WWF: Raw is War
October 20, 1997
Oklahoma City, OK
Myriad Convention Center

The current WWF champs were as follows:
World Champion: Bret Hart (8/3/1997)
Intercontinental Champion: Owen Hart (10/5/1997)
European Champion: Shawn Michaels (9/20/1997)
World Tag Team Champions: The Legion of Doom (10/13/1997)

TIME TO GET RAW! Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler.

• Ken Shamrock & Ahmed Johnson (w/the LOD) vs. Rocky Maivia & Kama (w/Faarooq & D’Lo Brown)

Even though they are just seconds for the babyface team, the Road Warriors get their own entrance to show off their fancy tag titles. We start off with a big eight man staredown and a brawl to follow, which is AWESOME. Once that’s over, the tag match can begin. Rocky wants Ahmed and instead gets dumped out on the floor. Whoops, his foot gets caught in the ropes and slowly he falls on his head. Back inside, Ahmed either gives Kama a Michinoku Driver or his legs give out. This guy is injury prone, ya know. While all of this is happening, D-Generation X are sitting on the ramp way holding up “funny” signs like “I’d Rather Be In Chyna” or “Uncle Tom 3:16”. Chyna’s sign says “Spank Me Vince”. Anyways, they think it’s funny. In the ring, Shamrock is cleaning house on the NOD guys. It takes some crafty misdirection for Kama to unload on Shamrock with a hook kick. As Rick Rude walks down to ringside to get a closer look, Rocky drops the early less charismatic version of the People’s Elbow, which is still charismatic. Shamrock makes him pay with a nice Frankensteiner. Rocky low blows Shamrock and punches him down to take back control. Shamrock delivers one Belly to Belly Suplex and calls for the ANKLELOCK, but Rocky makes the ropes. The NOD continue to beat up Rocky for a while. Once Kama sticks his foot in to stop Shamrock, LOD jump up on the apron to distract the ref while Faarooq jumps into the ring and blasts Shamrock with Rude’s Halliburton briefcase. Rocky covers for the win. (6:44) Like the dummy he is, Ahmed Johnson goes solo after the Nation of Domination only to get his butt whooped. Pat Patterson comes from behind the curtain trying to cool down the situation. As the LOD walk up the aisle, the Godwinns wearing something different besides overalls attack them from behind with trash cans! Even though the damage is done, Ken Shamrock helps run them off. *½

Vince hypes that a former WCW champion is going to be in this ring tonight.

Backstage, Michael Cole is standing in the Nation of Domination’s locker room where it has been severely vandalized and trashed. There’s Canadian flags and “Canada Rules” amongst other black stereotypical items spraypainted on the walls and everything. This has to be the work of the Hart Foundation, right? I mean, WHO ELSE would have done such a thing but the Hart Foundation. This is totally something they would do without a doubt.

Back at ringside, Faarooq and the NOD (mainly Faarooq) bark at Vince McMahon about running a racist company. Faarooq continues his diatribe in the ring while the crowd continues to express that Rocky sucks. Come out and face Faarooq like a man, Bret Hart!

• Non-title match: WWF Champion Bret Hart (w/the Hart Foundation) vs. Faarooq (w/the NOD)

Vince says this match was scheduled for the main event, but it’s happening now. You can tell this is unexpected because the Hart Foundation are still putting on their ring jackets and Bret Hart is (naturally) the last one out because he’s habitually late. Before you know it, D-Generation X are at ringside putting on headsets and downing the Hart Foundation. Another Faarooq match where the match really doesn’t matter that much because of someone else’s overbearing personality. As Bret goes after Shawn, the NOD and the Harts get into a brawl as hell is BREAKING LOOSE, says Vince. Commercials! When we return, DX has returned to the locker room. While Bret is busy dissecting the knee, he eventually tries for the Ringpost Figure-Four, which the NOD have a problem with as a brawl ensues between the two factions. During all the chaos, Stone Cold Steve Austin enters the ring (camera is SHAKING) and Faarooq receives a STONE COLD STUNNER. And just like that, as mysteriously as he arrived, he was gone. Bret having no idea what happened to a knocked out Faarooq is smart enough to jump on the cover for the win. (5:16 shown) That Faarooq is going to be PISSED when he wakes up. *

And what do we have here? Jeff Jarrett was on Monday Nitro two weeks ago and this week he’s on Monday Night Raw. First guy to make the switch to WWF, right? Unless I’m missing someone obvious. He shoots on Eric Bischoff saying he did everything in his power to bury him by putting him in the ring with guys like Steve McMichael all because he wasn’t one of his boys. All he wanted was opportunity. Jarrett goes on and says that he left the WWF for the same reason two years ago because he was being buried by giving him a goofy country music gimmick. Someone just threw a Scream mask onto the announce table. HA! Jarrett chastises Vince for putting in the ring with a clown, a drug addict, and a black man who can’t even speak the English language. Jarrett thinks Vince is just determined to bury him because he couldn’t kill his father’s business in Memphis. He says Vince paid him a bunch of money because Vince needs him for ratings. Jarrett tells Vince to take “With My Baby Tonight” and stick it up ya butt. Jarrett then makes fun of top stars Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin thinking he’s going to work with any of these guys. He tells Vince that he’s now got the real Jeff Jarrett and hopes he’s worth the headache.

• Marc Mero (w/Sable) vs. Brian Christopher

Jerry Lawler walks out to the ring with his son and sits down at the announce table. Here is the introduction from Vince McMahon for every Marc Mero match: hey look it’s Marc Mero…AND SABLE. Mero rabbit punches a bunch and does little else. Meanwhile, Lawler decides to sell some Austin 3:16 hats by putting one on Sable. Once Mero finds out, he walks over to Sable and takes the hat off her head before tossing it into the crowd. Hey, free hat! That had the opposite effect from what Lawler wanted. Back inside, Christopher hits the Full Nelson Facebuster. Mero avoids a corner charge and delivers the Mr. Wrestling II Knee Lift. Lawler gets up on the apron to distract Mero, but Mero low blows Christopher anyways and hits the TKO for the three-count. (4:12) Mero’s new attitude is okay, but his in-ring material leaves something to be desired. ¾*

AND NOW WE ENTER THE WARZONE! Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler.

• Title vs. Title: WWF Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart vs. WWF European Champion Shawn Michaels

Owen says he will keep the Hart Foundation out of this if he will keep DX out of this to find out who the best man really is. Rick Rude, Chyna, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley come out onto the ramp. Rude goes through his usual “What I’d like to have right now” spiel and introduces the ICON Shawn Michaels. When HBK comes out, he sends the rest of DX to the back. Headlocks and shoulderblocks to start. Owen catches Shawn with a spinning heel kick and clotheslines him to the floor. Michaels makes him pay though by dropping him on the guardrail, throwing him into the steps, and then giving Owen a piledriver on the floor(!!). Commercials. When we come back, Owen is in control and throwing Michaels around. Shawn escapes a sleeper though with a back suplex and grounds Owen with a chinlock. Owen breaks free and blasts Shawn with a catapult into the corner for two. Next up, Owen misses a corner charge and runs his shoulder into the post. Michaels slams him down for the Flying Elbow Drop and connects. Time to tune up the band, but Owen sees it coming and blasts Shawn with the ENZIGURI KICK OF DEATH. Here comes Stone Cold Steve Austin jumping the rail and getting in the ring. Poor ref Jack Doan stands in between Austin and Owen and receives a STONE COLD STUNNER for a no-contest finish. (5:30 shown) Well, it’s pretty much over here. Shawn connects with SWEET CHIN MUSIC on Owen, but there’s no ref obvs. Bret Hart runs down and punches the crap out of Shawn until DX runs down to save their guy. Shawn and Owen would have a better match on RAW in December. **½

Somewhere dark and purple, the Undertaker finally breaks his silence about Kane. Taker admits that Paul Bearer has put him in hell and even though Kane has the demon inside him, he will never fight his own flesh and blood. Totally worth all the hype! Yet Jeff Jarrett gets how much time?

• Davey Boy Smith vs. Dude Love 

This is the first we’ve seen of Mick Foley period in the past couple weeks. Yep, no Davey Boy Smith. Instead, That Monster Kane and Paul Bearer appears. Dude punches back on Kane and Cactus Clotheslines him to the floor. Of course, Kane lands on his feet. Dude finds a chair and blasts Kane over the head, but Kane NO-SELLS and CHOKESLAMS Dude on the steel ramp. How about one more.

WWF Flashback: Survivor Series! Tuesday night October 28 on the USA Network.

• Road Dogg & “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn vs. The Headbangers

This is the RAW debut of the New Age Outlaws. The intro is still VERY raw. The NAO are already looking towards tag team gold as they defeated the New Blackjacks in their debut match on Shotgun Saturday Night by cheating. I mean, there’s about as many teams in the WWF right now as there are factions, so it’s a short climb to a tag titles shot, I suppose. Road Dogg – “You betta PAGE somebody!” Ross wants to know why everyone is obsessed with their dicks all of a sudden as Road Dogg thrusts towards him. Mosh plays face in peril until Gunn misses a Stinger Splash. Hot tag to Thrasher, he and Mosh clean house. Road Dogg receives the Flapjack and things look bad for the Outlaws until Gunn blasts Thrasher with his own boom box for the three-count. (4:06) There’s a shattered boom box all over the ring, but ref Mike Chioda doesn’t seem to notice. Thrasher is bleeding a little bit. Somebody should tell the Headbangers not to bring a boom box to ringside anymore. ¾*

We see a clip of Bret Hart’s appearance on MadTV scheduled to air 11/1/1997.

• TAKA Michinoku vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri

Sunny introduces this next match because what else is she to do. We see that “the hottest free agent” TAKA Michinoku has finally signed a contract with the WWF. They announce a light heavyweight tournament starts 11/3 on RAW. Tajiri unloads on TAKA with an Asai Moonsault, but TAKA fires back with a flying spinning heel kick. To the floor again, TAKA delivers his signature springboard plancha onto Tajiri. Back in, Tajiri avoids a moonsault and buzzsaw kicks TAKA before delivering a sitout powerbomb for 1-2-NO! Hurracanrana gets two as well. NASTY head kick by Tajiri. Missile dropkick connects, but Tajiri flips away from the Michinoku Driver and hits a bridging German suplex for two. Another hurracanrana by Tajiri gets countered to a powerbomb. MICHINOKU DRIVER gets three. (2:55) Fun three minute match, but that’s about all you can say. **½

Time for another edition of Cornette’s Commentary giving more crap to Phil Mushnick for speaking his mind about how he feels about wrestling fans. You know, everybody doesn’t have to like us, Jim. Anyways, Cornette reads some people’s responses to Phil’s comments on his TV Guide message board for the lulz. I love you Jim, but who really gives a hoot about any of this?

Before the main event, they take us back to last week on RAW to see what happened with the Legion of Doom, the Godwinns, and Uncle Cletus.

• The Godwinns vs. 8-Ball & Skull (w/Chainz & Crush) 

For CHEAP heat, the Godwinns have spraypainted Texas Longhorns on their own Oklahoma Sooners t-shirts. Not even a match because the Truth Commission led by the Interrogator come to the ring to beat up on the Disciples of Apocalypse. Commissioner Slaughter, agents, and refs hit the ring and it’s a whole big mess. Vince sends us over to the boiler room with…Mankind? What about Dude Love?

Mankind is BACK and he’s the master of madness, of mayhem, malice, even cruelty. So much for alliteration. Unlike the Undertaker, Mankind has no problem fighting his own flesh and blood. If his grandmother dropped him on his head, then the old bag would go down. Mankind is looking for a fight, Kane. HAVE A NICE DAY!

Fans, we’re outta time.

22

The WWF presents Survivor Series (brought to you by Milton Bradley Karate Fighters for the third year in a row!) LIVE on November 9 from Montreal! Here is the card as it currently appears:

MAIN EVENT: WWF Champion Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Owen Hart (c) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin