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Last week, we witnessed WWF’s first ever 2-hour RAW telecast. The show itself was titled ROYAL RUMBLE RAW. Fans were baited into watching it in hopes to see a full-length Royal Rumble Match on free TV. Instead of that, the viewers had to witness some dark & fuzzy Toronto house-show footage with Royal Rumble ‘highlights’ added as a filler in between. It was okay…
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For those who have no idea about what went down during last week’s show, (3rd February 1997) you can check my exclusive recap by clicking here.
Boy, do things pick up this week. Keep in mind that this week’s show- ‘Thursday RAW Thursday’ plays a huge role in shaping out the future of The Attitude Era.
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So without wasting any further time, let’s get right into the hook- It is announced that Shawn Michaels will be vacating his WWF Title tonight.
WHAT?!
MATCHES-
1) Hunter Hearst Helmsley (c) vs. Rocky Maivia {WWF Intercontinental Championship Match}.
2) The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) vs. Aldo Montoya & Bob Holly.
3) The Undertaker vs. Savio Vega (w/ Nation of Domination).
4) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Psycho Sid.
5) Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (c) vs. Farooq & Crush (w/ Nation of Domination) {WWF Tag Team Championship Match}.
6) Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Vader (w/ Paul Bearer).
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Hunter Hearst Helmsley (but not Triple H) & Rocky Maivia (but not The Rock)
MATCH #1: HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY (c) vs. ROCKY MAIVIA {WWF Intercontinental Championship Match}.
This is where it all actually starts between Triple H & The Rock. Sure, both of them are way too under-experienced in this case, but it’s an important fact considering their long-lasting rivalry nevertheless.
The match starts off with both of them switching back & forth between quick technical moves. But then it slows down…& then it gets slower…& slower…& slower.
Keep in mind that this is a match which is opening for the night, & the last thing you want to do is put someone in a headlock for a full minute.
People start chanting ‘Rocky!’ hoping that this submission-fest gets over as soon as possible. Rocky gains the upper hand…& now he’s the one doing headlocks! So the crowd immediately turns on him, chanting ‘Rocky sucks!’
Bizarre.
Even Jerry Lawler is so distracted that he can’t stop talking about Hunter’s $20,000 Rolex watch. Honky Tonk Man comes out, dressed in his ‘Elvis’ attire & joins the commentary booth. Honky Tonk Man states that he’s not impressed by anything he’s seen so far. He also comically addresses Vince McMahon as ‘MaacMaan!’ the whole time.
HHH can’t get the job done after executing a piledriver (& a middle-rope suplex). So Hunter finally goes for The Pedigree. But Rocky Maivia is so exhausted that he can’t even stand on his two feet.
Good ol’ Helmsley decides to showboat in the meanwhile. Turns out, by doing so he made a grave mistake, as Rocky seizes the opportunity & rolls up HHH for a quick pin. 1,2…3! Rocky Maivia is your new Intercontinental Champion!
Nobody really expected ‘The Rookie Sensation’ to win the title here. But he did. The audience isn’t sold on Rocky Maivia though. They probably never will be…until he becomes The Rock.
The match itself was okay. Nothing special. Both of these men haven’t reached their full potential yet. Oh, & did I ever mention that Shawn Michaels would be vacating the WWF Title tonight? Things are slowly getting interesting…
RESULT: Rocky Maivia is the new WWF Intercontinental Champion!
Sunny's "Two Wonders Of The World"...
Sunny comes out to the ring. OH BAW GAWD! She’s wearing a white top & biting on a yellow rose. Wait, how did I remember that the rose was yellow?
Sunny isn’t around much in 1997, but the audience goes nuts nevertheless. She pulls a note from her bra & it looks like she is going to be announcing the participants for the next match.
Now, I don’t know how this happens every time, but I swear Jerry Lawler always prepares for a line whenever something like this happens. He goes—
“I don’t know what the Seven Wonders of the World are McMahon…but Sunny’s got two of ‘em!”
Jerry…Oh, Jerry.
MATCH #2: THE HEADBANGERS (Mosh & Thrasher) vs. ALDO MONTOYA & BOB HOLLY.
The viewers are seeing The Headbangers on RAW for the first time ever. Judging by the name, one expects them to play the role of two Metalheads obsessed with Heavy Metal music.
But for those who haven’t heard of the term ‘Headbanging’ ever in their entire life, they must be like— “So do they bang heads or what?”
Turns out, whoever came up with this idea knew nothing about headbanging in the first place. Mosh & Thrasher literally bang their heads with each other. If there’s one thing I know, this mind-boggling display of dumbness might’ve offended about each & every Metalhead watching this broadcast back then (but they’re going to stick around for Sunny anyways).
It’s a below average match, & certainly not the best part of the night. But Vince McMahon & Jim Ross are sadly reflecting on Shawn Michaels’ career the entire time. One of the Headbangers tries to knock Bob Holly off the apron, but Holly just stands there, perhaps in a daze. He realizes it too late though because The Headbangers win using the stage dive anyways.
The commentary team throughout the entire match was like— “Let’s talk about Shawn Michaels. Poor Shawn. Love him or hate him, Shawn Michaels was great. Shawn Michaels, we know right? That’s it, this match is won by Shawn Mich— sorry, The Headbangers! Up next, Shawn Michaels!”
Up next, Shawn Michaels!
RESULT: The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) win the match.
Shawn Michaels Loses His Smile...
This moment is perhaps indirectly responsible for shaping up future events in The Attitude Era. But there are two sides to this story.
Let’s start with the one that we are presented with. Vince McMahon & Gorilla Monsoon are waiting in the ring, as Vince invites HBK to come out. HBK’s theme music hits, & it looks as if Shawn Michaels is less than thrilled to be here.
Vince McMahon gives too much credit to Shawn Michaels, but it looks like Shawn needs a knee surgery that might potentially keep him out of the ring for a long time.
The crowd is split here, to be honest. Shawn has been putting his body on the line constantly, & he musters up enough courage to say the following words...
“Over the last few months, I’ve lost a lot of things and one of the things I’ve lost is my smile, and I know it doesn’t mean a lot to everyone else, but it means a lot to me and I have to go and fix myself and take care of myself and find my smile because somewhere along the lines I lost it and I don’t care if its unpopular and people want to make fun of me because I’m an emotional guy. But this is…this is all I’ve ever wanted to do…”
Hence, Shawn Michaels ‘loses his smile’ & sheds a tear, just like I had (shed a tear, not in large quantities, just a trickle or two) when I watched this for the first time. But that was a long time ago.
Women in the crowd start weeping too.
In the same crowd, Anti-Shawn members of the WWF Universe start chanting— “We Want Sid!”
It just goes on to show that Shawn Michaels’ persona became very divisive towards the end of the first run of his career. This business is hard, & it had clearly taken a toll on Shawn Michaels’ personal life at that point in time.
He thanks the fans, hugs Vince & Gorilla & walks away. It all appears so convincing onscreen. But like I said, there are always two sides to this story, & I personally lean somewhere in the middle after viewing it for the second time.
So here we go—
The WWF almost ran out of business at one point in time. Vince probably gives pre-2002 Shawn Michaels too much credit. Some say that the original plan was for Shawn Michaels to lose the title to Psycho Sid at Survivor Series 1996, only to win it back again at the 1997 Royal Rumble PPV. That did happen as planned.
The next phase was for Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels to face each other at WrestleMania 13 (like I hinted last week). Bret would eventually win the title in their encounter. The finish of their WrestleMania 13 match involved Bret breaking Shawn’s legs using the Sharpshooter, & the referee would, therefore, have to stop the match, declaring Bret as the victor.
But it never happened. Why? Well, looks like Shawn didn’t agree to the plan. He didn’t want to drop the belt so early, & HBK also had a bitter relationship with Bret Hart (& with almost everyone backstage). HBK’s real-life selfish attitude back then forced Vince to change plans.
So Vince sent him to a doctor that wasn’t much familiar with Pro-Wrestlers in the first place. The doctor told Shawn that he could never wrestle again. This gave Shawn a fine excuse to not drop the WWF belt to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13.
In this way, Vince indirectly allowed Shawn to get away with his ego for the hundredth time. It seems as if Vince wanted to satisfy everyone back then. WCW was winning the ratings-war each week, & Vince couldn’t afford to lose a top-star again.
Plus, Psycho Sid was getting cheered loudly as champion, whether you like it or not. Sid even started drawing more as a champion in house-shows than HBK himself. It was clear that Shawn Michaels was losing his popularity during the late ‘96/97 period. But Vince still stuck with The Heart-Break Kid for some reason.
There you have it. Two sides to this story. I’ll let the reader decide which one sounds better. The main takeaway here is that The Attitude Era wouldn’t have been the same if Bret & Shawn headlined WrestleMania 13 together. This particular segment changes the course of the WWF altogether.
I’ll leave the readers with one important question though— “Would Shawn Michaels have been considered as one of the all-time greats in the WWE solely based on his run up until 1998?”
The Undertaker Has Real-Life Magic Powers (...Seriously)
MATCH #3: THE UNDERTAKER vs. SAVIO VEGA (w/ Nation of Domination).
Savio Vega comes out to the Nation’s iconic theme song whilst being flanked with the stable’s members. Nobody is really feeling it, not even the commentators.
But then The Undertaker comes out, & suddenly everything is fine again. The Undertaker just lights up the crowd somehow. It’s like he has a magic power or something.
Shawn Michaels is already history, as Jerry Lawler is back to delivering one-liners, whilst Vince McMahon awkwardly tries to do his job. For instance, The Undertaker hits a nasty big-boot, & Lawler goes—
“That may be a bigger shot than Michael Jackson becoming a father!”
“Unfortunately, I think you’re probably right…” replies an almost Michael Cole-like Vince McMahon.
One of the Nation’s members cheap shots Undertaker when the referee is not looking. Savio controls most of the match after that, which builds up the audience to cheer for The Undertaker. People collectively chant- “Rest In Peace!” together. The Force is strong with The Deadman.
Anybody who says that The Undertaker was decent at wrestling is a liar. He is frickin’ awesome.
At one point, The Undertaker goes for a Fame Asser & ends up dropping all of his weight on Savio’s entire back. That spot blew my mind. It’s apparent that he’s the one calling all the shots from start-to-finish, & The Deadman is pretty great at that. He calls the entire match in such a way that the audience stays hyped throughout.
People forgot that WWF’s top-star just vacated his title, thanks to The Undertaker. In the end, ‘Taker chokeslams Vega & goes for the pin to win the match.
But N.O.D members immediately jump The Deadman as soon as the bell rings. He fends them off nevertheless, but N.O.D’s Farooq & Crush join in on the stampede later.
Ahmed Johnson runs in to save the Deadman, & everybody keeps on cheering as the two of them clear the ring together.
If you think that Shawn Michaels losing his smile & The Undertaker uplifting everyone’s moods wasn’t enough, we have a few more ups to go…
RESULT: The Undertaker wins via pinfall.
MATCH #4: STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN vs. PSYCHO SID.
Before the contest, Gorilla Monsoon reveals that the winner of The Final Four Match (Vader/Austin/Bret/’Taker) at this Sunday’s ‘In Your House 13: The Final Four’ PPV will be crowned new champion. Hence, Psycho Sid will directly get a title shot against the winner during the following week’s edition of RAW.
Steve Austin attacks Sid from behind before the match has started. Everybody’s chanting ‘Austin!’ as this happens. Phew. What a crowd. It’s like they’re looking forward to this Sunday after HBK declared the title vacant.
The match is a little less than four minutes long. They keep it standard & breezy. After some fun back & forth- Austin goes for an abdominal stretch, & that is about everything they could do under that given time.
Just before the four-minute mark, Bret Hart comes running & attacks Austin in the ring. Of course, this means that Sid loses by DQ.
Austin does the smart thing & rolls out of the ring. This leaves a pissed Psycho Sid standing behind Bret Hart. Sid starts throwing punches at The Hitman & Bret responds by doing the same. The officials try to separate them apart, but it’s useless.
This era is getting so unpredictable, that the camera immediately pans to Vader backstage in the middle of this Bret-Sid brawl! Vader stumbles through his promo about how he dominated The Undertaker before & how he’s going to win this Sunday.
Let’s be real here, we know Vader stands no chance winning this Sunday. WWF Vader simply isn’t that compelling enough in the first place. I still appreciate the spontaneity though, because there is no structure that comes into play here— Things just happen because wrestlers are too pissed with each other & everybody loves it.
RESULT: Stone Cold Steve Austin wins via DQ.
"The Owen Hart Show" Disguised As A Tag-Team Match
MATCH #5: OWEN HART & THE BRITISH BULLDOG (c) vs. FAROOQ & CRUSH (w/ Nation of Domination) {WWF Tag Team Championship Match}.
I don’t necessarily like how Farooq & Crush are suddenly inserted into a Tag Championship match without any story behind it. But on the other hand, I think people are just tired of seeing Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon face Owen & Davey Boy Smith over & over again.
What I do like though, is Owen Hart. He comically upstages his brother-in-law, The British Bulldog right from the entrance itself. Their love/hate relationship dynamic is interesting to see. Owen takes everything as a joke, whilst Davey Boy Smith is the complete opposite.
Owen Hart goes first & gets beaten up the whole time. So he quickly scurries & tags The British Bulldog.
Time for a short-detour as our view turns split-screen & Bret Hart is standing by. Bret says that he’s ‘sorry’ to hear what happened with Shawn despite their differences, but he hopes that HBK makes his comeback as both of them still have a score to settle. Eh, we all know that Bret knows what ‘really’ happened. He’s still playing a character.
When asked about his upcoming match with Vader (in the main event), Bret Hart goes— “It’s gonna be like wrestling a cement truck.” *laughing internally*
Coming back to our match at hand, everybody is cheering for the Bulldog to escape Crush’s body-scissor hold. Owen Hart tries to interfere, but the referee literally/physically stops him from taking even one-step forward. Wait, the referee never does that! Poor Owen.
Davey Boy Smith finally tags Owen Hart. The climax of this match happens when Crush sends Owen over the top-rope, & just like last week, Owen looks like he might have tweaked his knee.
The referee counts him out (just like last week) & Crush/Farooq win by count-out. The Nation of Domination beat the hell out of Davey Boy Smith after the match.
Owen looks like he wants to help his brother-in-law. But he doesn’t. Owen is probably going like— “F*ck it. My family ain’t worth it.” So he starts walking backstage. Unexpectedly, The British Bulldog catches up with him.
The funny thing is, that The British Bulldog took one hell of a beating, but he’s the one helping Owen Hart walk backstage instead of the other way around. The reason why Owen’s tactics are so great is that I think that Vince McMahon didn’t write Owen Hart to be a funny character…but Owen Hart doesn’t give a sh*t either way.
RESULT: Farooq/Crush win by count-out (but Owen/Davey Boy Smith retain their tag titles).
Stone Cold Steve Austin Pulls One Of The Most Memorable Ending Sequences Ever
MATCH #6: BRET “THE HITMAN” HART vs. VADER (w/ Paul Bearer).
Both competitors are in the ring &…GONG!
Bret is taken aback. The Undertaker stands on the ramp with a mic in his hand. He says that people seem to have forgotten about respect around here. Of course, The Deadman says that he’s going to win the 4-Man No DQ Elimination matchup at this Sunday’s PPV & Bret Hart, Vader & Stone Cold will do nothing but— “REST IN PEACE!”
That was his monologue. The Undertaker exits. The match is underway.
Vader dominates Bret Hart during the initial few seconds. The Hitman is recovering outside the ring, when out of nowhere— Stone Cold Steve Austin appears & stomps a mudhole on Bret Hart. The Rattlesnake pays him back! Ad-Break!
After the ad-break, we see that Steve Austin has fled the scene & Vader is dominating Bret Hart once again. Bret turns the tables by executing a mid-air powerslam when Vader jumps off the top-rope.
They do some standard stuff as this match is only 5 minutes long. But hey, your weekly palette of memorable moments isn’t over yet!
We see Steve Austin up in the balcony surrounded by dozens of fans. This is not a huge arena, it’s more like an auditorium & everything feels more intimate than usual. The Texas Rattlesnake is up there to distract Bret Hart.
So Vader picks the upper-hand again. The Mastodon ascends to the top-rope. We quickly figure out that he’s going to go for a moonsault!
Vader flips over & crashes into the ring-mat as Bret Hart moves away! Bret Hart picks up this opportunity & goes for a cover. 1,2..3! Austin’s plan backfired. Bret Hart wins the match.
But my favorite visual of the night happens after the match itself. Bret is celebrating in the ring & taunting at Austin. The Redneck is so pissed that he literally tries to jump over the goddamn balcony!
Austin doesn’t care if he crashes below & dies, but the officials held him back for his own good…
That ladies & gentlemen is how you convince people to watch your Pay-Per-View next Sunday.
RESULT: Bret Hart wins via pinfall.
So that was Thursday RAW Thursday folks. Shawn Michaels has vacated the WWF Championship, indirectly altering the path of several other superstars in the WWF. “In Your House 13: Final Four” is certainly a PPV to look forward to. Rocky Maivia is your new WWF Intercontinental Champion, which is also an important catalyst for the birth of The Rock.
This show is historically important as well as pretty good to watch (forget The Headbangers please).
WWF RAW might not have reached its full potential yet, but it looks like Vince McMahon & Co. have at least figured out a solid direction which will make more sense as we progress forward week-by-week.
GRADE: A-
Join me next time, as I recap- "In Your House 13: Final Four"- A very important PPV on our Road To WrestleMania 13 where people will tune in to finally see who becomes the new WWF Champion.
As always, you can check out last week's recap by clicking here. You can also follow me by clicking here to stay updated.
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