Monday Night Raw – August 4, 1997: His Days Are Numbered

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 4, 1997
Location: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 4,665
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Vince McMahon

To put it mildly, a lot changed last night. On the storyline front, Bret Hart won the WWF World Title after spitting at guest referee Shawn Michaels, who swung a chair at Bret but hit Undertaker by mistake. You can imagine where something like this is going. Much more importantly however, Owen Hart accidentally dropped Steve Austin on his head in a piledriver attempt, nearly breaking Austin’s neck in an injury that would eventually lead to the end of his career. That’s going to dramatically change things going forward as you would expect. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Hart Foundation (billed as the whole team, though again minus Neidhart, who seems to be gone, at least for the time being) to open things up. JR walks us through the ending of last night’s main event before Bret says you’re supposed to suffer for your crimes. Well he isn’t suffering, so maybe last night wasn’t a crime. Last night he beat someone from the devil and depths of despair with a referee favoring the other guy throughout the entire match, but he stuck to his word the whole night.

The WWF isn’t sticking to its word though, because they said if Shawn didn’t call it down the line, he wouldn’t wrestle in this country ever again. Bret is standing here as champion because he was smarter than both of those Americans last night, so what is the WWF going to do now? JR brings up Bret’s title defense at Ground Zero: In Your House (the first show with the different format for the names, as well as the first three hour In Your House) against the Patriot. This is the first mention of the match and it’s just announced without some #1 contenders match or a big segment. That saves so much time and still makes sense.

Bret sees the hypocrisy in the Patriot, who talks about morals and then comes out with Michaels and Austin, so Patriot means nothing to him. Someone who does mean something to him though is the British Bulldog, who fought valiantly against Ken Shamrock, who will never receive another European Title shot. As for Brian Pillman, he has way too much class to wear a dress. Finally, as for Owen, who lost the title despite Austin barely being able to move, it was another miscarriage of justice.

Owen talks about the rage and anger inside himself after showing compassion to Austin. He only beat himself, but he made Austin a crippled freak. Since Austin can never wrestle again, he should just forfeit the title back to Owen right now. JR thinks the new commissioner has been listening, so here he is: Sgt. Slaughter. This was a strange pick as Slaughter hadn’t been a thing in the WWF in years, but now he’s the boss. At least it fits with the America vs. Canada theme.

Anyway, Slaughter says he’s the new sheriff in town, which gets a VERY strong reaction from the crowd. Slaughter orders Bret to defend the title against Patriot at the pay per view. Bret: “Who did he ever beat to get a title shot.” Slaughter: “You.” Bulldog will be facing Shamrock again soon, and that’s an order (Slaughter’s catchphrase). Pillman will wear a dress tonight or he’s suspended.

As for Owen, he can have his title shot when the doctors give Austin approval to wrestle, and when Stone Cold says so. This brings out Austin, who says it’s time to fight right now. Owen should have pinned him when he had the chance but he was a loser from the day he was born. The fact that Austin can walk is astounding enough on its own, but you could see how shaky he was.

Fans at Summerslam last night said Undertaker was robbed by Shawn.

Faarooq is ready for his triple threat with Savio Vega and Crush at the pay per view. How dare they challenge him to a street fight when he’s a man from the streets. They can take their beatings like men, just like Ahmed will take care of Chainz tonight. Ahmed: “Who?” That would be the fourth guy in the DOA, who I don’t think has been named to this point.

Kama Mustafa vs. Ken Shamrock

The entire Nation is here but Shamrock is on his own. Therefore, here’s Slaughter to eject everyone but Kama. It’s a martial arts match to start with Shamrock getting the better of it and punching Kama back into the corner. A big jumping spinwheel kick drops Kama again but he slams Shamrock and gets two off an elbow. They head outside with Kama being sent into the post, allowing Los Boricuas to come out and suplex him on the floor. Back in and Shamrock, who may or may not have seen what happened, scores with the belly to belly for the pin.

Rating: C-. I liked this more than I thought I would and it was a good way to show Mustafa as more than just an enforcer. A good striker is always going to have a spot and it was Kama’s first showcase. That being said, can we stop having interference in almost every match? Shamrock beating him clean wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world and Los Boricuas getting involved really wasn’t needed.

Brakus is still coming.

Taka Michinoku vs. Brian Christopher

Sunny does the ring announcing. Brian elbows him down to start and drops an elbow but walks into a belly to belly. Taka’s hurricanrana is countered into a nice powerbomb though, followed by a Fameasser (that’s becoming very popular around here). Back up and Brian loads up a dive but misses a charge, sending him crashing out to the floor. Taka finally speeds things up with a dive of his own but Brian dropkicks him in the back of the head. Christopher rolls some vertical suplexes but kicks his feet too far into the air, allowing Taka to tie up his legs into a small package for the pin.

Rating: D+. The ending was good but I’m really not caring for this division so far. It’s just a bunch of guys being thrown out there without much that really sets them apart. Christopher is the only light heavyweight with a personality to speak of but he doesn’t have the style in the ring to back it up. I know WCW’s Cruiserweight division worked with a lack of personalities, but they had the in ring action to make everything work. The WWF is trying to find a middle ground and it’s really missing.

Brian catapults Taka to the floor like a sore loser.

Slaughter gives Pillman his dress, which Pillman is ordered to wear until he wins a match or he’s suspended.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Vader

Before the match, Paul Bearer says he’s forgotten more about wrestling than Chyna will ever know and declares himself more of a man than she is. Uh……..well alright then. Vader runs Helmsley over at the bell and pummels him in the corner with rights and lefts. A single clothesline actually puts Vader down as the announcers praise Helmsley for his performance last night against Mankind in a losing effort. Bearer gets in Chyna’s face and ears a dropkick, drawing Vader out to the floor. Helmsley follows and it’s a quick double countout. Helmsley was more aggressive here and that’s a good sign going forward.

The Patriot is proud to be an American, even though Bret is right that there are some things that need to be fixed in this country. However, unlike Bret who is whining, Patriot is willing to stand up and fix them. One problem he wants to fix is someone like Bret complaining about America but reaping all the benefits. Last week he defeated Bret and he’ll do it again at Ground Zero: In Your House when all the marbles are on the line. Tonight he’s got the Sultan, who he’s heard is undefeated in the WWF (he’s heard wrong) so Bret needs to watch for a preview of what’s going to happen to him. That was quite the emotional speech.

The Sultan vs. The Patriot

This is Sultan’s return after an injury. They wave their flags to start but Sultan hits Patriot from behind to take over. Patriot wins a slugout and sidesteps a charge to send Sultan into the post. The Patriot Missile and Uncle Slam are enough for the fast pin.

The Hart Foundation come to the ring as soon as the bell rings but Slaughter picks off Owen and Bulldog, leaving Bret all alone. Patriot is ready for Bret, who suddenly realizes he’s lost his backup. The fight is on with Patriot getting the better of it as the fans eat this up with a red, white and blue spoon.

Hour #2 opening sequence.

Here’s Shawn for a chat to a mixed reaction. Shawn thinks that everyone is dumping Undertaker losing the title in his lap. Vince suggests that this isn’t fair but Shawn tells him to shut up. This is just like Vince or Bret or all the WWF fans to blame Shawn for all their problems. He tells the fans to shut up over and over again before Vince asks if Shawn and Bret are working together.

Shawn calls Vince the dumbest SOB he’s ever seen so Vince announces Undertaker vs. Shawn for the next pay per view. Michaels throws Vince out and says he’s certainly not working with Bret but he knows Bret needs him, because he’s the only man that has beaten Bret before. As for Undertaker, this is the first time he and Shawn have ever crossed paths and Shawn isn’t laying down for anyone, including the fans.

The fans are all over Shawn, who rants about giving them everything he’s had for the last ten years. He promises to superkick Undertaker the next time he sees him, so here’s Undertaker to give him the opportunity. Shawn bails before Undertaker gets to the ring (which of course takes forever) so Vince gets back in to talk to the dead man.

After we get a mic that works, Undertaker says he’s been doing too much talking late, so it’s time to take some souls and make people rest in peace. It’s time for Michaels to pay for his crimes. Undertaker goes to leave but Paul Bearer comes up on screen to call him a murderer again. He was with Kane last night and he’s ready to come face his brother. Oh yes, he is coming. Undertaker goes to leave again and the lights go out before turning blood red. That was quite the segment as we have a new top program, which has the potential to blow the roof off the place.

The doctor tells Slaughter that Austin can’t wrestle tonight due to a spinal injury.

Ahmed Johnson vs. Chainz

Chainz is probably best known as Brian Lee from ECW, or the fake Undertaker from 1994. Just like earlier, Slaughter comes out to eject the rest of the Nation and the DOA. Chainz goes after Ahmed’s recently injured knee to start but Johnson is fine enough to hit something like a Michinoku Driver for no cover. To be fair, it was more like dropping Chainz on his head than a slam like the move usually is but Johnson isn’t really capable of doing most moves. Cue Los Boricuas to go after Chainz’s bike, which sets up the Pearl River Plunge to give Ahmed the pin.

DOA comes out to chase off Los Boricuas so here’s the Nation to even things out. They load up the salute…..and then beat Ahmed down, with Brown dropping a top rope elbow onto the bad knee.

Godwinns vs. Headbangers

Henry headlocks Thrasher to start but Thrasher actually takes him down with some nice technical stuff. Off to Mosh, who calls Phineas a chicken to draw him in, only to dropkick him right to the floor. Thrasher tries to come in but gets held back, allowing Henry to take Mosh’s head off with a clothesline. Mosh fights out of the corner and everything breaks down, leading to Henry Slop Dropping Mosh to give Phineas the pin.

Rating: D. Lame match here between two teams without much of an upside. The tag division isn’t really strong at the moment as you have a thrown together team as champions instead of a normal pairing, but outside of Owen/Bulldog and the LOD, the division is almost worthless. This match was real proof of a lot of the problems it’s having right now as it desperately needs some fresh blood.

Brian Pillman vs. Bob Holly

Goldust and Marlena are here to watch, with Marlena saying Pillman isn’t much of a man so maybe he’ll be a better lady. Brian is forced to come out here by Slaughter and goes right after Holly as aggressively as you’ll ever see him. The fans are behind Holly, who comes back with an atomic drop and dropkick as Pillman has to keep holding his dress down. Bob pulls it up for some slaps but misses a top rope legdrop. Pillman has an opening but Marlena holds up a bra for him, drawing Pillman outside for a countout, meaning he’s still in a dress next week.

Dude Love vs. Owen Hart

Bret is on commentary. Owen sends Dude into the buckle to start but gets caught in something like a bulldog. The enziguri gets Owen out of trouble as we see Austin watching in the back. Things slow down as Dude grabs an armbar of all things before an elbow to the back of the head gets two. Vince fills in time on a chinlock by asking why Lawler and Bret are so friendly all of a sudden.

Owen knocks Dude to the floor and we take a break. This hasn’t been the most thrilling match in the world so far, which is kind of surprising given who is in there. Back with Dude taking a walk up the ramp but missing a running elbow to Owen on the floor. Bret: “Stu-pid.” A Bret vs. Foley feud could have been glorious.

Owen scores with a missile dropkick, followed by an enziguri to put Dude on the floor again. Back in again and a middle rope elbow gets two on British Bulldog comes out, only to be ejected by Slaughter. It’s a distraction though, allowing Bret to send Dude into the post. The Sharpshooter goes on but cue Austin to hit Owen with a Slammy to give Dude the pin.

Rating: C. Like I said, I’m kind of surprised by how low key this was. The match wound up being a means to get to the Austin interference that everyone knew was coming. That doesn’t make it a bad thing, but the match was kind of off. That’s not to say it was bad, but it was kind of an odd course for them to take. The fact that everyone was just waiting for Austin didn’t help either.

The Dudettes mob Dude to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a very different kind of show as it was hitting the ground running after last night’s major show. A lot of things happened in these two hours with Shawn turning heel, Patriot emerging as Bret’s first challenger, and the announcement that Austin is going to be out of action for a bit. A show like this is often necessary but almost always feels strange because of how things are being set up instead of happening now. It’s still entertaining though and makes me want to come back for more, which is the most important part.

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