Raw History: Episode 231 and Reliving Nitro: Episode 111

Raw History
Episode #231
October 27th, 1997 | Tulsa Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma | Attendance: N/A

WWF Champion: Bret Hart (5) since 8/3/97
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Owen Hart (2) since 10/5/97
WWF European Champion: Shawn Michaels (1) since 9/20/97
WWF Tag Team Champions: The Legion of Doom (2) since 10/13/97

Jim Ross and Vince McMahon were on commentary this week.

The Nation of Domination came out to open the show for an interview with Vince. He apologized for their locker room getting vandalized. Faarooq said an apology didn’t make up for over 400 years of racism. They made Vince leave and Rocky got some mic time. He said he always got up when discrimination knocked him down. Unfortunately, Faarooq took back over and called out the Hart Foundation for vandalizing the locker room. The Hart Foundation came to the stage, with Bret claiming they never back down from a challenge. He noted that Canadians aren’t racist and claimed that the locker room antics were the work of DX trying to pit them against each other. DX interrupted on the Titantron to call Bret Hart the Grand Wizard and the Foundation his KKK buddies. When HHH insinuated that they’ve used the “N word,” the NOD ran up the stage and attacked them. After things got separated, Bret limped on his ankle and he just so happens to be booked against Ken Shamrock tonight. All the factions involved in something is cool, but the race stuff wasn’t.

Goldust w/ Marlena vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Chyna
Not this again. Rick Rude gave HHH a special introduction. Shawn Michaels joined the commentary booth. Goldust started hot, but after being sent outside, Chyna got in a clothesline and body slam on the ramp. HHH took over for a while inside. Goldust made the comeback and hit a bulldog. Marlena attempted to use her loaded purse and Goldust got it. Chyna interfered and decked him with it, leading to the HHH Pedigree for the win in 5:36. This was better than most of their 1997 outings, though still nothing great. HHH was getting more comfortable in his role. [**¼]

CORNETTE’S COMMENTARY ~ This week’s topic is icons in wrestling. He ran down WCW for calling the Hogan/Piper Cage match the greatest in history, when Undertaker/HBK was three weeks earlier. In his mind, Hogan, Piper, Savage, Shawn, and Bret all claim to be icons, but can’t hold a candle to men like Flair, Undertaker, and Steve Austin.

EARLIER TODAY ~ Sunny handed out Oklahoma Legends Awards to the Briscoes, Danny Hodge, Jim Ross, and Bill Watts.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Owen Hart [c] vs. Ahmed Johnson
Ahmed’s hand was still taped. He ran through Owen in the opening moments. He even stopped to destroy the Canadian flag. Owen hit him with a low blow and after what he did, he deserved it. The NOD appeared on stage, having problems with both guys. Owen used the steel steps to target Ahmed’s injured hand. Following a commercial, Ahmed took back over and hit a spinebuster. Steve Austin ran in through the crowd and dropped Ahmed with a Stone Cold Stunner for the DQ in 6:26. The hand work was solid. Other than that, it was typical Ahmed fare. [*]

Jim Ross interviewed Mankind in the ring. He said Dude Love just wanted to make people smile. He believed he and Paul Bearer had an unspoken agreement to not bother each other, but after last week, he’s out to make Kane’s life a living hell. “Seven feet tall? I don’t care. Impervious to pain? I’ll find a way.” Great line. Sgt. Slaughter came out to tell Mankind he couldn’t give him the match due to Mankind’s unstable mental health. Mankind didn’t even get the match when he said please. That caused Mankind to flip and slap the Mandible Claw on the Commissioner. The segment worked, though it’s odd to bring up how mentally unfit Mankind is all of a sudden. He’s always been that way.

WARZONE!

WWF Championship: Bret Hart [c] vs. Ken Shamrock
Commentary finally noted Jerry Lawler’s absence, saying he was suffering from World Series aftershock following the Indians’ heartbreaking game seven loss. Shamrock looked to go after the leg early. Bret scurried to the ropes and turned the tide with some clubbing shots. Bret did his only focus on the leg, wrapping it around the ring post and slapping on the awesome ring post figure four. Shamrock was in trouble for a while, before sending Bret into the steel steps. Bret brought a chair into the ring, but Shamrock stopped him from using it. That really got Shamrock going, snapping off a rana and hitting a belly to belly for two. The ref got bumped as Shamrock put on the Ankle Lock. Bret tapped, but there was nobody there to count it. Ken tried waking the official up, allowing Bret to crack him in the back with a chair. He went for the Sharpshooter, but Shawn Michaels ran in and delivered Sweet Chin Music. The fans popped as Shawn beat on Bret. Shamrock got up and SNAPPED, beating up Michaels. Officials ran in to stop him and called for the bell at 10:40. That was a good match. I enjoyed the leg work, the physical elements and even the finish, as it set up a few things for the future.[***¼]

After Shamrock left, officials were forced to spend time trying to keep Shawn and Bret separate. They kept going after one another, despite their stables trying to hold them back.

Backstage, Bret Hart was interviewed about the feud with Shawn Michaels. He said it would end at Survivor Series in Montreal.

Billy Gunn and Road Dogg vs. The New Blackjacks
Still no New Age Outlaws name yet. They took a beating from Bradshaw in this one, getting dominated. With the referee distracted, Gunn clocked Bradshaw with a chair and Dogg stole the pin in 2:17.[NR]

The Godwinns showed up to jump the Blackjacks, while the Headbangers came out and got their licks in on the future Outlaws. They’ll all be in a Survivor Series tag.

The cameras focused on a fan in a Hulk Hogan mask, so the company could make their sixth or seventh joke about him.

Sgt. Slaughter apparently agreed to give Mankind a match with Kane at Survivor Series. Kane and Paul Bearer came to the ring for some promo time. Bearer brought up Undertaker saying he was already living in hell. In Bearer’s mind, Undertaker had no idea what hell truly was.

Backstage, DX said they had something important to say. They threw a threat at Bret Hart and then Shawn mooned the camera, showing us a whole lot of his ass. He thought it was hilarious, but it honestly wasn’t. Just dumb.

Flash Funk vs. Marc Mero w/ Sable
Though Mero is playing the boxer, he brought some of his old Wildman antics to match Funk. That included the double jump moonsault press we hadn’t seen since before the injury. JR hyped Mero being part of Team USA at Survivor Series. Funk got in a moonsault for two, but Mero finished him with the TKO in 3:46. This was a match. [*½]

INTERVIEW WITH DOUBLE J ~ Jim Ross interviewed Jeff Jarrett about his first run with the WWF. He said the character was Vince’s idea and he succeeded in spite of the role. He didn’t want Vince to control his life, so he left to WCW. However, he quickly learned that there was no ladder to climb in WCW. He was in the same spot when he left as he was when he got there. Jarrett noted how WWF “arena shows” are exciting, where WCW’s weren’t. He added that their top stars are all over 40, while WWF had maybe one guy like that. Part two is next week!

Non-Title Match: WWF Tag Team Champions The Legion of Doom vs. Los Boricuas w/ Jesus and Jose
The New Age Outlaws sat at ringside for this. They wouldn’t give JR a word when he questioned them about it. Once the match started, they got up and went over to steal LOD’s famous shoulder pads. Dogg ended up tripping Miguel, allowing Hawk to get a cheap pin in 2:50. Not much of a match. [NR]

NEXT WEEK ~ The Light Heavyweight Title Tournament begins! Plus, Steve Austin!

Backstage, Ahmed Johnson closed the show by saying Steve Austin entered his zone and he was coming to get him.

Halloween Havoc Results
Yuji Nagata def. Ultimo Dragon in 9:54 [***½]
Chris Jericho def. Gedo in 7:18 [**¾]
WCW Cruiserweight Championship vs. Mask: Rey Mysterio def. Eddie Guerrero [c] in 13:50 [****¾]
Alex Wright def. Steve McMichael in 6:32 [DUD]
Jacqueline def. Disco Inferno in 9:41 [¼*]
WCW United States Championship: Curt Hennig [c] def. Ric Flair via DQ in 13:58 [**¾]
Scott Hall def. Lex Luger in 14:35 [*½]
Death Match: Randy Savage def. Diamond Dallas Page in 18:09 [***¼]
Steel Cage Match: Roddy Piper def. Hulk Hogan in 13:37 [-*¼]

Reliving Nitro
Episode #111
October 27th, 1997 | Cox Arena in San Diego, California | Attendance: 6,281

WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan (3) 8/9/97
WCW United States Champion: Curt Hennig (1) since 9/15/97
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers (6) since 10/13/97
WCW Television Champion: Disco Inferno (1) since 9/22/97
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio Jr. (2) since 10/26/97

This is a three-hour episode. Oh, boy. Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay host.

Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan came out to start things. They bragged about winning the war last night, despite losing the match. Hogan got his belt back and they took out Roddy Piper. Hogan called out any of the weak WCW guys and even the one in the rafters, but got no response. They plugged Hogan’s TNT movie before leaving.

LAST NIGHT ~ The Zbyszko/Hall/Luger/Bischoff stuff was recapped.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Mysterio Jr. [c] vs. Dean Malenko
Dean holds the last victory over Rey, so him getting the first shot is a nice bit of continuity. Even if it was probably an accident. The opening moments were evenly matched and a bit slow, as they were too familiar with each other. Raven and his buddies strolled down through the crowd during this match. The pace picked up with Dean nailing a super gut buster for a great near fall. Malenko blocked the springboard rana with a stiff powerbomb. However, Rey countered the Texas Cloverleaf attempt into a pinning combination to retain in 4:37. For as short as that was, it was pretty damn good. Solid exchanges and counters based off prior matches. [**½]

LUCHA LIBRE ~ Another vignette was aired for this.

NITRO GIRLS!

Glacier vs. La Parka
They went all the back to August to show La Parka hitting Glacier with a steel chair. WCW – WHERE CONTINUITY PLAYS! Parka was way over here. He took to the mat, but Glacier’s kicks proved to be too much. Glacier busted out a plancha, while Parka answered with a piledriver. He stopped to strut, which I popped for. After a corkscrew plancha, Parka went for the chair. He slammed Glacier’s face on it, but didn’t get DQed. Parka got crotched and hit with the Cryonic Kick to lose in 3:55. The crowd didn’t care to see Glacier win. It was a harmless match, made fun by La Parka. [*¾]

Mean Gene introduced DDP, fresh off losing a tough match to Randy Savage. DDP walked right past Gene and to the ring. DDP said he knows it was Hogan who dressed up as Sting and attacked him last night. When it’s DDP and Savage one on one, Savage’s the one who gets BANGED. Pause. DDP said he came out to accept Hogan’s challenge from earlier. It’s time for Hogan to get WHACKED with the Diamond Cutter.

After a break, Gene remained in the ring for an interview with Larry Zbyszko. Larry said he’s sick of Scott Hall, especially after being attacked last night. He brought with him a contract for a match with Hall. The nWo music hit to bring out Hall and Syxx to the stage. Hall said Larry’s never brought anything special to the ring, especially since he couldn’t even beat Eric Bischoff. After they replayed the footage of Bischoff kicking Larry around at Halloween Havoc, Larry dared Hall to enter the ring, but he declined. Hall told the fans they’ll see Hogan take care of business later. The fans seem hot for this feud, though Larry just never seemed comfortable in the role.

Lex Luger vs. Stevie Ray w/ Jacqueline
Last week, Luger beat Booker T. Schiavone confirmed that Hogan accepted DDP’s challenge, non-title of course. While the guys in the match traded power showcases, commentary spent the time hyping tonight’s card Luger started in with hip tosses and slams, but missed an elbow. He had such a generic moveset. Not to be outdone, Stevie worked a bear hug. Luger came back with SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES, but had the Rack blocked. He survived a kick from Stevie and won with the Rack anyway at 5:44. Too long for these guys. [¾*]

RAVEN ~ Another vignette ran of him cutting a promo. He sat in a tree and talked about darkness and feeling the pain of others.

HOUR NUMBER TWO!

Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero
Jericho had his shoulder taped from a ROUGH bump against Gedo the night earlier. Eddie targeted it right out of the gates. He used the always brutal looking shoulder breaker and added a dropkick to that injury. Jericho responded with a release German and Tiger Driver, but missed the Lionsault. Again, Jericho landed on his shoulder. He went for a superplex, which Schiavone believed was the move he got hurt on last night. Tenay corrected him. The superplex hurt Jericho even more. He escaped a powerbomb, but still fell to a Frog Splash right onto the shoulder in 4:56. That ruled. Great psychology for such a short, relatively throwaway TV match. [***¼]

Chris Benoit vs. Fit Finlay
It’s Finlay’s first appearance on Nitro since the Parking Lot Brawl with Regal last April. They came out firing, chopping and striking each other with aggression. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, enziguri, and some more violent exchanges on the outside. My kind of match. Finlay slowed things with some short mat work. He did a great, small spot, where he stepped ON Benoit to get to the corner for a Vader Bomb. Back outside for more guardrail action. Benoit hit a German inside, followed by the diving headbutt for the win in 5:20. Like I said, my kind of match. Hard hitting throughout. [***]

LAST NIGHT ~ Still images of Flair/Hennig were shown.

That led into a Mean “WOO” Gene interview with Ric Flair. Flair was happy that he made Hennig bleed last night, but he didn’t end his career, so it’s not over. If he sees Hennig tonight, he’s a dead man. Flair put over DDP in the main event, before turning to his match with Randy Savage tonight. DRUGS? No. VIOLENCE? Yes. SEX? Yes. Wait, what? Flair was pumped for everything here, going nuts.

No Disqualifications Match: Raven w/ The Flock vs. Scotty Riggs
It’s the first official match for Raven. Tenay called his group a “flock” for the first time. Stevie Richards spoke on behalf of Raven and said that since Raven doesn’t have a contract (why is he wrestling, then?) he will only compete if it’s No DQ. The referee and Riggs agreed. Raven got on the mic and said Scotty hadn’t won a match in six months. They didn’t need to fight and he could join Raven’s group. “Come with me, and I’ll set you free.” Riggs declined and they went at it. Raven hit a drop toe hold on a chair and Riggs sold it like his eyeball fell out. Kidman showed sympathy, so Raven tossed him outside. Instead of covering Riggs, Raven went back to his seat for a no contest, I guess, around 1:20. [NR]

NITRO GIRLS!

Non-Title Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs. WCW World Heavyweight Champion “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan
Even though it’s non-title, they brought out Michael Buffer for this one. Commentary noted that DDP wore jeans for this, as he was probably not prepared to wrestle tonight. Hogan worked some basic arm stuff, before going to punches. Despite having early control, as soon as DDP went for the Diamond Cutter, Hogan avoided it and bailed outside to throw a small fit. The same happened after a clothesline. Hogan went to some of his usual rakes and chokes. The focus was on DDP’s taped ribs. Hogan wasted time arguing with the official, allowing a DDP comeback. Hogan missed the Leg Drop and DDP called for the Diamond Cutter. A fake Sting hit the ring, but ate a Diamond Cutter. The ref called for the bell, giving DDP a DQ win in 11:30. Typical Hogan stuff. It had some fine moments, but a lot of it felt like filler. [**]

The rest of the nWo arrived to put a hurting on DDP. Soft ass WCW guys, who were called out by Hogan earlier, don’t even try to help. The real Sting walked down through the stands and cleaned house on his own. Well, his bat helped a bit. As Hogan and others retreated, Sting planted Hall and Hennig with Scorpion Death Drops to a huge pop. Good, exciting segment.

HOUR NUMBER THREE!

We’re supposed to get Disco Inferno defending his Television Title against Goldberg now. During Goldberg’s entrance, Alex Wright ran out and attacked him. He was quickly dropped with a Jackhammer. Disco laughed, but got hit with a Spear and Jackhammer. No bell rang, though. Out came Mongo for a pull-apart brawl with Goldberg.

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came back out. Bischoff had quite the sad mug. Hogan said Sting is a coward and he was out to call his bluff. Hogan told Sting to arrive in Las Vegas tomorrow, for the premiere of Hogan’s TNT movie, and he’d have a contract for a title match. Strange angle, as Hogan ducked him for month.

WCW World Tag Team Championship: The Steiner Brothers [c] w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Public Enemy
We haven’t seen PE in a while. The Steiners got some promo time before the match to thank the fans and offer an open contract. Commentary spent the entire match talking about the TNT premiere and the contract signing, to the point where they had to stop and apologize. They worked through a commercial, with Scott playing the face in peril role. Mild tag to Rick led to a bit of a break down. Steiner Bulldog ended it in a long 7:10. [*¼]

WCW United States Championship: Curt Hennig [c] vs. Booker T w/ Jacqueline
Hennig looked to be in a foul mood. Commentary continued to have a one-track mind. Hennig and Booker traded offense for a bit. Booker took over and Elizabeth came strolling to ringside. Booker hit the Harlem side kick and covered, but Liz got on the apron to distract the ref. Randy Savage arrived and hit the big elbow to break the pin. Before Hennig could capitalize, Flair hit the ring and attacked him for the DQ in 4:16. Finish was obvious and everything before it felt like a waste of time. Very disappointing. [½*]

Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth vs. Ric Flair
Returning from break, Savage and Flair brawled in the audience. The fight went all around the ringside area, while the commentary team gushed over the content of Nitro tonight. No bell seemed to get rung, so I’m not sure if it officially started. Savage hit Flair in the throat with a microphone and Liz poked Flair in the eyes. Savage went for the axe handle off the top, but missed and hit the guardrail. Hennig came out to brawl with Flair, triggering a DQ, despite the action that came before it, in 7:30. That was intense for a regular match on Nitro. The finish was lame, though. [**½]

While Savage and Hennig double team Flair, commentary casually plugged the TNT movie again. The show ended with Flair getting beat up.

Raw MVP: Bret Hart
Raw LVP: Jim Cornette
Nitro MVP: Eddie Guerrero
Nitro LVP: Stevie Ray
Raw Rating: 2.3
Nitro Rating: 4.3

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Raw: Only the Shamrock/Hart title match kept this from being a below average episode. Outside of that match, the only other thing that was really any fun was HHH/Goldust. The rest of the show feels like something to skip. From Mankind’s lackluster promo to the Jarrett stuff not clicking to the weirdly racism infused opening segment. 5.0

Nitro: Though it didn’t need to be three hours, this was a great episode of Nitro. There are several big matches and moments throughout. The Hogan/DDP match was kind of a big deal, despite not really delivering. The Sting/Hogan stuff mostly came off very well on this episode, as did the Flair/Hennig angle. Flair/Savage, Mysterio/Malenko, Benoit/Finlay, and especially Jericho/Guerrero were all good matches. Shave off some of the fluff and make it two hours, and you’ve got one of the best episodes ever. 8.0