WrestleMania 13 Review

Sunday, March 23rd, 1997
Rosemont Horizon
Rosemon, Illinois

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We get the standard serious hype video that we are accustomed to seeing before most of the pay per views from this era. The focus is naturally on the 3 big matches, as most of the rest of the card is pretty much filler. We go to the arena with some pretty low budget pyro compared to the new Raw Is War intro. Even with this being in possibly WWF's best city in terms of vibes in Chicago, the crowd is pretty tame. 

WWF Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Four-Way Elimination Match 
Godwinns vs. Furnas & Lafon vs. Headbangers vs. New Blackjacks

The New Blackjacks actually get a quick promo during the entrances. I guess they just wanted to remind us how dumb of an idea it is to do a "new" anything. We then get a sloppy looking suplex from Bradshaw to Furnas to the floor. The winner of this match will take on the tag team champs tomorrow. Bradshaw decides to shove the referee to the ground and gets himself eliminated. They got a promo and then got eliminated within minutes? Then they also count out Furnas and Lafon? What a weird match. Also, why is this the opening match of WrestleMania. I know philosophies have shifted through the years, but I don't think I would have gone with this match. Mosh hits a dive off the turnbuckle onto Henry on the apron. Mosh then throws Thrasher from the top rope onto Henry on the floor. King then asks Vince if he owns any White Zombie CDs. Mosh misses with a moonsault and that allows for the hot tag to Phineas. The Godwinn's face run seems to be basically over here, as the crowd doesn't respond to them like they used to. Phineas goes for the Slop Drop but Thrasher breaks it up and all four men are in the ring. Mosh hits the Stage Dive for the victory and I remember being surprised with the outcome at the time. This was not very good and I'm not really even sure why they bothered with having the four teams in the match. Good for the Headbangers though. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get an In Your House promo and then go to the Honky Tonk Man in the ring before joining the announce team.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Sultan vs. Rocky Maivia

The Sultan came in and just felt like a midcard act with no heat and then they put him in this spot and you wonder why Rocky Maivia couldn't get over. Obviously, the relationship between Fatu and Rocky was the reason for it, but no one was buying Sultan as a serious threat. I mean the first match didn't exactly light the crowd on fire and this one is boring them to tears. I actually have enjoyed Rocky more than I remember from the little I have been able to see in the rewatch so far, but this one just isn't working. After a long rest spot, we get a double clothesline spot. Rocky makes his comeback and hits a dropkick and a belly to belly suplex for a 2 count. Rocky hits a tornado DDT and that wakes up the crowd. Rocky hits a top rope crossbody but the referee is distracted by Iron Sheik. Sultan tries to attack from behind but Rocky is ready for it. Sultan recovers and hits a kick to the face. Sultan hits a piledriver and that gets a 2 count. Rocky then rolls up Sultan out of nowhere and picks up the win. It's safe to say that there would be better days ahead for Rocky. JR tries to interview Rocky after the match and Sultan immediately attacks him and we get Honky Tonk Man yelling into the mic. We've got Vince calling Sultan a sore loser as he hits a top rope splash. Sheik then puts on the Camel Clutch while Sultan slaps him in the face. Out comes Rocky Johnson and he takes down Sultan. Sultan hits Rocky Johnson with the flag and then rips his shirt off. Rocky Maivia comes back and knocks out Sultan and then hits a scoop slam on Sheik. Rocky Johnson then does one before hitting him with a double right hand. I'm sure this was an awesome moment for the family, but this was all really poorly done. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go to Todd Pettengill and he's backstage with Ken Shamrock. He talks about showing Billy Gunn who he is on Raw. He's here tonight to be a referee because he knows submission. 

We then go to Dok Hendrix and he's with Chyna and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He says that Marlena will be the big loser here tonight. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Goldust

This is our first actual feud of the night. By 1997 standards, this is easily a WrestleMania worthy match. I'm surprised they didn't give Goldust a promo spot here. Goldust goes for the psychological warfare before exploding with some quick offense. The Chyna build has been intriguing so far, as she was unlike anything that had ever been presented in WWF. Goldust gets Hunter tied up in the top two ropes and hits him with some right hands. He gives him a kick to the face as he's being helped out of the ropes for good measure. Goldust comes back with that big signature scoop slam and then heads up to the top rope. Hunter meets him there and goes for a superplex but it's blocked. Hunter is able to throw Goldust to the outside and Goldust's face hit the ring. Hunter hits a neckbreaker and gets a 2 count. We get lots of jokes about Chyna's appearance. Goldust makes a comeback, but it's short lived as he ducks too early and Hunter turns it into a DDT. Goldust is able to sneak in a couple pin attempts until Hunter levels him with a clothesline. Goldust attempts another comeback and it leads to them colliding in the middle of the ring. The crowd is not disinterested, but it feels like they are waiting for the Chyna spot. Hunter goes off the top and Goldust turns around and hits him with his butt. I don't remember that spot. Hunter charges at Goldust but misses in the corner. Goldust hits a back body drop and a bulldog. Chyna starts to move towards Marlena. Goldust goes for the Curtain Call but Hunter escapes. He goes for the pedigree, but Goldust counters that into a catapult. He sets him up for a Curtain Call again but sees Chyna by Marlena. Goldust lets go and picks up Marlena on the apron. Hunter knocks Goldust into Marlena and right into the arms of Chyna. Hunter hits the Pedigree and that's all she wrote. This was pretty standard stuff overall. They executed well and it never was boring, but it never really got exciting. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Goldust carries Marlena to the back and then we get the infamous shot of Shawn Michaels typing in the AOL chat room area. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Vader & Mankind vs. Owen Hart & British Bulldog

JR goes out to interview Bulldog and Owen on their way to the ring. They yell at him for trying to stir the pot, but when JR asks who the leader of the team is, Owen says that it's him. This is such a thrown together match for four guys who really were heavily involved in a lot of storylines. Vader pounds away on Owen in the corner to start off the match. Vince says that this is the best condition that Vader has been in since being in the WWF. I'm guessing that was genuine in a negative way. I love the narrative that they didn't get the Vader from WCW. Well, I mean he is 41 years old here. Most big men aren't as good in their 40s as they were in their 30s. To go along with that, while I do agree he isn't as good as he was in like 1993, he still is a very high level performer, not some scrub. Meanwhile, Bulldog hits a double clothesline on his opponents and that gets a cheer from the crowd. Owen follows up with a double dropkick. The crowd has really not had a ton to cheer for tonight, so why not give them a heel vs. heel tag team match? Bulldog hits a vertical suplex on Vader and then goes to work on Mankind. Vader hits a big splash off the turnbuckle and the announce team is shocked that it didn't put Bulldog down for the count. I also just noticed that Peacock still has all the old Saturday Night's Main Events, so I may start sprinkling those in to break up the timeline a little bit. Vader climbs up the turnbuckles and Bulldog is able to slam him. He gets the tag to Owen and he hits the missile dropkick. He goes for a sunset flip and Vader goes for a splash, but Owen moves. Owen hits a top rope crossbody and that gets a 2 count. Vader then clobbers Owen off the ropes to slow down the comeback. The match starts to break down a little bit and it leads to Mankind hitting Demolition Decapitation off the ring apron. They show that Stu and Helen Hart are at ringside, which leads to some King jokes. They start talking about WrestleMania 2 being in this arena and Vince acknowledges that the first ever pay per view, The Wrestling Classic, was in this arena. Vince then says SummerSlam, even though it was at United Center. They kind of turn it into Chicago, which is accurate. Owen finally gets a tag into Bulldog and he cleans house. Mankind is able to slip on the Mandible Claw in a counter and now all 4 men are in the ring. Vader knocks Mankind and Bulldog out to the floor. Mankind has the Claw back on Bulldog outside the ring. They announce that this is a double countout, which is just such a terrible finish at WrestleMania. They had no story here and didn't want either team to lose, so why even book this? The guys put in a decent effort, but they had nothing to work with from a storyline point of view. 

Match Rating: **1/4

It's time for a Todd-narrated hype video for the Bret Hart/Steve Austin match. 

Submission Match
Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

Shamrock is in the ring already after the video package. They go right at it as you would expect and we are underway. It doesn't take long for this one to leave the ring and they are into the crowd. The crowd is eating it all up, which is no surprise. This is the best feud WWF has had in years. Bret goes after the knee and then slaps on the Figure Four on the ring post to a huge pop. Bret wraps the chair on Austin's ankle and then climbs the turnbuckles. Austin gets out and slams the chair into Bret for another big pop. They have the crowd in the palm of their hands here. Any wrestler should dream of being able to have a match where the crowd is this invested and having an opponent who is your perfect match. Austin is busted open and Bret is wailing away on the injured knee of Austin. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter but Austin is able to rake the eyes out of desperation. Austin stomps a mudhole in Bret in the corner and sets up Bret on the top rope. Austin hits a superplex and both men are spent. Austin has a cable and starts choking Bret but Bret hits him with a ring bell. Bret gets the Sharpshooter on in the middle of the ring and Austin is fighting it as much as he can. Shamrock is continuously checking in on him but Austin is fading. He starts to fight it back and looks to have kicked out of it but Bret is able to hold on. Austin continues to fight and then appears to pass out. Shamrock gets no response and decides to ring the bell. JR makes sure we know that he never gave up here. There is nothing that I can say that hasn't been said before about this. Absolutely one of the greatest matches in the history of professional wrestling. I don't know how a wrestling fan could really give this less than a perfect score. After the bell, Bret attacks Austin until Shamrock throws him across the ring. Shamrock challenges him but Bret wisely walks away to loud boos from the crowd. Austin is up in the ring and gives another referee a Stunner and walks to the back on his own.

Match Rating: *****

JR hypes up that the fans were chanting "Austin" to hammer home the face turn here. We go back to Todd with the Nation backstage. Faarooq gives a quick promo ahead of their entrance.

Chicago Street Fight
Faarooq, Savio Vega & Crush vs. Ahmed Johnson & Legion Of Doom

They announce that WrestleMania XIV will be in Boston next year. Ahmed is out wearing the black and red shoulder pads and I can verify that he has never looked cooler. LOD is wearing the black and silver, which I think is the first time they have in WWF? They bring down the kitchen sink also. Classic wrestling humor. The faces get rid of the goons first and then it's quickly to the outside for some brawling. Ahmed does a somersault over the guardrail onto Crush. I'm telling you, there is a timeline where Ahmed stays healthy and has a great run with WWF. Animal tries to hit a piledriver on Faarooq on a table that looks like it can barely support them and he sort of half does it and then just falls over. Animal hits Faarooq with some smoke from the fire extinguisher after and Savio is nailing guys with a trash can. The direction by Kevin Dunn hasn't been very good here. We have missed quite a bit of action with some odd timing choices. The smoke from the extinguisher looks like someone threw a dustpan instead. They have a noose around Ahmed's neck now. Hawk is able to break it up but he ends up with the noose around his neck. Faarooq goes up to the top but Hawk takes the rope with the noose and pulls him to the floor. We get some more fire extinguisher action and Ahmed is setting Faarooq up for the Pearl River Plunge. The rest of the Nation comes in to break it up. Animal gets Crush up on his shoulders and Hawk hits the Doomsday Device. Ahmed and Hawk then use the 2 x 4 to clothesline him and that's the finish. The brawl continues and the faces hit some more finishers on the sidekicks. The match was sloppy, but entertaining enough. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Shawn Michaels is out to join the announce team. We then go to Sid and Todd. He says that only one person is not scared of the darkness and it's him. 

No Holds Barred Match For The WWF Championship Match
Undertaker vs. Sid

The two big men are face to face and then here comes Bret and he grabs a mic. Bret calls Shawn a faker and tells him to go find his smile and stay out of this match. Bret then says that Undertaker shut the door on their friendship when he slammed the cage door on him. He then tells Sid that the title belongs to him and that Sid is a fraud. Sid clubs him and gives him a powerbomb. Sid is talking trash and then Taker attacks him and we are now officially started. Oh good, Sid puts on a bear hug in the first couple minutes. The announcers let us know that Sid and Undertaker requested that this be a no holds barred match as Sid slams Taker onto the French announce table. Taker kicks out of a pin attempt and now it's time for a Camel Clutch. Sid comes off the second rope and hits a double ax handle. Taker comes back and hits a leaping clothesline, but Sid is back up and hits him with a kick to the chest. Back outside the ring they go and Taker clotheslines Sid over the guardrail. That corner of the ringside area is getting their money's worth with these past few matches. We get another rest hold from Sid, so they hype up In Your House. Taker hits another clothesline and gets a 2 count. We get a double boot spot and both men are down. Sid is up and hits another second rope ax handle. He goes for a third one and this time it backfires. Sid still continues to work on Taker and then climbs to the top rope. Taker sits up and crotches him. Taker then powerslams him off the top rope and now Taker climbs to the top. He hits another clothesline and it's still not enough. Taker goes for the Tombstone but Sid counters it and hits Taker with a Tombstone. He goes for the Taker-style cover and Taker kicks out at 2. Out comes Bret Hart again and he nails Sid in the back with a chair. Back in the ring, Taker hits a chokeslam and Sid gets the shoulder up at 2. We get an awkward looking spot where Taker maybe went for another clothesline and Sid ducked out of the way. Taker just looked like he thought he was going to get a knee to the midsection. Bret is out again and that distraction allows for Taker to hit the Tombstone to become the WWF Champion for the first time in over 5 years. That Bret ending really felt a little unnecessary, but his character was also more interesting than both of these guys. This match was a little bit better than I remembered it being, but there is no doubt that they could have shaved 5 minutes off of this and it would have benefitted greatly from that. Taker celebrates and that's all she wrote. 

Match Rating: *1/4

This really is one of the more bizarre WrestleMania shows. There really is only 1 match worth watching and it is arguably the greatest match in the history of the company. Outside of a decent street fight and a big moment for Undertaker fans, this is about as forgettable show as you could have. That would be fine if it was SummerSlam or Royal Rumble, but WrestleMania was never really meant to be that way and it's kind of a shame. They just didn't have the roster depth yet to do much more than what they did here and they were just finding a groove with the main event. I just can't help but think that they could have found a better way to use Owen, Bulldog, Mankind and Vader to make this show a winner. 

Overall Rating: 55%

Monday Night Raw 3-17-97 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, March 3rd, 1997
Onondaga War Memorial
Syracuse, New York

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We are now in the Raw is War era with the Titan Tron and the big pyro to kick off the show. Looking back on it, it still feels like a big momentum shift even after all these years. I wish we would have access to the first episode, but for some reason they chose to leave that one out. 

Legion Of Doom vs. Crush & Savio Vega

Apparently, Faarooq is barred from ringside. LOD starts the brawl outside the ring and we are underway. They interview Ahmed Johnson during the match to hype up the Chicago Street Fight at WrestleMania. We go to Faarooq now and he talks about the solidarity between he and the Nation of Domination. They show highlights of Ahmed at the Madison Square Garden house show last night. He was about to beat Savio Vega and then the Nation attacked him. Meanwhile, Hawk hits a dropkick on Crush as we go to a commercial break. We see a Slam of the Week and it is Undertaker chokeslamming Sid and then leaping over the top rope on top of Mankind and Vader. I wouldn't have to recap that if I could have seen it. They go back to Faarooq, but he's not there. They then go to Ahmed and he gets attacked from behind by Faarooq with a nightstick. Back in the ring, Animal has Savio up for the Doomsday Device but Faarooq attacks him from behind with the nightstick and we have our first non-finish of the night. The rest of the Nation joins in and out comes Ahmed with the 2x4 to even the score. He hits a Pear River Plunge on one of the PG-13 members and then D'Lo Brown gets hit with the Doomsday Device. This was all it really needed to be, which was to build a little more interest in this match before the big show. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Flash Funk

This is actually a match I would want to see go longer than you expect, since that's Hunter's favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, this will probably be quick. Funk clothesline Hunter over the top but misses with the baseball slide and eats a clothesline. La Femme Nikita is up next. Funk hits a top rope leg drop but Chyna grabs his ankle during the pin. Hunter hits a German suplex into a bridge and gets a 2. Hunter goes off the top and eats a superkick from Funk for a 2. Shenanigans ensue and Helmsley hits a Pedigree for the victory. This was a spirited squash. After the match, Chyna holds Flash so Helmsley can continue his attack. 

Match Rating: **

They show Shawn Michaels arriving in the building. 

Mini Vader & Mini Mankind vs. Mini Goldust & Mascarita Sagrada Jr. 

The mini's get the Vader entrance music. They show New Jersey allowing pro wrestling back in the state, which will lead to SummerSlam being there. Before the Raw after WrestleMania was really a thing, this year it will take place in Rockford, Illinois. Big back body drop by Mini Vader on Mini Goldust. It's pretty standard stuff until Mascarita comes in and the crowd responds appropriately. He honestly was the closest thing they had to a cruiserweight on WCW's level. Mini Vader comes in and kicks him in the back of the head though. Mini Goldust comes back with a dropkick and then does a flip off the apron. Mascarita gets a victory roll in on Mini Mankind and picks up the win. This was too short to be anything good, but the fans were very much into Mascarita and nothing else. After the match, Vader is thrown off the stage and then Mascarita hits a dive to the floor.  

Match Rating: *

We go to Gorilla Monsoon to explain what's going on with the title match tonight. Gorilla says he promised this match would be for the title because Bret deserves it even if the timing stinks and that the Undertaker hates it. Gorilla says it isn't unfair because Bret has ended up on the short end of the stick. Gorilla stands by it and it will be for the title. I love Gorilla. 

After commercial, Bret Hart is out for an interview in the ring with Kevin Kelly. Bret wants to change the face of WrestleMania 13 and he's thankful for Gorilla looking at the situation a little closer. He won the Royal Rumble, he won the Final Four and he's a 4 time champion. He says the Undertaker doesn't have to worry because he'll give him his shot. He shifts to Steve Austin and says that he is in for the worst lashing of his life. He hopes Ken Shamrock calls it down the middle and that he's close enough to hear the words "I quit". 

It's time for a WrestleMania 13 hockey jersey for $69.99 and the denim jacket for $99. For reference, that is $146 and $202 in 2026 money. That's insane. Rocky Maivia is out to join the announce team for the next match.

Sultan vs. Mike Bell

I always liked the Sultan's music. Sultan attacks before the bell and in less than a minute has the Camel Clutch on for the quick victory. This upcoming match has nothing going for it, so they give us a quick stare down and we see the closest to The Rock as we have seen so far. Out comes Tony Atlas to keep Rocky back. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a quick WrestleMania reminder before we go into intro #2 for the night. We get more pyro too. Kudos to the guy in the Barry Sanders jersey. Out comes Shawn Michaels to a mostly female pop. We unfortunately get the same generic interview here leading to him that when he comes back, the clothes are coming off. Shawn is a disappointed with Vince that he didn't call to invite him to WrestleMania. Vince is unbearable here with his facial expressions. Shawn invites himself to WrestleMania. The interviews tonight haven't been very good and I say that as fans of Bret and Shawn. 

They show Undertaker slamming one of the sides of the blue cage down to the ground. 

Vader vs. British Bulldog

I'm not really sure why they had Vader beat Undertaker at Royal Rumble, only to have him in a heatless tag title match at WrestleMania. Bulldog hits a nice delayed vertical suplex and the crowd is quite into Bulldog here. This is a lot more spirited than I was expecting. Vader hits a big splash and that gets a nearfall. Bulldog catches Vader during a splash attempt in the corner and hits a body slam. Bulldog gets Vader up on his shoulder and Mankind grabs Vader's leg. Owen goes after him and the bell rings. Owen is getting double teamed by Vader and Mankind until Bulldog snags the urn from Paul Bearer and attacks both men. Bulldog is your winner by DQ here. Like I said, this really had no right to be as spirited as it was, but I appreciate the effort.

Match Rating: **

Ken Shamrock is out to join the announce team.

Billy Gunn vs. Aaron Ferguson

Billy tries to show off to Shamrock with a submission hold. Did they have any reason for having Shamrock out for this match? He puts on an arm hold and Ferguson submits. He goes up to Shamrock after the match and invites him in the ring. Billy mocks the way Shamrock goes to lock up before Shamrock immediately takes him down. Shamrock then takes him down by his leg to put on the ankle lock. Billy grabs a chair, but the referee stops him from coming in. This made Billy look like a jobber, which I guess he is. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Austin and he sticks up for Billy. Austin gives us a Hollywood Blondes camera move by Austin as he's calling Shamrock a piece of trash. Austin says that he'll be the champion after WrestleMania. They show them setting up the cage, so it's time to stall some more, so let's go backstage to Sid. He tells Austin to stay out of his business. 

Steel Cage Match For The WWF Championship
Bret Hart vs. Sid

We have a good amount of time left here, so we should get a proper main event. Sid is trying to crawl out of the cage and Bret grabs his leg. Austin runs out and shuts the door and we go to commercial break. When we come back, Sid hits a powerbomb on Bret and starts to climb. Austin also starts climbing and starts hitting some right hands on Sid at the top of the cage. Sid fights back, but eventually Austin and Bret are both hammering away on Sid. This is about as spry as Austin ever looked in his WWF run. Out comes Undertaker and he climbs the cage. All 4 men are up there and Taker prevents Bret from climbing out of the cage. The best part of all of this is the squeaking noise the cage is making. Austin is the first man to fall and then Bret hits a superplex on Sid. Austin hits Taker with a chair on the outside. Inside, Bret is trying to leave through the door and Sid is climbing. Taker slams the door on Bret and Sid drops to the ground. What was Austin doing there? That was kind of odd. They even show a replay and make no mention of where Austin was. The chaos of this all was fun. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Vince goes into interview Bret and we get a lot of vulgarity from Bret as he talks about being screwed. This is as fired up as we had ever seen Bret up to this point and the most curse words we probably had ever seen up to this point. Austin is on the Titan Tron and he calls Bret a loser. They just start yelling on top of each other until Sid is out there again. Undertaker is out now too and Bret hits a dive through the ropes on Undertaker. Austin is out now and he starts wailing on Bret. Now Sid and Taker start going at it. Then out comes Shawn Michaels? He watches over Bret and Austin as they battle on the ramp and then makes his way towards the ring. Sid and Taker are now on the outside and Shawn grabs a chair and we go off the air? Well, like I said the chaotic nature of the ending made this enjoyable. 

This was another good show in a string of them. Obviously, Netflix is probably trying to eliminate some of the weaker episodes, but I can only go with what they give me. I am definitely more excited to re-watch WrestleMania 13 than I was before this episode.

Overall Rating: 70%

Monday Night Raw 3-3-97 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, March 3rd, 1997
Deutschlandhalle
Berlin, Germany

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We get a Berlin Wall introduction before we get Honky Tonk Man's music kicking off the show. He's out to join the announce team. They interview Bret Hart during Helmsley's entrance and he says he's going to do the same thing to Austin that he's going to do to Helmsley tonight.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Bret Hart

As usual, Bret is very over in Europe. They show Austin heading into the WWF headquarters, as he is not in Germany. We get some mat wrestling from Bret to start. We get a commercial break and a reminder of the Slammy Awards. Hunter is in control after a knee to the midsection and then throws Bret's shoulder into the ring post. It should be noted that Jerry Lawler is not on the announce team tonight, it's just Vince and JR. Hunter gets too greedy and goes to the top rope. Bret greets him with a superplex and takes control. Bret hits a catapult in the corner and Bret goes for the Sharpshooter but Hunter is able to rake the eyes. Bret gets Hunter in the tree of woe and continues to stomp away. The ref tries to stop him and Bret shoves him away for a DQ ending. Out comes that woman to get in Bret's face. They never lay a hand on each other and WWF officials escort her away. That was kind of a weird finish, especially in Germany. The match was pretty good for what it was. 

Match Rating: **

They try to interview Austin, but he's not in his chair. They show Owen Hart dumping British Bulldog out during the Royal Rumble earlier this year. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Vader vs. Rocky Maivia

Vader defeated Rocky earlier in the European Championship tournament, so now we have a title match. Vader quickly is hitting Rocky with big blows in the corner and then hits a short clothesline. JR covers for Vader calling spots saying that he's trying to intimidate Rocky. Rocky makes little comebacks but nothing substantial and Vader hits a splash off the second rope for a 2 count. Vader goes off the second rope again and this time Rocky catches him for a powerslam. Rocky hits a belly-to-belly suplex and that gets a 2. Rocky hits the tornado DDT and goes up to the top rope. He hits the big crossbody but Vader is quickly out of the pin attempt. Rocky dropkicks Vader over the top rope. Rocky goes out there and Mankind is out there to hit Rocky in the head with Paul Bearer's urn. Vader isn't happy about it and Vader throws him back in the ring. Vader attacks him for a while until the officials come out to stop him. This was actually going along pretty well until another bad finish. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They then show the Jerry Lawler storyline with ECW and highlights from last week's Raw. 

Sultan vs. Flash Funk

They interview Jerry Lawler during the entrances. He tells Paul Heyman that if he shows up next week, he'll shove his fist down his throat. Sultan attacks Funk while he's taking off his jacket, but it doesn't last long. Funk hits a diving clothesline to the floor. As good as Honky Tonk Man was in the late 80s, he's equally as bad here in in the mid 90s. Sultan here felt like someone they thought they could give a good push to, but it felt like they gave up on it quickly. We join Paul E. on the phone and Vince thanks him for all the action ECW brought to Raw last week. Funk hits a moonsault but Sultan is able to kick out. Sultan catches Funk during a headscissors and slams him face first. He puts on the Camel Clutch and that is all. I expected this to be a little bit livelier. It was fine. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We now see highlights of the last time Steve Austin was at WWF headquarters in October. Lots of stalling here. 

We go to Sid, who looks like he fell asleep at the beach. Did you know that he's the master and ruler of the world? 

We now see footage of Bulldog and Owen fighting each other at In Your House and then Bulldog making the save after the attack. That sentence probably didn't make sense. 

Ahmed Johnson is brought out for an interview and he says that he's not coming to WrestleMania alone. The audio quality is horrible. He then starts a "You're going down" chant with the crowd. 

They show highlights of Legion of Doom's return and then their interview from Shotgun Saturday Night. 

WWF Championship Match
Mankind vs. Sid

They show a Mankind interview spoken in German during his entrance. Sid attacks Mankind immediately upon walking into the ring. I would have liked to have seen a feud between these two. I think Mankind could have brought out the best in Sid. Mankind misses Sid and hits the ring post as they battled outside the ring. Sid will be teaming up with Undertaker next week on Raw Is War. We go to Austin in Connecticut now. It seems like we could have done this during the Sultan match. Austin is complaining about his seat on the plane and the crappy food he was given. He then goes on to say he's so sick of Bret whining and crying. A Paul Bearer distraction doesn't work out and Sid throws the back of Mankind's head into the ring post. Mankind gets the Mandible Claw on and Sid is down. Sid uses his power to get out of it and then Mankind hits him with the double arm DDT. Sid hits a chokeslam but then Mankind kicks out. Mankind lowers his head and Sid hits the powerbomb for the victory. I didn't expect a clean finish there. The match was pretty good overall. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They show a clip of British Bulldog firing Clarence Mason on Shotgun. 

We hear more from Austin cutting a promo on Bret again ahead of his submission match with Bret. He says that no one can make him quit. 

European Championship Match
Owen Hart vs. British Bulldog

I guess one positive of the majority of the Raw episodes being deleted from streaming existence is that I get to watch this match sooner than I would have. I have not seen this one since it aired "live" if I am remembering correctly. We get some mat wrestling to start until Bulldog catches a hurricanrana and turns it into a powerbomb. Bulldog then catapults Owen over the top rope before holding the ropes open for Owen to come back in. It is really bizarre to me that Honky Tonk Man is announcing this match. Bulldog goes for a surfboard but Owen weasels his way out of it by grabbing the referee. We get more hype for Raw Is War which starts at 7:57. Talk about nostalgia. Owen is able to flip Bulldog out of the ring this time and he too opens the ropes for Bulldog to get back in the ring. We get some rope running action and Owen leap frogs over Bulldog and sells a knee injury. He of course is faking it and uses it to his advantage. He hits a big spin kick to the head of Bulldog. That looked like it may have actually connected. Owen hits a nice belly to belly suplex and Bulldog comes back with an electric chair. Owen goes for a superplex but Bulldog shifts his weight and falls on top of Owen for a 2 count. Bulldog hits some clotheslines and a big vertical suplex for 2. Owen comes back with a German suplex with a bridge for another 2 count. Owen hits a reverse crossbody off the second rope and Bulldog rolls over and we get another close call. Owen goes for the Sharpshooter and gets him in it in the middle of the ring. Bulldog crawls his way to the bottom rope and the crowd is happy about that. Bulldog reverses a piledriver into a powerslam and Owen kicks out of that. I thought that was it. Owen rolls Bulldog into a pin from his shoulder and Bulldog gets out at 2 and counters the pin and that's the finish to crown your first ever European Champion. This wasn't quite the classic that a lot of people say it is, but it was really good. They show that Bulldog won with a clean finish and Owen shakes his hand. They tease drama but it stays civil. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Even though most of the matches didn't deliver on their promise, they made this show feel important and that is a major upgrade from previous years. We are starting to see the progression into the Attitude Era but they are still working with a very small amount of actual talent that people care about right now. Good show overall. 

Overall Rating: 70%

Monday Night Raw 2-24-97 Review

Monday, February 24th, 1997
Manhattan Center
New York, New York

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They followed up a huge title change with one of the most famous episodes to date for a big February for the company. How do they start the show, you ask? With the Godwinns and New Blackjacks, of course.

Godwinns vs. New Blackjacks

They start brawling right away and the Godwinns get the better of it. We get a big "Bradshaw sucks" chant once things slow down a little bit. It should be noted that the Manhattan Center is the original location of the early days of Raw for those who weren't aware. It's a fun location to have a show at once in awhile but it also is funny that Jerry Lawler was ripping on ECW for bingo halls and this is only a step up due to the uniqueness of it, not because of its size. I should also note that it is just Vince McMahon and Lawler here for the announcing duties. A distraction from Windham allows Bradshaw to knock Henry out to the floor. There are lots of bWo shirts in the crowd and not many women. They show Ken Shamrock in the audience. I did not expect this match to get this much time. Phineas has Windham in a sleeper hold but with Henry arguing with the referee, JBL comes in and clotheslines Phineas. Windham gets on top and gets the victory. However, Phineas got his foot on the rope. Another referee comes out and tries to argue the call, but the result sticks so the Godwinns slop the referee. This was actually a little better than I expected.

Match Rating: *1/4

Out come the Eliminators after the commercial break. They attack one of the ring crew and hit their finisher. Paul Heyman gets on the mic to say that ECW is in the house. After another commercial, Heyman introduces the next match. Heyman joins the announce team and the bWo grab the mic. 

Little Guido vs. Big Stevie Cool

Guido attacks them and we are underway. I'm not sure that I would have picked the bWo as the first thing to have a match here, but to each their own. Stevie hits a side suplex and then out comes Raven. The distraction allows a roll up and a 2 count. Guido hits a couple of dropkicks. They interview Goldust during the match to get an update on Marlena. He's here and then makes an "it" reference about Chyna and Lawler calls him out for it. Stevie hits a powerbomb and then hits a superkick for the victory. This was mostly nonsense. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Sunny is interviewed in a robe to talk trash about Marlena. Honky Tonk Man's music hits and we go to commercial. He introduces Sunny and she does her Body Donna schtick before taking off her robe, which reveals basically what she usually wears. Out comes Marlena next and they show highlights of her being attacked by that woman. Sunny offers her the opportunity to forfeit, but Marlena isn't having it. Honky goes over the rules and Sunny does the usual heel gimmick where she stalls. Marlena returns the favor but this time Honky threatens to disqualify her. They pan to Shamrock again, which is probably not a great choice during this. We finally have our arm wrestling match and just as Marlena is about to win, Sunny throws sand in her face. Out comes Savio Vega and he goes up to Marlena so Goldust comes out and attacks him. Goldust slams his head into the table and I guess we have a match?

Savio Vega vs. Goldust

After a commercial break, we are having a match. Savio is finally in his new Nation gear. Miguel Perez joins the announce team and this is something that I completely forgot existed. He says that he doesn't know what happened to Savio. He used to be proud of him. The crowd starts chanting "Candido" at Sunny, who for some reason is still out there. Goldust hits a crossbody for a 2 count but Savio immediately hits him with a spin kick. This one has lost me a bit. Just as I type that, Crush runs in and attacks Goldust for the DQ finish. Miguel Perez comes in and gets thrown right out. He then hits a missile dropkick on Savio and then helps Goldust with Crush. This was really dull. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They hype up that next week's Raw is from Berlin, Germany. 

We then see highlights of Jerry Lawler interviewing Tiny Tim from July of 1993. Lawler is now going to interview Ken Shamrock in the crowd. Lawler does his usual that he trained Shamrock and Ken then says that he doesn't even know Lawler. Lawler is of course flabbergasted and that's the whole segment. 

It's time to hype up the Slammy's on March 21st on USA Network. 

We go back to Paul Heyman and he says this show has sucked without ECW. He then announces Mikey Whipwreck, like that will make it better. 

Mikey Whipwreck vs. Taz

Taz hits some suplexes, Lawler makes some short jokes and Faarooq is interviewed during the match. Taz is on top of the Raw sign and leaps off onto Taz's team. Taz then suplexes Whipwreck over the top onto Sabu in what is a scary looking bump. Tazmission ends this one. This was obviously a Taz feature and it was fine. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Headbangers vs. Legion Of Doom

This was the big surprise that they alluded to during the show. The return of LOD was a huge one for me, as they were a childhood favorite. This run didn't end up being anything great, but in this moment, this was a big one for me. The crowd is into this one and then starts chanting "Nitro sucks". To their credit, this was not a total squash and actually treat the Headbangers like a legit threat. Now it's time for a "Bischoff sucks" chant. They actually give this match a commercial break and then we get a lame double countout finish. I did not remember that. After the match, LOD hits the Doomsday Device for good measure. I am shocked that they agreed to this. This was a little lackluster for a big return. 

Match Rating: *

We get the "Tell Me A Lie" Shawn Michaels music video. 

D-Von Dudley vs. Tommy Dreamer

We get a bunch of weapon shots from Dreamer on the outside. Dreamer then hits a suplex on the outside and then a baseball slide into the steps. Back in the ring, D-Von hits Dreamer with a chair to the head. Most of the match is Lawler and Heyman arguing on commentary. D-Von misses a headbutt off the second rope and lands on the chair. Dreamer hits a piledriver and then D-Von grabs Buelah in the ring. While the finish is happening, Undertaker is being interviewed. Dreamer wins and then Bubba Ray Dudley comes in and attacks Dreamer and Sandman is not far behind. We then get a bunch of unprotected chair shots to the Dudleys. This was probably the best representation of what ECW was at the time, for better or for worse. Heyman and Lawler then get into a physical altercation going into the commercial break. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Jim Ross recaps the chaotic title situation for us. It concludes with them confirming that Sid will take on Undertaker and Steve Austin will face Bret Hart at WrestleMania. 

Todd Pettengil is now with Ken Shamrock to conduct a real interview. He introduces his wife and father. He then picks Undertaker to defeat Sid and he can't make a choice between Austin and Bret. 

Faarooq vs. Undertaker

Faarooq insults Shamrock during his entrance and insults UFC. Shamrock says he'd be willing to step in the ring with Faarooq. Taker attacks D'Lo Brown and that allows for Faarooq to strike first but is quickly eating a flying clothesline from Taker. Taker walks the ropes and hits the mark on pre-Old School. It's kind of wild that they thought this match could headline a pay per view in a few months. Just in case you didn't hear Vince the first 10 times, Raw is from Germany next week. During the commercial break, the Nation attacked Taker and Faarooq is now working on the legs of Taker. Now this one is starting to drag on. D'Lo pulls down the top rope for Taker to fall over and he lands on his feet. Faarooq comes over with the steps and Taker kicks them into him. This naturally turns into a no contest and then the Legion of Doom make the save as we go off the air. This was pretty boring. 

Match Rating: *

This episode sure threw a lot of things at the wall to see what would stick. While on paper, it was memorable, it also wasn't that good. With every year, I become less interested in ECW and then knowing that the LOD run wasn't very good makes the return not mean as much in retrospect. However, this was definitely better than some random episode, I just wish we would have gotten at least one good match to go with the chaos. 

Overall Rating: 62%

Monday Night Raw 2-17-97 Review

Monday, February 17th, 1997
Nashville Arena
Nashville, Tennessee

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WWF Championship Match
Sid vs. Bret Hart

They are hyping up the beating that Bret took last night at In Your House and they aren't wrong. Sid and Bret go face to face and out comes Steve Austin to attack Bret. Sid gets in on the action and during the chaos Austin clips Sid's knee in retaliation and Sid is screaming in pain like he's a cartoon character. The officials finally get Austin out of the ring. Sid is back in the ring and can't put weight on his injured leg. 

They throw us back to highlights now instead. We get another mention of Thursday Raw Thursday and Shawn Michael's forfeiting of the title. They show still photos of the main event from last night's show before going back to Sid. He's furious and the match will still happen tonight. 

Marc Mero vs. Savio Vega

As I mentioned on the In Your House review, the Savio heel turn is so new that he's still wearing his babyface attire. Mero gets the hot start and he hits his somersault dive to the outside that takes out both Vega and Crush. Vega comes back and hits the spin kick in the corner to take control of the match. Mero is dumped to the outside and one of the Nation rappers starts getting some kicks in on Mero. Over comes Sable and she goes after him with some kicks to a pop from the crowd. Savio misses a splash in the corner and then Mero hits a rough looking back body drop. Mero then hits a Samoan Drop and then the Nation all goes after Sable and she backs into a corner in the ring. The ref calls for the bell? Out comes Ahmed Johnson with a 2 x 4 to make the save. That was a pretty bad ending, but Ahmed got a good reaction. 

Match Rating: *

We get a Bret interview during Leif Cassidy's entrance. Bret says that he just has to get used to Austin coming after him wherever he goes. After he gets done with Sid, he'll go on to the next contender. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Leif Cassidy vs. Rocky Maivia

Sunny comes out to be the timekeeper. They do a live interview with Hunter Hearst Helmsley during the match and he calls Rocky the luckiest punk in the world. Meanwhile, the crowd is very silent for this one so far. Leif is controlling most of the match here and hits the mark off the top rope. He goes to the well once too often and Rocky slams him off the top. They keep showing a guy taunting Lawler with an "ECW Rules" sign. Rocky hits a top rope crossbody and doesn't go for the cover. Rocky puts him up on his shoulder and hits the shoulder breaker for the victory. That was mostly dull.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We go back to Lawler roasting ECW. Looking back, he wasn't really long. If you weren't a diehard wrestling fan, you never heard of ECW. 

Goldust and Marlena are out with Kevin Kelly in the ring. He tells Helmsley that this is personal now. All the money in the world couldn't buy Marlena and he says that the only way he can get to her is over his dead body. Marlena talking really takes away from the mystique of her character. Marlena says that Goldust is all man. Out comes Helmsley and it eventually becomes a fight. Helmsley dominates it and hits a Pedigree. Marlena follows that up with a slap to the face. Out comes Chyna and shakes Marlena in a bear hug. Security is out and breaks it up, leaving Goldust to carry her to the back. 

Headbangers vs. Hardy Boys

Jeff Hardy hits a leaping clothesline to start and tags in Matt for a double team. We get an interview with Faarooq and the Nation. Faarooq wants to have a Chicago Street Fight at WrestleMania. Meanwhile, the Headbangers hit a suplex/top rope splash combo on Matt. Jeff gets a tag back in and hits a couple of dropkicks before getting his head clotheslined off. They hit the Stage Dive and that's all. The Headbangers were fun for a little bit here and it helps that the Hardy's were here to sell for them. 

Match Rating: *

WWF Championship Match
Sid vs. Bret Hart

We're going to try this again. Bret can't even make it to Gorilla position, as he is attacked by Austin. Sid once again comes to join in on the fun. Maybe the third time will be the charm? 

Kevin Kelly is with Gorilla Monsoon. Gorilla says that we aren't like other people and tease you. He guarantees that we will have a title match tonight.

Flash Funk vs. Owen Hart

Here's a pairing I would like to see a few matches between. We get Paul Heyman on the phone so that we can ignore the match. Heyman says that they will be on Raw next week. I was very excited about this since I could only read about ECW. We didn't get it where I was on any of our TV networks. Meanwhile, Clarence Mason and Owen start disagreeing and Funk hits Owen with a dive. Then British Bulldog comes out and tells Mason to go to the back. Owen hits a German suplex into a bridge for a nearfall. Austin is now being interviewed by JR and is upset about the Final Four ruling. He says that the whole organization is holding him back. Owen hits a nice gutwrench suplex. Funk comes back and hits a top rope crossbody for a 2 count. Funk sets Owen up and hits a moonsault and again Owen kicks out. Flash goes off the ropes and Bulldog hits Funk with the Slammy behind the referee's back. Owen hits a kick and Bulldog holds down Funk's leg for the victory. This was pretty good despite all the distractions from the actual ring work. 

Match Rating: **

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Bart Gunn

Honky Tonk Man is joining at the announce booth. JR then asks Helmsley if he knows who this woman is who keeps attacking Marlena. He denies any knowledge of who she is. Honky basically says he has been denied by his top choices and now he's starting all over again. I guess I'll start recapping this match. Helmsley hits the high knee and then out comes Goldust and he chases him through the crowd, which is always a fun spot. That's enough for a countout and gives Bart the big win. This was nothing.

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go to Dr. Andrews talking about Shawn Michaels' injury. He says that surgery is not completely ruled out. 

WWF Championship Match
Sid vs. Bret Hart

Here we go now. I was in Hawaii when this Raw happened and I was able to catch this match before we had to go to a dinner. This was the peak of my fandom, so this was a huge deal. We have a physical start to the match. Bret looks to be on a mission to have a good match here. Bret does the Figure Four spot here with Sid on the ring post. Before the match, they said they were taking a commercial so we would get the match in its entirety. We then get a commercial right during that spot. When we come back, Bret is still working on Sid's leg. Sid comes back and hits a huge leg drop for a 2. Sid then hits a second rope leg drop and again gets a 2 count. Bret puts Sid on the ropes and charges at him. Sid gets out of the way and Bret falls to the floor. Bret recovers and puts on the Sharpshooter in the center of the ring. Out comes Austin and hits Bret with a chair to the back of the head. Neither Sid nor the referee see it. Sid hits the powerbomb and we have a new WWF Champion. This of course gets a huge pop, as this was not something that happened very often at the time. The match was good, but more in a TV match type of way than a pay per view. The moment was huge though and really was a surprise to me. 

Match Rating: ***

As Sid is celebrating, the Undertaker's music hits and the lights go off. They go face to face and Sid shows no fear. 

This was one of the most memorable episodes of Raw up to this point in time with the huge title change. The rest of the show was mostly forgettable, but one match and moment is really all it takes to make this a thumbs up. 

Overall Rating: 68%

In Your House 13: Final Four Review

Sunday, February 16th, 1997
UTC Arena
Chattanooga, Tennessee

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I think I have seen this show two times. Once as a rented video and then once again when the WWE Network was launched. We get a short intro, but overall, I think it's a pretty good one. The Wildman's music hits and Jim Ross is here with Jerry Lawler. No Vince on this one. I guess he's still upset about Shawn stepping away. 

Marc Mero vs. Leif Cassidy

Leif does not get a televised entrance here in case you were wondering if he had any shot at winning this match. I do like that they are rewarding Leif here with some bigger showcases, especially since he delivered against Flash Funk in December. Leif takes out the legs of Mero with two low dropkicks. Leif uses some submission moves on the injured left leg. Mero comes back with an enzuigiri, but JR notes that it hits him in the shoulder and not the head. Leif goes after Sable, so she slaps him and then Mero hits a dive through the ropes. Mero gets him back in the ring and hits the Wild Thing for the victory. That was a little disappointing for me, as I typically like both of these guys more than most. It just never got that third act where they get into that extra gear to make it stand out. 

Match Rating: **

Honky Tonk Man is now out to the ring and then they flash us back to Shawn Michael's interview from Thursday Raw Thursday. They show almost all of it and then the announcement from Gorilla that the main event tonight is for the title. They then go to Kevin Kelly, who is with Sid to hype up his title match tomorrow. Why didn't they wait for Honky to come out? 

Flash Funk, Bart Gunn & Goldust vs. Faarooq, Crush & Savio Vega

Talk about one of the more random teams in WWF history, this is definitely near the top. The Nation comes down through the audience. The faces start off hot and we get the telegraphed top rope dive onto all three opponents early on. Funk hits a top rope hurricanrana on Savio and then Bart laucnhes Funk onto the Nation but they catch him and shift the momentum. Crush and Savio team up for a spike piledriver and a 2 count. Bart gets a mild tag and hits a powerslam for a 2 count. The match breaks down from there. Bart hits a top rope bulldog on Faarooq and looks to have the match won. Shenanigans happen and Bart gets pinned for the loss. This mostly existed. 

Match Rating: **

Dok Hendrix is sitting down with Steve Austin. He says that we can count on him being the WWF Champion tonight.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Rocky Maivia

We get the rematch here from the Thursday Raw Thursday that saw the title change hands. We get a more traditional wrestling style start here and for the most part, they let Rocky look like he is one step ahead. Helmsley sidesteps Rocky and throws him over the top rope. He follows it up with a baseball slide and Rocky hits the guardrail. Helmsley gets caught using the ropes as leverage during a submission hold but Rocky isn't able to capitalize on the opening and gets hit with a knee to the chin. Rocky does sneak in an inside cradle for a 2 count. Rocky tries for a dropkick but Helmsley is able to hold on to the ropes. Helmsley then misses with a knee drop and back and forth we go. Rocky hits Helmsley in the midsection when Helmsley goes upstairs and then hits an inverted atomic drop. It is pretty apparent that these two guys do work well together. Rocky hits a powerslam and then climbs upstairs. He hits the crossbody and Helmsley is able to kick out. Rocky goes for some punches in the corner and Helmsley is able to lift him up and Drop him face-first on the turnbuckle. Rocky hits his variation of the tornado DDT and they are starting to win the crowd over a little bit here. Helmsley hits him with a thumb to the eye and then the knee to the face. Out comes Goldust as Helmsley is hitting a reverse neckbreaker. The distraction works and Rocky hits a German suplex into a bridge for the victory. I didn't really care for that finish. They should have come up with a better distraction than him just coming out and acting goofy. I liked the match overall though. After the match, we get some words between Helmsley and Goldust and then we see Marlena being choked out by a large woman in the crowd. Yes, this is the debut of Chyna. Security has to escort her away with the announcers selling it as a crazed fan. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Vader is backstage with Kevin Kelly and he gives kind of a weird promo. Paul Bearer is here to try and save it by being his usual self. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon vs. Owen Hart & British Bulldog

It is weird to me that Clarence Mason manages both the Nation and Owen/Bulldog. We get a lot of talk about the dissention between Owen and Bulldog and about Owen's fake knee injury. The wrestling isn't bad, but they are using this match to tell their stories more than they are about caring about the match. Owen and Bulldog hit a nice double team with Bulldog suplexing LaFon and Owen hitting a splash while he is still up in the air. LaFon comes back and hits a double noggin knocker. LaFon then ducks the spinning heel kick and Owen accidentally hits Bulldog. Bulldog then hits a clothesline on Owen, which gets a good pop. LaFon goes for the cover but then Bulldog breaks up the pin. Furnas comes in and hits a suplex and again Bulldog makes the save. Owen hits a big enzuigiri to slow down the momentum. Furnas and LaFon are able to shove the champions into one another but then Bulldog is able to get LaFon up for a running powerslam. Owen runs in and hits him with the Slammy and that gets them disqualified. Bulldog is not happy to lose the match by disqualification here. Owen, Bulldog and Mason have a heated debate after the match and it leads to Bulldog breaking Owen's Slammy. Bulldog then goes after Mason. Things settle down and Owen raises Bulldog's arm and they walk to the back. This was a good story to help distract from the fact that the challengers are not over at all. 

Match Rating: ***

Undertaker is with Dok Hendrix and he talks about having his edge back. 

Final Four Match For The WWF Championship
Vader vs. Steve Austin vs. Undertaker vs. Bret Hart

It's so odd to hear Austin's music and there really not be much of a pop. Vader and Austin are the first two in and they flip each other off. JR then says that the feeling he has right now is bigger than the Super Bowls and World Series that he has attended and even WrestleMania. I understand his job is to hype up the shows but come on. They quickly break off into Vader vs. Taker and Bret vs. Austin, as you would expect. Vader throws Fink out of the way to grab a chair, but it backfires. Taker kicks the chair into his face and then hits a chokeslam. Vader is busted open already and right over his eye. Undertaker and Austin are now on the outside and Taker hits a back body drop on Austin to the floor. I love the chaos of this match. I love the chaos of this match. Vader goes for the moonsault on Taker and naturally he misses. Vader's cut has got to be top 10 of modern day WWF. I don't know how he can even see. In a big surprise, Austin is the first one thrown over the top rope by Bret Hart. I actually forgot that was the case and am still surprised almost 30 years later. Bret then hits a superplex on Vader in an impressive spot. Bret puts on the Sharpshooter and Undertaker breaks the hold, which is extremely stupid. Bret falls out of the ring and out comes Austin to attack him. Vader goes for a Vader Bomb, but Taker sits up and hits him with a low blow and that sends Vader to the floor and out of the match. Bret charges at Taker and Taker catches him for a chokeslam. The crowd is super into all of this and rightfully so. It's down to two guys they have a lot of history with left. Taker puts Bret up for the Tombstone and Austin tries to yank Bret over the top but they kind of just fall awkwardly. Bret rolls Taker up and gets a 2 count. Bret then clotheslines Taker over the top and he is your new WWF Champion. That was pedal to the metal action, but the finish was very weak. Great, great main event. 

Match Rating: ****1/4

Sid's music hits and he comes down to the ring. We get a quick confrontation ahead of their title match tomorrow night. 

This is kind of a good little show. Outside of the main event, there is nothing great, but it's all mostly enjoyable. The roster was very thin during this time, but this was a good example of making the most of it. 

Overall Rating: 69%

Thursday Raw Thursday 2-13-97 Review

Thursday, February 13th, 1997
Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, Massachusetts

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Call it a hunch, but I think this one is an important episode. I also am pretty confident that it takes place on a Thursday. We even get a unique intro with the voiceover guy saying Thursday Raw Thursday like 5 times and then Vince welcomes us to Thursday Raw Thursday. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Rocky Maivia vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Helmsley has kind of gained some momentum here for the first time in a long time with the new entrance music and slightly more aggressive style. Rocky has kind of been floundering a little bit. I do like the old school 1993 Raw vibe of this small arena. We're only 4 and a half minutes into this show and if you were drinking every time they said "Thursday Raw Thursday", you'd be dead. JR refers to Helmsley as "cerebral", which is kind of fun given his nickname down the road. JR had that one cooking for some time. They do keep bringing up the fact that Shawn Michaels is forfeiting his WWF Championship tonight, which truly is one of the biggest storylines of the late 90s that is still mocked to this day. Out comes Honky Tonk Man, as that is still a thing they are trying to make work. After Helmsley has been controlling most of the match, Rocky comes back with a back body drop. Rocky goes up top and hits a crossbody but Helmsley rolls through and gets a close call out of it. Helmsley hits a superplex and gets another 2 count. Helmsley sets Rocky up for the Pedigree, but he falls to his knees. He gets Rocky back up to his feet and Rocky uses an inside cradle to pull off the upset victory and become new champion. He gets the obligatory title change pop here and then is immediately interviewed by Dok Hendrix. He says he is going to give the best that he can give. This match actually was pretty good. They got time and I thought they mostly delivered here. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We get an In Your House: Final Four commercial. I'm looking forward to seeing that one again since it has been a long time. 

Out comes Sunny to a big pop. She's just here to announce the next match since no one cares about it. 

Headbangers vs. Aldo Montoya & Bob Holly

We're speaking my language with this match. This is very 1995 to me and I am here for it. The Headbangers were a fun team at the time. Holly hits a hurricanrana on Mosh and follows up with a dropkick. Meanwhile, Vince is talking about Shawn Michaels' belly button. This match really only exists so that they can talk about Shawn. We also get a Duckman promo during this match. Aldo gets a hot tag that isn't that hot. He goes up to the top rope and hits a crossbody for a 2 count. Headbangers quickly hit their powerbomb leg drop finisher for the win. That was a good finisher that I kind of forgot about, even if they kind of pull it off a little dangerously. This existed.

Match Rating: 1/2*

We come back from commercial and Vince introduces Gorilla Monsoon, who is already in the ring. He then brings out Shawn Michaels for the soon to be infamous moment. Shawn's trying to give this heartfelt interview and the crowd starts chanting "We want Sid!". He talks about his knee injury and that he's going to go back home and see what's left of him. This leads to the losing my smile moment and that he doesn't care if people are going to make fun of him. 29 years later, they still are. He says last year was the most wonderful year of his life as he's tearing up. He thanks Vince and the fans and says he's going home. He hugs Vince and Gorilla before heading out. 

When we come back from commercial, we get serious Vince thanking Shawn and hoping that he will return back to the ring after his surgery. Even Lawler is serious. 

Savio Vega vs. Undertaker

We come back from commercial and Taker is attacking Savio. Savio just recently joined that Nation at a house show and is still wearing his red cutoff tee. Taker hits a big boot and a leg drop for a 2 count. Savio does get some offense in, which makes sense because he is Taker's buddy. Taker runs into a spin kick in the corner. Shades of Kwang there. Taker makes a comeback and hits a weird looking leaping leg drop. Taker hits a chokeslam and that's all. The Nation comes in after the match is over and Taker starts brawling with all of them. Crush and Faarooq run in from the back and then out comes Ahmed Johnson to make the save. The crowd was really into all of this. I'm surprised the match got as much time as it did, but it was fine.

Match Rating: *1/2

Steve Austin vs. Sid

During Austin's entrance, we get a Gorilla Monsoon backstage interview with Dok Hendrix. He hypes up the Final Four match being for the WWF Championship. Gorilla says that Sid will get a title shot against the winner of the WWF Championship. We get a brawl and they keep up a pretty good pace to start. The crowd is very much into this match also. Lawler thinks we'll see this same exact match on Raw Monday. Bret Hart just randomly comes into the ring and attacks Austin, causing Sid to lose the match by disqualification. Sid confronts Bret when Austin gets thrown out of the ring and they start brawling. They go at it for awhile before they are finally split up. This was too short to be much.

Match Rating: *

We go backstage to Vader and he talks about beating both Taker and Austin and now Bret is next. 

Jerry Lawler is shown filling out a Western Union money transfer to his mom so that she can buy him a Valentine's gift. We then get a recap of the Shawn interview from earlier. 

Faarooq & Crush vs. Owen Hart & British Bulldog

Crush hits a dangerous looking piledriver on Bulldog before dumping him out of the ring. We get a Bret promo with Bret saying pretty nice things about Shawn for some reason. They probably should have done this during the Aldo Montoya match instead. Owen gets a hot tag and hits the spinning heel kick. He then gets thrown over the top and injures his knee. Faarooq and Bulldog battle and then the bell rings for Owen being counted out. They are dominating Bulldog and Owen tries to get back in but his knee hurts too badly. The Nation stands tall and their music plays. This was whatever.

Match Rating: *1/4

We get a Final Four commercial. Did they announce any of the other matches for this show?

Vader vs. Bret Hart

There isn't a whole lot of time left here. Right after Bret's music stops, Taker's music hits and he comes out. He says that he's not getting any respect and that he will win on Sunday. Vader then clubs Bret and we are under way. He dumps Bret out of the ring and then Austin comes down and stomps on Bret as we go on a commercial break. When we come back, Austin and Vader are in the ring with Vader in control. Bret is able to get the Sharpshooter on for a moment and then Vader grabs the ropes. Vader goes up for a moonsault and misses. Austin is in the crowd during this also. Bret covers Vader and gets the victory? This was short but solid. 

Match Rating: *3/4

This was a very energetic show with a hot crowd and matches that people actually wanted to see. You got a title change and a lot of interaction between the top contenders. However, this is most famous for the Shawn Michaels promo and that is a pretty historic moment in its own right. Overall, this is a good show that was a good example of what this era was like when it was on.

Overall Rating: 72%