WWF RAW is WAR (September 8, 1997)

Original Airdate: September 8, 1997

 

From Cincinnati, Ohio; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler

 

Vince brings Commissioner Slaughter out to announce that Steve Austin is being stripped of the WWF Intercontinental title due to his injury, and that he won't be allowed to compete until he gets a note from his mom. He announces that there will be a tournament to crown a new champion, and that Steve will have to present the title to the winner himself, but that draws Austin himself out, and he's not taking this too well. And honestly, he's not wrong. He's already been stripped of two titles, and now Slaughter wants to add insult to injury? So Austin gives him a Stunner (along with some hilarious mocking of Slaughter's drill sergeant routine), and Vince loses his cool, getting in Steve's face, though nothing else comes of it... for now. Good segment to start us off, providing direction and a chance for Austin to shine

 

Outside the building, security bounces Steve Austin from the building, though he takes the title belt with him

 

WWF Title No Holds Barred Match: Bret Hart v Vader: Hart's title belt is looking beat to hell here. And no wonder, as he uses it to attack Vader before the bell, and then pounds him into the corner. Charge hits boot, allowing Vader a clothesline, and he steals the title belt to drill the Hitman back with. Vader breaks the Canadian flag over her back, and a bodyblock sends Bret to the outside. Vader chases, but Bret reverses a whip into the steps, and he drops them onto his challenger for good measure. Why is there a dude in the front row without a shirt? Get dressed, you white trash piece of shit. I feel like going off on this guy like that dude in Casino who takes his shoes off at the table. Inside, Vader pelts the Hitman with some stiff punches, and a short-clothesline leaves Hart on dream street. Bret goes low to buy time, allowing him a few pointed elbowdrops, and a headbutt drop to the groin to make sure Vader gets the message. Bret with a vertical suplex, but they mess up a cross corner whip reversal sequence, and have to redo it. Not sure how that happened. Vader hits a powerbomb to set up the Vaderbomb, but Davey Boy Smith distracts him from finishing the move. Bulldog and Hart unload on him, but Patriot runs out to make the save. That draws Owen Hart out to give the Foundation the upper hand again, and Bret gets hold of a chair to take both guys properly out. Owen sets up a spike piledriver on Patriot, but that draws Steve Austin out to make the save, and he chases the Foundation to the back - the match ruled a no-contest at 9:50. This was okay, but didn't really get into gear, and the non-finish was annoying giving the match type. * ½

 

Backstage, Slaughter is fuming about Austin completely disrespecting his orders

 

The Headbangers v The Godwinns: This is scheduled to be the Headbangers against two enhancement guys, but the Godwinns beat them up, and take the match instead. The Headbangers are the WWF Tag Team champions, but this is non-title. Brawl to start, settling on Thrasher and Henry Godwinn. Henry unloads, and passes to Phineas Godwinn for a tandem backelbow. Phineas throws a clothesline, and it's back to Henry with a big boot. This match is all of a minute deep, and it's already dead. The Godwinns continue cutting the ring in half on Thrasher, but Phineas hits boot on a corner charge, and Mosh gets the tag - Roseanne Barr the door. Mosh dives at Phineas with a flying seated senton, but some guy pops out of the crowd and bashes him with a horseshoe, and Phineas pins Mosh at 3:08. Afterwards, the Godwinns introduce this guy as Uncle Cletus, which I'm guessing didn't last too long, because I don't remember it at all. DUD

 

WWF Intercontinental Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Brian Pillman v Dude Love: Sunny introduces Love, who in turn introduces Goldust to stand in his corner for this one. But then Pillman doesn't show up after getting introduced, instead coming on over the sound system, and noting that he's not in the building because he's too exhausted from fucking Marlena all night. And though he can't be there, he does us a solid by sending in a video he shot in his hotel room, supposedly after all the sex. Goldust responds by crying. "Real good stuff" notes Pillman. This had Vince Russo's fingerprints all over it, and this sort of stuff has not aged well at all, but it was certainly interesting and shocking in the moment (and especially at that time)

 

Max Mini v Piratita Morgan: Boy, they really went all in on the minis, didn't they? Morgan knocks him down right at the bell, but a tilt-a-whirl backfires on him, and Max sends him to the outside for a springboard bodypress! I just realized how much more ridiculous the 'run the ropes' spot looks with guys this small. Hard to suspend disbelief there. Inside, Max continues bringing the takedowns, and he sends Morgan back to the outside for another dive. Morgan clotheslines him on the way back in, and an avalanche works. Surprisingly, considering that's another one where they just run and run and run to the point where it's impossible to buy it. Dive misses, allowing Max a missile dropkick, and a magistral cradle finishes at 2:40. Not bad wrestling, but this stuff was never going to get over, especially in this era. ¾*

 

Vince brings Undertaker out following the crazy brawl with Shawn Michaels last night, and they announce that those two will meet again at the next In Your House... this time in something called a Hell in a Cell match. It's interesting that Shawn got to introduce both the Ladder and Hell in a Cell matches (two of the most enduring concepts of all time) to WWE audiences. Shawn Michaels shows up on the TitanTron to note that he's a survivor, though he seems to be hyping up a Casket match instead. Did someone just show him an advance script, or something?

 

Sunny is backstage with the Hart Foundation, and Owen is ready to go and get some gold so he doesn't look like a loser standing next to his WWF Champion brother, or WWF European champion brother-in-law. Don't worry, Owen, you won't be alone for long!

 

WWF Intercontinental Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Owen Hart v Goldust: Goldust runs in to kick start the match, and he backdrops Owen, then clotheslines him over the top. Goldust chases to abuse Hart on the outside, so Bret tries stepping in, but gets knocked on his ass. Surprised Bret would allow his character to look weak like that. Inside, Goldust delivers a bulldog, so the Bulldog distracts him, and Owen goes low. Hart with a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop, but Goldust comes back with an inverted atomic drop, then blatantly punches Hart in the balls to earn himself a DQ at 2:09. The Foundation immediately run in on Goldust, but Austin comes out of the crowd with a broom to chase them away. I don't know what kind of security they had in 1997, but clearly it sucked. I mean, who leaves a janitor’s closet unattended like that? Next thing you know groups of people are going to be hanging out in there, eating flounder. And then, once all of THAT drama is over and everyone is gone, Pillman shows up on the TitanTron again with more dirty movies to taunt Goldust. ¼*

 

Backstage, the Hart Foundation are fuming about Austin as well. They should start a club with Slaughter and McMahon. Actually, if Bret didn't leave, he as Vince's corporate champion wouldn't have been a bad way to go for a little while in early/mid 1998. Though, he probably would have been the guy to drop the title to Steve at WrestleMania if he was still around, so it might not have made much sense to run it again afterwards anyway

 

Triple Threat Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Patriot v Savio Vega: This is supposed to be Davey Boy Smith in Vega's place, but Shawn, HHH, and Chyna attack Bulldog before the bell, and wreck his knee with a chair to take him out of the match. So Vega takes his spot, since subbing in Savio Vega for a much bigger name was apparently the WWF's MO in the 90s. And also since he has experience putting on terrible Triple Threat matches after Ground Zero. Vega dominates in the early going, but a bodypress on Patriot gets caught in a fallaway slam for two. HHH pounds Patriot down for a kneedrop, as this match just DIES a slow and painful death, with nothing going on. Luckily Shawn Michaels shows up to do guest commentary at this point, since I guess he felt the need to save even the matches he wasn't booked in. Some idiot in the crowd has been working all night to get his 'Gracie choked Shamrock' sign noticed, the guy literally holding it up over his head every moment of this two hour show thus far. You'd think he was getting paid with that kind of dedication. I hope that essential message was worth ruining the experience for himself. Hunter goes for a Pedigree on Patriot, but the referee gets bumped, and Vega dumps Patriot to the outside. Hunter responds by going for the move on Savio, but Vega sends him into a recovering Patriot with a catapult, and he delivers a spinheel kick. Still no referee, so Shawn helps with a distraction, and Hunter rolls Vega up at 15:47. This was both terrible and terribly boring. And after a whole evening of three minutes matches, THIS junk gets fifteen minutes? Afterwards, Vader comes out to back up Patriot, but Shawn, HHH, and Chyna hold the high ground with chairs as the show ends. -*

 

BUExperience: Very little actual wrestling this week, and what there was of it was pretty terrible. This week’s show felt almost too chaotic, to the point where it was unsettling.

 

Monday Night Wars Rating Chart

	9/8/97
Show	RAW	Nitro
Rating	2.2	4.3
Total Wins	17	76
Win Streak		59
Better Show (as of 9/1)	39	50