by Logan Scisco
-Vince McMahon,
Jerry “the King” Lawler, and Jim Ross are in the booth and they are in Atlantic
City, New Jersey. There are lots of ECW
fans in the house and you can see their signs everywhere in the audience. There are so many signs that they practically
coat the floor audience.
-McMahon interviews
Rick Rude, who claims that he is a mercenary and is willing to provide
insurance to anyone willing to pay for it.
He pledges that once he is paid he makes sure to give the intended
victim a “Rude Awakening.”
-Owen Hart and the
British Bulldog deliver a taped promo against the Legion of Doom, where they
promise to deliver some punishment in advance of the Ground Zero Fatal Four
Way.
-Commissioner
Sergeant Slaughter is shown arguing with Shawn Michaels in the locker room, but
no audio is provided.
-Opening
Contest: Owen Hart & The British
Bulldog defeated The Legion of Doom when Owen pins Animal after Henry Godwinn
hits Animal with a slop bucket at 4:57:
These two teams have wrestled several times in 1997,
mostly when Owen and the Bulldog held the tag team titles and both teams are
vying for the “favorite” label heading into Ground Zero. This is your standard television contest and
when all hell breaks loose in the ring, the Godwinns interfere and give Owen
and the Bulldog the victory. After the
match, the three teams brawl with each other to emphasize that every team will
be for themselves at Ground Zero.
Evidently the Godwinns-LOD issue is building for a house show taking
place in Chicago this Saturday. Rating:
**
-Mankind cuts a
pre-taped promo saying that he is not sure if the Undertaker can trust him in
their match against Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley tonight.
-Shawn Michaels
tells the announce team that he is tired of being painted into a corner. He says that he is not supposed to face the
Undertaker until Ground Zero and that he does not want to team with Hunter
Hearst Helmsley because they are not partners.
-Sunny comes out to
be the guest ring announcer for our next match because she has nothing better
to do.
-Brian Christopher
says that his loss to Taka Michinoku a couple of weeks ago was a fluke and to
prove it he is going to beat Flash Funk.
-Flash Funk says
that he is not a stepping stone.
-Flash Funk pins
“Too Sexy” Brian Christopher with the Funky Flash Splash at 3:40:
The sound crew messes up the ring entrances, as they play
Flash Funk’s theme music for Christopher and it does not fit Christopher’s
entrance mannerisms. The problem with
the light heavyweight division is on display in this match as expanding the
weight limits and categories could have involved some previously established
superstars like Funk. Of course, that
may not mean much since Funk hardly wins matches anymore, but it would at least
give some guys something to do. When
Christopher goes for the Tennessee Jam, Lawler leaves the announce table and
tells Christopher to go for the piledriver and this distraction allows Funk to
crotch Christopher on the top rope and finish him off. Funk has racked up a two match RAW winning
streak, but the bookers still do not have anything for him to do. Rating: **
-After the match,
Sunny consoles Lawler over his son’s loss as McMahon and Ross hype the house
show circuit, as well as the Monday Night Raw coming from Madison Square Garden
on September 22nd.
-The Undertaker
says his patience with Shawn Michaels has run out and he will settle the score
with him before Ground Zero and if Mankind gets out of line he will be taken
out as well.
-Sergeant Slaughter
and Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna are showing arguing backstage, but like
Michaels segment earlier there is no audio.
-Ken Shamrock
beats The Sultan (w/The Iron Sheik) via submission to the ankle lock at 3:16:
Shamrock survives a some token resistance from the
Sultan, which includes the Iron Sheik breaking his Iranian flag across
Shamrock’s back, and then gives both of them belly-to-belly suplexes. A hurricanrana and ankle lock get the
victory. Rating: *
-The announce team
talks about tonight’s tag team main event.
-The Nation of
Domination, with their new acquisition Rocky Maivia, come out and demand that
Jim Ross interview them. The crowd works
up a “Rocky sucks” chant and Faarooq tells the crowd that Ahmed Johnson was
kicked out of the Nation because he was a token black man. Maivia says he got tired of the crowd
chanting for him to die and he became a part of the Nation for respect. Maivia says that the Nation are not racist,
but the Disciples of Apocalypse are, and the Nation will win the respect of the
WWF through any means necessary. Maivia
is still a little raw on the mic, but he sounds natural and conveys intensity. The DOA appear on the Titantron and Crush
challenges the Nation to come out to the parking lot for a brawl and the Nation
accept.
-Goldust and
Marlena are shown playing with their daughter Dakota on the beaches of Atlantic
City.
-Dok Hendrix hypes
the Madison Square Garden Monday Night Raw show, which will feature a triple
threat match between Bret Hart, the Undertaker, and Steve Austin. I need to see if there is footage of that match. Shawn Michaels will also be in attendance and
there will be a 25 man battle royal, with the winner to face the WWF champion
at the next Madison Square Garden show.
-Hunter Hearst
Helmsley and Chyna tell the announce crew that they are tired of paying for
Shawn Michaels crimes and Helmsley tells McMahon that if he wants a fight then
he has one.
-Helmsley and
Chyna’s interview is cut off as the Disciples of Apocalypse and the Nation of
Domination brawl in the parking lot, but as the groups brawl, Los Boricuas
steal DOA’s motorcycles and drive off.
-“The Real Double
J” Jesse James defeats “The Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman by disqualification
when Goldust interferes at 1:46:
James gimmick is so played out that he does not bother
singing on his way to the ring anymore.
You can tell when Ross calls these matches that he thinks this whole
storyline is ridiculous since he knows what Pillman used to be capable of in
WCW. James plays around with Pillman, by
lifting his dress and “fondling” him, which is a little distasteful. Pillman appears to have another match won,
but Goldust runs out, carefully elbow drops James, and costs Pillman the match.
-Michael Cole
interviews Goldust on the entrance ramp and Goldust says he wants Pillman to
wear a dress for another week because he looks so beautiful. Pillman grabs the house mic and asks Goldust
to give him one more match and if he loses that match then he will leave the
WWF forever. However, he says that if he
defeats Goldust then he gets Marlena as his personal assistant for thirty days. When Goldust refuses, Pillman says that
Dakota is his love child and Marlena accepts Pillman’s challenge.
Goldust is not happy with that at all.
Pillman’s craziness was well suited for this feud, but unfortunately it
never came full circle.
-Vader says that
the next segment will see “Vader Time.”
-The Patriot
defeats Vader (w/Paul Bearer) with Uncle Slam at 5:00:
The ECW-like crowd takes to Vader and cheers loudly as he
tears into the Patriot. The Patriot hits
the Patriot Missile as Bret Hart wanders out and Vader blocks a sunset flip
with a sit down splash and focuses his offense on the upper sternum, which is
quite unique. The Patriot blocks a Vader
Bomb with his knees and then surprises Vader with Uncle Slam to capture another
big win. An okay big man match, but this
had several blown spots that were hard to mask.
Rating: **
-After the match,
Bret Hart distracts the Patriot and Vader does a beat down. Vader prepares to give the Patriot a Vader
Bomb, but Bret enters the ring and drapes a Canadian flag over the
Patriot. Vader does not like this,
breaks the Canadian flag over his knee, and starts brawling with Bret until the
Hart Foundation interfere and do a beat down on him. This segment makes Vader a face and he will
remain in that role until he leaves the company.
-Call
1-900-737-4WWF to hear updates about Steve Austin, Mark Henry, and Ahmed
Johnson, a possible managerial shakeup in the company, who is soliciting Rick
Rude’s services, and why Shawn Michaels has been seen with Brakus.
-Cole interviews
WWF Champion Bret Hart, who says that he is not scared of Vader and prefers to
face him sooner rather than later.
-Owen Hart’s spinning
heel kick on Goldust on Shotgun Saturday Night is the Stridex Triple Action
segment.
-A video package
recaps Steve Austin’s neck injury.
-A taped interview
between Jim Ross and Steve Austin in Philadelphia, where Austin will be
medically checked out tomorrow. Austin
says that he was temporarily paralyzed at SummerSlam and Owen Hart has hell to
pay. Austin says that he does not care
what the doctors say because he will be back and he will be at Ground Zero.
-Call 815-734-1161
to get your VHS copy of SummerSlam 1997.
It will cost you $23.95 (plus shipping & handling)!
-Mankind & The
Undertaker defeat “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels & Hunter Hearst
Helmsley (w/Chyna) by disqualification when Michaels hits the Undertaker with a chair at 8:29:
The atmosphere surrounding this match is like a Lethal
Lottery tag match, with no one appearing to trust who they are partnered
with. Michaels avoids the Undertaker for a while and after the Undertaker shrugs
off some of Michaels offense, Michaels bails and calls out Rick Rude, who
slowly walks to the ring when we head to a commercial break. Mankind is placed in peril, but this match is
nowhere near the quality of last week’s singles match between Michaels and
Mankind. A funny announcing moment
happens during the double KO segment, when Ross compares it to a mugging on the
Boardwalk, which destroys the peaceful image of Atlantic City that McMahon has
been at pains to explain during the entire show. When all hell breaks loose, Rude attempts to
hit the Undertaker with a chair, but the Undertaker turns around and stops that
and stalks Rude into the ring. However,
that leads to Michaels picking up the chair and smashing the Undertaker over
the head with it for the finish This match never felt like it got going until the sick chair shot that
ended it. Rating: *½
-After the bell,
the Undertaker gets up and reveals a nasty blade job, where you can see a clean
cut above the Undertaker’s forehead with blood dripping out. Michaels hits the
Undertaker with the chair a second time, but the Undertaker stirs from that so
Helmsley, Rude, Chyna, and Michaels all head for the locker room.
The Final Report Card: There were some decent storyline developments
on this show, like Vader’s face turn, Rick Rude explaining who he was, and the
Pillman-Goldust feud going to a whole new level, but the main event was really
disappointing. Still, most of the
matches were decent and that’s enough to give the show a neutral rating, since
it was nowhere near good, but was also not terrible. By the way, due to the U.S. Open, RAW did not
air for the next two weeks, but we will review the August 29th
“Friday Night’s Main Event” that aired on USA.
Monday Night War Rating: 3.2 (vs. 4.0 for Nitro)
Show Evaluation: Neutral