In this WWF Raw 2/3/97 review, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart make it clear that they don’t like each other, two titles are on the line, and much more.
Let’s jump in!
- Show: Monday Night Raw
- Date: February 3, 1997
- Location: SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario
- Raw Rating: 2.6
- Nitro Rating: 3.1
VIDEO: Replay of the controversial finish to the Royal Rumble match.
Vader vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Bret Hart hits the ring before the match starts, and we’ve got a BROUHAHA with Bret going after both men. Austin in Bret brawl in the aisle as officials pull all three apart. Yet again, this is awesome booking to push Bret’s hatred towards Austin. The match finally starts, and Austin and Vader are going at it.
Vader tries to go to the top rope for the Vader Bomb, but the referee tries to stop him. Vader slaps him, which allows Austin to hit a low blow. Ref bump after that leads to commercial. More back and forth, and then Austin gets pissed and hits the Stunner on the referee. Hilarious. Austin and Vader brawl on the outside with officials once again getting involved and the bell rings, with Vince noting that Austin loses via DQ.
I loved the DGAF attitudes of both Austin and Vader towards the referee. I’m not sure it was the intent, but Austin just stunning the referee outta nowhere made me laugh.
VIDEO: Hype for Thursday Raw Thursday which, I assume, is on a Thursday.
RINGSIDE: Jim Ross questions Savio Vega turning on Ahmed Johnson and joining the Nation. Vega doesn’t give a shit about the fans.
Flash Funk vs. Savio Vega
Dok Hendrix is on commentary for this one. Vince plays up Farooq and Crush not being ringside with Vega, but other Nation members are. Funk takes control and hits his impressive splash off the top for a near fall. Funk then goes up top again and flies off onto the future D’Lo Brown and others. However, that allows Vega to regroup, and he moves out of the way of Funk’s third flying attempt and covers him for the win. After the match, Farooq and Crush greet Vega in the aisle. This was all about the Vega push.
IN THE RING: JR with Sycho Sid. Once again, I love Sid’s music playing in the background. JR wants to know what Sid thinks of Shawn Michaels. Sid talks about his roller-coaster relationship with Michaels and basically says he’ll kick Michaels’ ass.
BACKSTAGE: Owen Hart and British Bulldog in the locker room. Vince, being the instigator he is, shows replay footage of Owen throwing Bulldog out in the Rumble match. Owen downplays it, then Vince shows more footage which gets Bulldog going. That leads to arguing between the two. Vince Springer strikes again!
Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon vs. (c) Owen Hart and British Bulldog – Tag Team Titles
The previous match between these teams was very good, so this should be entertaining. LaFon goes for a takedown early and Vince sells it like Hulk Hogan’s leg drop. You’ve gotta love Vince’s theatrics on commentary. Vince also reveals that Furnas is dealing with the flu, and JR points out his toughness. Furnas makes his way in and goes at it with Bulldog, then Owen and Bulldog use some teamwork to work over Furnas for a while.
Furnas goes for a quick pin on Owen, but the referee is distracted with Bulldog. Owen tries to tag Bulldog, but he’s too busy flexing to some fans. Furnas nearly gets the roll-up for the pin, but when Owen kicks out, it sends Furnas into Bulldog and knocks him off the apron.
The tension builds between Owen and Bulldog as Furnas finally tags LaFon. He runs wild with some nice offense and the referee counts to three on a pin attempt on Owen. But he quickly realizes Owen had his foot on the ropes, so the match continues. Double team move from Owen and Bulldog goes sideways, and Owen is selling a knee injury on the outside. The referee counts him out to give Furnas and LaFon the win.
Owens sprints down the aisle after the match and tries to calm Bulldog. Owen jumps up and down after Bulldog goes through the curtain. Great stuff from Owen.
BACKSTAGE: Ahmed has a message for the Nation, which includes him saying he’s not on his Prozac anymore. That’s interesting. Ahmed watches Crush make his entrance, then The Undertaker comes out of nowhere and grabs him by the throat. They go face to face.
Crush (w/Clarence Mason) vs. Goldust (w/Marlena)
It’s always funny hearing Vince or JR hyping upcoming live shows and seeing the “phone number no longer active” sign slapped on the screen. The crowd isn’t exactly into this one, but Hunter Hearst Helmsley walking down the aisle gets a rise from them. That allows Crush to get the advantage on Goldust for a long stretch.
The action picks up with a few near falls, then the referee gets distracted and doesn’t see Savio Vega hit Goldust with a spinning heel kick. Crush then hits the heart punch to Goldust to score the victory.
VIDEO: The Blackjacks are coming to destroy some fools.
IN THE RING: Vince welcomes Shawn Michaels. The fans are booing Michaels, and since it’s Bret Hart country, it’s understandable. Michaels says the belt has brought out the worst in him, and he’s fine with being bad. He only cares about being No. 1. Michaels takes a shot at Bret and here he comes. Bret thinks Michaels is more like Dennis Rodman than Muhammad Ali. He just doesn’t like Michaels. Bret also pushes Michaels as a degenerate, which we know would eventually stick.
Bret calls him a punk, and Austin hits the ring and attacks Bret. Sid makes his way down and he has a staredown with Michaels. Back from break, and Michaels and Bret have their own staredown with Bret stepping on the belt as Michaels tries to take it. They tease a brawl as Bret throws the belt down and flips off Michaels. Another tremendous segment in how it built the tension between these two.
VIDEO: JR throws it to highlights of Tinger Ali Singh signing his WWF contract before the show, and we see younger versions of Shane McMahon and Bruce Prichard in the background.
Marc Mero vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley – Intercontinental Title
JR reveals Gorilla Monsoon has banned the managers from ringside for this match. Reminder that LA FEMME NIKITA is up next! A back and forth affair and Mero build some momentum as Vince seemingly takes a shot at WCW pushing someone possibly showing up, whereas Taker, Mankind, and more will actually show up on this show. I’ll have to research that reference.
Mero hits a hurricanrana off the top, but Helmsley kicks out at two and a half. Merosault off the top for another near fall. The referee gets distracted by putting the corner pad back, which allows Helmsley to use a secret object to hit Mero and notch the pin to retain the title.
Farooq and Mankind vs. Ahmed Johnson and The Undertaker – No Holds Barred Match
Two interesting teams here. All action from the start, with Farooq and Ahmed splitting off in the ring, and Mankind and Taker fighting in the aisle. Vince keeps pushing NO BAIT AND SWITCH on this edition of Raw, so once again, that’s clearly a shot at something on Nitro. JR points out there’s been no teamwork, and Vince basically says he doesn’t give a damn because it’s all about action.
Crush makes his way down before the break, and Mankind locks in the Mandible Claw on Taker when we come back. Ahmed hits the Pearl River Plunge on Mankind, then Faarooq hits the Domination on Ahmed. Chaos everywhere with Ahmed going after Crush, and he eventually runs Farooq off with the 2×4.
Meanwhile, Vader comes in and attacks Taker, but then accidentally hits Mankind in the head with a chair. Vader hits Taker with a chair, but it doesn’t faze him. Taker then hits the Tombstone on Mankind on the chair for the win. This was wild and entertaining.
BLAKE’S TAKE ON MONDAY NIGHT RAW 2/3/97
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Thoughts: I laugh about Vince’s over-the-top commentary about the amount of action on this show, but he’s right. The angles involving the top stars like Bret, Michaels, and Austin were fantastic, as was the tension between Owen and Bulldog. The company was in a groove with its storyline execution at this point. Lots of fun stuff on this card.
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