Jan 6th 1997 I definitely went into this with zero research and forgot this was before the Attitude Era started.
It is very obvious.
The opening match between Owen Hart and Mankind was actually super solid. I always forgot just how much I loved Mankind's original theme song and gimmick; I get why the change was needed but I wouldn't have minded seeing it referenced more later in his career
Really weird commercial with Freddie Blaise watching some little kid modeling wrestler costumes for him. It was uncomfortable
Super weird locker room interview with Shawn Michaels with him just...not looking anywhere near the camera for the duration.
Promo for Shotgun Saturday Night that for some reason heavily promoted the Flying Nuns. Weird choice.
Fake Diesel and Fake Razor Ramon were so much worse than I remembered. Watching anything to do with them is just painful.
Bad promo from Bret Hart that's supposed to hype up a match against Vader but just does.....nothing. Also Psycho Sid's music cuts into it for some reason?
Someone thought it was a good idea to give Sid a five minute in-ring interview segment. It was not a good idea...and his music is playing throughout for some fucking reason.
Bret vs Vader is a great example of why I'll always be Team Bret over HBK. Vader wasn't the best worker but he had an undeniable aura. Bret was able to work with what was in front of him and put on a solid match that made both workers look great. HBK whined and chased him out of the company. Ending of the match though was dumbbbbbb.
Vince McMahon is so bad on commentary. Like, atrociously bad.
Thankfully, Raw is still only an hour until February. I know this year gets better and it's one of the most important years in the history of the WWF/WWE but this was badddddddd.
Starting off with Marc Mero (w/ Sable) and Goldust vs Jerry Lawyer and HHH in his blueblood gimmick. I'm sure (or I hope) there's more story that I'm just missing out on just from where I started and only watching Raw but I just...don't get this feud. Like, at all. The pacing throughout the match is just weird and lacking and feels super dated even for 30 years ago. Also a weird as fuck pro OJ Simpson comment from the Honky Tonk Man during the middle of the trial. Match ends by Goldust just...getting DQed by choking the fuck out of HHH.
Another fucking Psycho Sid promo. I get it he's a major player right now but stop letting this man talk. I do always love the promos though where the wrestler isn't in the arena, isn't competing that night but is still just in their ring gear because why not?
I totally forgot the British Bulldog was Nation of Domination adjacent for some fucking reason. He's up against rookie Rocky who still looks super green. Pretty slow match with a lotttttt of dead space, which makes sense because I doubt Bulldog is capable of anything more than that at this point in his career. Another bad finish with a run-in and a count-out.
Moving to the Undertaker vs Crush. The worst rendition of the Nation comes out as well but doesn't really add anything. Undetaker gets his ass kicked very slowly, we get the threat of Vader interfering, Undertaker gets beat up more. Undertaker barely does anything, delivers the WORST chokeslam I've ever seen...and then we get another fucking run in and DQ.
This show was supposed to be hyping up the Royal Rumble...but everything just made every participant look awful. I'm already starting to feel like this was a mistake.
Jan 20th, 1997 Alright, so we're the night after the Royal Rumble now. HBK is now champ, we have the infamous Bret/Stone Cold double elimination, we've got some potential for an actually good show here. Let's see how that goes:
Starting off with a ring promo with Bret, really leaning heavily into the disenfranchise entitled heel gimmick. Says he quits the company and walks out through the crowd with McMahon just awkwardly watching. Camera switches out and Stone Cold is just...in the ring, with the worst vest I've ever seen and immediately has technical difficulties.
We're gettin JR on commentary now; already a huge improvement.
first match is the Slammy Award Winning Owen Hart and British Bulldog vs the Can-Am Express, who they do not call the Can-Am Express. Non-title for some reason. Match is solid enough, nothing really stand out but not a bad way to get the night going.
Now we've got the Nation coming out, with PG-13 rapping. It's...not great. I always forget how bad this stable was in this rendition. Match is Faarooq vs pre-Brawl For All Bart Gunn. Real old school match, lots of rest holds right off the bat. UGLIEST dominator I've ever seen; Bart Gunn was clearly sandbagging and Faarooq could barely get his ass in the air.
Ring segment with "the President of the WWF" Gorilla Monsoon and Vince up next; announcing a "very unique" four-way no DQ match for the number 1 contender spot. Jim Ross, for some reason, knows exactly when the match is going to happen despite it just being announced. Stone Cold comes out, heels it up. Stone Cold gets in Gorilla's face, Bret comes back through the crowd, accepts the match. Brawls with Austin outside the ring, beats the shit out of Austin (who's supposed to have a match like...right now.). Cuts to commercial in the middle of the segment, with that weird fucking Freddie Blaise one again. Comes back from commercial, Austin's now totally fine and the Undertaker comes out for his match as they're dragging away Bret. Decides to beat the shit out of Bret during his entrance, then we've got Stone Cold come out of the ring to brawl with the Undertaker this time. Match actually starts, but it's still pretty much a brawl. We get.a Current School from Taker. Back and forth for a bit, Lawer keeps just..screaming about Taker's ribs. Double-down after a Stunner from Austin. We cut to the back and now...Vader and Bret are fighting for some reason. We go back to the ring with Stone Cold dominating, goes up to the top rope and gets immediately racked by Taker in the most predictable spot of all time. Big leaping clothesline from Taker and then...Vader runs out, gets immediately chokeslammed but it's still a DQ despite Taker not being touched. Vader all but no sells it as Bret runs out, then we get a four way brawl and then it just....ends.
definitely an improvement on the last two episodes but another night without a single clean finish. The Russo vibes are very noticeable.
Probably no other year in WWF history was as radically different from the start of it to the end than 1997. Its absolutely crazy how different it is by the time the year ends
Starting off with really no ramp up and just Ahmed Johhson vs Crush. My first impression is that this will be one of the worst matches I've seen in my life. Ahmed has the worst axe kick I've ever seen in my life, but it's a kinda cool nod to his (bad) future in the new Harlem Heat in WCW. Faarooq runs in while the ref is distracted, pulls Ahmed to the floor and whips him into the steps which...somehow the ref doesn't hear? Crush with the worst finisher of all time for the win, because of course it's a run-in finish.
Urban Cowboy HBK has a ring promo next. Hyping up that 4-way match so Bret's comes to the ring. Bret immediately fucks up when the WWF Championship rematch is and Vince has to cover his ass. Now Taker comes out and he is not a good promo at this point in his career. Then Stone Cold comes out and won't even come into the ring and still saves the segment. Vader's on the ramp behind him but it doesn't matter because we cut to commercial and when we come back the segments over and the ring's cleared lol.
We've got Owen Hart and the Bulldog again vs the Can-Am Express but this one's a singles match with Bulldog and Furnas. The roster at this point had to be so fucking small; this is the third match with the Can-Am Express since starting this thing. We cut to Ahmed rampaging through the lockerroom before going back to the ring. The match...ain't great. We at least get a clean-ish finish though with the Bulldog countering a sunset flip. We get a wayyy too long argument between Owen and the Bulldog before we cut to another recap.
Now we've got a tag team match with Vader and Mankind vs the Godwinns. This match already makes no fucking sense and I have no idea why you'd book this to close a show but whatev. It's an okay enough match and at least Vader and Mankind have chemistry because of course they do. Action spills out ringside which is probably for the best, but of course we cut to commercial and it's back inside. Super weird spot where pre-Mideon runs into the corner to get Vader...who had already left the ring, so it's just him running into the fucking turnbuckle. Mankind accidentally bashes Vader with a chair, which is apparently a DQ so it's all over, even though the timekeeper clearly didn't see their cue and didn't ring the bell right away.
We get a lil segment with Ahmed big mad chasing a car down with a 2x4 and then....that's it. That's the show.
Significant downgrade from the last episode. It's very easy to see why the WCW was killing them at this time.
the majority of 1997 raw is truly fucking dreadful. wcw was on top that year for a good reason
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I pray god will curse the writer, as the writer has cursed the world with this beautiful, stupendous creation, terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in truth