WWF RAW is WAR (June 2, 1997)

Original Airdate: June 2, 1997

From Huntington, West Virginia; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jim Ross

Vince brings WWF Champion Undertaker out to open the show, and McMahon wants an explanation for why Undertaker went back to Paul Bearer last week. Really? Was it not super clear? Apparently not, as Undertaker has to clarify that it was blackmail for dumb dumb Vince. Undertaker notes that he did what he did to protect the ones he 'loves,' which is something I don't think the character has ever come close to saying before. He's also sad that the fans will make fun of him for reuniting with Bearer. I kind of miss when he only spoke in cryptic comments. This emo Undertaker is not my Undertaker. He's not even Ted DiBiase's Undertaker. Bearer joins us, not pleased that Undertaker keeps badmouthing him, and he reminds him that he may be WWF Champion, but he's also Paul's bitch, so he'd better get used to it. Bearer somehow looks more repulsive without the pancake makeup. Dude also gained a shit-ton of weight. This somehow leads to Sycho Sid coming out, returning for the first time since just after WrestleMania. And he wants a rematch, since it's clear that Undertaker is a little bitch now, and that makes him ripe for the picking, as far as Sid is concerned. Man has a point. Undertaker accepts the challenge for a title match tonight, and that draws Faarooq out, since HE'S supposed to be the top contender, so what the fuck? He also calls Undertaker a bitch, and that sets the champion off after him, leaving Sid alone to pose in the ring. I wouldn't say this was a great segment, but it was fairly concise, and the character motivations all made sense. That's enough for me

 

Ahmed Johnson is backstage, possibly crying

 

Ahmed Johnson v Faarooq: Hearing JR talk about Ahmed's past as a member of the Bloods is fucking weird. And then he follows it up by noting that Dick Murdoch trained him, which must have been REALLY fucking weird. Faarooq tries a sneak attack, but Ahmed quickly fights him off, and whips Faarooq with his own belt. Faarooq bails, but Ahmed stalks him back inside, and hits an ugly bicycle kick. I've never seen him do that right once. Faarooq fights back with a chincrusher, and he works Johnson over in dull fashion. Ahmed shakes him off with a spinebuster, so Savio Vega trips him up, allowing Faarooq to turn the tide. That draws Undertaker out to attack the Nation of Domination, and Faarooq bails to the outside to brawl with him. Ahmed heads out to even it up, but ends up taking a bump into the steps out there, and Faarooq hooks the leg on the way back in at 3:09. Afterwards, Ahmed gets in Undertaker's face, which earns him a chokeslam from an already ornery 'Taker. DUD

 

King of the Ring inflatable chair ad. The stupid chair costs more than twice what the show does!

 

Vince brings the Hart Foundation out, and Bret Hart is on crutches again after the attack from Steve Austin last week. Speaking of him, WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin show up on the TitanTron to watch the interview, and Bret is unfortunately too injured, and is out of the King of the Ring. And it's all Steve Austin's fault. And Shawn agrees, and he's none too happy that his match with Bret is off. That leads to an altercation with Austin, and instead of Bret, Shawn will now face Steve at the King of the Ring. I'm sure they were thinking they'd get around to running the Austin/Brian Pillman match down the line, but sadly more real life intervened. Shame too, I really wish we got a proper match between them as these characters. But, on the upside, at least we got Austin/Michaels with both guys relatively healthy. Which was probably the better match anyway, since Pillman - awesome as he was - was a shell of his former self in the ring by '97

 

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Owen Hart v Bob Holly: They made Owen go all the way back and redo his entrance? Criss cross to start, ending in Holly hooking a rana into mounted punches. Bob with a cross corner whip to rebound Owen into a powerslam for two, but another criss cross goes Owen's way with a belly-to-belly suplex. Hart with a corner whip of his own, and a second one rebounds Bob into a spinheel kick for two. "Almost a count of three," notes Vince, despite Bob kicking out at barely two. Hart with a backbreaker for two, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and Holly counters with a facebuster. What's up with the wobbly hard camera here? Bob makes a comeback, and a dropkick connects for two. Inverted atomic drop sets up a clothesline for two, but now he telegraphs a backdrop, and Hart is ready with a neckbreaker. Bob tries to keep it on track with a backslide for two, but another rana gets countered with a powerbomb, and Owen slaps on the Sharpshooter at 3:17. Too short to really go anywhere, but solid. This was solid booking though, allowing Holly to get a little rub, building to a logical match, and then paying off by giving Owen an even bigger rub. Too bad the match was so rushed, but that's kind of par for the course with this era. *

 

Backstage, Shawn Michaels is getting ready for Steve Austin by sitting around. He's a man, not a movie marathon!

 

Backstage, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna lift weights. One guess who is pumping the heavier iron

 

Backstage, The Headbangers, Honky Tonk Man, and Jim Cornette hatch a plot to 'corner' Sunny in a dark, abandoned hallway, but she shoots all four of them with a SuperSoaker instead. Forget kids, they should have marketed these as an alternative to pepper spray. Also, am I the only one who can’t hear ‘SuperSoaker’ and not think of that Janet Jackson SNL sketch with the cork soakers?

 

#1 Contender's Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Goldust: Winner gets a shot at the WWF European Title next week. How many matches did these two have in 1997? Goldust charges in, blitzing Helmsley in the early going. I think he's more fired up here than he was against the guy who called him a 'fag' before insulting his wife and child's honor last week. Goldust with a cross corner whip to set up a hip attack on the rebound, and Hunter bails. Goldust chases, so HHH tries a charge, but ends up hitting the post. Hunter begs off on the way back inside, but Goldust corners him for a ten-punch, and uses a clothesline for two. Ross is still pushing the 'blue blood' angle for HHH, though the character had kind of moved past that by this point. HHH with a kneeling facebuster and a high knee, and he takes Goldust into the corner for a chop, followed by a bootchoke. Cross corner whip is nicely sold by Goldust, as Ross notes that his research has revealed that Chyna has wrestled men in the past, shocking Vince. And likely giving a different Vince a light bulb moment. HHH with a backelbow, and Chyna tries to lend an assist for a double team, but Marlena hooks her ankle. That results in HHH crashing into Chyna, and Goldust schoolboys him at 3:49. For two guys who wrestled about 3,000 times, these two had surprisingly little chemistry between the ropes. ¼*

 

The Sega Slam of the Week is Shawn hitting a rana on Davey Boy Smith last week

 

The Legion of Doom are ready to give out moustache rides

 

Back at SummerSlam '91, the LOD won the WWF Tag Team title from the Nasty Boys. Okay

 

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin v The Legion of Doom: Shawn starts with Hawk, and cue Shawn overselling like a madman for him. In a good way. Austin shouting instructions from the apron is a nice touch. Hawk with a press-slam to set up a fistdrop, and he dives with a flying splash, but Michaels dodges for two. Unfortunately for Shawn, he gets himself pinballed in the LOD corner, so Austin just comes in to save his ass. LOD manage to clean house (complete with more top notch selling from HBK), as the Hart Foundation show up on the ramp to observe. Dust settles on Steve and Animal, and Austin bails during a criss cross, but Hawk forces him right back in. Animal is ready with a jumping shoulderblock for two, but Steve blocks a neckbreaker, and mulekicks Animal. Tag to Shawn for some double teaming in the corner, but Animal fights them both off, and drags Shawn back to the home corner for a tag to Hawk. Hawk with a backdrop, so Steve takes a cheap shot at him from the apron, and Michaels is quick to capitalize. The champs beat Hawk down, and Shawn snaps his throat under the bottom rope with a catapult. Steve tags in with a snapmare to set up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two, and back to Shawn for a tandem backelbow. Michaels grabs a front-facelock to keep Hawk cut off from the corner, and who are supposed to be the babyfaces here? Because the champs are working like heels, and the crowd is chanting for the LOD... but both Austin and Michaels are supposed to be the big babyface heroes of the promotion. Shawn wallops Hawk with the title belt for two, but Hawk manages to block a 2^nd rope axehandle from Austin, and Animal gets the hot tag - Roseanne Barr the door. Shawn ends up on the outside and nearly gets into it with the Foundation, which draws Steve out to drag his partner back in - and that's the line for Shawn, the champs brawling with each other until they are counted out at 9:03. This was pretty fun, with Shawn going above and beyond with his selling, and no downtime. Stupid finish, but it's TV, and it was used to build the PPV match, so you can't really fault it. ** ¼

 

It's time for more of the Jim Ross sit down with Mankind, and we even get clips of a young Mick Foley getting squashed by the British Bulldogs in 1986. We get more on his time as Cactus Jack, including lots of clips/photos of the crazy Japanese death matches, and ECW stuff. Seeing the barbed wire, the beds of thumbtacks, and stuff was pretty mind-blowing to me as a young kid in 1997. Little did I know that it would become the norm for the WWF just a short time later. A lot of this is a repeat from last week's interview, but whatever, it's great. And Mick's acting is great. The fact that they tie all of this into the Mankind character's back-story makes it work really well, and kudos to them for doing it that way

 

King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Mankind v Savio Vega: Jerry Lawler joins us for commentary, since he'll be facing the winner in the Semifinal round. Where the hell has he been all night? They spill to the outside right away, and Mankind hits a baseball slide, but takes a backdrop onto the ramp while trying a charge. Savio with a crazy flying bodypress on the floor, and he gets Mankind a nasty matslam on the ramp before taking it inside. Savio with a roundhouse kick and a ropechoke, as Lawler rants about Mankind to cement that he's a babyface now. Vega with a cross corner whip to set up a corner spinheel kick, but a corner splash misses, and Mankind side suplexes him. Clothesline sends both men tumbling over the top, where Lawler calls Mankind a 'freak,' prompting Mankind to attack him. That allows Crush to try and give Savio an assist, but it backfires, and Mankind advances at 3:05. Crush and Savio get into it after the match, getting into a weak brawl, especially compared to some of the hot brawls we've seen on this show lately. ½*

 

Undertaker v Sycho Sid: What's up with that graphic of Bearer? Was it like a Lena Dunham thing where they intentionally try to pick the worst angle? Undertaker's WWF Title is not on the line here, despite Sid challenging him to a rematch for the belt earlier. More 1997 weirdness, as JR actually talks about Sid's past as Lord Humongous. Sid chokes him on the ropes right away, and pounds away on him. More choking, and the crowd is just dead. Not that I blame them, Sid has just been choking and choking and choking for literally the entire match. He kicks things up a notch with some stomping, and then it's back to more choking. Undertaker returns fire with some right hands, but a criss cross ends in Sid chokeslamming him for two. Cross corner whip backfires when Undertaker rebounds out all fired up, and he uses his own chokehold in the corner. JR, bless him, is really excited about this. Sid blocks a backdrop attempt, and it's more choking. Chinlock, but Undertaker escapes, and holy shit that whole sequence was lazy. Undertaker makes a quickie comeback, and the Tombstone finishes at 5:00. This was legitimately terrible. Afterwards, the Nation run in to soften Undertaker up ahead of King of the Ring, and Faarooq stands tall as we go off the air. 'Bring back the Warrior,' notes a sign in the crowd. How 'bout 'no.' –¾*

 

BUExperience: Okay, so the main event is straight up terrible, but the rest of the episode is actually pretty fun. I wouldn’t say they did as good of a job hard selling the PPV as they did in past years (or even as WCW was doing during this period), but they did do a good job of making the promotion feel fresh and lively again.

 

Monday Night Wars Rating Chart

	6/2/97
Show	RAW	Nitro
Rating	2.5	3.3
Total Wins	17	65
Win Streak		48
Better Show (as of 5/26)	34	45