WWF 'Thursday RAW Thursday' Review: February 13th, 1997

Stone Cold Steve Austin Pulls One Of The Most Memorable Ending Sequences Ever

It's Bret Hart vs. Vader, but Stone Cold Steve Austin steals the show...

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!

As you can see...

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.

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How

long did it take you to read the whole thing? State your opinions in the comments below!

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.

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