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Raw History: Episode 210 and Reliving Nitro: Episode 88

November 27, 2017 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
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Raw History: Episode 210 and Reliving Nitro: Episode 88  


Raw History
Episode #210
May 19th, 1997 | Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama

WWF Champion: The Undertaker (2) since 3/23/97
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Owen Hart (1) since 4/28/97
WWF European Champion: British Bulldog (1) since 3/3/97
WWF Tag Team Champions: Owen Hart and the British Bulldog (1) since 9/22/96

It’s Kane’s least favorite day of the year. The show opened with footage from the Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels confrontation that closed Raw last week. This time, the stuff off the air was shown, which I got to see last time because of the WWE Network. Apparently, Bret is scheduled to reveal his surprise that we never got last week.

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler hosted.

Steve Austin was brought out for an interview with Jim Ross. He wanted to clear things up, saying he doesn’t give a damn about Shawn Michaels and he only came out last week to beat up the Hart Foundation. Shawn Michaels interrupted, with no music, to say he did the same thing a few weeks ago. Only helped Austin because he could get to the Hart Foundation. Shawn said he’s taken beatings before and had one happened last week, he would’ve picked himself up. They traded threats, with Austin saying he’d kick Shawn’s teeth in and Shawn saying he’d “stun” Austin, which led to a pull apart brawl. Officials finally broke it up and the Foundation appeared on the Titantron to laugh at them. Thankfully, Owen handled the promo and challenged Austin and Shawn to a Tag Team Title match next week if they could figure out their problems. Austin and HBK continued to argue, saying they would find other, random people to team up with instead of each other. Lots of sexual tension in this one. Great start to the show, though, as the crowd loved their brawling.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Crush w/ The Nation of Domination vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Chyna
Vader was scheduled to face Crush, but has a broken nose after the match with Ken Shamrock. That opened the door for HHH to get another shot. Gerald Brisco appeared backstage to say that apparently referee Tim White didn’t inform HHH of the rules properly, so he’s getting another shot. I mean, shouldn’t HHH know the rules? Crush spent most of this match throwing HHH around with relative ease. Both Savio Vega and Chyna attempted to get involved, but were stopped. Then, Savio mistakenly kicked Crush, giving HHH the win in 3:55. That was lame and the finish felt like a flub. Crush on offense isn’t good, but at least it was kept short. [½*]

Crush and Savio Vega argued and got into a shoving match until Faarooq came down to cool them off.

Non-Title Match: WWF Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart w/ British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart vs. Bob Holly
Fans were shown sending positive vibes to hometown boy Bob Holly ahead of this match. Jerry Lawler responded with his own video, interviewing the most stereotypical Alabama hicks. As the match started, Bulldog and Neidhart moved to the stage. Holly came out with fire, overwhelming Owen in the opening moments. He used a great dropkick and hurricanrana to pick up near falls. Owen responded with a spinning heel kick before going for the Sharpshooter. Holly pulled him into an inside cradle, stealing it at 3:38. This was fine. It was short, had lots of energy and they gave the fans a moment to pop. [*¼]

A Super Soaker ad where Sunny blasts Jim Cornette was shown.

Backstage, Shawn Michaels revealed that he chose Ken Shamrock as his tag partner, because he’s the most dangerous man.

SPECIAL INTERVIEW ~ Jim Ross conducted a sit-down interview with Mankind. After footage of some of his wildest bumps and moments, they discussed his childhood and even use his shoot name. He mentioned getting hurt at 8 years old and wanting that adrenaline rush for the rest of his life. A normal job wouldn’t give that, but being a pro wrestler would. He brought up getting bullied and eating a worm once, which was exaggerated and turned him into more of a social pariah, leading him to not have a date throughout high school. Great stuff and JR said more was coming next week.

Leif Cassidy vs. Scott Taylor
Cassidy jumped Taylor before the bell, still upset about his recent struggles. Lawler said Rob Van Dam was scheduled tonight, but Paul Heyman pulled some kind of legal action to prevent it. Taylor brought some aerial offense, looking to make waves in the future light heavyweight division. Cassidy hit a nice Alabama Slam and a front suplex. He cockily went for a second and got rolled up to lose again in 2:41. Considering the previous match, this was redundant. Also, why would Cassidy be confident enough to try the move again when he’s been losing so much? [NR]

Backstage, Steve Austin was looking for a partner. He entered Sable’s dressing room to find her topless except for an Austin 3:16 shirt draped over her chest. She kicked him out.

Bret Hart has arrived!

WAR ZONE!

After another recap of the post-show stuff from last week, the Hart Foundation made their way to the ring. No wheelchair for Bret this week and he made his big, surprise announcement. A hero will return at the King of the Ring and that hero is Bret Hart! Bret challenged Shawn Michaels to a match at the PPV, with the stipulation that if he couldn’t beat Shawn in under ten minutes, he’d never wrestle in the United States again. Shawn responded on the Titantron, saying Bret couldn’t beat him in sixty, let alone ten. Shawn agreed to the match if the other Hart Foundation members were handcuffed to the ring posts. He also threw verbal jabs, saying Bret couldn’t last ten minutes in any situation and made the infamous “Sunny days” comment. It went mostly unnoticed and ignored on screen, except for Owen and Bulldog, who looked pissed. The match was made, bringing to a close another heated segment involving these guys.

Goldust vs. Rockabilly w/ The Honky Tonk Man
Before the match, Goldust brought out Marlena and his daughter, Dakota. It’s all part of the interview and angle they ran with Goldust recently to help humanize him. Rockabilly mocked Goldust for crying on camera last week, which led to him taking a beating. He came back and hit the Rocker Dropper. Rockabilly took a hideously bad bump over the top and got tied up in the ropes. Not bad in the sense that he seemed to get hurt, but bad in that it looked like shit. Honky tried cheating, so Goldust took the guitar and hit him with it. Somehow, that resulted in a DQ win for Billy at 4:03. That was nothing and was just there to get Goldust a pop. [¼*]

Ahmed Johnson was interviewed about Faarooq’s comments regarding the unfair treatment of black men in the WWF. Ahmed doesn’t like Faarooq, but understood where he came from and promised to be the first black WWF Champion.

In the back, Austin tried to convince Harvey Wippleman to be his partner. Brooklyn Brawler showed up to plead his case, but Austin just kicked his ass and told him that he sucked.

Faarooq w/ The Nation of Domination vs. Rocky Maivia
With Rocky being a fellow “brother,” Faarooq tried getting him to do the NOD hand salute. Rocky declined and went into a flurry, hitting a powerslam, cross body and Rock Bottom. That’s not enough, since it wasn’t his finisher yet. Faarooq crotched him up top and won via Dominator in 2:49. Rocky’s stock sure has fallen quickly. [NR]

Crush and Savio Vega put the boots to Rocky, but Faarooq surprisingly stopped them.

In the back, the Hart Foundation jumped Bob Holly.

Vince McMahon brought out The Undertaker to discuss Paul Bearer’s big secret. Lots of those going around in 1997. Undertaker discussed Faarooq instead, saying Faarooq isn’t the WWF Champion because he can’t beat him, not because of his race. He said now wasn’t the time to talk about the secret, which brought out Bearer on the Titantron. He tried getting Undertaker to join him, or else. Undertaker claimed he needed time, so Bearer gave him until next week. This angle was so campy, but such fun.

Jim Neidhart vs. Steve Austin
It’s Neidhart’s first match on Raw since 1994. Austin brought a crutch with him. They instantly brawled, while Brian Pillman came down to join commentary. He said it would be payback time at the King of the Ring when he faces Austin and payback is a bitch. Austin went after Pillman, but Neidhart attacked him. Pillman used the crutch on Austin, breaking it over his back for the DQ at 1:56. [NR]

The Hart Foundation worked Austin over until Shawn Michaels made the save with a steel chair. After sending the Foundation packing, Jim Ross got on the microphone to announce that Gorilla Monsoon has confirmed they must team up next week. HBK and Austin weren’t pleased and got into another brawl to close the show. Another episode of Raw, another wild conclusion.

Slamboree 1997 Results
WCW Television Championship: Lord Steven Regal def. Ultimo Dragon [c] in 17:04
Madusa def. Luna Vachon in 5:10
Rey Mysterio def. Yuji Yasuraoka in 14:59
Glacier def. Mortis via DQ in 1:53
WCW United States Championship: Dean Malenko [c] def. Jeff Jarrett in 15:03
Death Match: Meng def. Chris Benoit in 14:52
The Steiner Brothers def. Hugh Morris and Konnan in 9:35
Steve McMichael def. Reggie White in 15:18
No DQ: Kevin Greene, Ric Flair and Roddy Piper def. The Outsiders and Syxx in 17:21


Reliving Nitro
Episode #88
May 19th, 1997 | Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan (2) 8/10/96
WCW United States Champion: Dean Malenko (1) since 3/16/97
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders (1) since 10/27/96
WCW Television Champion: Steven Regal (4) since 5/18/97
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Syxx (1) since 2/23/97
WCW Women’s Championship: Akira Hokuto (1) since 12/29/96

We opened to footage of Flair, Piper and Green celebrating the win over the nWo last night. Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko and Bobby Heenan host.

Mean “BAH GAWD” Gene brought out Ric Flair for a show opening promo. He called the win the thrill of his wrestling career, which is total hyperbole. WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx interrupted and said his opinion (and fact) was that the man pinned wasn’t legal. He issued a challenge to Flair, saying he knows he can beat him. Flair admitted he’s unsure if he could beat either of the Outsiders, but knew he could best Syxx. They went at it for a moment, but Flair backing Syxx away and sending him scurrying.

WCW Television Championship: Steven Regal [c] vs. Prince Iaukea
Apparently, Steven Regal is no longer a lord. Pissed that Iaukea upset him for the title a few months back, Regal wore him out with shots in the corner. They called back to the upset when Iaukea used a crucifix pin, which was how he won the title. It didn’t work this time. Regal finished him off with the Regal Stretch at 2:25. Too short to get anything going, but I appreciated the callbacks. [*½]

LAST NIGHT ~ Mortis and Wrath’s attack on Glacier was shown. Glacier got saved by the debuting Ernest Miller.

Masahiro Chono vs. Squire Dave Taylor
Mike Tenay joined the booth to hype Nitro’s June 30th episode in Las Vegas, which will feature a “huge debut.” This match was short and only there to hype Chono. He no sold some of Taylor’s strikes and won with the STF in 2:58. [NR]

By the stage, Gene Okerlund interviewed Sonny Oono, who claimed Chono had a debt to pay to him and New Japan. Next week, he’s bringing Chono’s worst nightmare to face him, but won’t say who it is yet.

JJ Dillon addressed the fans from his office, saying that Nick Patrick has been reinstated as a referee, but with a probationary period.

For some reason, after it was shown, Schiavone threw to the video again and it aired in full for a second time.

Michael Wallstreet vs. Scotty Riggs
Last month, JJ Dillon noted that Wallstreet and Big Bubba were still under WCW contract. Due to that, Wallstreet could no longer wear nWo gear, so he came out with an anti-WCW shirt instead. It was a silly angle. Nick Patrick was the referee and he got into an argument with Wallstreet. That led to Riggs using a sunset flip. Wallstreet sat down and tried using the ropes for leverage. Patrick caught him and kicked his hands free. Riggs pulled him into the pin and won at 2:50. It was just here for the Patrick angle. [NR]

Mean Gene brought out NASCAR driver Mark Martin and Ric Flair. Martin announced that WCW and NASCAR were giving away a car. Flair was just there to give it a WCW tie-in.

On the Lee Marshall “Road Report,” he made his usual bad weasel joke, but did it by singing Elvis. Heenan responded by saying the wrong man died. Bobby was the greatest.

LAST NIGHT ~ The DDP/Randy Savage confrontation was mostly shown in full. DDP made jokes about Savage needing to wash Hogan’s car and kiss his ass. Savage charged the ring and got taken down with a crutch. DDP did the same to other nWo members, but Scott Norton made the difference.

Jeff Jarrett and Steve McMichael w/ Debra vs. The Steiner Brothers
Scott started with Jarrett and threw him around. I miss Scott Steiner. Double J tagged in Mongo, who wanted Rick, which caused the fans to do a lot of barking. They just clobbered one another, with Mongo winning out. Rick came back with the big bulldog. The heels went to use the briefcase, but out came Kevin Greene. He took the Haliburton and whacked Mongo with it, allowing Rick to win it in 3:36. The Steiners looked rather weak in this one. Blah. [¾*]

A pissed Mongo demanded the cameras follow him to the back as he looked for Greene. During the break, they got into a brawl in the bathroom. That bathroom had random open steel chairs, like guys were just sitting around watching others go.

Non-Title Match: Ric Flair vs. WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx
This was heated, as the two went at it for an intense minute or so. Then, the Outsiders showed up for the DQ. [NR]

Kevin Greene had the issue with Mongo and Piper wasn’t at the building, leaving Ric all alone. He ate the Outsiders’ Edge and Jackknife, before Nash and Hall cut a promo saying Piper was next.

For our closing promo segment, Eric Bischoff came out. He called out Sting, who wouldn’t return his calls. Bischoff claimed Sting would never get to face Hollywood Hogan. He called Sting a coward and said he would slap the paint off his face if he was in the arena. Sting pulled an Undertaker, coming up from under the ring to a huge pop. He planted Bischoff with the Scorpion Death Drop and silently stood around as Nitro ended.

Raw Rating: 3.1
Nitro Rating: 3.6

5.8
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
Raw: One thing I really like about these Raw episodes is that things seem to build. We got the strong Austin/HBK segment early on, and it was touched upon and built as the show progressed, culminating in another exciting closing segment. It makes the lesser things in between easier to sit through. This episode also set things up nicely for KOTR. 7.5

Nitro: Again, the hour format made this breeze by, though Raw still flowed better. The Flair/Syxx angle worked well and they set some stuff in motion for the coming weeks (Chono’s nightmare, Mongo/Greene, etc.). None of the matches really did anything and so many people were missing. JJ Dillon saying Patrick was reinstated was enough, so why waste a match on furthering that angle? Instead of Riggs/Wallstreet, that time could’ve gone to something involving guys like Malenko or Meng. 4.0

legend

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Monday Night War, Nitro, RAW, WCW, WWE, Kevin Pantoja