[RESULTS/OPINION]Monday Night RAW/Monday Nitro (4/15) Monday Night RAW: Taped 4/1. - Looks like the 7:57 (central) start time is here to stay. Curiously enough, Nitro managed to start at 7:56. - Show opens with clips of Bret Hart after his loss at WrestleMania. - "WILDMAN" MARC MERO (w/ Sable) vs. LEIF CASSIDY (w/ Marty Jannetty) Mero looked okay (as usual) but Cassidy was too busy playing up his role as a dork to contribute too much to this match. At one point Jannetty worked over Mero as Cassidy distracted the ref. Mero eventually gets the pin with a Sunset Flip off the top turnbuckle. - As the previous match is wrapping up, Diesel is contacted on the phone "from Germany." Clips are shown of his attack on Shawn Michaels at Madison Square Garden, and last week's confrontation on RAW. Diesel reiterates how Shawn has never beaten him. - BART GUNN vs. "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN (w/ Ted DiBiase) Austin carries Gunn to an okay match. Austin plays the part of the wily ring technician, while Bart does his babyface best to keep coming back. There was a good spot where Bart slapped the Million Dollar Dream on Austin, who was able to escape from it (with McMahon remarking that it figures Austin would have the knowledge to escape from his own hold.) Austin wins with the Million Dollar Dream. - McMahon interviews Jim Cornette and Vader in the ring. This was hilarious: Not for any jokes that Cornette made - but because everything he said had a double meaning. McMahon announces that Vader will be facing Razor Ramon at In Your House. Cornette goes into a tirade on how Ramon has made some bad career decisions lately; how he'd been assigned the task of being the next sacrifice for Vader; about how after IYH there may not be any Razor Ramon anymore; and that he'd end up "down in Mayberry... ." Read between the lines and it looks as if Ramon's last job is at IYH. So long "Bad Guy" - hello "Big Stud" (or whatever goofy name he ends up with.) - By popular request, the Sunny video is shown again. - GOLDUST (w/ Marlena) vs. SAVIO VEGA A fun match to watch. Goldust does his usual gropefest - feeling Savio up from behind, rubbing his butt against Savio's groin in the corner, and eventually planting a kiss on the lips. He also did the bit where he grabs the mic and tells the crowd (in his real voice) "... shut up or I'll come out there and kiss each and every one of you!" Savio does his best Hulk Hogan impression to come back from near defeat. Before you know it, the ref takes a bump and goes down in the corner. Out comes a second ref as Marlena throws the IC belt into the ring. Goldust tries to nail Savio with it, but misses. Savio gets the belt and (after making sure the second ref can clearly see him) floors Goldust. Savio with the cover as the dazed first ref crawls over and counts the pin. New Intercontinental Champion! But... there's a disagreement between the two refs. Out comes President Gorilla Monsoon to clear things up. Monsoon strips Goldust of the title and holds it up, declaring it vacant. He orders a rematch between the two for next week's RAW. - Show ends with an interview with Bret Hart in Germany. Hart expresses his anger at the WrestleMania decision, bringing up some very valid points. He says how it wasn't a 60 minute Ironman match, but in fact a 62 minute match. He says if there was going to be a "sudden death" then why ring the bell - especially since he had Shawn in the Sharpshooter (which Hart feels would have finished him.) The champions job is to hold onto the belt, not beat his opponent, which is Shawn's task if he wants to win the title. Hart as much as says that if he'd have known going in that he HAD to beat his opponent (instead of just lasting the 60 minutes - as was his understanding) then maybe he'd have wrestled differently. Good, intense, and very realistic perspective. He then goes on to mention how there's other wrestling companies out there "throwing around lots of money," but that he'd never wrestle anywhere other than the WWF. He finishes saying he'd like and accept rematch. - Next week's main event: Goldust vs. Savio Vega: Winner is new IC champion. Comments: A somewhat flat show. Only three matches - none of them all that great (though they were all watchable.) The Cornette interview was funny, but only if you know what's really being said. The Hart interview was great. Monday Nitro: Live. - HULK HOGAN (w/ Booty Babe) vs. ARN ANDERSON/KEVIN SULLIVAN (w/ Woman & Liz) Hogan single handedly beats the two of them, dropping the leg on and pinning Sullivan. According to the stipulations of the match, Hogan then got five minutes in the ring with either of the managers. After terrorizing women everywhere for a bit, Hogan chooses Jimmy Hart (who just managed to be there.) He rips the back off Hart's shirt. Hart throws powder, but the Hulkster (whose eyes have been hardened by several ladies shoes and can only be affected by Kryptonite) ignores it. In comes the Giant, who choke slams him. Hogan goes into a brief spasm, then stands up, overcoming the affect of the vicious chokeslam. Hogan then bodyslams the Giant - making it the first time anyone's slammed the Giant for about the third or fourth time. As Hogan stands over the wreckage, in comes Mean Gene, who taps the kaiju Hogan on the shoulder. With a grunt, Hogan swings around and scoops up Okerlund for the slam - then sets him down upon realizing it's his old (and perhaps only) friend. (I've heard that during the commercial break, Hogan then went out and defeated several tornadoes that according to Bischoff were in the area.) - THE PUBLIC ENEMY vs. THE NASTY BOYS A notch above some of their previous meetings. The match was a "no rules street fight." The Nasties attack the P.E. on the runway with garbage cans. A plastic trash can, a few chairs, two metal garbage cans, and three tables later, the Nasty Boys come away with the win. The P.E. had set up Knobbs on a table in the corner, and Grunge came off the corner turnbuckle to deliver a legdrop, but Knobbs moved - Grunge splits the table (cleanly) in half - and Knobbs rolls him up for the pin. Post match, the P.E. set up one of the Nasties on a table outside the ring, the Rocco does a dive over the top rope - Grunge sort of catches him - and the two fall back and put whoever it was on the table (cleanly) through it. - RANDY SAVAGE vs. "EARL" BOBBY EATON (w/ Geeves) Yawn. Savage with the Elbowdrop and the pin. Savage then goes nuts on Eaton because he had imitated Ric Flair earlier. The ref tries to stop him and gets shoved down. Out come the scrubs (Wright and Duggan) to hold him down as Doug Dellinger slaps a pairt of handcuffs on him (for his own protection.) Savage is escorted out by security. Oooooh... he's a loose cannon! - RIC FLAIR/THE GIANT (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. STING/LEX LUGER Flair only looked about 60 in this match (as opposed to his usual 70.) Regardless, this was a mildly entertaining match to watch. Flair was actually allowed to wrestle a bit, but usually tagged in the Giant when things got rough. Tempers flared when the Giant kept throwing Flair back into the ring when Flair had tried to escape. Flair loses his cool and drops to the floor (where the Giant had been languishing - trying to catch his breath) and delivers a Flair chop to the Giant's chest. Things settle down for the finish when Woman produces a cup of "hot" coffee and attempt to throw it in the eyes of Lex Luger. Luger, who expected such a move, ducked - and Sting got the coffee in the eyes instead. Heenan says Luger ducked on purpose, but Bischoff says no way - meaning it probably was on purpose. Stay tuned to WCW - who'll finally wrap up this angle a year or so from now. The show ends with Heenan commenting on Savage's situation, displaying a pair of handcuffs. Bischoff grabs them and slaps them on Bobby's wrists. The show signs off with Heenan squirming about in the cuffs calling for the key. - Next week's main event: Hulk Hogan vs. Satan (2 out of 3 Falls.) Seriously, I don't know. They way things are going though... Comments: This one was so bad, it was funny. Is it just me, or is Hogan starting to look really big again? I don't mean fat, I mean juiced. His thighs, which had looked so bad a few week's back (and were even covered by tights on the last Nitro) now look bigger than they used to. Maybe he's just been hitting the weights really hard lately (yeah... that's it!) Bottom line: Not exactly the best night for either show. This week's winner: Nitro (let's live dangerously... shall we?!) JRP