What the World Was Watching: Monday Night Raw - June 23, 1997

by Logan Scisco

-The show opens with a small clip and tribute to former WWF champion Stan “The Man” Stasiak.

-Vince McMahon and Jim Ross are in the booth and they are coming to us from Detroit, Michigan.

-The New Nation of Domination are interviewed by McMahon and Ahmed says that McMahon never backed him when he came back from his injury last year for a shot at the WWF title.  Ahmed says he doesn’t respect the Undertaker because he’s just a slave to Paul Bearer and Faarooq says that Ahmed coming into the Nation is like Martin Luther King aligning with Malcolm X.  D-Lo repeats what others have said in this segment and Kama says that Ahmed will bring the WWF title to the Nation.  At the end of the segment, Crush comes out with some other men on motorcycles and they surround the ring.  Crush says his organization is called the Disciplines of Apocalypse and a brawl breaks out.  A combination of WWF officials and police separate the combatants and DOA gets a chant from the crowd.  Ladies and gentlemen, the gang wars have begun.

-The Legion of Doom cut a pre-taped promo, where they say that all hell is going to break loose when they face the Godwinns in the tag team tournament this evening.

-The formation of Steve Austin’s team for Canadian Stampede on last week’s show is replayed.

-Former UFC Champion and then-NWA World Champion Dan Severn comes out to do commentary for the next match.  Since Severn is a soft spoken guy, this isn’t the best role for him.

-Opening Contest:  Ken Shamrock defeats Rockabilly (w/The Honky Tonk Man) via submission to the ankle lock at 2:34:

Hearing McMahon talk about the “appalling” way that state legislators are treating UFC is surreal.  You would think that McMahon had bought the company and was promoting is as a legitimate alternative to the form of sports entertainment that he was offering audiences at this time.  Shamrock easily rolls through Rockabilly in this encounter, intimidates the Honky Tonk Man into leaving the ring, and then teases a confrontation with Severn at the announce table before shaking his hand.

-The Godwinns promise to do things differently in the WWF from now on and Henry Godwinn promises to get revenge for his neck injury suffered at the hands of the Legion of Doom a couple of months ago.

-Ahmed Johnson giving the Undertaker a Pearl River Plunge on last week’s show is the Army Slam of the Week.

-The announce team talks about whether Marc Mero is jealous of Sable’s new popularity.  You can buy the new WWF magazine and read Vince Russo’s article about it!

-Tag Team Tournament First Round Match:  The Legion of Doom defeat The Godwinns when Hawk pins Henry following a flying clothesline at 3:42:

The Godwinns heel turn consists of them shedding their undershirts but they still have the slop and they use it when the LOD make their entrance.  These teams have some good chemistry, but they rush to get their stuff in and the wheels start to come off of the match by the finish.  After the match, the Godwinns attack the Legion of Doom to cement their heel turn in the eyes of the fans.  Rating:  *½

-After the Godwinns have done their damage, the Hart Foundation hits the ring and beat down the Legion of Doom.

-Paul Bearer tells The Undertaker to shut up and listen to him, which leads to the Undertaker choking him and Vader, who is his tag team partner tonight in the tag team tournament.  Vader looks terribly weak in this segment, since the Undertaker makes him go to one knee with a one hand choke.

-Owen Hart says that being booked in a triple threat match for his title is a conspiracy and is a way for McMahon to see that his Intercontinental championship is placed into the hands of an American.  He promises a surprise tonight.

-Steve Austin hypes his Cause Stone Cold Said So video.

-Flash Funk says he’s one of the greatest fliers of all time and he looks forward to facing Sabu in the next match.

-Interpromotional Match (ECW vs. WWF):  Sabu (w/Bill Alfonso) and Flash Funk wrestle to a double count out at 4:38:

Paul Heyman is on commentary for this match to give the television viewers background on Sabu.  Using Funk for these interpromotional matches is not a bad idea because Funk had wrestled Rob Van Dam and Sabu in ECW and was someone you could trust in the ring to make the ECW guys look good.  There was also no risk in having him lose because he wasn’t doing anything of note in the company at this point anyway.  Since the WWF had higher production values than ECW, Alphonso’s whistle is more annoying than usual.  Funk damages Sabu’s arm on a moonsault, as he comes crashing down onto Sabu’s arm with his knees when executing the move, and both men battle to a disappointing count out after a match that had some nice spots in it.  Sabu fails to put Funk through a table after three attempts, though.  Rating:  **½

-Mankind’s failed attempt to convince Steve Austin that he should be Austin’s new tag team partner on last week’s show is played.

-Call 815-734-1161 to get your copy of Cause Stone Cold Said So for $19.99 (plus $6 shipping & handling)!

-Non-Title Match:  Mankind defeats The British Bulldog (European Champion) by disqualification when the Bulldog uses a chair at 4:10:

Mankind is wearing an Austin 3:16 t-shirt and a “Pick Me Steve!” sign and he dedicates the match to Steve Austin, thereby continuing his campaign to be Austin’s tag team partner.  Austin calls into the show and says that he wants to give a shout out to his brother who was stepped on by a bull.  However, he makes sure to note that he isn’t concerned about his brother’s welfare but wants the $30 his brother owes him, which is a nice way to express concern and incorporate it into the character.  Austin says he doesn’t care about Mankind’s welfare either and would rather defend the titles alone.  Both men put together a quick match where Mankind nearly wins with the Mandible Claw, but the Bulldog escapes and blasts Mankind twice in the head with a chair.  I’m really worried about what Foley is going to be like if he reaches seventy with all the head trauma that he incurred over the course of his career.  Despite taking two blows to the head, Mankind still recovers and puts the Bulldog in the Mandible Claw to get a nice crowd pop.  Rating:  ** 

-Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart tells WWF President Gorilla Monsoon that Brian Pillman should be allowed to be in his corner for the triple threat because Hunter Hearst Helmsley gets Chyna and Goldust will have Marlena.  Monsoon agrees.

-McMahon and Ross discuss the importance of the Intercontinental title in WWF history.  It’s sad to watch this when you consider how far that belt has fallen in modern times.

-Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship:  Owen Hart (Champion w/Brian Pillman) defeats Goldust (w/Marlena) and Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) after pinning Helmsley after a Goldust flying elbow drop at 7:04 shown:

This is the first televised triple threat match in WWF history and Pat Patterson, the first Intercontinental Champion, is the special guest referee.  The two challengers, Goldust and Helmsley, are former Intercontinental champions and their title wins are shown prior to the match.  Goldust appears to win the match with a Curtain Call three minutes in, but Owen had put his foot on the bottom rope during the count.  Patterson refuses to change his mind, so Gorilla Monsoon comes out and shows him an instant replay and the match is restarted.  One of the refreshing things about this match is that it doesn’t rely on the “toss one guy out and let’s have a one-on-one match” formula that future triple threat matches would use.  Chyna steals the show in another match by giving Goldust a hurricanrana and Owen moves out of the way when Goldust tries to break up a pin he has on Helmsley and retains the title.  This was a decent contest and all of the guys acquitted themselves well, but the commercial break and restart killed what the match could have been.  Rating:  **½

-Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart are interviewed by McMahon and Bret says that he isn’t worried about the American team that has been assembled at Canadian Stampede.  Bret calls out “The Hitman” Tommy Hearns and says that there is only room for one of them in Detroit.  Hearns jumps the barrier and gets in Bret’s face and when they get ready for an encounter, Hearns knocks down Jim Neidhart with a combination of punches.  WWF officials hit the ring, though, to prevent a Bret-Hearns confrontation.  The crowd gets worked into a “USA” chant.

-Savio Vega interrupts an interview of the New Nation, but gets beaten down and whipped by Faarooq, Kama, and D-Lo Brown.

-Brian Christopher cuts a pre-taped promo saying that he dominated USWA in Memphis for years and he is ready to dominate the WWF light heavyweight division.

-“Too Sexy” Brian Christopher (w/Jerry “The King” Lawler) pins Scott Taylor after a Tennessee Jam (flying leg drop) at 2:54:

This is another preview of the WWF light heavyweight division and it is also a clash of the future Too Hot/Too Cool tag team combination.  Christopher was never a significant draw in the USWA, but I felt that he was a good midcard talent.  Lawler sidesteps the question on commentary about whether he is Christopher’s father, which will be a running gag for the next several years of WWF programming.  This is a serviceable squash for Christopher, but this light heavyweight division really needs someone that is going to “wow” crowds because mat based wrestling is not going to get it done.

-Call 1-900-737-4WWF to hear about Shawn Michaels, Sid, Yokozuna, and Maury Povich!

-Paul Bearer says there are no problems between the Undertaker and Vader concerning tonight’s tag team tournament match.

-Tag Team Tournament First Round Match:  Faarooq & D-Lo Brown (w/Kama Mustafa) defeat The Undertaker & Vader (w/Paul Bearer) when Faarooq pins Vader with a clothesline at 4:59 shown:

The New Nation is without Ahmed Johnson, who suffered a knee injury in the opening segment.  Ahmed is shown watching the action in the back, but you can tell by his body language that he knows he’s lost a major push.  The winner of this match faces the Legion of Doom in the semi-finals.  DOA comes out in the first couple of minutes and they waste no time attacking D-Lo Brown and nearly everyone in the match gets involved in the brawl, with the Undertaker hitting anything that moves.  From a booking standpoint it would appear that Faarooq chose the wrong partner, since D-Lo doesn’t have the size to deal with Vader or the Undertaker.  However, the Undertaker nails Vader in the face after they jaw with each other and that leads to Vader jobbing to a clothesline as if this was the Survivor Series.  This was an awkward contest that didn’t get sufficient time to develop.  Rating:  *½

-After the match, Bearer sends Vader after the Undertaker, but the Undertaker survives the onslaught and Tombstone’s Vader.  Bearer tells the Undertaker that he’s made his casket and he’s going to tell the world his secret next week.  The Undertaker just does a throat slashing gesture and leaves.

The Final Report Card:  Ahmed’s injury added another blow to the Undertaker’s WWF title reign because it eventually saddled him with facing Vader at Canadian Stampede.  However, that match wasn’t much of a draw since the Undertaker easily dealt with Vader on this show and Vader was hardly the menacing monster he was a year earlier.  You can also see that the WWF is slowly pushing D-Lo Brown.  He was the only member retained from the old Nation of Domination, but he got some microphone time for the first time in his career on this show and he also got a main event spot.  Despite the awkward main event, this show had some bright spots like the debut of the triple threat match and the Funk-Sabu match and that’s enough for a thumbs up from me.

Monday Night War Rating:  2.4 (vs. 3.3 for Nitro)

Show Evaluation:  Thumbs Up