WWF RAW is WAR (March 10, 1997)

Original Airdate: March 10, 1997  

From Worcester, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler

WWF Champion Sycho Sid comes out to cut a promo on his WrestleMania opponent, Undertaker, who he will also be teaming with tonight. And he's not happy about that. Cue Undertaker, who tells him that if he's got nothing to worry about tonight, because 'Taker will make sure he gets out of here unscathed so he has no excuses to drop out of WrestleMania. Well, you can't blame Undertaker for worrying about that, given the recent history of that particular title. So all this draws Vader, Mankind, and Paul Bearer out, and the brawl is on! Sid and Undertaker pretty easily clean house, but not before Vader gets in a shot on Undertaker that gets blamed on Sid to sow some seeds of dissention before the match later. This was an okay segment, but it established what would be one of the hallmarks of both Monday night shows going forward

Rocky Maivia v Tony Roy: Rocky's WWF Intercontinental Title is not on the line. We still have the red/white/blue ring ropes, and the New Generation logo, but other than that it's the full on Attitude Era set design here, and immediately the show looks so much fresher and edgier. They also have the ring steps set up in the center of the apron, though that wouldn't last long. Sultan shows up with Bob Backlund and Iron Sheik to cut a promo on Rocky, allowing Roy to attack from behind, but Maivia quickly fights him off. Bob still screaming his promo while the match goes on and Sultan stands there like Super Shredder is pretty funny. And then Rocky finishes the jobber with a flying bodypress at 1:33. Sultan comes in to brawl afterwards, and holy shit, what a weak match this is for WrestleMania. Sultan had barely been established as anything yet, and he's already getting a title shot at the biggest show of the year? Not to mention that whatever they've established him as is basically JTTS. And it's one thing if this was happening ten years later, but in 1997 the Intercontinental title was still a big deal. DUD

The PlayStation Slam of the Week is Ahmed Johnson brutalizing Leif Cassidy on Shotgun Saturday Night. Sadly, the show had long ceased to emanate from various nightclubs by this point, and was just basically Sunday Night Heat

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Hector Garza, Latin Lover, and Octagon v Pierroth, Heavy Metal, and Pentagon: All six guys look miserable, like they'd rather be anywhere else. Probably WCW. And the crowd looks like they'd rather these guys be anywhere else as well. Even as a kid, when I was incredibly tolerant of some of their less than perfect ideas, I couldn't stand this AAA crossover stuff. Probably doesn't help that the announcers also sound bored, with Lawler outright making fun of and burying them. Meanwhile, (the still unnamed) Chyna has been spotted in the crowd, and is being removed by security. They did a good job with that, placing her well away from the front row, making it seem more realistic. The crowd definitely bought it, you could even see some nervousness. Of course, the fact that the camera is focusing on it is all you'd need to know that it's a work, but still well done. And more interesting than this match, that's just dying out here on live TV. Brian Pillman pops up on split screen to hype up his return to the WWF on this coming weekend's Shotgun, when the 'censors will be sound asleep.' Back in the ring, Lover badly misses a flying frogsplash (as in he dove at a guy that wasn't even there), and gets pinned with a magistral cradle at 9:39. I paid as much attention to this as they did. ¼*

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Ahmed Johnson v Roy Raymond: This guy and Rocky's jobber should team as The Roys. It was just waiting to happen! Roy tries a sneak attack as Ahmed just kind of walks around the ring not paying attention, and actually manages a suplex, but Ahmed pretty much ignores it because the Nation of Domination is at the top of the ramp. They do some rapping as Ahmed chucks Roy around, before finishing with the Pearl River Plunge at 1:54. Afterwards, Faarooq reminds Ahmed that he doesn't know what the streets are about, so WrestleMania is going to be a long night for him. Also, does he even have any partners? Um, yes he does... The Legion of Doom! That was a good pairing, though it would have made for a great surprise return if they didn't already blow that load two weeks ago. This still continues to be a good angle, and I was definitely hyped for the match at the time. Why are PG-13 wearing Survivor Series hats, though? DUD

Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart v The New Blackjacks: Smith and Hart's WWF Tag Team Title is not on the line. Jim Ross tries to stir up some shit between the champions on the way to the ring, since apparently every team needs to hate each other at this point. It's a booking idea that can work when used sparingly, but they really overdid it during the Attitude Era. At least the Blackjacks are still getting along. Big brawl to start, dominated by the champions. The Blackjacks end up regrouping on the outside, but Blackjack Bradshaw manages to pound Bulldog on the way back in, as we get a split screen with Vader and Mankind to hype up their title match with Bulldog and Owen for WrestleMania. I'm pretty sure they didn't really like each other, either. Also, wow, all three title matches for this show are ice cold. Back in the ring, Owen backdrops Blackjack Windham, but Windham throws a mulekick to buy time, and he passes back to Bradshaw to big boot Hart. The Blackjacks work Owen over, but Bulldog gets the tag, and he grabs a sleeper on Bradshaw, but a jawbreaker frees him up, and Windham throws a clothesline for two. The Blackjacks go to work on Davey now, as the announcers hype up Bret Hart challenging Sid for the WWF Title in a cage match for next week. That sounds like one you might want to pay attention to. Windham with a side suplex for two, as Taz pops up on split screen to cut a promo on Lawler. These shows are like wrestling for the ADD demo. Owen gets the tag and takes both guys out with spinheel kicks, then dives with a missile dropkick on Bradshaw, but Windham breaks up the count. Bradshaw tries to capitalize with a knee in the corner, but Owen dodges, and slaps on the Sharpshooter. That draws Windham in, so Davey joins to cut him off, but ends up shoving the referee in the process, drawing a DQ at 9:39. This didn't really work, especially since both teams are supposed to be heels - which is the same problem they'd run into at WrestleMania. Stupid finish, too. ½*

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Taz comes out to go after Jerry Lawler, but Sabu shows up to go after Taz - missing a dive, and going through a randomly placed table. Well, it was a new format, so you can forgive that. He's apparently dead now, as Paul Heyman leads a bunch of ECW guys out to carry him off. I should note that Sabu nearly took out some kid in the first row with his dive, so his sloppy work isn't only limited to Philly

Leif Cassidy v Miguel Perez: I guess Miguel lost his 'junior' since two weeks ago. He gained a sweater, however. Perez works an armbar, but a criss cross ends badly, as they miscommunicate and it goes nowhere. That sequence looked terrible. Perez tries a German suplex, but Cassidy reverses, as Paul Heyman pops up on split screen to tell Vince to 'keep his comedian in line.' That's great, actually. Vince sounds so tired here, even his hype of WrestleMania sounds forced, and lethargic. When THAT GUY isn't hyping stuff right, you're in trouble. Cassidy misses a flying moonsault to trigger a comeback from Perez, and a victory cradle finishes at 4:10. Bad match, dead crowd, lots of back hair. DUD

Sid reacts to things

Ross brings out Ken Shamrock, who will act as the special guest referee for the Bret Hart/Steve Austin Submission match at WrestleMania. This was actually a great way to introduce Shamrock, since he had cred coming in, and putting him into a hot angle with a submission theme was a good spot for him. Austin pops up on the new Titantron (in the first of what will be many, many promos on that giant screen) to cut promos on both Shamrock and Hart, so Ken challenges him to come down to say it to his face. Instead, he gets Bret, who is bitter as hell about everything going on. "It was great to hold the WWF title for a fourth time, incidentally." I hated this direction for Bret as a young mark in 1997, but it does really work, especially since it feels like it's coming from a real place, and not some silly angle about a stolen jacket or whatever

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Billy Gunn v Aldo Montoya: Honky Tonk Man is out for commentary, where he stays for the rest of the show. This is Gunn's first match on TV since the neck injury angle with Bart Gunn back in late 1996, though they don't even acknowledge it here. He's just sort of back, doing the same thing as before. Billy works Aldo over with ease, as the crowd continues to sit on their hands for all the matches. Not that I blame them, they've gotten a parade of absolute crap between the ropes tonight. Meanwhile, Sunny pops up on split screen to hype up Shotgun, as Billy puts it away with a flying legdrop at 2:48. Hopefully Aldo ran into the ECW crew backstage. He might have more luck there. ¼*

Mankind needs a hug

Goldust v Tim McNeany: Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna show up on the ramp to observe, which suitably fires up Goldust, and the Curtain Call finishes at 1:27. Afterwards, Chyna advances to go after Marlena, but the match is over, so Goldust stands in her way. She needs to work on her timing. But then HHH sneaks past to attack Goldust so Chyna can have a clear path, but Marlena dives on her with a choke before Chyna can strike first. Big pop for that one, though sadly the Goldust/HHH angle didn't really benefit from the extra heat. DUD

Ross hosts an in-ring debate between Lawler and Heyman, though it's less a 'debate' than an excuse for them to shoot on each other in increasingly personal fashion. And it's all very inside and entertaining, though I remember I kept waiting for the payoff back in 1997, and it never came. The angle DID continue in ECW, but my exposure to the promotion was very limited at the time compared to the WWF, so I never got to see it until years later. Anyway, Lawler and Heyman are both brilliant talkers, so this was not hard to enjoy. I still don't get the angle though, since Lawler is a heel on WWF TV, so the WWF audience doesn't really have a side to root for with all this stuff. That's certainly how I felt at the time, though it was great for the ECW crowd, and I guess that was kind of the point anyway. Hard to imagine that Vince would ever green light something like this if not for WCW murdering them in the ratings every week, but that's where we are, so there you go

Sycho Sid and Undertaker v Vader and Mankind: The heels attack before Undertaker makes his entrance, doubling up on Sid and unloading, until 'Taker runs in to make the save. He puts Vader down with a jumping clothesline and a chokeslam, then big boots him over the top so he can turn his attention to Mankind. They spill to the outside right away, and the dust settles on Sid and Vader. Vader keeps pounding the WWF Champion, and delivers a splash for two, before going to the ground with a chinlock. For a long time. I think he thought they were going to commercial then, but the break actually comes just as Sid starts to escape, and manages to vertical suplex the big man, so Mankind goes after Undertaker on the outside to prevent a tag. That allows Vader to bodyblock Sid down, and Mankind tags in with an elbowdrop for two, but Sid gets to the corner for the tag - Roseanne Barr the door. Sid and Undertaker clean house, but then quickly turn on each other, with Undertaker delivering a chokeslam. He then turns his attention back to his actual opponents with a tope suicida on both, but Sid recovers, and Powerbombs Undertaker as payback for the chokeslam. That allows Vader to cover for the pin at 10:16. ½*

BUExperience: The actual wrestling was pretty much uniformly terrible, but man they packed a lot of stuff into two hours, and most of it was entertaining, and (most importantly) felt fresh.

Monday Night Wars Rating Chart

	3/10/97
Show	RAW	Nitro
Rating	2.3	3.5
Total Wins	17	53
Win Streak		36
Better Show (as of 3/3)	25	42