Raw/Nitro November '97 (Week 2)

Monday Night Raw 10/11/97 (2 Stars)

Segment- Rick Rude introduces Shawn Michaels as the new WWF Champion. Shawn, Triple H and Chyna all come to the ring before Shawn Michaels cuts a promo bragging about his victory over Bret Hart, before taking credit for being the reason that Bret Hart left the company. Shawn says he will fight anyone at any time, until he is interrupted by Ken Shamrock. Ken Shamrock challenges Shawn Michaels before disrespecting the members of D-Generation X individually. Shawn defends his group, before Sgt. Slaughter books a title match between Shawn Michaels and Ken Shamrock at a later date, as well as booking HHH and Ken Shamrock to take place later that night with DX banned from ringside!

Match 1- Ahmed Johnson def Marc Mero

Match 2- Taka Michinoku def Devon Storm (Light Heavyweight Tournament)

Segment- Jim Ross in-ring interview with Goldust. Goldust says he couldn't be himself during his marriage, but he has found someone else. Vader interrupts and says "Nobody walks out on Vader" in response to Goldust leaving him during the tag match at Survivor Series. Vader demands to know why he betrayed him, before hitting Goldust with a powerbomb!

Segment- Michael Cole backstage with Blackjack Bradshaw. Bradshaw demands medical attention for his partner Blackjack Windham who looks to have been attacked.

Match 3- The Headbangers def Recon & Sniper

Segment- 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin in-ring promo. Austin says he is the toughest S.O.B in the WWF and that no one can stop him! Austin is then confronted by Rocky Maivia. Rocky calls out Austin, who accepts the challenge.

Segment- Jim Ross interviews Steve Blackman at ringside. Los Boricuas interrupts, but Blackman successfully fights them away.

Match 4- Road Dogg & Billy Gunn def Blackjack Bradshaw (Bunkhouse Brawl)

Segment- Jim Ross sitdown interview with Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett says the WWF got him on a "bargain" citing his experience and drug free physique. Jarrett plays word association with some big names in wrestling, before saying Shawn seems frustrated, and that's why he acts so immature at times. Jeff puts Shawn over calling him talented, but adds that he better stay out of his way!

Segment- Michael Cole interviews the IBA Super Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Butterbean. Marc Mero interrupts saying that Butterbean isn't a real boxer, before threatening him, telling him "not to look at Sable!"

Match 5- The Undertaker Vs Kama ends via no-contest

Match 6- HHH Vs Ken Shamrock ends via no-contest

Analysis

Opening Segment

Shawn cuts an in-ring promo, gloating about beating Bret Hart and claiming to be the reason he left the WWF (that much was true at least) Ken Shamrock interrupts and challenges Shawn Michaels, but not before he called Chyna a man (not very progressive, I know) and burned the rest of D-Generation X with his playground level zingers. Thankfully, Sgt Slaughter breaks up the insult fest and starts booking matches. Shawn will defend his title against Shamrock at a later date (the upcoming PPV presumably) and HHH will take on Ken Shamrock later that night, with DX banned from ringside!

My main takeaway from this promo was how surprised I was, by the fact that the Canadian crowd actually seemed pretty subdued all things considered. I imagined that Shawn especially, would have had NUCLEAR heat following Survivor Series, but that didn't seem to be the case. My only guess could be that Shawn was still popular enough, despite playing the chickenshit heel (both on TV, and by all accounts in real life too) that they didn't care enough about his on screen shenanigans, to boo him out of the building. Anyway it was a fine segment, but no direct reference to the screwjob itself just yet…

Matches 1 & 2

Ahamed Johnson defeated Marc Mero via DQ in the opener. Post-match Mero slammed Johnson and walked away with his valet Sable. Butterbean was shown at ringside (we'll see him again, but featured MUCH more prominently, in about a years time)

Next we were treated to action from the Light Heavyweight Tournament, which was usually entertaining, albeit far too short. This match was no different as Taka Michinoku pinned Devon Storm in 5 minutes. That said, this was probably one of the better LHW matches that the WWF had showcased to this point. Both men had moments on top making the action more unpredictable, with Michanoku hitting a particularly impressive spinning heel kick from the top rope, clearing almost half of the ring but only connecting with Storm's ankle as a result. It still looked really cool and was a fun match. Taka Michinoku chases away Brian Christopher following his victory.

Match 3

The Headbangers defeated Recon and Sniper of The Truth Commission in tag team action (I'm playing fast and loose with the word 'action' here) Nothing of note really happened, except the fact that The DOA were in The Headbangers corner, and got into a massive brawl with The Truth Commission post-match.

Second Hour/WarZone

Hour two opened with none other than 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. A historic moment as Rocky and Austin interacted on the mic for the first time, with Maivia even referring to himself as "The Rock". Rocky calls out Austin for his I-C Title, with Austin accepting the challenge!

Match 5

Kane and Paul Bearer interrupt The Undertaker's match with Kama, with Bearer calling out The Undertaker on Kane's behalf. The Undertaker says he will never fight his younger brother Kane. This storyline was being built brilliantly in my opinion, and I was really glad that creative took Jim Cornette's advice and had the two men not touch or directly interact straight away.

Main-event

HHH fought Ken Shamrock in the main-event. This one had the potential to be quite fun, if the screwiness was kept to a minimum. Sgt Slaughter demanded that the rest of the DX members go backstage, as per the stipulation. Just as the match started to become entertaining, HHH knocked out the ref! Chyna runs down to the ring, but is restrained by Slaughter, giving Michaels the opportunity to run down and smack Shamrock with Rick Rude's briefcase. We see HHH cover Shamrock and get as close to a two count before Raw goes off air! Seriously, wtf was that?! According to what I found online, Slaughter pulled the ref out before he counted the three, and the match ended as a no contest. It did take me some time to find the official result, but I didn't mind as that's just what I want to do after I finish reviewing a subpar Raw, even more admin trying to figure out the finish to the damn show!

Summary

This was a disappointing edition of Raw if I'm being honest, especially considering what just happened at Survivor Series! The story goes that the WWF was banking on people ordering the replay of the PPV, hence the minimal mention of what ACTUALLY happened, but that was still a poor excuse for the rest of the booking! That said, it had some variety and was easy to watch, even if the in-ring quality wasn't the best at times. If it wasn't for the cutaway during the CONCLUSION OF THE MAIN-EVENT…this would have been a 2.25 star show (just below average) But the cutaway was simply nonsensical and angered me beyond belief! Would you watch a film if you knew it stopped right before you found out who the killer was? As a result it gets a 2 star grade. Luckily the shows would slowly improve over the coming weeks, with the next one being a particularly notable episode.

WCW Nitro 10/11/97 (2.25 stars)

Segment- The nWo come out waving Canadian flags. Eric Bischoff says he has two special announcements to make! Bischoff says that Kevin Nash is back. Nash comes down the ramp in a wheelchair but enters the ring on his feet. Kevin Nash calls out The Giant at the upcoming WW3 PPV. Eric Bischoff recites a 'O Canada' for Bret Hart, saying that he is the "newest member of the nWo"

Match 1- Steve Regal & Dave Taylor def Harlem Heat

Match 2- Chris Jericho def Disco Inferno

Match 3- Glacier def The Barbarian

Segment- Raven in-ring promo. Raven apologises to Scotty Riggs for injuring his eye before saying that his childhood was abusive, Raven says that the "disenfranchised" have joined him, in order to get revenge against those who bullied him.

Match 4- Yuji Nagata def Alex Wright

Segment- Eric Bischoff and "Hollywood" Hogan in-ring promo. Bischoff makes fun of Sting for shooting a movie while simultaneously promoting it. Hogan calls out Sting.

TV Title

Match 5- (c) Perry Saturn def Chris Beniot

Segment- Mean Gene interviews Ric Flair. Ric Flair says he is excited for WW3 and calls out Curt Hennig.

WCW Cruiserweight Title

Match 6- Eddie Guerrero def Rey Mysterio (c)

Match 7- Randy Savage def Ray Traylor

United States Championship

Match 8- DDP def Curt Hennig (c) via DQ

Match 9- Lex Luger def Ric Flair via DQ

Segment- 'Hollywood' Hogan calls out Sting. Sting confronts Hogan but is ambushed by multiple members of the nWo.

Analysis

Opening Segment

Bischoff did a great job of teasing Brets announcement throughout this segment. Everyone knew already, so it was clever the way that he and the rest of the nWo hinted at it before finally saying his name before mocking him with a rendition of 'O Canada'...

Matches 1 & 2

Opening tag team action, as Dave Taylor and Steve Regal defeated Harlem Heat. A really short match and nothing special, but according to the broadcast team it was a "big upset" I'd usually agree except unfortunately, Harlem Heat hadn't done anything notable in quite some time, so them losing a TV match wasn't actually a big deal.

Chris Jericho pinned Disco Inferno. Disco was fresh off a loss to Perry Saturn the week prior, losing his TV Title in the process. This was a slightly better match than the opening tag, but would still be regarded as filler. Post match, Inferno was jumped by Raven's group aka 'Raven's flock' (Kidman, Sickboy and Perry Saturn) Scotty Riggs, wearing an eye patch fresh off Raven's assault a few weeks prior, made the save before squaring up to Raven, leading to members of 'The Flock' allowing Riggs to walk away. I didn't hate this angle in its current form, as it was something very different for its time. That said, it was still at risk of becoming overly convoluted and messy…

Match 3

Glacier pinned The Barbarian after a spinning back kick. Glacier looked VERY sloppy in this one for some reason, especially with the execution of his finish. Post-match, Barbarian and Meng double teamed Glacier.

Segment

Raven cuts a quick in-ring promo. It wasn't the best or most interesting but thankfully it provided clarity over why he was in WCW as well as the reason for his "flock". Raven said he had an abusive childhood, and those who have been bullied and ignored have now joined him for revenge. As previously mentioned, on the surface it's an ok storyline, but Raven hasn't done or said ANYTHING that has grabbed my attention yet…

Second Hour

Hour Two opened with Bischoff and Hogan walking to the ring. WCW was turning into the movie channel or something as the pair of them mocked Sting, while shamelessly promoting his new movie "The Real Reason". Hogan calls out Sting to end the segment.

The first match of the second hour saw Chris Beniot take on Perry Saturn in what COULD HAVE BEEN, an excellent, stiff matchup. I spoke about Saturn when he debuted, but even though these days he may be seen as a "comedy wrestler" as a consequence of his time with the WWF, Saturn actually had a credible wrestling background and could really go in the ring, if he chose to do so! WCW KNOWING THAT, opted to shaft both men, giving them a short 2 minute match with a screwy finish (Saturn won via rollup while holding onto the ropes) Post-match, Beniot locked the cross face onto Saturn as well as clearing the ring of various "flock" members. Fit Finlay attacks Beniot, leaving him available for a beatdown by Raven's group. This match genuinely annoyed me, as it seemed as if whenever WCW had the opportunity to provide the fans with a good TV match, they shit the bed and opted for overbooked gaga instead. This segment gets a big thumbs down from me!

Match 6

We FINALLY see a good match, as Rey Mysterio took on Eddie Guerrero. My notes are minimal as I wanted to sit back and watch it, and boy am I glad I made that decision. A more basic match (for these guys anyway) but I liked that aspect of it. This was Rey/Eddie IV, as well as being the return match from Halloween Havoc. The announcers quite rightly put over their PPV bout, claiming it to be a "Match of the year contender" That was a nice touch from WCW, especially considering their apparent disdain towards the entire division!

Rey Mysterio had beaten Eddie 3 times in a row prior to this. If he beat him a fourth time, it could have killed the feud entirely. Instead what we saw was a short albeit fast paced match, with Eddie capitalising on the fact Rey hurt his knee. Eddie caught Rey from the top, and LAUNCHED him with venom into the ropes "nearly decapitating him", according to Heenan anyway. Eddie landed his frog splash and we had a NEW Cruiserweight champion! Even though it was disappointing to see Mysterio lose his title so quickly, I kind of understand why it happened. My only criticism would be that it shouldn't have been a throwaway TV spot, and maybe built up more with Eddie demanding his rematch on TV to build some hype. But it was still the best segment of the night by far, so I can't complain too much.

Match 8

The champion Curt Hennig took on DDP for the US Title. This was a slow match, as Curt Hennig was past his prime unfortunately, and DDP was wrestling under the guise of having "injured ribs". So as you can expect, not the most scintillating matchup in the world. Page won via DQ after Hennig hit him with the US Title. No title change.

Main-event

Wooooo! Lex Luger defeated Ric Flair in the main-event. Again, neither show seemed to think that the results of the matches actually mattered, which is annoying for me as I have to track, you know, WHO WINS AND WHO LOSES EVERY SINGLE TIME! The ref half assedly pointed to Luger post-match, following a Curt Hennig run-in which saw Hennig and Flair fight all the way to the back. I didn't care about this match anyway, I just wish WCW did…

Honestly, I probably would have switched the order of the last two matches, putting DDP/Hennig as the main and tried to bait the fans into the real possibility of a title change. But at this time, Flair was probably better for ratings so I understand why he went on last. Unfortunately for me, this match was still pretty dull and I just wasn't invested AT ALL from a storytelling perspective…

We see a final nWo segment as Hogan and Bischoff baited Sting to the ring. Sting was then ambushed by the nWo, before Nitro went off the air…

Summary

A hit and miss edition of Nitro this week. WCW were probably holding back until Bret Hart could join them, and the WWF didn't want to spoil Survivor Series as they had banked on people watching replays. Next week SHOULD be better from both shows. Overall Nitro was more interesting as a whole, and at least had one or two semi decent segments. Nitro takes the win this week.