WWF RAW Is WAR Review: March 10th, 1997

We All Live Inside Vince Russo's Dream...

Let's follow up from the very first segment of this episode...

Match #8: The Undertaker & Psycho Sid vs. Mankind & Vader (w/ Paul Bearer)

Psycho Sid has already arrived in the ring. Vader & Mankind follow next. You might have never guessed what happens next, but wait for it...

...The Undertaker is LATE.

Mankind & Vader obliterate Sid in the ring, that is until 'Taker finally shows up. He chokeslams Vader & boots him out of the ring.

Mankind in return delivers a Cactus clothesline to Undertaker & both of them topple over. Remember how Undertaker thought it was Sid who attacked him from behind during the start of this show?

Undertaker finally gets a chance & delivers a chokeslam to Sid for it. This is just one of the many "miscommunication" tropes that will follow on into the next 20 years of this company.

But without any warning, Undertaker suddenly just decides to fly over the top rope onto his opponents! Nobody ever saw that coming. However, in the end, Psycho Sid repays the favor by power-bombing Undertaker in the ring.

Sid just bails out of the match, & Vader pins The Undertaker for the win...

Result: Vader & Mankind win via pinfall.

Undertaker rushes off to the backstage area to chase Sid & that is the last we see of him.

Bret Hart is standing by backstage...

As Vader's theme is playing over the last few seconds of the show, Vince reminds us of the mega main-event next week (Sid vs. Bret, Steelcage Match for the WWF Title). Bret Hart is standing by backstage-

Vince: "Bret Hart, how did you get the title match next week?"

Bret: "How did I get it?"

Vince: "Yes!"

Bret: "I guess I got it by crying a lot about it..."

He calls Sid a 'giraffe' & vows to win his title rematch next week. Like I said, around half of the WWF Audience must have already turned their back on Bret during this episode. Until next time, "WHY AM I THE THORN IN YOUR EYE!"

Definitely not a paid promotion...

So that was the first-ever RAW Is WAR episode in history, a show not without its faults, but with a lot of highlights as well.

Sure, a lot of matches get interrupted with unrelated segments & promos, but that just sums up the chaotic nature of how things work in the early days of the Attitude Era. Things are finally happening around this period of RAW, which is a lot better than the lack of any substantial heat in shows during the beginning of 1997.

Suddenly, Professional Wrestling is not the primary component of a Professional Wrestling show anymore, & it just works somehow...

GRADE: B-

Join me next time as I recap the March 17th, 1997 edition of Monday Night RAW RAW IS WAR! Until then, you can check out the previous episode's recap by clicking here. You can also follow me here to stay updated. Send me interesting stuff/picture edits/facts/feedback regarding the old-school recaps or anything Pro-Wrestling related at E-Mail: [email protected].

Thanks for reading this recap, leave your thoughts in the comments section & stay tuned for more...