WWF Monday night RAW review: January 20th, 1997

#3: THE UNDERTAKER vs. STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN.

…The Undertaker starts brawling with The Hitman mid-way through the entrance ramp. Steve Austin approaches the two, only to be manhandled by The Deadman as a result.

The crowd can’t get enough of Undertaker throwing Steve Austin around like a rag-doll.

It does not matter who you’re feuding with, because once you’re in the ring with ‘Taker, Nothing Else Matters.

Undertaker delivers his signature old-school, and Austin sells it like a KING.

Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, Austin knows how to run his mouth, but once he is with another competitor in the ring- Austin makes his opponent look like a million bucks.

Stone Cold turns the momentum around by using a swinging neck-breaker. Then, Steve Austin does what his character is always supposed to do, that is, stomping a mud-hole on his opponent when the opportunity presents itself.

When a character is so convenient, you do not need one fancy move after the other to build up your match.

Austin delivers an elbow to the sternum of a running ‘Taker and finishes it off with a diving ax-handle after that.

But ladies and gentlemen, our much-respected commentator- Jerry Lawler, is back at it again.

Good ol’ Jerry is annoyed that Austin is NOT working on ‘Taker’s ribs. He comments about his annoyance from time-to-time. But when Austin ignores Lawler’s advice, (Stone Cold probably didn’t even hear him, to be honest) the latter decides to abandon his job and make his way to ringside in order to get Austin’s attention by yelling at him to WORK ON ‘TAKER’S FRICKIN’ RIBS!

Why is everybody leaving the commentary table today? First Vince, now Lawler. East or West, JR is (was?) the best.

The match proceeds with The Undertaker playing his part, and Steve Austin is selling every move magnificently in order to elicit a proper crowd reaction.

What follows is the start of an exciting (and complicated for the writer writing this) sequence of events—

Austin approaches Undertaker towards the corner. Remember, Austin is approaching Taker’s back i.e. the Deadman is facing away from him.

But Undertaker is aware at all times, so he lifts his leg right between Austin’s thighs when the Texas Rattlesnake is close enough.

But hey, even Stone Cold Steve Austin is aware at all times. Because when the Deadman seizes this opportunity and pursues him from the back, Austin is clever enough to grab ‘Taker’s neck and deliver a Stone Cold Stunner out of nowhere.

Both men are down!

Both competitors are down!

Now the second act of this sequence begins. Without any warning or disclaimer, the camera pans towards the backstage area- where Vader and Bret Hart are brawling with each other, and the others are trying to hold them back.

It happens suddenly and randomly, and that is what’s so great about it.

The commentators inform us that Steve Austin has been dominating the Undertaker throughout the entire ad-break.

So right now, two situations are happening simultaneously. Taker-Austin, and Bret-Vader respectively.

Austin delivers his signature elbow from the second rope. He goes for the pin but only manages to get a two-count. The Undertaker, impeccable for his timing, rises up in his classic Deadman fashion immediately following the pin-attempt, which yields a terrific crowd response.

Aren’t I loving this so far? But with every great moment, there always comes a short-detour. I don’t make the rules, but all this excitement heightens my sixth sense (pretentious), which prompts me to point out some interesting (and sometimes irrelevant) facts—

JR reminds us that La Femme Nikita is coming up on the USA Network next, right after Monday Night RAW, amidst all the chaos in the ring (just like Michael Cole does. See? There always has to be one guy doing that job).

And here is the catch- The 13th January 1997 edition (last week) of WCW Nitro advertised Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant (Big Show) as the main event of the night. It all sounds good, except for the fact that this match kicked off with only a few minutes left into the show.

A first-time watcher would be confused as a result of this decision. Why? Well, the Hogan-Giant matchup exceeds the episode’s time-limit, purposefully. This is because the first episode of The New Adventures of Robin Hood is airing right after WCW Monday Nitro, and in order to make sure that viewers actually tune in to watch this ‘brand new show’- WCW decided that the Hogan-Giant matchup will continue during the ad-breaks of The New Adventures of Robin Hood!

This means that wrestling fans would have to sit through this steaming pile of garbage in order to watch Hulk Hogan and The Giant pound each other. Also, I’m not talking about just one ad-break, the match goes on to span across MULTIPLE ad-breaks!

This cheap marketing trick by WCW garners the attention of the WWF crew. So, coming back to the 20th January edition of RAW, JR reminds us that La Femme Nikita is coming up on the USA Network next, during the ‘Taker-Austin matchup, mocking WCW by saying— “No Wimpy Robin Hood? It’s La Femme Nikita. She’s got ‘big arms’. She’s up next!”

So what do you think ladies and gentlemen? La Femme Nikita, or The New Adventures of Robin Hood?

There’s your Easter Egg of the day. Even advertising is competitive between these two promotions (WCW/WWF) at this point, and I love it.

Anyways, back from the short-detour. Like I said, Bret-Vader and Austin-Taker are two situations happening simultaneously right now. But remember, for those who watched the 1997 Royal Rumble- Vader and The Undertaker have some unfinished business too.

So, as the Austin-‘Taker match is proceeding in the ring, Vader comes out of the backstage area with Paul Bearer, aiming for The Deadman.

The Undertaker notices it too. So he lets go of Austin and delivers a chokeslam to Vader instead.

But hey, remember that Bret Hart and Steve Austin have an ongoing rivalry too. So The Hitman comes out of the backstage area after Vader goes down.

Bret drags Austin towards one corner, and both of them brawl amongst each other. Vader and ‘Taker do the same in the opposite corner.

The hard cam view is perfect, as the shot represents two ongoing feuds that will eventually culminate in the near future.

It also reminds us that The Undertaker, Vader, Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin are ‘the final four’ contenders for Shawn Michaels’ WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

The show closes out with an image of these four superstars left without a proper conclusion as of now. But it works, because the audience (including me) want more.

There is a specific way to represent ambiguous endings. The 20th January 1997 edition of RAW succeeds at that. But Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar tugging a championship belt away from each other is an example of how these endings fail at certain times.

RESULT: The Undertaker wins via disqualification.