WWF RAW is WAR (May 12, 1997)

Original Airdate: May 12, 1997

From Newark, Delaware; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

The Hart Foundation join us to start, and Bret Hart is tired of being made out to be the bad guy. He's not a bad guy. Steve Austin is a bad guy. The idiot fans are the bad guys for cheering him. The fans, of course, respond by cheering for him. Bret promises a big surprise, but the fans won't stop booing him, so he leaves without sharing it. This wasn't a great segment, and it didn't really have a point, but it was relatively short at about five minutes, thus not feeling like a drag

 

King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Ahmed Johnson v Hunter Hearst Helmsley: I get why they did it, but King of the Ring was never the same to me once they took the full tournament off of pay per view. HHH tries stealing the high ground and attacking, but Ahmed shrugs him off, and delivers a press-slam. Axekick connects, as does a sloppy bicycle kick. Cross corner whip works, but the charge in doesn't, and HHH capitalizes with a kneeling facebuster. Clothesline follows, and the crowd is dead. That's a bad sign when it's the first match and you can already hear a pin drop. Helmsley with a kneedrop for two, but a whip into the ropes gets reversed, and Johnson delivers a spinebuster. That draws Chyna in with a chair, and Ahmed advances by DQ at 3:55. Weak finish to a weak match. DUD

 

Vince McMahon brings Steve Austin out for an in-ring interview. Kind of weird that Vince is in the building, but not doing commentary. Like, he no-showed In Your House because someone close to the family died, but he's here, why not sit in. Anyway, Austin is carrying around Bret's crutch like a trophy, and Vince tries to make him feel better about the loss last night, but Austin isn't having it. Steve is just knocking it out of the park here, not softening his edge at all, and the crowd is all about it. To Steve, the Hart Foundation is a snake, and the quickest way to kill a snake is to chop the head off. But instead of doing that, he's going to have a little fun with it, and start with the tail - in this case Brian Pillman. Awesome promo, and I'm really sad we didn't get the planned Austin/Pillman Hart/Michaels matches for King of the Ring, they would have been awesome. But, hey, at least we got Austin/Michaels while both guys were still healthy

 

We take a look back at Ivan Putski, complete with clips of him beating up Roddy Piper, which the announcers are happy to point out

 

Leif Cassidy v Scott Putski: Putski looks more like Kerry Von Erich's kid than Ivan's. Feeling out process to start, in front of a dead crowd. Scott with an overhead suplex and a rana for two, but he runs into a sitout spinebuster for two, which gets the first crowd reaction of the match. Cassidy with a clothesline, and a corner whip sets up a corner clothesline. Cassidy with a takedown to set up a pair of kneedrops for two, but Scott counters a backdrop with a sunset flip for two. Scott unloads in the corner, and another overhead suplex connects. Backdrop and a corner whip lead to a German suplex at 4:05. They were trying, but the crowd was dead, and Putski looked really green. Which is hilarious, since he actually debuted way back in 1986. If he was this bad at eleven years in, I'm not sure why they'd even bother with him. Afterwards, Cassidy snaps, and attacks the kid on the outside. He gives him a beat down, but Scott largely shrugs it off, so Cassidy takes out his frustrations on the announcers instead. ½*

 

The Legion of Doom v PG-13: This is booked as LOD against any two Nation members, and Faarooq decides to feed the young to them instead of wasting his better guys. And it does not go well for PG-13, as the LOD just straight up squash them like it's Superstars in 1992. Or, well, maybe not 1992. Let's not give the dummy any thoughts. That's how it stays alive. Both guys take separate Doomsday Devices, and we're out at 2:03. This was a fun squash. ½*

 

WWF Reality Check sees a fat guy satisfy his wife by doing at home versions of Shawn Michaels' entrance routine. These are funny

 

Mankind comes out to complain about WWF Champion Undertaker taking out his aggressions on Paul Bearer instead of him, since Mankind is a big boy and can take it, but Paul is just a helpless, defenseless little man. Not sure I buy the claims that Undertaker 'ruined him physically for the rest of his life.' Pretty sure Dunkin Donuts was the culprit there. This leads to a heavily bandaged Bearer coming out, but sadly his vocal chords have not been impacted, so we still have to listen to his shrieking. Bearer gives Undertaker an ultimatum: come back under Paul's wing, or he will reveal a major secret about Undertaker's past. This was actually a really good segment, with Mankind especially doing a great job getting it over

 

Backstage, the Hart Foundation hang out with all their gold

 

Vince brings Faarooq out for an in-ring interview, and apparently Faarooq has been named top contender for the WWF Title. Undertaker's reign was such a letdown. All the real top stars didn't really engage him much, and he was stuck with guys like Faarooq, Vader (for the thousandth time), and Mankind (for the millionth time). At least Faarooq was a different opponent for him. And Faarooq knows it, griping about how there's never been a black WWF Champion, and calling McMahon out on it. This wasn't a bad segment, though it didn't really establish any sort of feud/issue with Undertaker. Which is fine in a general sports, top contender getting ready for a title shot sense, but not necessarily something that makes me want to buy a pay per view. But then, that show was supposed to have Bret/Shawn and Austin/Pillman to draw the buys anyway

 

Undertaker v Savio Vega: Undertaker's WWF Title is not on the line here. That belt looked too small on him. Undertaker takes control early, and hits the ropewalk forearm. Cross corner whip works, but the charge in doesn't, and Vega hammers him with rights. Undertaker is still selling the leg from last night, which is a nice touch. Especially after years of zombie no-selling from him. Vega with a whip into the ropes, but Undertaker reverses, and throws a big boot. He comes off the ropes again to set up the jumping clothesline, but gets tripped up by the Nation, and Vega goes after the bad leg. Spinkick gets two, and a bodyslam sets up a 2^nd rope dive, but Undertaker lifts his boot to block. Savio bodyslamming Undertaker looked really silly due to the size difference. Undertaker makes the comeback, so the Nation hops up on the apron, but Undertaker takes them out like he's Lex Luger at WrestleMania X. Tombstone looks to finish, but the Nation runs in for the DQ at 4:32. This was a nothing match, but at least now we have an angle to build the title match on. ¼*

 

Rob Van Dam v Jeff Hardy: This is RVD's WWF debut, and Hardy is still a jobber at this stage. Van Dam is introduced by Lawler, as part of his anti-ECW crossover angle, with Rob coming over as a defector. This was a good angle for those who got it, but it likely went over the head of about half the fans, of not more. Van Dam works him with a bunch of kicks, and a spinkick knocks Jeff to the outside for a somersault suicida. Rob smacks into the rail on the way down, so I guess he's still ECW at heart. Back in, Rob hits a spinning legdrop, and a bodyslam sets up the flying frogsplash. Slam sets up the split-legged moonsault to finish at 2:28. For a guy coming over talking about how ECW was too low rent and too low talent for him, Rob sure looked amateurish in his execution out there. This was less a match than a collection of moves, but at least the moves looked cool. ½*

 

It's time for part two of the true story of Goldust, AKA Dustin Runnels. He's Goldust when he walks through the curtain, but he's a simple family man when he goes home. Like last week, this wasn't a bad segment in a vacuum, but not as part of the main show

 

Undertaker shows up on the TitanTron, and he seems to know what Paul Bearer was referencing earlier, but doesn't offer more than just a minor acknowledgment. And as for Faarooq, Undertaker will win this battle with his mind. Not sure that'll work in a street fight with a gang leader, but you do you, 'Taker

 

Four Corners Elimination Match: Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith v The Headbangers v The New Blackjacks v Doug Furnas and Philip LaFon: Hart and Bulldog's WWF Tag Team Title is not on the line here. Owen and LaFon start, and LaFon dominates on the mat for a bit. Owen tries the leg-feed enzuigiri, but LaFon has it scouted, and both guys tag out. The Headbangers beat up on Blackjack Windham in the corner, and then pass to Furnas to hit Windham with a jumping shoulderblock. Tag to LaFon, but a miscommunication with his partner allows Windham a clothesline at 1:41. I like how they're selling Windham as the son of Blackjack Mulligan, as opposed to just, I dunno, Barry Windham. I can assure you, most fans in 1997 (myself included) barely knew who the original Blackjacks were, let alone cared. Mosh runs in on Windham, but gets no-sold, and Blackjack Bradshaw comes in with a bulldog for two. Bradshaw with a Russian legsweep for two, but an attempt at a suplex goes wrong when LaFon trips him up, allowing Mosh to topple at 2:30. Dust settles on Owen and Mosh, and Hart delivers a neckbreaker. He tries a whip into an exposed top turnbuckle, but Mosh reverses, and tags Thrasher for a combo, but Owen has a foot in the ropes at two. Hart makes the tag to Bulldog during the confusion, and Davey schoolboys Mosh for two. Smith with a hanging vertical suplex for two, so Thrasher takes a cheap shot from the apron, turning the tide. Thrasher dives in with a flying clothesline for two, and a sidewalk slam is worth two. Meanwhile, Lawler makes Fleetwood Mac references in 1997 in an attempt to seem hip to the Headbangers' culture. Double knockout allows both men to tag, and you could hear a pin drop in this place. Like, wow, the crowd is deader than Fleetwood Mac in 1997. Owen gets Mosh in the Sharpshooter, so Thrasher runs in, and Roseanne Barr the door. The tag champions dominate that, and Bulldog gives Thrasher a Running Powerslam at 9:18. This couldn't have been for the title? This was generally fine once it settled down into two teams, but the dead crowd really ruined anything it had going for it. *

 

Bret Hart returns, and sends the rest of the Foundation to the back (despite their protests) so he can reveal his big secret. Pillman gets a funny moment on the way out, where he runs up full speed like he's going to slug some fan, and then stops just short - but managing to knock the guy over without ever touching him. Brian was a special type of crazy. So Bret calls Shawn Michaels out, and Michaels obliges. Hart goes on a rant about Michaels, and actually decides to tell him every reason why, one by one. What is this, Festivus? And, of course, Bret ties it in to the overarching angle by noting that the fans are guilty of all these same things. Um, say what you will about us Americans, but I don't think the vast majority of us are amateur strippers. That guy from the Reality Check ad does not represent us all. So Hart's airing of grievances goes on for so long that the show actually runs out of time, and we don't get the climatic moment where Shawn has enough of doing his Miz Girl impression, and Superkicks him into tomorrow. The Network version does show this part, though, which is cool. This was actually a pivotal moment in their real life relationship, as Shawn got pissed that Bret went long and ruined his moment, and they'd never really get along the same again after, and even got into a real physical altercation not long after this

 

BUExperience: Decent episode this week. The dead crowd kind of dragged everything down, but there was solid angle development throughout, and the show breezed by. I’m still not sure what Bret’s show-long hyped ‘big surprise’ was, as him ranting at Shawn hardly qualifies. But under delivering after lots of hype in kind of the Monday Night Wars for you in general.

Monday Night Wars Rating Chart

	5/12/97
Show	RAW	Nitro
Rating	2.8	3.2
Total Wins	17	62
Win Streak		45
Better Show (as of 5/5)	31	45