March '97

Monday Night Wars March '96

March would see the debut of 'Raw is War' along with a fresh set and video package, finally giving Monday Night Raw a much needed facelift as well as a working titan-tron aka video screen. Jim Cornette added that previously, Raw was recorded in monthly blocks. He went on to say that the new live format was a logistical hassle as pre Internet age, it wasn't as important to shoot live.

Raw/Nitro March 3rd

Monday Night Raw 3/3/97 (3.5 Stars)

Match 1- Bret Hart def Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Intercontinental Championship

Match 2- (c) Rocky Maivia def Vader via DQ

Match 3- The Sultan def Flash Funk

Segment- Ahamed Johsnson accepts Faarooq's challenge of a Chicago Street Fight at WrestleMania XIII.

WWF Title

Match 4- (c) Sycho Sid def Mankind

Segment- Live video feed of Austin talking about his upcoming submission match with Bret Hart.

Inaugural European Championship

Match 5- Owen Hart def British Bulldog

Analysis

Grading shows is far and away the most difficult procedure in this entire endeavour. How do you mark a show that hosts one of, if not THE BEST main-event to take place during the Attitude Era (It's slightly overzealous to flat out call it the best of all time in my opinion) but was also an overseas show chock full of recaps with little to no story advancement. Apparently you grade it stronger than average, a B+ or according to my scale, 3.5 stars out of 5. With all of that explained, onto the analysis. I found myself wondering, was Bret Hart as much of a hero in Germany as he claimed to be in Canada? Bret got annoyed at the ref's 5 count, pushing him across the ring and losing the match via DQ in the process. Fun contest during parts, but the show would only get better as the night went on! Vader and Rocky had a decent match with some solid logic, in that Vader actually defeated Rocky in the first round of the European Championship Tournament during a live event. So it made sense that Vader received a title shot on this show. Good work WWF! After a muffled Johnson promo, we had yet another good Sid match, as he successfully defended his title against Mankind. While I understand that Sid wasn't the most technically proficient worker the world has ever seen, during his run in the WWF Title picture, he had some surprisingly good matches. In the main-event, a great story was told between Davey and Owen. This wasn't the typical telegraphed tag team breakup and it was smart booking having them compete in a tournament final. None of the matches were bad, but the main-event was truly excellent! Some even go as far as to say it's the best Raw main-event in the show's history, and while I may personally disagree, after watching it I can see why. Being an overseas show it was recap heavy with no major story advancements. If they had one or two decent segments to balance things out a bit, it may have pushed my final rating over the top. But I have to score things fairly. Nonetheless, the one-two combo of the Sid/Mankind match along with the main-event made this a strong iteration of Monday Night Raw.

WCW Nitro 3/3/97 (2 Stars)

Match 1- Hugh Morrus & Konnan def Jeff Jarrett & Steve 'Mongo' McMichael

Match 2- DDP def Rick Fuller

Match 3- Juventud Guerrera def Ray Mendoza Jr

Segment- Jimmy Hart, Kevin Sullivan and Jacqueline cut a promo on Chris Beniot.

Match 4- Dean Malenko def Mike Enos

Segment- Eric Bischoff promo. Interrupted by Dr Harvey Schiller. Dr Schiller asks Bischoff whether he thinks it's ok to fire referees and strip titles from people. Dr Schiller suspends Eric from WCW!

WCW United States Championship

Match 5- (c) Eddie Guerrero def Ultimate Dragon

Match 6- Scotty Riggs def Mr Wallstreet via DQ

Segment- 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper in-ring promo. Piper auditions potential teammates for his 'Uncensored team' to take on NWO at the upcoming PPV. Piper recruits 3 men for his team, a boxer, a kickboxer as well as a former sumo wrestler (John Tenta)

Match 7- Rey Mysterio def Mr J.L.

Segment- Mene Gene interviews the number one contenders for the WCW Women's Championship, Madusa. Madusa cuts a promo on Bischoff and WCW for not featuring her enough. Luna Vachon attacks Madusa.

Segment- NWO in-ring promo. Eric Bischoff says he can't be suspended as he's friends with Ted Turner. Hogan adds that the NWO will destroy Piper's team at Uncensored.

Match 8- Lex Luger & The Giant def The Steiner Brothers

Analysis

The NWO are shown entering the building closely followed by Dr. Harvey Schiller (high ranking Turner official) Some confusion during the fun tag opener, led to Jeff Jarrett inadvertently tagging Steve McMichael in the face with his briefcase. This was due to Jarrett grappling with Public Enemy over Mongo's case at ringside. The Horsemen all chastised Jarrett after the incident. Following his match with Mike Enos, Dean Malenko cut a promo on Eddie Guerrero. Promos were never Malenko's strong point, but under his new more aggressive persona, he didn't have to rely on them as much anyway. Eric Bischoff cut a promo which was interrupted by Dr. Harvey Schiller. Schiller put Eric in his place, suspending him indefinitely. I loved this move, as it was getting to the point whereby Eric was doing whatever he wanted purely to benefit the NWO. Hopefully this on-screen decision halted that (for the time being at least) Eddie/Dragon was over in a matter of minutes. In my opinion this was a wasted segment between two extremely talented men. Dean Malenko confronted Eddie Guerrero post-match. Buff Bagwell's run-in on his former partner (Scotty Riggs) caused the DQ. Although Riggs managed to grab a chair, successfully running off both Bagwell and Mr Wallstreet. This is where things got a bit weird. Roddy Piper cut an in-ring promo/open challenge, stating he was looking for some tough guys to join Team Piper at Uncensored. Among those to answer the call were John Tenta (aka Earthquake aka The Shark) as well as future WWE prospect Luther Reigns. The gimmick behind the segment being that every participant was an 'expert' in their given style. I.E. A boxer, kickboxer and a Sumo Wrestler in John Tenta (his real life profession before Pro Wrestling) Tenta eventually does well enough to be recruited by Piper as the final member. An interesting concept that was poorly executed. The boxing part in particular, being as awful as it sounds on paper. In my opinion, it was a bad idea to go down the boxing route anyway, as it's very difficult to pull off convincingly whilst maintaining any level of cooperation. Besides that, the selling was poor, and the "boxer" struggled to perform even the most basic wrestling moves. Madusa cut a promo calling out Luna Vachon. She ran down her treatment in WCW thus far, and I found myself asking if she was genuinely aggrieved by her treatment at this point? As a side note, Luna Vachon was married to future WWE star and adult film director, Gangrel, during this time. During the next segment, Sting was seen following The NWO. Eric Bischoff claimed he couldn't be fired as he was "friends" with Ted Turner. So…what was the point with the whole Dr. Harvey Schiller deal earlier? Post the main-event, The Stieners, Lex Luger, The Giant as well as Roddy Piper and his Uncensored team, all brawled with the NWO as Nitro went off the air. Sting was shown walking away, simply looking at the ongoing carnage. The show started off fairly balanced but went downhill as it progressed. I wish the Eddie/Dragon match was given more time and the 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper segment went on far too long. The Mysterio match was also short, and it seemed that outside of the PPV's, the cruiserweights weren't being allowed any credible amount of time to tell a proper story. I wasn't a fan of the main-event as it was yet another non finish cop out from WCW. Matches being called off time and time again due to mass brawls was quite simply lazy booking in my opinion. I liked the idea that Bischoff did in fact have a superior, as this could have provided a much needed balance to the chaos caused by The NWO. But according to Bischoff, he didn't have to listen to them anyway as he and Hogan were both tight with Ted Turner himself (The owner of the network in which WCW was being broadcast on) If some matches were given more time in favour of other segments this may have been a reasonable show. But yet again, it was made all about Bischoff and Hogan. At the very least, if they refrained from messing around with the close, and instead decided to showcase a solid tag match, it may have scored a 2.25. But they didn't even manage to get that right! Raw won the point easily, so my rating for this episode is almost irrelevant.

Raw/Nitro March 10th

Monday Night Raw 10/3/97 (2.5 Stars)

The 200th episode of Monday Night Raw saw the show receive a much needed face lift. "Raw is War"

Segment- Sycho Sid in-ring promo. Says he will defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 13. Undertaker tells Sid to stay out of his way tonight, and that he will take on Vader and Mankind by himself. Paul Bearer calls Undertaker a coward, before Vader and Mankind brawl with Sid and Undertaker.

Match 1- Rocky Maivia def Tony Roy

Match 2- Heavy Metal, Pentagon & Pierroth def Hector Garza, Octagon & Latin Lover

Match 3- Ahmed Johnson def Roy Raymond

Match 4- The New Blackjacks def Owen Hart & British Bulldog via DQ

Match 5- Miguel Perez def Leif Casidy

Segment- Ken Shamrock/JR in-ring interview. Shamrock declared the special guest referee.

Match 6- Billy Gunn def Aldo Montoya

Match 7- Goldust def Tim McNeany

Segment- 'The Great Debate' between Jerry Lawler and Paul E. Dangerously.

Match 8- The Undertaker & Sycho Sid def Mankind & Vader

Analysis

During the opener, The Iron Sheik, Bob Backlund and The Sultan all distracted Rocky Maivia. This led to Rocky and The Sultan brawling post-match. Chyna was shown sitting ringside, before being escorted out of the arena during the six-man tag team contest. Brian Pillman promised to be live on Shotgun Saturday Night, where he would be uncensored, saying whatever he wanted! Following the Bulldogs/Blackjacks tag match, Tazz got in Lawler's face and started to scream at him. The ECW locker room spilled out to help Sabu who flung himself through a table. This appeared slightly comical to me, as it was entirely unclear what Sabu's goal actually was. He didn't come close to hitting anyone, seemingly only hurting himself. Miguel Perez picked up a win against Leif Cassiday. Perez had previously worked in WCW, making his Nitro debut the previous year. Hour 2 saw the introduction of Raw is War. The idea going forward being that the second hour would have been much more salacious and edgy, eventually dubbing it as the 'War Zone' With a separate theme song "We're All Together Now" accompanied with a cool music video being played on the titan-tron, I feel they did a good job of expressing the new format. Chyna found her way back inside the arena, with she and Hemsley beating up Goldust. Marlena eventually jumped on Chyna's back, leading to a pull apart brawl between the two ladies. While the debate segment between Jerry Lawler and Paul Heyman may not be remembered fondly today, I still enjoyed it. It gave the show a different feel along with an air of unpredictability. Granted, its main goal was to promote ECW and Jerry Lawler's ongoing feud with the company, which would result in Jerry having a match against Tommy Dreamer on PPV. But it was still a good segment. Jerry Lawler called on an unwilling WWF locker room to back him up. No one came out. A truly chaotic main-event saw The Undertaker chokeslam Sid, before taking out Mankind and Vader with a tope (dive over the top rope) Sid retaliated with a powerbomb on his own tag team partner and future WrestleMania opponent, The Undertaker, allowing Vader to cover him for the win. Sid prevented any further damage pushing Vader off the top rope post-match. This was a hit and miss show. The various segments and the main-event were all fun. That said, the six-man tag wasn't good, nor was the wrestling in general for that matter. A widely known fact by this point, but allegedly, Shane McMahon actually wanted to buy the UFC. I for one, am glad he didn't. But that's an entirely different conversation altogether.

WCW Nitro 10/3/97 (2 Stars)

WCW would host a 'spring break' event in conjunction with MTV. This was aired separately to other WCW shows being broadcast at the time. During one of these events, Kevin Nash would be hit in the head with a rock by a member of the crowd. This naturally led to Nash chasing them down and tackling them to the floor, before the assailant was ejected by security. Unfortunately for Kevin, that wasn't the last he would hear of the matter. As the young man in question went on to sue Kevin Nash. Upon Kevin's lawyers learning about the fans past criminal charges, they agreed to settle out of court for $1 and an apology letter from Nash. Kevin Nash would oblige, writing it with a crayon.

Match 1- High Voltage def Steve 'Mongo' McMichael & Jeff Jarrett

Segment- Rowdy Roddy Piper with his Uncensored team cut an in-ring promo.

WCW TV Title

Match 2- (c) Prince Iaukea def Dave Taylor

United States Championship

Match 3- (c) Eddie Guerrero def Jim Powers

Match 4- DDP def Sgt. Craig Pittman

Match 5- Rey Mysterio def Galaxy

Segment- 'MTV Veejay' John Sencio & 'Miss Nitro' Pamela Rodgers plug new MTV show.

Match 6- The Steiner's, Lex Luger & The Giant def Amazing French Canadians, Greg Valentine & Roadblock

Match 7- Ultimate Dragon def Juventud Guerrera

Match 8- Scotty Riggs def Chris Jericho via DQ following interference by Buff Bagwell

Segment- Madusa promo saying she will win the WCW Women's Championship

Match 9- Kevin Sullivan Vs Hardbody Harrison ends via double count-out

Segment- Kevin Sullivan cuts a promo on the Four Horsemen. He tells Piper he is unprepared as Dungeon of Doom has already destroyed the Horsemen before saying "No excuses"

Segment- NWO announced Dennis Rodman as the newest member of The NWO. The rest of the faction cut promos ahead of their respective Uncensored matches.

Segment- Public Enemy cut a promo on Harlem Heat.

Analysis

Shot live from Club La Vela in Panama City Beach, Florida. The ring was surrounded by a swimming pool as well as hundreds of rowdy Nitro fans celebrating spring break...WOOO! This would also mark the official WCW debut of Dennis Rodman, as he appeared alongside Hollywood Hogan during the show's opening promoting his new film, Double Team. Roddy Piper and his motley multiman Uncensored team cut an in-ring promo ahead of the upcoming PPV. Ric Flair and his Four Horsemen made an appearance, as Arn Anderson told Piper it was a job for professionals and not amateurs. Piper says he "loves these guys" and "they are my family" despite only meeting them last week, before ditching them all together to join forces with the Four Horsemen at the PPV. Mr Wallstreet was attacked by a mystery person as NWO made their way inside Club La Vela. This would be completely forgotten about anyway, as the NWO angle was overbooked without adding mystery attackers into the mix. A power cut during DDP's post-match promo killed the lights as well as his microphone, and to be honest, that technical botch pretty much summed up the first hour of this show. The Ultimate Dragon/Juventud Guerrera contest would prove to be the best of the night, but sadly it was essentially filler in WCW's eyes.

We arrive at the Kevin Sullivan/Hardbody Harrison match. Both men instantly started to brawl around Club La Vela, which led to Bobby Heenan saying, "I guess a double count-out?" Even the WCW commentary team didn't know what was going on. In regards to Hardbody Harrison, he would go on to claim that he wasn't pushed due to the colour of his skin, resulting in both him and Sunny Ono suing WCW. Kevin Nash would later state that it was a "homerun lawsuit" as they had little to lose, before adding that the claims of racism had credibility, even going as far as to say that it possibly evolved the business for the better. Kevin Sullivan went on to cut a highly confusing promo. He called out Roddy Piper, yet it was unclear to me if he was saying that Piper has no excuses for picking the wrong side? Or that he expected him to win despite Sullivan claiming to have already knocked off The Horsemen? Whatever it was, it was unnecessary and overly confusing. He should have stayed out of the Piper/Horsemen angle in my opinion, focusing on Beniot instead. The Eric Bischoff/NWO promo was next. As cool as it was, I had no idea how big of a deal Rodman was at the time, especially with international fans. I know he won an NBA title with Michael Jordan and The Bulls, as well as being besties with dictator Kim Jong Un. So he may have been a pretty big draw. At least he could have obtained some nukes for The NWO I guess? Sting didn't look overly thrilled to be with The NWO so there was also that. It was a very weird choice to end the show with Public Enemy in my opinion but there we have it. This show wasn't bad by any means, but it certainly was BORING! No matches of quality and I was still unsure about the bulk of the Uncensored card. What was the stipulation of the main-event, what was on the line and what other matches would even take place. You know it's bad when the winner is awarded due to being more visually stimulating. WWF with a narrow victory this week

Uncensored '97

Live from North Charleston, South Carolina. WCW brought us Uncensored 1997!

United States Championship

Match 1- Dean Malenko def Eddie Guerrero (c) (No DQ Match)

Match 2- Ultimate Dragon def Psychosis

Segment- Randy Savage/DDP confrontation

Match 3- Glacier def Mortis (MMA Match)

Match 4- Buff Bagwell def Scotty Riggs (Strap Match)

Match 5- Harlem Heat def Public Enemy (Tornado Match)

Television Title

Match 6- (c) Prince Iaukea Vs Rey Mysterio ends via time-limit draw

Television Title

Match 7- (c) Prince Iaukea def Rey Mysterio

Team Piper Vs Team NWO Vs Team WCW

Match 8- Team NWO def Team Piper & Team WCW

Analysis

Excellent opening match. Syxx cost Eddie Guerrero this time, as the pair grappled over possession of the U.S title, leading to Dean Malenko nailing Eddie in the head with Syxx's video camera. They were a lot bigger in the 90's kids. Footage was then shown of one of the Steiners laying prone beside the Outsiders and Syxx, as the heels called for medical assistance. An ambulance was then shown taking The Steiners away. Psychosis/Dragon failed to fully hold my attention, as I was unsure why it was taking place and who the heel was supposed to be. With neither man having a distinguished character (to the late 90's American audience at least) most things they did failed to elicit a reaction. Ultimately, it was still a good match that held its own with regards to the quality of the show thus far. Randy Savage embarases DDP by showing a naked image of Kimberly from a magazine shoot, before attacking Dallas. He spray paints NWO on both DDP and Kimberly. There were no discerning MMA rules during the Glacier/Mortis 'MMA Match' but the idea was probably to serve as a rest period for the fans, breaking up the action following back to back matches held at a frantic pace. It was a good one nonetheless, even if the gimmick attached to it didn't work. Both men worked hard and put on a believable match. It would be clarified the next night that this was essentially a no-holds barred match in its purest form. Supposedly this was to allow Glacier to use his Chronic kick, Spin-Wheel kick or Round kick (all different names for a roundhouse kick) . I never knew that kicks were illegal in wrestling anyway, so cheers Schiavone for clearing that up for me. During the post-match segment, a mystery man joined up with Mortis as they both beat down Glacier. The strap match was surprisingly serviceable and the Tornado stipulation cleverly made the most out of Public Enemies abilities whilst hiding their flaws. Something seemingly made Dusty Rhodes crack up mid-match, but it could have merely been the match's concept or Public Enemies wrestling ability. It started off quite fun but dragged as it went on. Jarrett and Steve McMichael intervened on Harlem Heat's behalf, giving them the win. The crowd started to boo at the prospect of a re-run of the Mysterio/Iaukea match with chants of "boring" ringing from the upper decks. Philistines. The match itself was fine and while it didn't blow me away, I certainly wouldn't have scoffed at the prospect of a definitive winner! Main-event time and we finally received some clarity. If team WCW won the match, NWO must return all titles and would have been banned from WCW for 3 years, if Team Piper won, then Hogan would face Roddy Piper in a steel cage, and if team WCW won, they would have been able to challenge for any title of their choosing. Team Piper consisted of Roddy Piper (obviously) Chris Beniot, Jeff Jarrett & Steve McMichael. Team WCW had Lex Luger, The Giant & Scott Stiener. Rick Steiner being unable to compete due to an attack earlier that night. While team NWO boasted Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & Randy Savage with Dennis Rodman in their corner. You could be eliminated via pinfall, ko, submission or being tossed over the top rope. This match could have EASILY turned into a cluster, so props to WCW for pulling it off. Dennis Rodman pulled down the top rope, essentially eliminating Roddy Piper. Hogan, Savage and Rodman worked over Roddy Piper on the outside. This left Lex Luger to face the entirety of Team NWO by himself. Luger quickly eliminated 3 out of the 4 NWO members, forcing Savage and Hall to submit to his torture rack before kicking Nash over the top with a big boot. Hogan and Lex Luger were the final two men and with Hogan firmly locked in the Torture Rack, Rodman stormed the ring, spraying Lex in the eyes with spray paint, only for Hogan to cover him for the 1, 2, 3. Wow! It wasn't over yet though, as Sting shoots down from the ceiling like Spiderman and clears house, shit canning every member of the NWO...including HOGAN! Excellent finish to the PPV and genuinely one of the best I had seen from WCW! I loved Luger's comeback with Rodman's involvement being fun also. One of my favourite main-events from the Nitro era thus far! I felt as if I was starting to lose interest in the whole NWO angle, but Sting saving the day, coupled with Rodman's involvement, genuinely made me excited for the next edition of Nitro. Something that WCW rarely did. A surprisingly solid show. It was relatively rare for WCW to assemble a card with NO bad matches whatsoever, but that's what this was. 2.5/3.5 star matches littered this card with some entertaining moments accompanied with a big finish, with Rodman's involvement actually boosting my interest in the NWO angle. Solid show with the ending giving it a decent bump in my ratings. Sod it, the Sting moment alone made this PPV one of the best I've seen from WCW thus far! (3.5 Stars)

Raw/Nitro March 17

Monday Night Raw 17/3/97 (2.5 Stars)

On this day, New Jersey would sign a bill marking Pro Wrestling as a form of entertainment, and not sport. This eliminated a special tax paid to the state for televised events. While lobbying to repeal this, the industry was forced to publicly acknowledge it was staged. Vince was happy for it to be acknowledged as "entertainment" as he saw it as the betterment of his company.

Match 1- Legion of Doom def Crush & Savio Vega via DQ

Match 2- Hunter Hearst Helmsley def Flash Funk

Match 3- Mascara Sagrada Jr & Mini Goldust def Mini Vader & Mini Mankind

Segment- Bret Hart in-ring promo.

Match 4- The Sultan def Mike Bell

Segment- Shawn Michaels in-ring promo. He provides an update on his injury and potential in-ring return.

Match 5- British Bulldog def Vader via DQ

Match 6- Billy Gunn def Aaron Ferguson

WWF Championship

Match 7- (c) Sycho Sid def Bret Hart

Analysis

During the opening tag match, the camera cut to backstage where Ahamed Johnson attacked Faarooq. Johnson would interfere, causing the DQ finish with Faarooq coming out to even up the odds. A mass brawl between the two teams ensued ahead of WrestleMania. I could speak about the WWF's failed 'mini's division' But it was just that. An unsuccessful attempt to revive what was once popular. I've previously written about it in more detail, regarding WCW's attempt in 1996. Bret's promo didn't really say much outside of the fact he hoped that Ken Shamrock would call his match with Austin fairly. Shawn's promo gave us an update on his 'injury'. He said that next week he's meeting with a doctor before predicting a return within the next few months. During Vader's match with The British Bulldog, Mankind interfered on Vader's behalf causing a DQ. This pairing had the potential to be a PPV level matchup. Vader and Davey were both extremely talented and their hard hitting styles matched up well. Unfortunately it was a short match and underwhelmed as a result. Ken Shamrock made Billy Gunn unofficially tap out following his match with Aaron Ferguson. This short segment would essentially serve as a showcase for Ken's imminent future WWF career. During the main-event, Austin stopped Sid from escaping the Cage leading to The Undertaker coming down to even up the odds. Austin levelled Undertaker with a chair shot before leaving, but the deadman managed to recover in time, slamming the steel cage door in Bret's face and squashing his hopes of becoming WWF Champion. Presumably in storyline terms, this was to keep his match with Sycho Sid at WrestleMania for the WWF Title. Post-match, Bret Hart shoves Vince McMahon to the floor and says what just happened was "bullshit" He said he was sick and tired of getting screwed by everyone. Steve Austin appears on the titan-tron and calls Bret a loser. Austin then comes back down to brawl with Bret, before Sid comes down to do the samel with Taker. Shawn Michaels made an appearance, arming himself with a chair before the show went off air. The WWF did a good job of building intrigue towards the upcoming WrestleMania PPV. I can imagine a lot of questions being asked from the fans including "what will Shawn Michaels involvement be at WrestleMania" as well as "how will the WWF Title match go down" All valid questions with no obvious answers (at the time anyway) In my opinion, that should always be the number one goal ahead of any PPV. Build intrigue and give the fans a reason to pay the 50 dollars to see it all unfold. With the final segment alone, the WWF certainly succeeded, in my mind anyway. The first hour was kind of bland but Vader/Davey along with a decent main-event and a frantic ending made up for that fact. Not the best show but enough happened to make it watchable. Admittedly much of the drama towards the end was lost on me as I knew the champions headed into mania, but I certainly appreciated the effort.

WCW Nitro 17/3/97 (2 Stars)

Match 1- Rey Mysterio def Psychosis

Segment- Arn Anderson promo. He says he's happy to see Sting come home before talking about his injuries. He adds that he's taking some time off but will be back.

Match 2- DDP def Maxx

Segment- Eric Bischoff, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash issue an open challenge.

Match 3- Konnan & Hugh Morris def Joe Gomez & The Renegade

United States Championship

Match 4- (c) Dean Malenko def Scotty Riggs

Match 5- Lex Luger & The Giant def T. Rantula & Knuckles Nelson

Match 6- Ultimate Dragon def Bobby Eaton

Segment- Hollywood Hogan & NWO in-ring promo. The Outsiders call out The Steiner Brothers for Spring Stampede

Match 7- Jeff Jarrett & Steve 'Mongo' McMichael def Alex Wright & Mark Starr

Match 8- Scott Norton def Chavo Guerrero

Match 9- The Outsiders def Mike Enos & Bunkhouse Buck .

Match 10- Chris Beniot def Billy Kidman

Match 11- Harlem Heat Vs The Steiner Brothers ends in a no-contest

Analysis

Mysterio/Psychosis could have been a great way to start the show. A botched Frankensteiner into the rollup aka a 'West Coast pop' ended things. It was a very short match, seemingly serving no purpose other than to give Rey a win and fill 3 minutes of time. During Arn Anderson's promo. He talked about his grandmother battling cancer and the inspiration that provided him to keep going until he was sure the Horsemen could fight as one. He also talks about Kevin Sullivan and how he wanted to clean the slate between the pair of them. It was a good segment that hit all of its points. Savage would also cut a promo on DDP, challenging him to a match. DDP replied that he wanted Savage NOW before running him off. Bischoff made an open challenge of sorts, bragging about The NWO's victory at Uncensored. Personally I would have found it hilarious if Hollywood Hogan used the kayfabe clause of a free title shot, and won the Cruiserweight Championship as a result.

Another short match between Malenko and Riggs. As soon as I was getting into it, it was over. I literally couldn't find anything about T. Rantula online. I was unsure if I was spelling his gimmick correctly so had to double check with various reviews online. Lex Luger cut a post-match promo claiming he believed in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Every match had been under 5 minutes so far, with an average time of between 2 and 3. It was starting to annoy me slightly as I'd go to pour a drink, look up and the match and it was already over! Reviewing this show had been an absolute nightmare for that very reason. Hopefully things settled down during the second hour. Public Enemy and Jarrett/Mongo brawled post-match. A match between the two teams was announced for Spring Stampede. Bobby Heenan calls The Steiners dumb on commentary. Didn't he know that Scott Steiner comes from a "highly educated university" Although all jokes aside, Scott Stiener is actually highly educated, possessing an engineering degree from the University of Michigan, making his on screen persona all the more hilarious. Beniot/Kidman lasted under a minute, with the post-match Horsemen segment lasting longer than the actual match! Ric Flair accuses Roddy Piper of dropping the ball at Uncensored, before Beniot calls out Kevin Sullivan again. NWO interference gets the main-event called off until Lex Luger & The Giant make the save. Sting shoots down from the ceiling yet again, pointing his big black stick, I mean his baseball bat, at The NWO. Poor outing and if reports are to be believed, it didn't get better for Nitro for some time. The Sting moment saved it from complete disaster but only barely. Still couldn't justify anything more than 2 Stars. Really poor booking for the most part with way too many matches crammed on the card. Roll on WrestleMania!

WrestleMania 13

Live from Chicago, I sit back with my bag of popcorn and relive the 13th edition of WrestleMania. As a child, my mother bought me the WrestleMania anthology on DVD (something I still have to this day, and am currently using to review this event) For whatever reason, WrestleMania 13 was the one I decided to watch first. As such, this show holds a special place in my heart as one of the first wrestling shows I ever watched. As a further side note, the 'do do do do do dooo' song is stuck in my head for the rest of time. Anyway, let's get to the action 🎬

Match 1- The New Blackjacks def Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon, The Godwinns & The Headbangers (Four Team Elimination Tag Match)

Intercontinental Championship

Match 2- (c) Rocky Maivia def The Sultan

Match 3- Hunter Hearst Hemsley def Goldust

Tag Team Championships

Match 4- (c) British Bulldog & Owen Hart Vs Vader & Mankind ends via double count-out

Match 5- Bret Hart def Steve Austin (Submission Match)

Match 6- Ahamed Johnson & Legion of Doom def Nation of Domination (Chicago Street Fight)

WWF Title

Match 7- The Undertaker def Sycho Sid (c) (No Holds Barred Match)

Analysis

The Blackjacks along with Furnas and Lafon eliminated themselves via count-out as they brawled on the outside during the four team elimination tag opener. Headbanger Mosh pinned Phineas to pick up the win, as well as winning number one contenders status for The Headbangers. The next contest would be Rocky's first WrestleMania Match. I must admit that I spent most of this one waiting for Rocky to win so I could have a beer as per the drinking game stipulations. Although perhaps ironically, as the two men would face off later in the decade but under entirely different gimmicks (and it would be much more entertaining as a result) Post-Match, The Iron Sheik locked Maivia in a Camel Clutch only for Rocky's dad, Rocky Johnson, to make a run-in! Huge pop! Sultan and The Iron Sheik both proceeded to beatdown the father and son duo of Johnson and Maivia, until they managed a comeback, successfully fighting off the heels together. Bad match with a really cool moment at the end. Hunter/Goldust wasn't great either, but at least I had a drink while watching this one. The closing image of Marlena bumping off the ring apron only to fall into Chyna's grip and get ragdolled, as Hunter simultaneously nailed Goldust with a Pedigree, was well done. I wasn't into this feud at all, and I'd hazard a guess that not too many other people were. We arrive at the obligatory "we have some big names with nothing to do so let's throw them all into a tag match together" match. But with that said, it was still fun and was the best part of the event thus far. Even if the finish did seem slightly laboured. The next match however, would be an early match of the year (possibly even a match of the decade) contender! As Bret Hart wins after a bloody Austin passed out as he refused to say "I Quit" during the submission match. This was the match that made me fall in love with Pro Wrestling. As previously noted, I first watched this masterpiece on DVD over 15 years ago, and instantly recognised I was watching something truly special. The two men instantly took the action into the crowd as Bret Hart hit Austin with a back body-drop onto the concrete steps! Once back in the ring, it was a masterful display. I struggle to think of two men who had better chemistry than Hart and Austin. It's a real shame they didn't have the opportunity to work together on TV more. The closing sequence was perfect with chants of "Austin…Austin" willing him to escape the sharpshooter and cementing his newfound fandom. The crowd booing Bret Hart as he walked away feeling morally defeated, only further cemented this rare double face/heel turn. Oh, and Austin stunned Ken Shamrock post-match because he was still 'Stone Cold' . The crowd could cheer for him, but he was still going to do whatever the hell he wanted…ohhh hell yeah! This may have been the first genuine 5 star match I've viewed since I started these reviews. It was…that…damn…good! As a final note, Jim Cornette would later claim this to be his all time favourite WWF wrestling match! Jim would also add that Ken Shamrock was a "submission specialist" hence him being the special guest referee in the I Quit match. L.O.D & Ahamed Johnson over Nation of Domination and Faarooq in a Chicago Street Fight. Fun filler match before the main-event allowing the crowd to recover from what they had just seen. L.O.D got their hometown pop and the live crowd seemed to enjoy it. HBK made his way to join Lawler, McMahon and J.R on commentary ahead of the main event, as the camera panned to a 'HBK Cream Team' sign in the crowd…Wow. J.R acknowledged that Undertaker had "never lost at WrestleMania'' without making any direct mention of his now famous streak. Additionally, Bret Hart cut a heel promo ahead of the match embracing his whole 'whiny cry-baby' gimmick. Bret Hart gets involved, cracking Sid with some chair shots to the back before Taker pinned him off a Tombstone Piledriver, deservedly winning the strap during this main-event. Not a fantastic bout admittedly, but still good enough to maintain the standards of the card before it while not negatively affecting the overall quality of the show. Perhaps, effectively having two faces in the main-event dampened the mood somewhat. Even if The Undertaker was most likely the more popular superstar in the match. At the end of the day, this was the night a legend of the game won his first World Title, so regardless of booking and a somewhat weak undercard. It was still a big moment. Austin and Bret as well as Taker's first title win. I'd say that's all pretty historic stuff.

Summary

It may not have been the most revered edition of mania, but it's hard for me to dislike this card personally as it was one of the first events I had ever seen. Unfortunately, nostalgia aside and rating it subjectively (keeping to my mania rule) it garners a rating just below average. But in my opinion, a bad Wrestlemania is like a bad pizza. You may regret it afterwards, but it’s still pizza so you enjoy it to a level. Shawn missing out hurt this card in a big way and I would have preferred to see Vader and Mankind in singles action. But despite what was on the rest of the card, we still witnessed an absolute Picasso of a wrestling match during this event, so I can’t bury it completely (2.25 Stars)

Raw/Nitro March 23

Monday Night Raw 23/3/97 (2.25 Stars)

Tag Team Championships

Match 1- The Headbangers def Owen Hart & British Bulldog (c) via DQ

Match 2- Hunter Hearst Helmsley def Bart Gunn

Match 3- Venum, Super Nova & Discovery def El Mosco, Hysteria & Abismo Negro

Match 4- Flash Funk def Brooklyn Brawler

Segment- Ken Shamrock explains his decision to stop the Submission match between Hart and Austin. Shamrock explains that Austin was "unconscious" and unable to protect himself.

Segment- Bret Hart cuts a promo on the USA based WWF fans.

Match 5- Rocky Maivia def Leif Cassiday

Match 6- Ahmed Johnson def Savio Vega via DQ

Analysis

I would have been stunned if The Headbangers actually won the straps as they didn't seem like much of a threat. The DQ was caused by Davey (British Bulldog) shoving the ref. A brawl ensued between Owen and Davey before they were pulled apart by officials. Owen Hart cut a promo on Davey post-match. He said he was sick and tired of carrying the team before challenging Bulldog to a rematch for the European Championship. His challenge was accepted. We learned that Mankind was the number one contender for the WWF Title as he sat alone, cutting a promo on The Undertaker. He said he wanted "Uncle Paul" back, in reference to Paul Bearer. Chyna aided HHH during his win over Bart Gunn, before the AAA 6 man tag and Funk/Brawler concluded the first hour. If I'm being honest, it felt like the 6 man lucha match was only there for the sake of it, as opposed to the WWF making any real effort to showcase the Mexican stars. Flash Funk didn't have the look nor natural charisma to be a believable world champion, but I was still a big fan of his. A solid worker who could have easily been an excellent mid card champion in my opinion. Bret Hart makes an 'apology' He milked it slightly by listing every country and continent his fans are based in. Including Asia as well as the Middle East. Ah yes, we mustn't forget those famous Saudi Araibian Bret Hart fans. He then said that the apology DOESN'T apply to those in the USA. He added that he was sick and tired of how he was being treated before calling Shawn's playboy shoot "gay" No, really. The rest of the promo was essentially a VERY SLOW narration of all of the events that had occurred since the Royal Rumble. He didn't do the greatest job of building heat towards himself and I lost interest pretty quickly. Bret eventually told the U.S fans to kiss his ass. Shawn interrupted him before adding that the fans can cheer or boo whoever they want. This was the moment (in kayfabe terms at least) that the Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart rivalry truly began. Tensions had been rising between the two men for some time prior, but to my knowledge, this was the first promo the two men had publicly cut on eachother. Bret went after Shawn's 'hurt leg' before being run off by Sycho Sid. What started off as a rather bland segment, turned into the launching pad for one of the most intriguing rivalries in WWF history. Bret Hart attempted to prove a point by attacking Rocky Maivia post-match. I must admit, a full match between Bret and a rookie Maivia would have been fun to watch! The Nation of Domination got involved in Vega's match causing a DQ before Undertaker cut an in-ring promo to close the show. He welcomed his "creatures" to the dark days of the World Wrestling Federation. Undertaker was so much better when he didn't speak, something we would ironically learn post his retirement some 30 years later. All jokes aside, that's not necessarily a knock on his promo ability, but it didn't suit his character at all, especially at this stage of his career. Paul Bearer interrupts as Mankind was speaking on the titan-tron so we have no idea what either man was saying. The gist of it however, was that Paul Bearer was after some kind of reunion with the Deadman. Not the best show in the world, but if nothing else, they finally acknowledged Shawn's rivalry with Bret. The opening tag match was probably the best match on the card, so that tells you all you need to know.

WCW Nitro 23/3/97 (2 Stars)

United States Championship

Match 1- (c) Dean Malenko def Konnan

Match 2- Mortis def Jerry Flynn

Match 3- La Parka def Juventud Guerrera

Match 4- High Voltage def Public Enemy

Segment- Mean Gene interviews Lex Luger & The Giant.

Match 5- Psychosis def Super Calo

Match 6- Hugh Morrus def Chris Beniot

Match 7- Harlem Heat def Faces of Fear

Segment- Mean Gene interviews Ric Flair & Chris Beniot. Beniot questions the intentions of Dean Malenko helping him earlier, and Flair puts Piper over.

Match 8- Madusa def Malia Hoska

Match 9- Jim Duggan def The Renegade

Match 10- Steiner Brothers def Amazing French Canadians

TV Title

Match 11- (c) Prince Iaukea Vs 'Macho Man' Randy Savage ends in a no-contest

Analysis

We learn that Ted Di-Biase has booked a TV Title Match between Prince Iaukea and Randy Savage as per the Uncensored stipulation. Great work Ted! The Mortis gimmick intrigued me, but his match with Jerry Flynn didn't work. La Parka Vs Juventud Guerrera however, did work. It was the match of the night in my opinion but sadly, it was only the second match on the card meaning the quality would rapidly decline. Jeff Jarrett blindsided Johnny Grunge or Rocco Rock (I'm unsure who and I don't really care if I'm being honest) with Mongo's briefcase, handing High Voltage the victory. Psychosis/Calo had an absolute mare in the ring to close hour one of the show. It was sloppy with a poor finish. A complete contrast to the Cruiserweight offering earlier in the night between Psychosis and La Parka. Konnan pushed Beniot off the top rope during his match with Hugh Morrus, leading to Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom to beat down a defenceless Chris Beniot. Dean Malenko runs out to help Chris for some reason before Ric Flair (who took his sweet time by the way) eventually runs down to help his fellow Horseman. A random women's match between Hoska and Madusa also took place. Sadly WCW's women's division had zero context at this point, outside of sporadic matches and a champion you never saw on TV or PPVs. Where's Stephanie McMahon when you need her? The entire NWO came out in support of Randy Savage during his main-event match with Prince Iaukea. DDP caused the DQ, attacking the 'Macho Man' and furthering the fued. The NWO takes turns to pick apart Dallas as well as Iaukea, marking their backs with NWO in black spray paint. A boring show overall. It was hard to watch, especially the second hour. The absence of guys like Mysterio and Guerrero was an odd decision. WWF takes the point…

Raw/Nitro March 30th

Monday Night Raw 30/3/97 (3 Stars)

European Championship

Match 1- (c) British Bulldog Vs Owen Hart ends in a no-contest

Match 2- Super Nova def El Mosco

Segment- Legion of Doom in-ring segment, LOD cut a promo on the Hart Foundation.

Match 3- Jesse Jammes def Jerry Fox

Segment- Honky Tonk Man offers Jesse Jammes his managerial services as well as his guitar. Jesse Jammes smashes the guitar on the ground before declining his offer.

Match 4- Savio Vega & Crush def Rod Bell & Adam O' Brian

Segment- Paul Bearer/Undertaker in-ring segment. Undertaker refuses Paul's advances, leading to Mankind rejoining with Bearer instead.

Match 5- Goldust def Hunter Hearst Helmsley via DQ

Segment- 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin in-ring promo. Austin says he never said "I quit"

Intercontinental Championship

Match 6- Bret Hart def Rocky Maivia (c) via DQ

Analysis

The opener between Owen and Bulldog was an A+ match, with Bret running down in the middle of the match to break it up. He persuades Bulldog and Owen Hart to reunite, reasoning that Americans love conflict and that they don't understand 'family values' He then lists all of the things he's done for them both before asking them both for their help before the trio hug it out. The Hart Foundation was officially reformed! Super Nova defeated El Mosco in the best AAA match I'd seen in the WWF so far. It was pretty short but still very fun to watch. The Honky Tonk Man continued his search for the next big star he could manage. Jesse Jammes refused his services in a pointless waste of a segment. Raw is War kicked off with an in-ring between Taker and Paul Bearer. Bearer pleaded with The Undertaker, begging him to "come home" Taker says he may not be able to forget, but he can forgive. He adds that he owes a lot to Paul Bearer before swerving him, laying him out with a right hand! Mankind sneaks up from behind and burns Takers eyes with fire as Mankind and Bearer reunite, before Sid runs off Mankind. Fun segment laying the foundation for what would transpire in the months to come. Chyna causes a DQ by delivering a stiff kick to Goldust. They continued to play on the gimmick that it took multiple grown men to hold Chyna back, which to be fair, it very well may have. Hunter and Chyna overwhelm the security and double team Pat Patterson before Chyna squares up with Goldust. Austin's promo delivered in a BIG way! I was seeing more and more 3:16 signs by the day. It was truly fascinating to watch his genesis in real time. He said that he wasn't beaten by Bret, but by the ring post which bust him open. Bret appeared on the titan-tron to answer back before Austin screamed at him, vowing to leave him in a bloodier state than even he was at Mania. I LOVED this promo. It wasn't too long but hit all of its spots. It was intense, it seemed real, and it made me want to see Austin/Bret round 3! Rocky/Bret was a case of the right place…but the wrong time. Truly dream match potential! Rocky was still talented enough in his early years to make this a fun match, but sadly his true gimmick wasn't fully developed yet. A 98/99 Rock Vs Bret Hart at any stage of his career, would have done gangbusters! The threat of an Austin run-in only added to the excitement, while those hoping for a clean finish also had the excitement of "hopefully that doesn't happen" They smartly worked around that issue, having Bret lose via DQ as he refused to break a leg lock around the ring post. Vince McMahon even explained it away by adding "Bret doesn't care about the title" which made sense. It rarely does, but in this instance. It did. Stone Cold ran down to break it up before getting triple teamed by The Hart Foundation, only for Legion of Doom to run them off. A really fun episode of Raw with a fantastic opener, some drama in the main-event and some fun segments added in for good measure. I'd rarely rate a show with this many non finishes as highly as I have, but they all made sense and didn't take anything away from the event.

WCW Nitro 30/3/97 (2.25 Stars)

Match 1- Lex Luger & The Giant def Roadblock

Segment- Harlem Heat cut a heel promo ahead of their four corner tag match at Spring Stampede.

WCW Women's Cruiserweight Tournament

Match 2- Toshie Uematsu def Meiko Satomura

Match 3- Psychosis def Villano IV

Segment- Ric Flair/Roddy Piper in-ring promo

Television Title

Match 4- (c) Prince Iaukea def La Parka

Segment- Lord Steve Regal cuts a promo on his Spring Stampede opponent Prince Iaukea

Match 5- Lord Steven Regal def Chris Jericho

Women's Championship

Match 6- (c) Akira Hokuto def Debbie Combs

Match 7- Amazing French Canadians def Jeff Jarrett & Steve 'Mongo' McMichael

Match 8- Chris Beniot def Hugh Morrus

Segment- Arn Anderson says he will always watch the Horseman's back. Beniot says Sullivan is both the victim and the perpetrator.

Match 9- DDP def Lance Ringo

Match 10- Steiner Brothers def High Voltage

Segment- Nash & Syxx call out the rest of the NWO members. Says they need to get more involved.

Analysis

We had a big man opener, so as you'd expect it was clotheslines galore. Luckily, Roadblock seemed to appreciate the spot he was given, so put in maximum effort making this a short albeit watchable contest. Harlem Heat attack Giant and Luger post-match. The Four Corner, number one contenders title match was also explained (what a mouthful) Four teams, the winning pinfall receiving a world title shot. Neat idea but let's see if WCW would actually pull it off. A tournament to crown the inaugural WCW Women's Cruiserweight champion was next. The announcers were disrespectful, making jokes such as 'who's the one in the green' Why air it if even your broadcast team are seemingly uninterested. Not a great look if I'm being honest. Although in all fairness, the title would never be seen on WCW TV itself, as it was taken back to Japan and retired in ‘98 after GAEA and WCW ended their working relationship. Flair and Piper spoke to each other in tongues, seemingly in only a way they could. This was a segment purely for the live crowd to see Piper and Flair together. Nothing added to the show. Jericho/Regal was a wasted moment. 3 min match ended with a rollup. Some of the younger WCW talent tried to save Jericho from a beatdown post match, yet they all failed as Regal eased through the lot of them. Akira Hokuta's win was a squash match. I didn't mind this as it was WCW's attempt at SOMEWHAT building her match against Madusa at Spring Stampede. At least giving it airtime, making Hokuta look strong and having Madusa air her discontent the weeks prior. It was all better than nothing, which was pretty much what the women at the time were receiving. After interference from Public Enemy, Col Parker of the French Canadians used the case on Mongo to pick up the win. Messy segment as I was left unsure who was feuding with who, and why? Debra threw some horrendous insults towards Public Enemy, including "bad breath" and saying they needed "hair loss shampoo" Mongo and Jeff argued before they ran out of time before the next segment. DoD beat down Chris Beniot post-match until Four Horsemen made the save. In the following segment, Ringo flashed a Playboy magazine with Kimberly's 'images' in it before his match with Dallas. DDP squashed him, as he should. Savage cuts a really bad promo on DDP. This devolved from practically a blood feud, into two blokes simply knocking the others' partner. "If I'm bringing the lady, you may as well bring the tramp!" La Parka/Iaukea was good, but this was a segment heavy show. I've noticed before a PPV, WCW had a formula of; short match promo, short match, short match, PPV sale. Wash, rinse and repeat. That doesn't necessarily make for bad TV, as some of the segments were entertaining at times. But as a complete TV show, I wouldn't be in a rush to rewatch it. WWF wins the point and also sweeps the month of March, winning an impressive 5 in a row!

WCW Nitro 30/3/97 Dark Segment

Apparently the most interesting part of this entire show came during the dark segment. Kevin Nash and Kevin Sullivan had some backstage tension. Nash claimed some professional jealousy occurred on Sullivans side. During this dark segment (any incident that occurs after the official TV broadcast has concluded) Nash took shots at Hogan and Bischoff for not being there, as well as mocking Sullivans height. It would come to a head when Sullivan started angrily banging on Kevin's Hotel room door in response. Nash threatened him from behind it, and things were eventually settled.

Summary & final scores

There was a noticeable change in the live WWF fans. It seemed to be a much younger, more boisterous crowd. But our final words will come from none other than Jim Cornette, as who better to finish off this review. He would state that the 'hot period' happened accidentally. Vince's heel turn at the end of the year, USA/Canada, Rock & Austin. "It Doesn't matter who booked it. If you're hot, you can't fuck it up. If you're cold, you can't draw flies to shit" Very true Jim. Very true indeed. Anyway, the final scores stand as follows. WCW 38 - 30 WWF and 9 Draws.

Match of the Month: Bret Hart Vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13)