Nadeem Ahmad
Pre-Show Stalwart
Well they were fresh off from the exciting Royal Rumble in San Antonio from the night before this show and it was more packed than the last episode was with people who probably wanted to see the "fallout". Let us see if it could continue the momentum.
Last time a lot of unclassy fighting took place to further some feuds among Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Vader, Undertaker, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust. The Nation of Domination kept Ahmed Johnson down too despite themselves interfering in the main event.
"
Program: WWF Monday Night Raw
Date: January twentieth nineteen ninety-seven also known as January 20, 1997
Location: Beaumont, Texas
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler
Replays of Royal Rumble and a snippet of a major newspaper from San Antonio were shown as the sight of over sixty thousand fans packed in the Alamodome was lively even on a screen. As Jim Ross put it, poetic justice was served with a taste of some sweet chin music as the hometown cheered on its hero in Shawn Michaels. Also, Lawler told the viewers that Steve Austin was seemingly the winner of the Royal Rumble but not without controversy. The problem of who would face the champion at Wrestlemania Thirteen might be addressed later and the time for the title came.
Vince McMahon, "J.R." and the "King" were quickly welcoming the audience to the show by standing near the table of announcing with microphones and talking about the road to Wrestlemania beginning after Royal Rumble. Oh they did not mention the names of the events but that was the jist of it. Bret "Hitman" Hart came to the ring without music playing as he wore a white t-shirt to promote the Calgary Hitmen and did not hide the words with the usual leather jacket that was missing. He had something to say to the fans and to Vince whom he pointed to and said "... and I've got something to say to you" when the commentators were already sitting down without the "mics". It seemed to him that there was a conspiracy in the company as time after time passed he was constantly being screwed out of the "heavyweight title". Shawn Michaels just happened to be conveniently sitting at ringside during the match between the Hitman and Sid before comfortably getting involved and costing him the title but they said that is okay because all you have to do is fight twenty-nine other men and then you will get your shot, so he did that and won on the last night before but Stone Cold Steve Austin who was already knocked out of the ring became declared as the winner. He was fed up with this nonsense and said he quit before walking out through the audience who LOUDLY chanted "We want BRET. We want BRET.".
As soon as this happenned Vince got up and Lawler was happy given the history among them to point out that he just left, referring to McMahon. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin came out with the vest and trunks on but no shirt was worn and he was half naked without music playing for him. He was already in the ring as Bret was walking out by the first couple of rows to be found by security to escort him. He started shouting into the microphone and was not audible. Somebody put a hand into the ring to give him another corded piece as so far the speakers had each been using microphones that were not cordless, including McMahon but not Bret Hart. He angrily asked "Are you going to give me a piece of equipment that works or am I going to have to whip your ___ ?" without the censor before claiming that he was scheduled to face Sycho Sid only to find out because of a "three hundred pound bufoon" who called himself the commissioner that Sid Eugy was sitting at home due to a concussion. The real name of Sid was not used but it was an interesting tidbit that I read about when seeing a picture of him with straight hair last week. He was fine with having to instead fight Undertaker and threatened to beat him up too. As far as Gorilla Monsoon went, Steve Austin had a bunch of bananas and knew where to stick each and every one of them!
Match One: Tag Team Match: Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon versus Owen Hart and British Bulldog
The commercials ended to show an advertisement for Western Union as being thought to be the fastest way to send money worldwide on the televisions over a shot of the hot crowd. That classic English music of British Bulldog got them to react as the "brother in-law" and the opponents were in the ring waiting for him. A "fireperson's carry" by Lafon that looked like a "Northern Lights Suplex" moved Owen and was described as a "fireman's carry" by "J.R.". Furnas got in to do a "dropkick" and a "belly to belly suplex" but Owen countered with a "spinning heel kick" and British Bulldog tagged in. Furnas countered the "Irish Whip" into a "hurricanrana" that he casually used impressively. Furnas was thrown outside by the corner of Owen opposite the filmers and closer to the ramp not always seen.
Lafon came in but Owen got the blind tag and "dropkicked" him from the top turnbuckle after Bulldog whipped Lafon to the ropes by the "ring announcer", causing him to run into the jumping Hart. A replay showed the good vertical ability as this was higher than the normal "missle dropkicks" that many people like Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio would use during later years. Vince said to look at the height and I did not understand why many people did not appreciate the commentating skills that he possessed. Doug Furnas tagged in to "double-team" with a "wishbone split". Owen Hart locked in the first stages of the "Sharpshooter" but Furnas kicked him off. A "double clothesline" knocked down the "Tag Team Champions" who "double-teamed" in the corner after getting up. Furnas ran to Owen with a great cross body. Owen stopped the next run with an "enziguri". Bulldog tagged in for a "delayed standing vertical suplex". Owen tagged to "snapmare" Furnas in order to place a "rest hold". Furnas got up to push Owen off and ran into the "overhead belly to belly suplex", that was smoother and more powered than the "floatover version" which was used by Gangrel after several months, before getting up to let Owen miss the "diving headbutt" from the top turnbuckle by the commentators away from the "timekeeper". Davey Boy Smith tagged after Lafon did.
Lafon got a "snapmare" on before pulling Owen in and getting him with a "spinning heel kick". Hart was not even interfering and Lafon took it upon himself to hit him when he was just standing in the corner. He did a "snap suplex" on Smith and fell on him with a "leg drop" but British Bulldog got up to be lifted with a "Northern Lights Suplex". He tried to do something which resembled an "inverted atomic drop" but Lafon shifted the momentum and weight backwards to drop him with an "armbar takedown" which basically resembled a countering "DDT" that lighter wrestlers would use while being lifted by opponents only Bulldog barely landed on the head if at all. Bulldog whipped him into the ropes by the sometimes present ramp as Doug Furnas was stopped from coming into the ring by the referee who was showing the back to the other three wrestlers while Owen struck Lafon with the "Slammy Award" from the floor as Phillip ran towards the rope due to the "Irish Whip" and then got pinned by British Bulldog.
Rating: "C - "
These wrestlers were fine individually but did not work well as units. The coordination lasted momentarily for cheating and for "double-teaming" that went on for well over five seconds that were alotted between the tags to make this match and most future "tag team wrestling" seem like a weak concept to me. It was very cheap of Lafon to get Owen before he even got in the ring and he basically did an extra effort that resulted in "payback". Although the retaliation was illegal I could understand it but the temptation for Furnas to get in the ring before Owen was near the partner was seeming selfish to me. Also, the referee just happened to turn around as soon as Owen finished striking Lafon with the trophy. It was in time for the pin too so he really was doing the job and that brought it up.
Match Two: Faarooq versus Bart Gunn
Faarooq was accompanied to the ring with the Nation of Domination and in a disgusting manner "forcingly" pulled the female member that I had not seen before watching this show from behind him to get her to spin halfway to stand in front of him and to take off his outer piece or jacket that he was wearing. That alone started a bad mood as it could have been taken as borderline sexual harassment or rape in real life outside of the context of the program. I mean Ron Simmons who was playing as Faarooq did not even show remorse after seeing how hard he was pulling her and she was almost defenseless against this athlete of near two hundred fifty pounds. I did not understand nor follow football but heard that many similar athletes did these types of things and even came to know of rumors surrounding a coach at South Brunswick High School in New Jersey to do something simliar and he was a teacher of me too but I was not mentioning the name. He apparently was accused of doing it to two guys but since this situation was similar to an experience that I came to hear about involving a person I somewhat knew in reality, it hit hard with me. I did not want to get off of the subject but that was downright embarassing and made me lose a lot of respect for both of them. If I had to rate wrestlers according to preferences on a measure of one hundred units and maybe thought of Faarooq with eighty-one points then that action right there immediately brought it down to at least twenty-one percent of the scale and nothing else that he would later do as a professional could ever let me see him differently as a person up to this point of posting the review you might have been reading.
Bart Gunn came in with a nice hat that cowboys would wear and some tough pointed boots to fit under those "bootcut jeans". They even visually displayed the flag of the "Lone Star State" in the ring with a lighted visual on the mat that impressed the standards of production for a company that was not using wireless microphones. Bart posed on the top turnbuckle away from the filming people and closer to the ramp and the bell rang to allow a standard "hip toss" and a "standing dropkick", keeping Faarooq down before the commercials were shown on cable. The show was on again to reveal Faarooq planting Bart Gunn with a "spinebuster" that resembled how Arn Anderson implemented it at Wrestlemania Eighteen. Faarooq missed with a splash by the crew of cameras. Ron Simmons laid a "Dominator", almost dropping Gunn backwards instead of forwards to finish it.
Rating: "F "
Throughout the match I saw hardly anything but pulls, nags and punching by the various members of the Nation of Domination outside of the ring. Although Bart came out to get back at them for "self-defense" it was nowhere near fair. Crush blatantly placed him in the ring in front of the referee as well and this was not a "lumberjack match". It was beyond idiotic to miss the obvious cheating occurring more often than technical wrestling moves were visible on the air excluding commercials. These guys were not the greatest technicians anyway but showed promising signs of hope until the referee stopped doing the job. Ron Simmons further cheapened the activities in the ring beginning with the incident, going to the ropes for a missed aerial manuever that may have been an attempted "headbutt" or an incomplete "splash".
Vince McMahon walked past Faarooq, the Nation of Domination and Bart Gunn who were leaving without a break of commercials to be standing in the ring and used a microphone attached to a cord that was dragging outside of it to the floor. In a sharp navy blue suit with no tie on, he introduced the commissioner of the federation who was Gorilla Monsoon. I guess Steve Austin was somewhat accurate of the three hundred fifty pounds that he attributed to him but I was not overly impressed by the slight differential of height between them. I doubt that was his real name so I referred to him as the commissioner that he was active as. He was supposedly saddened by the decision of Bret Hart to leave the organization and acknowledged that Steve Austin was announced as the winner of the Royal Rumble. A solution was proposed by the commissioner and it would involve four participants whom were the "Final Four" men of the battle royal to compete in an "elimination match" at the next event of "In Your House" to settle who would go on to fight the "WWF Champion" at Wrestlemania Thirteen. Vince brought back the microphone to say "and those four participants are", letting the commissioner use the same microphone held up for him by McMahon to announce the final four members of the Royal Rumble who were Undertaker, Vader, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Bret "Hitman" Hart if he chose to accept the challenge. I did not remember if that was the exact order with which he said the names but I knew Steve Austin and Bret Hart were called as the last two guys. Vince thanked him and the commissioner turned away with the back to him before Vince grabbed the arm to let him turn back around and to shake the hand. I did not get why this man was so disrespective as the commissioner. I was not sure if he meant any foul feelings but he did not even remember to start leaving with a good gesture.
Bret Hart returned through the crowd to get in the ring and grabbed a microphone to let them know he accepted. He got out in time for Steve Austin to come back and they started going at it. After the commercials, they were still fighting but were in the ring. Officials tried separating them as Hart got out but the music of Undertaker played.
Match Three: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin versus Undertaker
Bret Hart walked up to Undertaker while the music was still playing and Mark Calloway started punching him before the "Hitman" laid a hand on him during the show. Mark Calloway was the same person to portray Undertaker throughout the years from the debut until the time of this post for those people who were wondering. Undertaker fought back while Steve Austin came out of the ring to start fighting him near the structure that acted as a ramp. When the match started in the ring, "Old School" was done. Steve Austin spurred with a "swinging neckbreaker" to reverse the tide and the referee did a "two count". Austin jumped from the second turnbuckle with a "diving elbow" and got another "two count" to happen. Undertaker punched with a blatant "low blow" and then Steve Austin caught him with the "stunner". After the commercials, Austin pinned for a "two count". During the break they "clotheslined" each other, as was seen with the instant replay although I did not think the crowd saw the side screen of this clip. Undertaker shook the ropes to cause Austin to fall on the top turnbuckle by the commentators away from the filming cast. He went up the ropes to try a "suplex" or something looking like it but Austin pushed him down and dropped the elbows on him. Undertaker hit with a "flying lariat" and tried a "chokeslam" but Vader beat on him as he somehow entered the fray. Undertaker dropped Vader with a "back suplex" and then Bret Hart was back to go at Steve Austin as the program went off the air.
Rating: "C - "
If "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was this supposed great tactician of the ring before getting surgery on the neck, he certainly did not show to be it on this night. Undertaker was impressing as a big athlete that extremely mobilized the athleticism in this match. A disqualification was not stated and the outside performers really took something away from the contest. Steve was swift enough as a brawler to be energetic and challenged the dark man well but it was geared to the tastes of sick fighters rather than to appreciators of the mat. He noticeably moved quickly and held off the phenom but ended up doing too many non-traditional things like going up when not being a flier. As a main event the anticipation was almost lived up to for a lot of fans but the ending was not proper.
Rating: "D "
Again this episode was promoting the next upcoming event of "Pay-Per-View" for the company but it was on the next night after Royal Rumble. Storylines were continuing to be advanced mainly in the main event. The "tag team" match allowed some redeeming points to be known for a show of wrestling but consistent bendings of rules and crimes let it be brought down. Referees were there to slack and the performers had to step it up to maintain interest after the promos and announcement although it was approving of the eventual bouts, especially the last match. The contested fights hardly showed order that was a sign of chaos during this latter part of the last decade in the milennium.
" .
Last time a lot of unclassy fighting took place to further some feuds among Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Vader, Undertaker, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust. The Nation of Domination kept Ahmed Johnson down too despite themselves interfering in the main event.
"
Program: WWF Monday Night Raw
Date: January twentieth nineteen ninety-seven also known as January 20, 1997
Location: Beaumont, Texas
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler
Replays of Royal Rumble and a snippet of a major newspaper from San Antonio were shown as the sight of over sixty thousand fans packed in the Alamodome was lively even on a screen. As Jim Ross put it, poetic justice was served with a taste of some sweet chin music as the hometown cheered on its hero in Shawn Michaels. Also, Lawler told the viewers that Steve Austin was seemingly the winner of the Royal Rumble but not without controversy. The problem of who would face the champion at Wrestlemania Thirteen might be addressed later and the time for the title came.
Vince McMahon, "J.R." and the "King" were quickly welcoming the audience to the show by standing near the table of announcing with microphones and talking about the road to Wrestlemania beginning after Royal Rumble. Oh they did not mention the names of the events but that was the jist of it. Bret "Hitman" Hart came to the ring without music playing as he wore a white t-shirt to promote the Calgary Hitmen and did not hide the words with the usual leather jacket that was missing. He had something to say to the fans and to Vince whom he pointed to and said "... and I've got something to say to you" when the commentators were already sitting down without the "mics". It seemed to him that there was a conspiracy in the company as time after time passed he was constantly being screwed out of the "heavyweight title". Shawn Michaels just happened to be conveniently sitting at ringside during the match between the Hitman and Sid before comfortably getting involved and costing him the title but they said that is okay because all you have to do is fight twenty-nine other men and then you will get your shot, so he did that and won on the last night before but Stone Cold Steve Austin who was already knocked out of the ring became declared as the winner. He was fed up with this nonsense and said he quit before walking out through the audience who LOUDLY chanted "We want BRET. We want BRET.".
As soon as this happenned Vince got up and Lawler was happy given the history among them to point out that he just left, referring to McMahon. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin came out with the vest and trunks on but no shirt was worn and he was half naked without music playing for him. He was already in the ring as Bret was walking out by the first couple of rows to be found by security to escort him. He started shouting into the microphone and was not audible. Somebody put a hand into the ring to give him another corded piece as so far the speakers had each been using microphones that were not cordless, including McMahon but not Bret Hart. He angrily asked "Are you going to give me a piece of equipment that works or am I going to have to whip your ___ ?" without the censor before claiming that he was scheduled to face Sycho Sid only to find out because of a "three hundred pound bufoon" who called himself the commissioner that Sid Eugy was sitting at home due to a concussion. The real name of Sid was not used but it was an interesting tidbit that I read about when seeing a picture of him with straight hair last week. He was fine with having to instead fight Undertaker and threatened to beat him up too. As far as Gorilla Monsoon went, Steve Austin had a bunch of bananas and knew where to stick each and every one of them!
Match One: Tag Team Match: Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon versus Owen Hart and British Bulldog
The commercials ended to show an advertisement for Western Union as being thought to be the fastest way to send money worldwide on the televisions over a shot of the hot crowd. That classic English music of British Bulldog got them to react as the "brother in-law" and the opponents were in the ring waiting for him. A "fireperson's carry" by Lafon that looked like a "Northern Lights Suplex" moved Owen and was described as a "fireman's carry" by "J.R.". Furnas got in to do a "dropkick" and a "belly to belly suplex" but Owen countered with a "spinning heel kick" and British Bulldog tagged in. Furnas countered the "Irish Whip" into a "hurricanrana" that he casually used impressively. Furnas was thrown outside by the corner of Owen opposite the filmers and closer to the ramp not always seen.
Lafon came in but Owen got the blind tag and "dropkicked" him from the top turnbuckle after Bulldog whipped Lafon to the ropes by the "ring announcer", causing him to run into the jumping Hart. A replay showed the good vertical ability as this was higher than the normal "missle dropkicks" that many people like Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio would use during later years. Vince said to look at the height and I did not understand why many people did not appreciate the commentating skills that he possessed. Doug Furnas tagged in to "double-team" with a "wishbone split". Owen Hart locked in the first stages of the "Sharpshooter" but Furnas kicked him off. A "double clothesline" knocked down the "Tag Team Champions" who "double-teamed" in the corner after getting up. Furnas ran to Owen with a great cross body. Owen stopped the next run with an "enziguri". Bulldog tagged in for a "delayed standing vertical suplex". Owen tagged to "snapmare" Furnas in order to place a "rest hold". Furnas got up to push Owen off and ran into the "overhead belly to belly suplex", that was smoother and more powered than the "floatover version" which was used by Gangrel after several months, before getting up to let Owen miss the "diving headbutt" from the top turnbuckle by the commentators away from the "timekeeper". Davey Boy Smith tagged after Lafon did.
Lafon got a "snapmare" on before pulling Owen in and getting him with a "spinning heel kick". Hart was not even interfering and Lafon took it upon himself to hit him when he was just standing in the corner. He did a "snap suplex" on Smith and fell on him with a "leg drop" but British Bulldog got up to be lifted with a "Northern Lights Suplex". He tried to do something which resembled an "inverted atomic drop" but Lafon shifted the momentum and weight backwards to drop him with an "armbar takedown" which basically resembled a countering "DDT" that lighter wrestlers would use while being lifted by opponents only Bulldog barely landed on the head if at all. Bulldog whipped him into the ropes by the sometimes present ramp as Doug Furnas was stopped from coming into the ring by the referee who was showing the back to the other three wrestlers while Owen struck Lafon with the "Slammy Award" from the floor as Phillip ran towards the rope due to the "Irish Whip" and then got pinned by British Bulldog.
Rating: "C - "
These wrestlers were fine individually but did not work well as units. The coordination lasted momentarily for cheating and for "double-teaming" that went on for well over five seconds that were alotted between the tags to make this match and most future "tag team wrestling" seem like a weak concept to me. It was very cheap of Lafon to get Owen before he even got in the ring and he basically did an extra effort that resulted in "payback". Although the retaliation was illegal I could understand it but the temptation for Furnas to get in the ring before Owen was near the partner was seeming selfish to me. Also, the referee just happened to turn around as soon as Owen finished striking Lafon with the trophy. It was in time for the pin too so he really was doing the job and that brought it up.
Match Two: Faarooq versus Bart Gunn
Faarooq was accompanied to the ring with the Nation of Domination and in a disgusting manner "forcingly" pulled the female member that I had not seen before watching this show from behind him to get her to spin halfway to stand in front of him and to take off his outer piece or jacket that he was wearing. That alone started a bad mood as it could have been taken as borderline sexual harassment or rape in real life outside of the context of the program. I mean Ron Simmons who was playing as Faarooq did not even show remorse after seeing how hard he was pulling her and she was almost defenseless against this athlete of near two hundred fifty pounds. I did not understand nor follow football but heard that many similar athletes did these types of things and even came to know of rumors surrounding a coach at South Brunswick High School in New Jersey to do something simliar and he was a teacher of me too but I was not mentioning the name. He apparently was accused of doing it to two guys but since this situation was similar to an experience that I came to hear about involving a person I somewhat knew in reality, it hit hard with me. I did not want to get off of the subject but that was downright embarassing and made me lose a lot of respect for both of them. If I had to rate wrestlers according to preferences on a measure of one hundred units and maybe thought of Faarooq with eighty-one points then that action right there immediately brought it down to at least twenty-one percent of the scale and nothing else that he would later do as a professional could ever let me see him differently as a person up to this point of posting the review you might have been reading.
Bart Gunn came in with a nice hat that cowboys would wear and some tough pointed boots to fit under those "bootcut jeans". They even visually displayed the flag of the "Lone Star State" in the ring with a lighted visual on the mat that impressed the standards of production for a company that was not using wireless microphones. Bart posed on the top turnbuckle away from the filming people and closer to the ramp and the bell rang to allow a standard "hip toss" and a "standing dropkick", keeping Faarooq down before the commercials were shown on cable. The show was on again to reveal Faarooq planting Bart Gunn with a "spinebuster" that resembled how Arn Anderson implemented it at Wrestlemania Eighteen. Faarooq missed with a splash by the crew of cameras. Ron Simmons laid a "Dominator", almost dropping Gunn backwards instead of forwards to finish it.
Rating: "F "
Throughout the match I saw hardly anything but pulls, nags and punching by the various members of the Nation of Domination outside of the ring. Although Bart came out to get back at them for "self-defense" it was nowhere near fair. Crush blatantly placed him in the ring in front of the referee as well and this was not a "lumberjack match". It was beyond idiotic to miss the obvious cheating occurring more often than technical wrestling moves were visible on the air excluding commercials. These guys were not the greatest technicians anyway but showed promising signs of hope until the referee stopped doing the job. Ron Simmons further cheapened the activities in the ring beginning with the incident, going to the ropes for a missed aerial manuever that may have been an attempted "headbutt" or an incomplete "splash".
Vince McMahon walked past Faarooq, the Nation of Domination and Bart Gunn who were leaving without a break of commercials to be standing in the ring and used a microphone attached to a cord that was dragging outside of it to the floor. In a sharp navy blue suit with no tie on, he introduced the commissioner of the federation who was Gorilla Monsoon. I guess Steve Austin was somewhat accurate of the three hundred fifty pounds that he attributed to him but I was not overly impressed by the slight differential of height between them. I doubt that was his real name so I referred to him as the commissioner that he was active as. He was supposedly saddened by the decision of Bret Hart to leave the organization and acknowledged that Steve Austin was announced as the winner of the Royal Rumble. A solution was proposed by the commissioner and it would involve four participants whom were the "Final Four" men of the battle royal to compete in an "elimination match" at the next event of "In Your House" to settle who would go on to fight the "WWF Champion" at Wrestlemania Thirteen. Vince brought back the microphone to say "and those four participants are", letting the commissioner use the same microphone held up for him by McMahon to announce the final four members of the Royal Rumble who were Undertaker, Vader, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Bret "Hitman" Hart if he chose to accept the challenge. I did not remember if that was the exact order with which he said the names but I knew Steve Austin and Bret Hart were called as the last two guys. Vince thanked him and the commissioner turned away with the back to him before Vince grabbed the arm to let him turn back around and to shake the hand. I did not get why this man was so disrespective as the commissioner. I was not sure if he meant any foul feelings but he did not even remember to start leaving with a good gesture.
Bret Hart returned through the crowd to get in the ring and grabbed a microphone to let them know he accepted. He got out in time for Steve Austin to come back and they started going at it. After the commercials, they were still fighting but were in the ring. Officials tried separating them as Hart got out but the music of Undertaker played.
Match Three: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin versus Undertaker
Bret Hart walked up to Undertaker while the music was still playing and Mark Calloway started punching him before the "Hitman" laid a hand on him during the show. Mark Calloway was the same person to portray Undertaker throughout the years from the debut until the time of this post for those people who were wondering. Undertaker fought back while Steve Austin came out of the ring to start fighting him near the structure that acted as a ramp. When the match started in the ring, "Old School" was done. Steve Austin spurred with a "swinging neckbreaker" to reverse the tide and the referee did a "two count". Austin jumped from the second turnbuckle with a "diving elbow" and got another "two count" to happen. Undertaker punched with a blatant "low blow" and then Steve Austin caught him with the "stunner". After the commercials, Austin pinned for a "two count". During the break they "clotheslined" each other, as was seen with the instant replay although I did not think the crowd saw the side screen of this clip. Undertaker shook the ropes to cause Austin to fall on the top turnbuckle by the commentators away from the filming cast. He went up the ropes to try a "suplex" or something looking like it but Austin pushed him down and dropped the elbows on him. Undertaker hit with a "flying lariat" and tried a "chokeslam" but Vader beat on him as he somehow entered the fray. Undertaker dropped Vader with a "back suplex" and then Bret Hart was back to go at Steve Austin as the program went off the air.
Rating: "C - "
If "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was this supposed great tactician of the ring before getting surgery on the neck, he certainly did not show to be it on this night. Undertaker was impressing as a big athlete that extremely mobilized the athleticism in this match. A disqualification was not stated and the outside performers really took something away from the contest. Steve was swift enough as a brawler to be energetic and challenged the dark man well but it was geared to the tastes of sick fighters rather than to appreciators of the mat. He noticeably moved quickly and held off the phenom but ended up doing too many non-traditional things like going up when not being a flier. As a main event the anticipation was almost lived up to for a lot of fans but the ending was not proper.
Rating: "D "
Again this episode was promoting the next upcoming event of "Pay-Per-View" for the company but it was on the next night after Royal Rumble. Storylines were continuing to be advanced mainly in the main event. The "tag team" match allowed some redeeming points to be known for a show of wrestling but consistent bendings of rules and crimes let it be brought down. Referees were there to slack and the performers had to step it up to maintain interest after the promos and announcement although it was approving of the eventual bouts, especially the last match. The contested fights hardly showed order that was a sign of chaos during this latter part of the last decade in the milennium.
" .
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