Monday Night Raw
January 27, 1997
Beaumont, TX
Montagne Center
(Taped on 1/20/97)

The current WWF champs were as follows:
World Champion: Shawn Michaels (1/19/1997)
Intercontinental Champion: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (10/21/1996)
World Tag Team Champions: Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith (9/22/1996)

Recap of last week is shown. All four individuals are here this week as well. That means it might get CRAZY!

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler.

• Ahmed Johnson vs. Crush (w/Nation of Domination)
  

Oh geez. In MSG on Saturday afternoon, Savio Vega TURNED on Ahmed Johnson to join up with the Nation of Domination. On Shotgun Saturday Night the following evening, Psycho Sid went psycho and cleared the ring of the Nation of Domination with a chair. I wonder what that means. Anyways, Savio and Faarooq are nowhere to be seen as Crush pearl harbors Ahmed to start. Ahmed catches Crush with a powerslam and delivers an ugly scissor kick. Is it because he’s black and so is Booker T? Is that why he has to do that move? More stomping and stuff from Ahmed. Now he’s dishing out a hook kick. It doesn’t even come near Crush’s face like when Booker T. Enough of that, Crush takes over and starts grinding on the kidneys. Commercials! Much like at the Royal Rumble, Ahmed stands up out of a chinlock and falls back on Crush. He maintains control with a backbreaker, but then Ahmed dropkicks him as he comes off the middle rope. They head to the floor where Faarooq attacks and whips Ahmed into the steps. Back inside, Crush delivers the HEART PUNCH and picks up the win. (5:44 shown) Just a word of advice, lay off the Booker T offense. It just makes him look WORSE. ½*

Thursday Raw Thursday! February 13! It’s going to be LIVE and two-hours long only on USA Network! Sounds like a stacked card planned: Bret Hart/Vader and HBK/Sid in a rematch for the WWF title!

Here comes the WWF champ Shawn Michaels for an interview with Vince McMahon. By hook or by crook, he WILL defeat Psycho Sid and hold onto the WWF title when it’s all said and done at Thursday Raw Thursday. When Vince asks him about the four competitors (Bret, Austin, Vader, Taker) involved in the elimination match, Shawn puts them all over and reminds them that the WWF title is what it is all about. The WWF title is where it’s at and it’s where he wants to stay. Really, Shawn? Vince brings out all four men that have a shot at Shawn’s WWF title – the first being Bret Hart. He’s looking forward to winning the Final Four match and beating Shawn for the WWF title at WrestleMania 13. Vince reminds Bret to not overlook Sid. It doesn’t really matter to Bret because he just wants the gold, but he REALLY wants a piece of Shawn. Next up, the Undertaker. UT tells Bret that while he might have been screwed at the Royal Rumble, no one has been screwed more times at that show than him. That’s actually very true. Over to Shawn, Taker instructs him to give his butt to the Lord, because his body, soul, and the WWF title belongs to him. Years later, Shawn would do that very thing! Next up, it’s Stone Cold Steve Austin. JR follows him out with a mic in hand because Austin isn’t about to get into the ring right now. Of course he says he would, but he doesn’t. Vader and Paul Bearer are standing behind Austin in the aisleway. He teases to make a run at Bret, Taker, and HBK in the ring, but thinks better of it and walks past Vader talking crap the whole time. Commercial break time. I guess Vader doesn’t get to speak.

Faarooq whipping Ahmed Johnson into the stairs from earlier in the night is your Western Union Rewind of the Week!

• Davey Boy Smith (w/Owen Hart & Clarence Mason) vs. Doug Furnas (w/Phil LaFon)
  

Furnas delivers his signature dropkick to start and runs into Bulldog in the corner for two. Nice suplex gets two. Furnas fails at another corner charge and lands right in front of Owen and Mason. Davey Boy follows him out and slams his head into the ringpost. He even ups the violence by dropping the top half of the steps on Furnas! Yeah, let’s take a commercial break. During the break, Ahmed Johnson (with 2×4 in hand) kicked down the Nation of Domination’s locker room door, but there was nobody home. In the ring, Furnas fights out of a chinlock into a kitchen sink. Bulldog wants a piledriver it seems, but Furnas backdrops out. It doesn’t amount to much as Davey Boy Smith levels him with a snap suplex instead. Next up, Furnas flips out of a suplex and hits another dropkick. Overhead suplex by Furnas is followed by a powerslam for 1-2-NO! Furnas wants a rana, but Bulldog sees it coming and counters with a powerbomb. Cover, 1-2-NO! Now Owen is on the apron with the Slammy Award. While Phil LaFon gets up on the apron to talk to the ref about it, Furnas reverses a whip and sends Davey Boy into the Slammy Award. OOPS! Furnas easily school boys Bulldog up for the 1-2-3. (7:36 shown) I think this might have done a little more to get the All Japan boys over than the tag match did. Solid work here. **½

They replay Savio Vega turning on Ahmed Johnson in MSG on the previous Saturday and then his official jump to the Nation of Domination on Shotgun Saturday Night when the group attacked Rocky Maivia.

Earlier today, the legendary Tiger Jeet Singh announced his son Tiger Ali Singh has signed with the WWF.

• The Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) vs. Vader & Mankind (w/Paul Bearer)
  

This is the first TV pairing of Mankind and Vader together. Their *thing* is that they definitely don’t care for each other. The Godwinns do alright against Mankind as he refuses to tag out when he’s trouble or otherwise. Finally, Vader tags himself in and corners Phineas with those grizzly jabs. Tag to Mankind, he locks in the MANDIBLE CLAW on Phineas. Here comes Henry to dump them BOTH out to break the hold. That’s reasonable. On the apron, Vader takes hold of Mankind to prevent a suplex back into the ring. Once he gives up on the suplex, Mankind and Vader flip Phineas over the top rope to the floor. Hank comes over and causes a big melee as we go to commercial. When we return, there’s a HOT TAG TO HENRY! He manages to SLAM Vader, but misses an elbow drop and takes a big huge elbow right to the lower abdomen. Body Attack wipes Henry out to the floor. Meanwhile, Mankind grabs a chair and while Phineas complains to the ref about it, Mankind misses a chairshot meant for Henry and nails Vader – even though he clearly had enough time to stop the swing, but let it go anyways. All a sudden, the match ends and the Godwinns pick up the victory via countout. (7:14 shown) If nothing else, this puts over Vader and Mankind’s unpredictability. Although I don’t see how putting Vader in a tag team helps his chances in the Final Four match. *½

In the back, Ahmed Johnson goes after the Nation of Domination out in the parking lot as they are trying to leave. He swings his 2×4 at PG-13 and MISSES! Looks like JC Ice gets put in the trunk. As the car drives away and Wolfie D barely makes his escape into the vehicle, Ahmed takes another swing with the 2×4 and misses again! Gosh, I’ve never seen someone so ineffective with a 2×4.

Next Monday night starting an hour before Raw at 7:57PM EST, you can watch the entire Royal Rumble match – for free! I mean, they have to try and get ahead of that pesky Monday Nitro program, ya know. What’s MORE important if you’re a TRUE WWF fan is that Raw has the possibility of winning one in the ratings, not that you felt you got your money’s worth. That’s just LUDICROUS.