[RESULTS/OPINION] WCW Monday Nitro/WWF RAW is WAR (06/23/97) [Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #84] (06/23/97) WCW Monday Nitro: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Macon, GA. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko and Mike Tenay. - The show starts this week by replaying the end of last week's show. In case you're interested, the ratings for this week are in. I'll get to them later, but I just thought I'd mention that the pre-hour opener for Nitro earned something like a 1.7, which shows that quite a few viewers do not bother to tune in so early. The show then started it's first quarter rating with a 2.2, which is the same as RAW started out with. - Mean Gene Okerlund opens the show by rambling through the usual "best wrestling show on TV" jargon, then brings out Diamond Dallas Page (and Kimberly). Page says, in short, that he will face Scott Hall in tonight's main event. They also talk about Page's surprise partner coming up at Bash at the Beach, but they don't drop any more hints. We're supposed to think it's Sting, while most all the scuttlebutt out there pegs it as being "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, who used to be Scott hall's partner about a million years ago. Kimberly says she is the one that got J.J. Dillon to make the Page/Hall match tonight, dropping WCW's credibility rating down another point. They also mention that Kevin Nash isn't in the building tonight. - LA PARKA/DAMIEN vs. THE PUBLIC ENEMY This match really shows you the pecking order in WCW: legends (like Flair and Piper), the NWO, the Mexicans, the Japanese, the midcarders, football players, the janitorial staff, wrestlers wives and girlfriends, people who come in off the street, people who haven't been born yet, and finally the Public Enemy. The first few minutes are un-noteworthy in most every way, other than to mention that the crowd made a fair amount of noise during this one. The P.E. then set Damien up on a table, which raises the noise level. Rocco Rock puts him through in what may be the most impressive looking table shot on Nitro yet. Meanwhile, La Parka whacks Johnny Grunge with a chair and covers for the upset pin. *Ugh!* Don't tell me this is going to become a feud!? WCW was just finally starting to pay attention to the P.E. again, I hope they don't get sidetracked. (Actually they have to, with the Steiners feuding with the Harlem Heat, and the Outsiders following "Hollywood" Hogan's lead by not defending their title belts). - Mean Gene interviews Eddy Guerrero, accusing him of abandoning his nephew Chavo Guerrero, Jr. last week. Eddy says he wasn't cleared to wrestle then, and that Chavo had volunteered to wrestle in his place. Eddy brings Chavo out, and Chavo says he didn't exactly "volunteer". Eddy the says he'll make it up to him by giving up a Cruiserweight Title shot he had scheduled with Syxx tonight, to Chavo. Chavo accepts. The interview ends with Okerlund expressing doubt in Eddy's claim to watch his nephew's back. Wasn't this supposed to be a feud between Eddy and Dean Malenko? Why are they now doing their best to build to a confrontation between Eddy and Chavo? - ALEX WRIGHT vs. CHRIS JERICHO Wright explains his heel turn by stating he no longer cares about the American fans. Nice of WCW to remind us that foreign=evil. We start to notice during this match the crowd getting quieter and quieter. Very little response, even during the high risk aerial moves. Things would only pick up when they went to the floor and got near the ringside fans. The crowd does boo when Wright wiggles his hips for them though. Jericho, after a really dull match, wins with a totally unconvincing application of the Boston Crab, which draws the loudest response of the match. - Mike Tenay stares evilly into the camera as Schiavone and Zbyszko blather on about the current top angles. They then show Vincent causing the Steiner's DQ loss at the Great American Bash, followed by the events of the next night's Nitro. - THE STEINER BROTHERS vs. THE HARLEM HEAT (w/ Sistah Sherri) The crowd does actually wake up for this one, though it was for a match that looked just like every prior meeting of these two teams. The only move that sticks out in my mind is when Booker T. tries his leg lariat and Rick Steiner catches him, powerbombing him to the mat. Booker then lies there with his eyes wide open, looking stunned. Scott Steiner nails him with a double-underhook powerbomb shortly afterward. They set up their off-the-top-turnbuckle bulldog, but Stevie Ray breaks it up. Rick then shoves Booker into Sherri, who's up on the apron, and nails him on the rebound with a bulldog off the top, then covers for the pin. The Heat are back in action, and using the same finish to their losses that they showed us so often in the last two years. Buff Bagwell and Scott Norton then do an immediate interview with Mean Gene in the aisleway. Bagwell says his physique is much better than Scott Steiner's (and he's right, though Steiner doesn't have calf implants, and his arms look bigger). Bagwell announces that he and Norton are now "Vicious & Delicious", which is even dumber than "Stars & Stripes" and the "American Males". The Steiners, pretty much ignoring everything Bagwell and Norton have just said, threaten a confrontation between themselves and the Outsiders in Las Vegas next week. - Mike Tenay introduces a video feature on Ernest Miller. They show him punching and kicking the bag, in a manner no more impressive that what the average person is capable of. He then spars with an opponent and looks, well ... average. Then some generic karate guy (who's name they show, but it isn't worth my time to rerun the tape to copy it down) compares Miller to a football player (showing WCW's TRUE feelings about the state of pro-wrestling today). Miller then does some of that arm waving and grunting crap that makes most true martial artists laugh. - HECTOR GARZA vs. VILLANO IV Garza comes out to the generic cowboy music that WCW has used ever since the tenth Clash of the Champions. The crowd is thoroughly and utterly disinterested during this one. Even Mike Tenay spends most of his time talking about other things. Garza hits his big move: the corkscrew plancha from the top turnbuckle to the floor, and you can almost hear crickets. "Boring!" is yelled a few times. The only fans into it are the half-dozen or so who are the closest whenever they would spill to the floor. A large "SCOOPS" sign shows up at ringside (and is confiscated later in the evening). The funny thing is that this wasn't all that bad a match, it's just that Garza is still a relative unknown, while Villano IV is the worst cruiserweight (with the exception of Lizmark, Jr). Garza wins with a standing backflip splash, which Tenay rather ridiculously calls a "standing moonsault". HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. - Lex Luger and the Giant come to the ring for an interview. They say nothing worth repeating. Luger didn't look drunk this time. - CHAVO GUERRERO, JR. vs. SYXX (w/ Scott Hall) Syxx beats Chavo with then help of Scott Hall. Syxx doesn't seem content to take the usual heel tack of looking real bad, then cheating to win. He actually wrestled a fair bit, making himself seem impressive. I don't know whether to credit him for that, or blame it on his ego. Anyway, Hall "Razor's Edges" Guerrero, then Syxx slaps on the Buzzkiller for the win. Eddy Guerrero watched the entire match from the entryway, but made no move to help his nephew. The crowd, refreshed from their nap during the Garza match, woke back up for this one. - KONAN vs. STEVE "MONGO" MCMICHAEL (w/ Debra) Schiavone and Tenay mention that Jeff Jarrett has been put on "probation" by the other Horsemen, which shows that they're doing just what I said they would: gloss over the blow-up last week between Jarrett and Mongo, thus stretching out their inevitable split even longer (though Mongo is supposed to get a title shot for Jarrett's U.S. belt at Bash at the Beach). Hugh Morrus comes to ringside with a stick, but is held back by security. Konan, now distracted, falls prey to a Tombstone Piledriver by Mongo. Mongo then covers for the pin. I tell ya ... McMichael is fast approaching that "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan level of ring skill! - They run an overly dramatic highlights package of the Chris Benoit/Kevin Sullivan feud, hyping their upcoming "Loser Must Retire Match" at Bash at the Beach. - Mean Gene interviews "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Crowd chants for Piper big time. "I am here to do what I do best, and that is 'Macon bacon'!" Piper says he's come out to dispel the rumors of tensions between he and Flair. Piper says he trusts Flair, then insults him by saying "Do you know why Ric Flair dates two girls at a time? So that when he falls asleep, they have someone to talk to!" Flair comes out and in rather subdued tones, says he explained why he mistakenly abandoned Piper at the Bash. Things get heated as they point out mistakes made and the shortcomings of each other. Benoit and McMichael then come out. Flair says this is what he's come out to help Piper avoid. Debra McMichael then goes off tangent (at the prompting of Okerlund) and talks about Jeff Jarrett. McMichael then makes a skirt crack about Piper. Piper says he doesn't want any of this, then calls Mongo a "goof". Flair asks Mongo to let things go. Piper says Flair is the Horsemen's captain, and should exert some control. Mongo says Piper will stab Flair in the back. Benoit then takes a verbal shot at Piper, drawing a physical shot from Piper. Piper then hits Mongo ... and Flair. Benoit slaps Piper in a crossface hold, while Mongo and Flair stomp on Piper's head. Flair alternates between kicks and hopping around in frustration over the situation escalating beyond his control. Tony and Mike compare this to the "Horsemen of old", which is just plain absurd. - GLACIER/ERNEST MILLER vs. HIGH VOLTAGE Miller, who's ring gear is fairly normal, seems to use a repertoire of moves comprised solely of kicks, some of which he does shakily off the ropes. He gets the win with a round kick off the top turnbuckle which looked impressive at first, (he spun in place like Mar Mero does with the Merosault), then not, as he spun back around and delivered a normal kick. Wrath and Mortis then charge the ring, but pull up when they see Glacier and Miller are ready for them. - They run a Bash at the Beach promo which included every Dennis Rodman appearance thus far in WCW: all three of them. - DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE (w/ Kimberly) vs. SCOTT HALL (w/ Randy Savage & Liz) When Savage and Liz come out, Kimberly leaves. The crowd then starts chanting for Sting. Hall starts off with an armbar, which he keeps on for at least a minute. Page reverses it. Hall then goes to work on Page's ribs, back and kidneys. (Page's ribs are taped). Page crawls to the corner, whips Hall in, then hits him with an Atomic Nut Smasher. A big right fist drops Hall to the mat. A lot is made by the announcers that Page used to be Hall's manager a zillion years ago. Page sets up a piledriver (or something similar) but Hall backflips him over the top rope to the floor. Savage comes over and slams Page into the rail. Hall then comes out and delivers a chop and a kick to the ribs. He tosses Page into the ring steps. Back into the ring they go and Hall continues to work on the ribs. Page tries to fight back, but Hall is clearly in control, until Page escapes from a suplex attempt and takes Hall to the mat with an armbar. Hall is the first one back up to his feet and begins unwrapping the tape on Page's ribs, but gets nailed with a clothesline. Page then signals for the Diamond Cutter, which brings in Savage. The ref calls for the bell, giving the DQ win to Page. Savage and Hall work over Page, with Hall belly-to-back suplexing him off the top. Savage then climbs to the top to deliver his patented elbowdrop ... and freezes. Sting is in the crowd. With a bat. Savage just stands and looks at Sting. Sting points the bat at Savage. After several seconds, Savage drops the elbow. Sting begins to make his way through the crowd as Savage drops another. Sting finally hits the ring and Hall and Savage drop to the floor. The ring fills with thrown debris. Schiavone yells "Is he the mystery partner?! Is Sting the mystery partner?!" Savage and Hall confer on the floor, then charge the ring from opposite corners. Savage tries to come off the top, but Sting catches him with the bat, whirls, then hits Hall with the bat. The show fades out with Bobby Heenan yelling how Sting has "gone nuts!" - Matches for next week: None announced. Comments: I hate to be so anti-WCW and anti-Nitro, but this show seemed hardly worth the airtime it wasted. So much of this show was dull, filled with mediocre wrestling, and backstepped from the advances made on angles just last week. The main event was the only match that had any fire to it, and it was neither anything original, nor all that intense. All three men involved did their bare minimum to kill the several minutes over which the match took place. Even the cruiserweights failed to deliver this week, though I do credit WCW for showing us some of the lesser seen guys on the roster. I'm still puzzled as to why the focus of the Guerrero/Malenko situation has now shifted to include Chavo. Jarrett should have been kicked out of the Horsemen. now he's just on "probation", meaning he's still Mongo's partner (even if Mongo doesn't like it). WCW can now easily stretch what has already taken six months even longer. The Piper/Flair split was actually well done, in my opinion. They did a good job of putting Flair in the middle, and forcing him to show where his allegiances lie. They've made it entirely plausible now for Flair to claim great affection and respect for Piper, yet continue the conflict between the two. This was clearly the high point of the show. Now with Piper and Flair paired off, they will establish the Outsiders and Steiners feud. Look for them to tangle next week. My only gripe about all this is that this is a match-up we've already seen pushed earlier this year. The Steiners failed to get the belts then (remember how they won them, then Eric Bischoff gave them back to Hall and Nash?) and it will be really lame if they fail to get them now. It'll pretty much show how big Nash's ego is, and how much pull he's developed in WCW. It seems pretty obvious that Benoit will win the retirement match against Sullivan. The only bad thing about this is that we have to sit through one more match between the two. (Don't overlook the fact that no stipulation is ever final in WCW, either). Look for the P.E. to get a rematch against La Parka and Damien in which they'll win ... just like they did with the P.E. and High Energy. This is apparently the best idea WCW can come up with for the P.E. right now. Just when it looked like the Glacier angle couldn't get any worse ... it does. Take a bow, WCW! Nitro earned a rating this week of 3.26 (or something like that). Let's just say 3.3. This is, I believe, a minuscule drop from last week's rating. Once again, the final fifteen minutes scored big. In fact, the show started low, then made a steady climb throughout the entire program. Wherever these people come from, it isn't from RAW, as RAW did almost the exact same thing (which I'll get to below). I just can't get over how dead the crowd was, especially since this was in WCW's home state of Georgia. The crowd response was nothing like recent weeks, the Boston crowd in particular. Now Nitro knows how RAW felt last week. Schiavone confirmed that "Hollywood" Hogan will be on next week, with most every other WCW star being in attendance as well. They continually hyped the "impact player", but never specifically identified him/her as a wrestler. They speculated that it might be the same person as Page's mystery partner. With five days to go, the strongest speculation points at it being Shaquille O'Neal, with Curt Hennig being held back in reserve in case they can't convince Shaq to show. There's also speculation that it will be Mike Tyson, who may still be in town on Monday following his fight Saturday with Evander Holyfield. Tyson has also been rumored to show up on RAW, and any appearance is contingent upon his beating Holyfield. Holyfield then is also included in the speculation. I'd say it's a safe bet that neither boxer will be showing up on either show next week. Scott "Raven" Levy is also a candidate, since most credible sources report that he has indeed finally signed with WCW. For those keeping track, this was the third week in a row in which Raven was rumored to show, but didn't. Neither did Arn Anderson, who was reported as a lock to show up. It's too bad that he didn't, since it would have been a major treat for the Macon crowd. I'm guessing that an appearance by him might have interfered with their ability to pull off the Piper/Flair split. Whatever the surprise is, WCW has been hyping next week as the greatest Nitro ever. Blame them if it doesn't live up to it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF RAW is WAR: Live/Taped: Live. Length: Two Hours+. Location: Detroit, MI. HOUR ONE Hosted By: Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. - In a somewhat interesting development, RAW is now promoted as part of the USA Network's "USA Sports" line-up, as opposed to USA's "Original Productions" as it had been for the past few years. - A quick clip dedicating tonight's show to Stan "The Man" Stasiak, who passed away last week. Stasiak briefly held the WWF (or WWWF) World Title. - I sure wish I knew what we are supposed to call this show! The graphic just says "RAW", while McMahon says "welcome to Monday Night RAW", then immediately calls it "RAW is WAR". The second hour, meanwhile, is labeled "The WAR ZONE", yet referred to as "RAW", "RAW is WAR", and "Monday Night RAW" as well. This will either be further complicated, or resolved when RAW moves to 9:00 PM Eastern on August 4th. Early word has it that the second hour will receive a "TV-14" rating, or possibly (though not likely) a "TV-M" rating, which may be why the two hours are being promoted under two separate names. The show is currently "TV-PG", but it's said the second hour may become more "hardcore" and violent to take advantage of the later timeslot when the move is made. My personal guess is that USA is waiting to see how the second hour does in the ratings, and if it's more violent nature pays off (should it become so). RAW is scheduled to be two hours through September, but the USA Network hasn't made any kind of official statement on the matter (other than to submit the August schedule, which lists RAW as two hours). Arena bookings scheduled through September indicate that RAW will be two hours still for that month. I'm guessing that if it doesn't work to USA's satisfaction, they will either tame down the second hour (again, if it does get more violent), or eliminate it altogether. USA and the WWF still have yet to negotiate a new fall contract, and the current agreement expires, I believe, in September. Obviously, this is all currently being worked out, and some kind of an announcement should be made prior to the move on August 4th. - A crowd absolutely bristling with signs boo en masse as Faarooq and his new Nation of Domination enter. Ahmed Johnson now wears all bleak, and looks more imposing than ever. McMahon asks the question: "Why?" Ahmed says he did what he had to do to earn a shot at the World Title. He accuses Vince of holding him back because he was black. Vince tries to explain, but Ahmed shuts him up. He says he joined the Nation to take out Vince's "super-hero", the Undertaker. D-Lo, Faarooq and Kama Mustafa each make a few comments. Ahmed gets right in Vince's face and warns him not to look at him, or any other black man, sideways ever again. The Nation's theme starts up, but before they can leave, a line of men on motorcycles ride in through the entryway and down the ramp. It's Crush, followed by Brian Lee, and Ron and Don Harris (aka the Bruise Brothers, Grimm Twins, and Jacob and Eli Blu). Ahmed rolls his eyes skyward as the gang park their hawgs and enter the ring. Crush says that he's gotten reinforcements in his brotherhood, the DOA: Disciples of Apocalypse. Crush says they "live together, ride together, and damn sure fight together!" A massive eight man brawl breaks out. Jim Ross screams "it's a street fight ... a gang fight ... a drive-by!" McMahon retakes his seat and adds that he's never been so intimidated in his life. Uniformed security and WWF officials flood the ringside area to split the two groups apart. After the NOD is cleared out, the DOA roar off on their Harleys. Ross and McMahon run down the upcoming card, show some quick comments from the Legion of Doom, and give us a peek at Ken Shamrock warming up. - KEN SHAMROCK vs. ROCKABILLY (w/ the Honky Tonk Man) They recap what occurred between Shamrock and Steve Austin last week. UFC fighter Dan Severn sits in for color commentary. They play some clips of Shamrock in the UFC, and note that Shamrock and Severn have fought twice, with Shamrock winning their first fight, and Severn winning the second in the same arena RAW is taking place in: Cobo Arena. McMahon heavily defends the UFC, pointing out there has never been a serious injury. Severn adds that in the 75 years of "no-holds-barred" fighting, there has never been a single death. McMahon adds that neither boxing nor pro- wrestling can make the same claim. In the match itself, Shamrock has little trouble with Rockabilly. After dominating most of the match with takedowns and submission attempts, Rockabilly gets a bit "feisty" and starts pummeling Ken in the head. He tries a suplex, but Shamrock escapes, nails a belly-to-back suplex, and takes Gunn out with an anklelock submission hold. Afterward, Shamrock confronts Severn. Dan removes his headset and the two stare down. Ken eventually extends his hand and the two shake. Cool. Fifteen minutes in, and RAW has already debuted a new angle and four new wrestlers (though Lee and the Harris' have been in the WWF before, and Severn may or may not have been a one-shot appearance). The Godwinns close out this segment with some brief comments. They're heels now, and have stopped wearing shirts for some reason. Phinneas sports a big fake tattoo that reds "Red Neck". Actually, Henry is the heel, and the one doing all the talking. Phinneas seems to be just going along for the ride (until such time as he begs his kin to stop, at which time Henry will thump him and the two will split up. Excuse me while I sob softly into this hanky). - McMahon hypes a workout on Muscle Beach with Shamrock, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna. This is part of the festivities in Anaheim, California, this Saturday. They then show a few clips of Sable, and mention "Wildman" Marc Mero's recent aggravation over her popularity. - THE LEGION OF DOOM vs. THE GODWINNS They show us Hawk and Animal breaking Henry Godwinn's neck four times (due to the video getting screwed up, they have to re-cue it). The Godwinns slop Hawk and Animal prior to the start of the match. Not much to say about this one. The LOD fairly easily handle the two pig farmers. Early in the match McMahon and Ross cut in to report that the Hart Foundation has attacked Ken Shamrock in the back, but no footage is shown. The match, meanwhile, only goes a few minutes. Straight back-and- forth slugging, with the LOD having the edge. They try and set Henry up for the Doomsday Device (which broke his neck a few months back) but Phinneas makes a save. Hawk, who had climbed to the top, comes off anyway with a clothesline, then covers Henry for the pin. In what may have been the smartest move of the night, the WWF kept this one quick. That didn't matter to the live crowd, though, as they were rabidly behind the LOD. After the match, the Hart Foundation members run in and lay out the LOD as Bret watches from the top of the ramp. Hawk and Animal have to be helped out by several referees. - Jim Ross notes that boxer Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns is in attendance at ringside. They then cut to the back for an interview with the Undertaker. Before he can say much, Paul Bearer cuts him off and says it's all about him (Bearer). The Undertaker loses his cool and grabs Bearer by the throat. Vader charges in, but the Undertaker catches him by the throat as well. He eventually lets go and stalks off, Paul Bearer yelling "remember the fire!" as he departs. - Owen Hart delivers a few comments about the upcoming three way match for the Intercontinental Title. Owen is disgusted by the fact that he can lose the title even if one of the other two wrestlers get pinned. They then cut to some footage of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin taken from the "Cause Stone Cold Said So!" video. Finally, Flash Funk makes a few comments about his opponent in the next match: Sabu! Paul E. Dangerously sits in for color commentary. - SABU (w/ Bill Alphonso) vs. FLASH FUNK Clips of Sabu in action in ECW are shown, as Paul E. mentions that Sabu is the nephew of the original Sheik. McMahon's take on Sabu is that he is unpredictable, but a tremendous wrestler. Ross points out the hideous scars on Sabu's stomach. McMahon even points out that Sabu and Flash have fought before in ECW. Paul E. admits that he was once Sabu's manager, but currently doesn't see eye to eye with him. The match starts with Sabu diving into a kick to the face. Flash whips him into the ropes, but Sabu ducks, springs off the ropes, and lands a back kick. He then hits a spinning heel kick, sending Flash to the floor. He baseball slides under the bottom ropes, kicking Flash. Those unfamiliar with Alphonso, who Ross mentions was once a pretty good WWF referee, must be starting to go nuts, due to his incessant blowing on his whistle. Sabu goes over the top rope with a somersault plancha. Sabu and Alphonso then pull a table out from under the ring. Paul E. barks out that Eric Bischoff might claim that the Public Enemy invented table smashing, but that it was really Sabu who did so. Paul E. add that he should know, because he's the one who discovered the Public Enemy. Back in the ring, Flash whips Sabu into the corner and follows with a spinning splash. He slams him, then goes up top and hits a 180 degree direction change splash. McMahon is surprised when Sabu kicks out of the pin attempt. Flash goes up again, but Sabu stops him short and takes him down with a springboard huracanrana, which gets a loud reaction from the crowd. Sabu follows with a springboard legdrop. Flash kicks out at one. Paul E. says that after Alphonso left the WWF, ECW adopted him from the Betty Ford Clinic. "Really?" asks McMahon. "Really." "That's nice to know." McMahon deadpans. Ross says Alphonso graduated with honors ... twice. Flash is whipped into the corner. Sabu then springboards off the second rope and tries a clothesline, but Flash pulls up short and duck. He then catches Sabu with a Superkick. Flash goes up top again, but again Sabu stops him with a punch. He starts to set up the huracanrana again, but Flash nails him, dropping him astraddle the top rope. Flash then leaps off and clotheslines him, sending Sabu to the apron. Flash launches himself into a handspring cartwheel kick, which looked like a Flying Space Tiger Drop, except he didn't go over the top rope to the floor. Sabu drops to the floor. Flash vaults over the top rope with a plancha. Ross goes into his usual about two studs getting it one, which Paul E. attributes to Sabu's extreme style. Flash tosses Sabu back in, but Sabu comes back with a dropkick to Flash's ankle. Sabu lays in a fist, but Flash whips him over to the opposite corner, following with a splash. Flash then goes up and hits a sweeping, graceful moonsault, which draws the biggest pop from the crowd yet. Sabu kicks out. Paul E. says it took ECW to draw this kind of performance out of Flash, and that's what they can offer the WWF. Ross counters by asking Paul E. to admit the tremendous exposure the WWF is allowing ECW. Paul E. says he does so, and that's why he brought his men to RAW, and not to Nitro. Sabu, meanwhile, has backed into the corner. Flash charges, but Sabu arm flips him over the top rope to the floor. Sabu then leaps over the rope and hits a huracanrana, which draws yet another huge roar from the crowd. Paul E. and Vince exchange mutual nods of appreciation for what each company is allowing the other to do ... as Sabu sets up the table on the floor. McMahon warns that the ECW guys have a tendency to get out of hand, but Paul E. counters by saying this is RAW, where thing are supposed to get out of hand. Flash is set on the table and the ref signals for the bell (whether it's a DQ for Sabu, or a double countout is never really made clear). Sabu springboards into an Asai moonsault onto Flash, but the table doesn't break. Sabu, thinking the table weakened, does a standing splash, but the table again doesn't break. Alphonso ducks under to check how solid things look below. Paul E. snidely remarks "see, those aren't pre-cut tables like you'll see elsewhere!" Sabu scoots into the ring and bounces off the top rope, dropping a legdrop on Flash. The table doesn't break, it just collapses, with Flash looking half dead. "I think it killed him!" McMahon exclaims in horror. Paul E. yells "this is extreme ... this is hardcore ... I warned you about this!" Sabu leaves the ringside area through the crowd, tossing chairs aside as he goes. - Up next is Mankind vs. the British Bulldog. They show an edited clip of Mankind's confrontation with Steve Austin from last week. Why does the WWF bleep "ass" out, when the USA Network censors don't? Shoot, you hear "ass" on "The Simpsons" at least once a week, and that's a network show! That's why I don't buy all these rumors of the FCC fining the USA Network. (First off, it's "FCC", not "FTC" which several of the rumor websites keep mentioning. The "FTC" is the Federal Trade Commission. Second, other than the night Bret Hart went nuts, no actual profanities have slipped past the USA Network censors, meaning there are no violations that the FCC can point to. Finally, if "ass" was some kind of an FCC violation, then the USA Network would be bleeping it. They don't. In fact, the intro to WWF Live Wire, which airs Saturday mornings, features Austin saying "ass"! Why does the WWF leave that in, yet they bleep out "ass" whenever they replay something? Go figure.) - The WWF is so horrified by Sabu's table shot that they show it again. Heh. - THE BRITISH BULLDOG vs. MANKIND Non-title match. Mankind comes out wearing an "Austin 3:16" t-shirt, with a sign around his neck that reads "Pick Me Steve". Mankind dedicates this match to "the toughest SOB in the WWF ... a man I'm proud to call my friend: 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin! Pick me, Steve!" Gawd, I nearly split a gut laughing! Mankind wrestles with the sign on as Austin calls in from his home. Steve says if Vince calls him collect again, he won't accept. He also says his brother Kevin was stepped on by a bull, and he wishes him a speedy recovery so he can go back to work and pay Austin that $30 he owes him. The rest of his phone interview is great. He says he will be back in action starting this Friday. He rattles off his injuries and says "I'm taking anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, antidepressants ... if it's got 'anti' before it, I'm probably taking it!" He says Mankind is a kind man, and that what he is doing is a tribute to the greatest wrestler in the world (Austin himself) ... but he's still a freak. Steve says he plans on Shawn Michaels being his partner, though he'd just as soon defend the tag team belts by himself. Austin finishes up by telling his wife that she brought him the wrong kind of beer. ("I said light beer, I'm on a diet!") Mankind and the Bulldog wrestle a decent match which spills in and out of the ring. Mankind hits a double arm DDT. Bulldog throws Mankind into the ring steps. Things wind down when Mankind applies the Mandible Claw. The Bulldog mule kicks him in the nuts to escape. He then exits the ring and grabs a chair. The first shot gets the Bulldog DQ'ed. The second is for good measure. The third hits Mankind square on the head, but he still won't stay down. The fourth is swung baseball bat style with near-full force, catching Mankind on the side of the face! The crowd, not knowing Steve Austin is at home, chants his name. As the Bulldog poses, Mankind slips up from behind and slaps the Mandible Claw on again. The chair shots have done their job, however, as the Bulldog is able to escape the clutches of the weakened Mankind. - They cut to a big confrontation in the back between Owen and Brian Pillman, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna, and Goldust and Marlena. Owen, seeing as Intercontinental Champion, demands that Pillman be allowed to second him at ringside, since Goldust has Marlena and HHH has Chyna. WWF President Gorilla Monsoon says he has no problem with that. They end the first hour with shots of past WWF IC Champs: Pat Patterson; Pedro Morales; the Magnificent Muraco; Tito Santana; the Honky Tonk Man; "Ravishing" Rick Rude; Bret "Hitman" Hart and the British Bulldog at SummerSlam 1992; Goldust and Ahmed Johnson; and "Wildman" Marc Mero. Noticeably absent are the Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage. HOUR TWO Hosted By: Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. - OWEN HART vs. HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY vs. GOLDUST All three of these men have held the IC belt, and clips are shown of each when they won it. HHH is shown pinning Marc Mero, while Goldust is shown pinning Razor Ramon, (and of course, Owen Hart's victory over Rocky Maivia, who Ross says it out with an injury). An unidentified guest ring announcer introduces special guest referee Pat Patterson to the crowd. A great match! The wrestlers keep attacking each other to prevent anyone from getting an advantage. Since whoever scores a pin or submission will win the belt, the third man would always break up any pin attempt. Two men might work together in a double team, then turn on each other. Things clip along very quickly until HHH sets Goldust up for the Pedigree (just after getting an assist from Owen in beating on Goldust). Owen bounces off the ropes and lands a spinning heel kick on Helmsley before he can complete the Pedigree. With Helmsley down, Goldust then grabs Owen and hits the Curtain Call (which is a reverse-upside down bulldog DDT type thingamabob). Goldust covers for the three count, becoming for the third time the WWF Intercontinental Champion. But wait ... Brian Pillman runs in and points out that Owen's foot was on the bottom rope. Patterson will hear none of it, and stands by his decision. Gorilla Monsoon comes out and tells Patterson he made a mistake, but Patterson still seems inclined to call only what he saw. They then go to a break, during which they replay the pin on the jumbo screen. Patterson sees that he did indeed miss the foot on the rope and, as is the referees prerogative, orders the match to continue. The match continues at it's previous hectic pace. Two would work over the third until one of them tried a pin attempt, which would draw an attack from the other. Those two would then fight, with the other waiting for his opportunity; sometimes joining in for a double team, other times waiting until a pin attempt. Owen in particular gets double teamed a lot. He gets clotheslined as he tries to apply a Sharpshooter. Goldust backs him into a corner and Helmsley drops to the floor, grabs Owen's feet, and pulls him crotch-first into the post. Helmsley is chased off by Pillman. Owen gets tossed to the floor, but comes back and does a drop-kick off the top turnbuckle, hitting both opponents with one boot each. Helmsley and Owen brawl to the floor. While this is happening, Chyna slips into the ring and hits Goldust with a standing huracanrana! (Names are being coined all over the Net for this. My picks, at the time the move took place, were "FrankenChyna" and "Chynacanrana"). Owen and Helmsley reenter the ring. Helmsley is whipped into the ropes and Owen tries a kick. HHH catches the boot, but Owen turns it into an enzuguiri kick to the back of the head. Goldust can be seen slowly crawling up the corner post. Owen covers for the pin, sees Goldust coming off the top, and moves aside. Goldust hits Helmsley with the double axehandle shot. Owen rolls Goldust off and again covers for the pin. Pillman reaches in and holds Goldust down as Owen gets the three count. Bret Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart are shown in the back celebrating Owen's win. A wild match, one which the crowd really got into. - Bret "Hit Man" Hart, accompanied by Jim "The Anvil" comes to the ring for an interview. Bret runs down the opponents for his Hart Foundation coming up at the In Your House PPV. Bret says that he and the Anvil are the best tag team ever, not the LOD. He says Ken Shamrock came from the "Ultimate Fairy Championships". On Goldust and Marlena, Bret says he has four sisters at home who will "knock her socks off!" if she tries anything. He calls Steve Austin the "scum of the earth!" Bret says there's no way that team can steal a victory. Speaking of thieves, Bret says he hears Thomas Hearns in the crowd, and he accuses him of stealing the "Hit Man" nickname. McMahon points out Hearns, running down his list of accolades. Hart insults him, and calls him into the ring. After calling him the "Chicken Man", Hearns leaps the railing and enters the ring. McMahon and an acquaintance of Hearns try to hold him back. Bret takes of his jacket, sunglasses and watch and continues to insult him. The Anvil holds Bret back, then turns into a couple of body shots from Hearns. The Anvil drops to the mat as the ring quickly swarms with WWF officials, holding Hart and Hearns apart. The Anvil gets up and staggers around drunkenly. - Faarooq starts to deliver comments from the dressing room area, but is interrupted by Savio Vega. Vega calls him a piece of garbage for dumping him, and tries to take a shot at Faarooq, but is grabbed by Kama and D-Lo and dropped to the floor. Faarooq starts to whip him with a belt and McMahon says we've seen enough, and the camera cuts away. - BRIAN CHRISTOPHER vs. SCOTT TAYLOR Taylor wrestled Lief Cassidy several weeks ago on RAW, I believe. Both men are now part of the new Light Heavyweight Division. Comments from Christopher taped earlier in the day are run and one would have to be a moron not to notice the resemblance to Jerry "The King" Lawler. Lawler accompanies him to the ring, then sits in for color commentary. The match itself was okay, with Christopher winning via a guillotine leg drop off the top rope. The real story is the commentary, in which Lawler calls Paul E. a liar in regards to Lawler being Christopher's father, though he avoids specifically denying the charge. When pressed, he threatens to reveal Vince and Jim's home phone numbers. The topic is dropped. They replay the clip with the Undertaker, Paul Bearer and Vader from earlier in the night, as they go to break. - Paul Bearer and Vader are standing by in the back. McMahon asks what he meant by "remember the fire!"? Bearer says it didn't mean anything, and that there's no problems in his stable. - THE NATION OF DOMINATION vs. THE UNDERTAKER/VADER (w/ Paul Bearer) McMahon notes that Ahmed Johnson is missing, and says that word out of the back is that he was injured during the fight with the DOA. McMahon also reports that Ken Shamrock, who was attacked off-camera by the Hart Foundation earlier in the night, was only shaken up and will be okay. D-Lo and Faarooq are the ones in the ring for the match. Ahmed is shown watching the match on a monitor in the back. Very quickly in the match, the DOA come to ringside to watch. D-Lo gets tossed out of the ring and is jumped by the gang. Faarooq and Kama wade in, and even the Undertaker starts busting heads, not particular about which gang he beats on. A commercial break passes and things have settled down. Vader is in, and looks good against D-Lo. Faarooq tags in and he and Vader go to-to-toe, bringing back memories of when Ron Simmons beat Vader for the WCW World Title several years back. Vader goes up for a splash, but Faarooq catches him and turns it into a powerslam. During all this Paul Bearer is yelling at the Undertaker. The Undertaker can finally take no more of this and slugs Vader as he was coming over to complain about the lack of help in the match. Vader staggers back and is caught by Faarooq with a clothesline. Faarooq covers for the quick pin. The NOD leave as the Undertaker enters the ring. Bearer follows him in to yell at him, but the Undertaker blows him off and starts to leave. Bearer signals to Vader and Vader grabs the Undertaker, whipping him into the ropes. The Undertaker reverses it, catches Vader with a big boot to the chin, scoops him up, and Tombstone Piledrives him. Bearer grabs a house mic and tells the departing Undertaker that he has sealed his fate, and that he WILL reveal the Undertaker's secret next week on RAW. - Matches for next week: Owen Hart & the Bulldog vs. the Headbangers. Maybe the NOD vs. the LOD. Comments: The first truly great RAW in many weeks. The wrestling was really good all around. There were some great interviews, tons of surprises, and several of the major storylines were advanced. Shamrock looked good when on offense, but needs a little work on selling moves. Dan Severn appearing was interesting, to say the least. This is sure to spark comments stating that he has signed with the WWF, but we'll have to wait and see. The same for Thomas Hearns appearing. This, I'm pretty sure, was a one-shot deal. In all honestly, it was a little silly, but no worse than Kevin Greene, Reggie White and Dennis Rodman appearing in WCW. The Detroit fans ate it up, though, and I've read that the local media covered the incident extensively. I don't watch ESPN or CNN sports enough to see if it was mentioned nationally. The Owen/Helmsley/Goldust match was really quite good. I'd rather they hadn't done the tease title change, but it was done much better than similar incidents in the past, and didn't detract from the overall pacing of the match. In fact, it perfectly accommodated the required commercial break. Sabu looked okay, but a bit rushed and sloppy (which is the way Sabu's moves look in general). Flash Funk really shone, though, and a rematch seems likely. I still watch their match from Cyberslam '96 every so often, and these two guys have the potential to really put on a show. The likelihood of Flash dropping the name and gimmick look stronger every week. This was also a tremendous way to introduce Sabu, instead of the usual run-in. The Detroit crowd was familiar with him, since it's his hometown, but the match served well to educate the fans at home. It would make a ton of sense to do the same with Tommy Dreamer and Sandman, if the intention is for them to continue to be involved in this angle, which shows no signs of slowing down or going away anytime soon. Both Taylor and Christopher looked good, but I think it's time to show us the new belt, and start naming some names as to who will be in the new division. Jim Ross said a few weeks back the WWF is bringing in a "double digit" number of new wrestlers. So far we've seen four or five. I also question saving them for so late in the card, but it didn't seem to affect the ratings this week. Speaking of which, RAW pulled in a 2.4 this week, which was ever so slightly up from last week. RAW started almost tied with Nitro at a 2.2, then steadily climbed to a 2.6 in the second hour, then leveled back at a 2.5 for the last half hour of the show. This is the first week in ages in which there was no big drop at the end of the show. As I mention back in the Nitro section, Nitro's ratings boost at the end of the show didn't come at RAW's expense, as RAW didn't lose any viewers in the last fifteen minutes. I've no idea how they're going to top this next week. The Ultimate Warrior rumor seems to have died. Yokozuna seems a good possibility, but I don't think he'll be the big surprise of the show. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line: I'm really getting tired of Nitro. Part of the problem, besides the fact that the same guys show up every week and the same things happen, is that the show-which is nearly two years old-hasn't changed at all. With the exception of replacing Vader with Luger in the opening segment, a slight change in some of the commercial bumpers, and the full time addition of Mike Tenay, nothing about the show has changed. RAW, on the other hand, has changed the opening footage at least three times, has changed the music four or five times, and has completely changed the look inside the arena twice. We still see a lot of the same guys, but we also regularly see something new. The RAW of today looks nothing like the RAW of two years ago, while Nitro, except for being twice as long, looks exactly the same. I think it's time for a change. WCW has even changed the look of WCW Main Event and WCW Pro in this time. (WCW Saturday Night is also in need of a facelift: that "T2" type opening has got to go! They've had it for what, four years now?). I suppose I'll get a lot of "If it ain't broke ... " E-Mails now. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Week's Winner: RAW. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1997 by John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those of Internet Access, Inc. Volume One, Number 84 of the "Monday Night Recap", June 23rd, 1997.