Shawn Michaels that later tonight if he says ONE bad word about his loving brother Bret they will rush the ring and beat the hell out of him. The Tag Team Champions are facing The Godwins in non-title action, because they’ve got a title match against the LOD at In Your House. During this match both Shawn Michaels and the LOD chime in. HBK still plans on saying whatever the hell he wants about Bret and isn’t afraid of Owen and the LOD have no plans to back down even with the champions now united and having Bret as back up. It’s a little distracting as while Hawk is talking, Owen and Bulldog pick up the victory with a little cheating - a sneak attack by the illegal man. Phineas protests but the referee is…unsympathetic. As they leave, Hawk and Animal arrive at the top of the ramp and back the champions down. Henry and Phineas try to slop the Harts but they duck, it hits Animal and Hawk and Owen and Bulldog are able to escape while the LOD and the Godwins brawl! A lucky escape for Owen and Bulldog thanks to an accidental slopping. After the commercial break Owen and Bulldog have a good laugh and watch the replay. They’re civilised men from England and Canada, they don’t walk around with face paint and slop buckets. They don’t act like animals like those four. 

• Stone Cold Steve Austin is about to head to the ring but stops to shout some abuse at Owen Hart and the Bulldog on his way. Austin gets a cheer but its not as loud as it became. There’s a lot of Austin 3:16 t-shirts and signs in the crowd by this point and JR and Vince talk about what a nasty, tough SOB he is. He is awesome. His match is against Billy Gunn who, as a surprise to everyone, has the Honky Tonk Man with him. It looks like he’s found himself a wrestler to manage and comes out carrying the guitar that Jesse Jammes smashed last week in a clear plastic bag which is pretty funny. Stone Cold looks deeply unimpressed and you can literally see the fans in the front row laughing and cheering for Austin’s take no prisoners style. He just beats him up with right hands and sends him running for cover. Austin beats up Billy and drops him with a Stone Cold Stunner for the victory. Honky Tonk Man who stuck around on commentary decides to go and speak to Billy. He tells him that he shouldn’t beat himself up for losing to Stone Cold, he just needs to trust Honky and let him buy him some clothes, change his hair and mold him in his image. Billy seems like he’s considering it but then punches him in the face! He gave him a chance and wasn’t impressed. 

• A man in military garb addresses the crowd from the top of the stage. He represents The Truth Commission from South Africa. He says that we need law and order and promises that he and his commandos will teach “you liberal sissy Americans” the true meaning of democracy even if they have to beat the truth into them. This is very odd. He ends his lecture on the ills of the American way of life by introducing a pre-recorded promo by Bret Hart in Cape Town, South Africa. The Hitman says that Stone Cold is a loser who has all these dumb Americans cheering for him. 

• In the ring back on Raw, Vince McMahon interviews Shawn Michaels. Bulldog and Owen are in the back watching closely, seeing as Bret isn’t here this week. Michaels tells us that Bret is not just now a bad guy - he’s always been a bad guy. He says that Bret is the one who allows the WWF to bring his mum and dad, and his kids and sisters out on TV to be exploited for money. He then goes further back and says that he was happy to play second fiddle to Bret Hart when he was WWF Champion and Shawn wasn’t but when the roles were reversed Bret kicked and screamed and rooted for the WWF to fail without him. He gets Vince to agree with him that with him as champion the WWF did the best business it had done in years. Michaels says that he is always himself faults and all and when he goes home he’s just plain old Shawn but for Bret Hart, he is always The Hitman whether he’s on TV or not. He takes himself too seriously and tells the fans that they can cheer or boo for whoever they want including him. He ends the segment asking for his music and has a little dance and strips off for the crowd who love to see it, but dedicates it to Bret because he knows it bothers him. That’s too much for Owen Hart and the Bulldog who head straight down to the right. HBK still has a bad knee so he’s taking no chances and grabs a steel chair to defend himself and keeps them at bay until referees surround the ring and stop the fight. 

• Mosh and Thrasher, the Headbangers take on the makeshift team of Barry Horowitz (been a while!) and another guy who’s name I didn’t catch. The Headbangers pick up the win with the Mosh Pit double team. 
• Ken Shamrock hosts a no holds barred fighting exhibition. He takes on some skinny guy who I’m not familiar with but the story is that Shamrock just takes him down with ease and then beats him up with ease. Vince points out that it looks like Ken might have lost his temper and taking it a little further than he needed to. He bloodies the guy’s face and leaves him knocked out. The referee awards the “match” to Shamrock and then while Jim Ross interviews him about his take no prisoner’s style, Vader interrupts him! Paul Bearer is back by the big man’s side so it seems like last week’s ruse with the Undertaker extended to him too. He hasn’t abandoned Mankind or Vader. Referees and officials quickly get on the scene to fill in the gap and stop these men from coming to blows - a fight I think lots of people would like to see! After a commercial break that leads nearly into Vader’s own match against a skinny jobber. Vader shows off some submissions of his own and breaks his own pin after a Vader bomb wanting to keep the beating going. He’s making a point to Shamrock and does finally finish him off with a second Vader bomb and then a powerbomb. 

• Backstage, Gorilla Monsoon breaks the news that Sycho Sid is not here tonight and he’s hearing rumours about a car accident. The president says that the only suitable replacement he can find for Sid in tonight’s main event against Mankind is Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin isn’t happy about that; he’s already wrestled tonight! He threatens to wrap his knee brace around Gorilla’s head but then changes his mind and says he’ll take Sid’s place tonight as long as he ALSO gets to take Sid’s place at In Your House against Bret Hart, which Monsoon has no choice but to agree to. 

• In the ring, Jim Ross interviews Mankind and Paul Bearer. He asks why he targeted The Undertaker last week. Mankind says that they had the most brutal matches in WWF history and feels sad because The Undertaker still doesn’t know him at all. Not the real him. Mankind reveals that he has a wife and screams that fans who can’t believe that should turn off their TV because he is here to deal with reality - his children are woken up by white trash throwing rocks at their house chanting “die Mankind die!” and he isn’t able to protect his daughter because he’s on the road working on a 17th concussion and making half the money pretty boys make. This is an awesome promo and is a side of Mankind we’ve never seen. The Undertaker appears on the big screen and tells Bearer that he taught him everything he knows about the darkside, but not everything that The Undertaker knows. “Hell hath no fury like The Undertaker” After a commercial break, Mankind stays in the ring for his main event match against Stone Cold Steve Austin. This is a really entertaining wild brawl in and out of the ring - these two have great chemistry. Bulldog and Owen Hart come out to watch the match from the crowd and that distraction allows Mankind to take control of the match. When Austin fights back, Bulldog and Owen start to head down to the ring for a closer look but never get there as Mankind’s buddy Vader runs down first. He tries to interfere but accidentally strikes Mankind and the two of them start trading punches while Paul Bearer begs them to stop. They finally do and hug to end Raw back on the same page. What a strange ending to Raw.

Raw is War - April 14th 1997

• This is an odd episode of Raw composed of footage from both the United States and South Africa. Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette are on commentary in America while JR and the Honky Tonk Man handle things overseas. 

• In America the LOD takes on The Godwins thanks to the accidental slopping last week. Hillbilly Jim was with the Godwins at Wrestlemania but weren’t last week or this week so it appears his tenure as their manager has quietly ended. It's a back and forth match until Owen Hart and Bulldog come down for a closer look and Bulldog hits Animal with one of the Tag Team title belts, knocking him out and giving the Godwins a very tainted victory! 

• Elsewhere in South Africa, Hunter Hearst Helmsley is facing Jesse Jammes. Honky Tonk Man says that at In Your House his NEW protege will face him in a match and make him pay for smashing up his guitar two weeks ago. That’s another match added to the PPV then. This part of Raw is weird as it is footage from a house show overseas and while JR and Honky are on commentary they spend the bulk of this match in silence, which is just a straight forward house show wrestling match with minimal spots. After a lengthy back and forth, Honky goes to ringside and punches Jesse in the tummy - undetected by the referee - which leads to a Pedigree and a victory for Helmsley. After the match Jesse Jammes grabs the mic and promises a rude awakening at In Your House for both the Honky Tonk Man and his mystery man. He won’t get in the ring to fight Jesse now but says his protege will “break his neck” at the PPV. That feels extreme. 
• Still in South Africa, Rocky Maivia battles a member of the Nation in Savio Vega. He has Crush and members of the Nation with him but still no Faarooq who separated his shoulder at Wrestlemania. This match does thankfully have commentary opposed to the opener. This match is a non-title but Rocky will defend the gold at In Your House also against Savio Vega, so this feels weird to just preview the match by…doing the match. This is another long, tedious match that consists almost entirely of rest holds on the mat. Faarooq does come down to ringside during the match with his arm in a sling. The finish comes out of nowhere with Savio rolling up Rocky and grabbing the tights for illegal leverage. Savio wins the non-title match and then he’s immediately jumped by the Nation. Faarooq whips him with his leather belt until Ahmed Johnson runs to the ring with his 2x4 and chases them off. We’ll see him again later as he’s scheduled to face Crush later.

• Back in America, Vince McMahon interviews Stone Cold Steve Austin in the ring. He says that Vince, Gorilla and the WWF management has been holding him back and tells Bret can whine about being screwed but he’s never been screwed until it's by Stone Cold. That is probably poorly worded. He says no one can stop him from beating the hell out of Bret Hart. 

• Back in South Africa The Sultan (with the Iron Sheik but no Bob Backlund) faces Goldust (with no Marlena, she’s still “injured”) Goldust has his face paint styled to look like some kind of big cat which must be a South Africa thing. The match doesn’t go for very long before HHH and Chyna run down to attack Goldust, delivering a spike piledriver and then hammering on his old rival while the Sultan has him locked in the camel clutch. Goldust is left badly beaten by the duo with even the Sheik getting some kicks and punches in. 

• Two international locations aren’t enough so let's add a third; there’s footage of Bret Hart on tour in Kuwait continuing his tirade against American wrestling fans. The crowds do support his point, cheering him and booing Stone Cold so maybe it is just the Americans who are the problem? He repeats his points from previous promos that wherever he goes in the world he is beloved but in the USA the fans cheer for Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold and The Undertaker. He isn’t correct - Bret is a heel the whole world over - but I do like this unique angle where he’s only a heel in the States. 

• In America The Headbangers Mosh and Thrasher face the intimidating team of Mankind and Vader (with Paul Bearer). It’s a competitive match but the finish comes out of no where as Mosh spits a liquid into Mankind’s face. The referee saw it and rings the bell for a disqualification as Mankind flails around unable to see. Vader tries to check on him so the blinded Mankind puts him in the Mandible Claw! Back in South Africa as Honky and JR discuss the PPV’s WWF Championship main event the arena lights flicker and The Undertaker’s voice booms out over the sound system promising his creatures of the night that the end is nigh and Mankind will rest in peace. You know, the usual Undertaker stuff.

• With this show being an odd hodge podge of footage from international house shows they have time to fill and while I respect them for editing it together and trying to make it look like a live simulcast its all pretty odd feeling. In the attempt to fill things out they include footage from the 1997 Slammy awards, specifically slow motion footage of the ladies modeling their swimsuits for the Miss Slammy award. You all know by now that I have a real soft spot for Sunny but there’s no arguing that Sable looked incredible. Enjoy that! 

• The same military gentleman from last week - the Commandant - is in South Africa and tells the fans that might is right and even if it has to be beaten into people, the Truth Commission will show us the truth. This is the impending arrival of a new stable who I’ll talk a lot more about when they arrive. This gentleman doesn’t make the cut long term as he wasn’t a wrestler and Vince wanted the group to have a manager who could take bumps and get in the ring from time to time.

• The main event of Raw is War is Ahmed Johnson vs. Crush (who has the rest of the Nation including the injured Faarooq with him as back up). This is a really messy match and considering it was pre-taped there’s no reason to have left so many botches in it. There’s a particularly bad one where Ahmed comes off the ropes for a big elbow drop. Crush was probably supposed to move out of the way but didn’t and so Ahmed just kind of…twists unnaturally and lands awkwardly with his hip/ass RIGHT on Crush’s head. Jesus Christ. Ahmed wins the match with a roll up and quickly bails out of the ring to avoid being swarmed and beaten up by the Nation. This match was terrible and after its over, Faarooq grabs a mic and while tripping over his words does a terrible job of challenging Ahmed to run the gauntlet against Savio, Crush and himself and promises that if Johnson can win he will disband the entire Nation of Domination. The show ends on that cliffhanger, we don’t know if Ahmed will accept but I suspect he will, given that I’m pretty sure that's what he was trying to challenge the Nation to last week and also did a terrible job of explaining it.