-Today, Project 45 lands in the year 1997 as we look at the episode of Raw from Madison Square Garden.
-WWF Raw is War was shown on the USA network on September 22, 1997 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
-WWF Intro.
-Highlights of wrestling at MSG.
-Raw Intro.
-Watching this come on, this hits all the feels for me. The pyro goes off and Vince McMahon welcomes us to MSG. He and Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are the announcers for the event.
-The Nation of Domination theme hits. Rocky Maivia comes out with the rest of the Nation. Rocky has just joined the Nation here. Maivia is in a first round match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Sgt. Slaughter is out as commissioner to get the rest of the Nation to the back as a Rocky Sucks chant goes out. Ahmed Johnson comes out, and it's going to be Ahmed Johnson vs. Rocky Maivia: Maivia attacks right away. Back and forth. Johnson with an Irish whip and a power slam. He follows that up by clotheslining Maivia to the outside. Johnson arguing with referee Tim White. Maivia tries to attack Johnson from behind, but Johnson grabs Maivia by the throat and tosses him into the corner. He then beats Maivia down in the corner. Johnson with a corner whip. Maivia moves on the charge as the Rocky sucks chant goes out again. Rocky ducks a clothesline attempt and turns it into a DDT. He gets a two count. Lou Albano shown at ringside taking notes. Maivia choking Johnson. Back and forth in the center of the ring. Johnson with a shoulder block. He rushes Maivia again and Maivia throws him to the outside. Maivia comes out after Johnson and they fight right in front of the announce desk. Maivia runs Johnson into the ring steps. Johnson gets up and his hand is bleeding from the steps. Maivia comes out after Johnson again. to attack him. He throws Johnson back in the ring and rolls him up for a one count. Maivia with a shot to knock Johnson down. Maivia rushes Johnson, who hits Maivia with a spinebuster. A double count going. Both back up and Maivia reverses an Irish whip. Double shoulder block and both men down again. Another double count going. Both back up at 8 and Maivia slaps Johnson across the face. Maivia tries for an Irish whip, but Johnson reverses it into a Pearl River Plunge attempt. He hits it and gets the pin.
-The announcers are running down what we are going to see tonight when the glass break sound hits for Steve Austin and the crowd loses its mind. He appears up in the crowd and says there ain't no way you can have a Monday Night Raw in New York City without Stone Cold Steve Austin. Tonight, somebody's going to get their ass whipped and that's the bottom line because Stone Cold said so. He then leaves.
-Lazer Tag commercial featuring Sable and Howard Finkel.
-Floyd Patterson is shown in the crowd. He was the chairman of the NYSAC at the time.
-Highlights from the One Night Only PPV.
-The Undertaker's music hits and the lights go out. He appears to a massive ovation. He gets in the ring where he is interviewed by Vince McMahon. McMahon asks him about Hell in a Cell between him and Shawn Michaels. It is announced that the winner will face the WWF champion at Survivor Series. I'm sure that's going to go well. Undertaker says Bret Hart, the day will soon come when the reaper will be calling, but before you have your judgement day, Shawn Michaels has his date with destiny. At HIAC, there's only one way out and that's over his dead body. Unfortunately for Shawn Michaels, he can never rest in peace. He can enjoy watching Michaels' rotting corpse burn in eternal damnation. Shawn Michaels music hits and he comes out. He says is it his imagination or is the World Wrestling Federation once again trying to give the Heart Break Kid the shaft? First, you stick him in SummerSlam in a no-win situation as the special referee. He does his job and everybody comes down on HBK. Then you try to stick him in a match with the Undertaker in the hopes that he can bury Michaels alive. Now, you stick him in a cage with death itself and then conveniently decide that the winner of that match will get a shot at the WWF champion. Why don't you just give him a WWF championship match? He says just because I am the only man in the WWF to hold every title, you still have the nerve to ask him to earn it? Do you know who the hell he is? He says Dead Man, I've got news for you. Unless you are a real hot mama, which you ain't, I don't lay down for anybody. And the Heart Break Kid is looking for a Garden Party my friend, and HBK is in the house and I've got news for you pal. This is getting wordy from Shawn. At HIAC, the Heart Break Kid is going to do what he always does and that's be one step ahead of you, one step ahead of you as he points to McMahon, and one step ahead of each and every one of you. At HIAC, I'm going to bring the pain and Dead Man, all you've got to do is show up.
-After a commercial break, Sunny comes out as the special guest ring announcer. She says it's nice to be back in NYC. She announces The Legion of Doom Hawk and Animal vs. Farooq and Kama from the Nation: Hard hitting action. All Hall of Famers in this match. The Nation with the early advantage. LOD then coming back. Farooq goes up for the Doomsday Device, but D-Lo Brown comes in for the DQ before Hawk can come off the top rope. Rocky also comes in. Ahmed Johnson comes in to help fight the Nation off, but the Nation get him down as well until more referees and officials come down.
-An MSG moment of Jimmy Snuka coming off the top of the cage onto Don Muraco.
-Intercontinental Tournament Match. Owen Hart vs. Brian Pillman with Marlena: Hart comes out flanked by policemen because of Steve Austin. Hart instructs the officers to each cover a corner. Marlena is with Pillman because Goldust lost the match to Pillman at Ground Zero. Pillman comes out with his arm in a sling. Pillman gets on the mic and says he slipped in the bathtub and broke his arm. He has to forfeit the match. Sgt. Slaughter comes out and asks where his paperwork is. Pillman hems and haws and Slaughter then proves Pillman is lying and says the match will go on as scheduled. The referee rings the bell. They go through the motions of having a match like they are at half speed. When they come back from the commercial break, Hart had been hit in the head by Marlena's purse and he and Pillman would start going at it for real. Goldust comes in and hits Owen Hart trying to get to Pillman. Officials keep Goldust away as Pillman and Marlena leave. Goldust takes off after them as Hart gets on the mic and dedicates his win to his brother Bret. He then gets attacked by Steve Austin from behind. Hart yells for the cops to arrest Austin.
-Vince McMahon gets up from the desk and says no. McMahon gets in the ring with a mic. He asks Austin what's the matter with him. McMahon says he understands that Austin is upset he had to forfeit the IC title, the tag team title. Everyone can understand that, but don't break the law. McMahon says don't you understand why you are not allowed to compete. Can't you get that through your head? Don't you know you're not physically able to compete. Your doctors say you're not ready. If you compete, you could injure yourself for good. You could wind up paralyzed and the WWF is not going to stand by and let you do that to yourself. He gestures to the crowd and says these people don't want you to wind up in a wheelchair. they want to see you compete. Everybody wants to see you compete. But in due time, Steve, in due time. Austin looks at his watch. McMahon tells him to get a hold of himself. McMahon says listen, don't you know people care? In the World Wrestling Federation, we care. They care about you, that's all that is. You've just got to go with it, that's all that is. In other words, you've simply got to work within the system. That's all you've got to do. Austin says you know as well as I do that this is what I do for a living. This is all that I do and can't nobody tell me I ain't the best in the whole world. He then tells McMahon not to say anything. He says to sit there and tell him to work within the system. You ain't the one sitting at the house like he is. But if that's what it takes to make you or the World Wrestling Federation happy. Hell, he feels like Cool Hand Luke and he will work within your stupid little system. McMahon starts to say that's all these people ask before Austin brings the mic back to himself. He says he appreciates the fact that you and the World Wrestling Federation care. And he also appreciates the fact that, Hell you can kiss his ass. Then the Stone Cold Stunner heard round the world as Austin stuns McMahon. Then the classic footage of Austin in McMahon's face while McMahon is on the ground. Officials come down to check on McMahon as the cops "arrest" Austin. The crowd loves it.
-In memoriam video of Bulldog Brower who had recently passed away. This was unusual for the WWF to do at the time.
-War Zone Intro.
-JR and Jerry Lawler welcome us back and run down Austin stunning McMahon, but there is a woman behind them wearing a distracting outfit.
-Falls count anywhere match. Hunter Hearst Helmsley with Chyna vs. Dude Love: Helmsley and Chyna out first. Lawler tries to talk to the woman I mentioned earlier, but he is having mic problems. He gets another one and the woman is Rhonda Shear who was the host of Up All Night on the USA Network and she was on to plug that show. This show was huge at the time. Helmsley waits for Dude Love to come out. His music hits but he doesn't come out. He's on the video screen. He says falls count anywhere isn't his bag. It's more of his main man's bag and he brings on Mankind. This took a lot of time for them to do this with Foley at the time. Mankind says as much as he wants to get Helmsley, he knows someone who wants it even more and is willing to do more than even he can and he brings out Cactus Jack. He gets a tremendous ovation when he comes out. This was the early days of the internet at my college and I used to go to the library to listen to a sound file of the Cactus Jack entrance that someone made from this show. Cactus Jack has all of these weapons and things with him and comes out holding a trashcan. Helmsley goes to attack him on the ramp and Cactus Jack hits him with the trashcan. He then spills the trash on Helmsley and hits him with the can again. Helmsley tries to get away and drops the chain that he had in his hands. Cactus Jack runs Helmsley into the ring steps as an ECW chant goes out. Cactus Jack rips up a section of the padding at ringside. Helmsley trying to get away and Cactus Jack rakes his back. He then runs Helmsley into the barricade. He then hits Helmsley with a neck breaker on the exposed floor. He gets a two count. Cactus jack then gets Helmsley back into the ring and hits him with a headbutt. Cactus Jack then rushes Helmsley and clotheslines him where they both fall to the outside as Cactus Jack puts up a bang bang to the crowd. Helmsley tries to get away from Cactus Jack again, who follows Helmsley and runs directly into a shot from Chyna. The referee is trying to get Chyna away from Cactus Jack, but there really isn't anything he can do as Chyna clotheslines Cactus Jack over the barricade into the crowd. The referee argues with Chyna as Helmsley climbs over the barricade and attacks Cactus Jack in the crowd with punches. They fight through the curtain back to the locker room area. Helmsley scoop slams Cactus Jack in the back for a two count. Helmsley walks back through the curtain into the arena thinking he has won, but the referee tells him it was only a two count. Helmsley argues with the referee that it was a three count. Helmsley then goes back towards the curtain only to be hit by a shot from a fire extinguisher from Cactus Jack. Cactus Jack then Irish whips Helmsley into the barricade. Cactus Jack comes up and bites Helmsley on the forehead and the section of barricade collapses to the ground with Helmsley falling on it. Cactus Jack gets Helmsley back into the ring as the ECW chants go out again. Cactus Jack corner whips Helmsley, who flies up and over the opposite corner to the outside. Helmsley tries to get up and Cactus Jack hits him with the garbage can. Cactus Jack goes up top and comes off with an elbow, but Helmsley moves and Cactus Jack hits the trash can instead. The referee checks on Helmsley, so Chyna grabs Cactus Jack and runs him into the ring steps. Helmsley hits Cactus Jack with the trash can as they go to commercial and when they come back, they are both in the ring and Cactus Jack is down. There is a chair in the ring and Helmsley has grabbed a mop. He hits Cactus Jack in the back several times with the mop. Helmsley chokes Cactus Jack on the second rope and Cactus Jack goes out to the apron and Helmsley guillotines Cactus Jack on the top rope and Cactus Jack falls to the floor. Helmsley grabs the chair in the ring as Chyna gets Cactus Jack on the apron. Helmsley snap mares Cactus Jack over the top rope back into the ring and grabs the chair again. He runs the chair into Cactus Jack's ribs. They both go back out to the apron and Helmsley runs Cactus Jack into the turnbuckle. He goes and does it again, but when he goes back for the third time, Cactus Jack hits him with a mule kick. Helmsley falls out to the floor and Cactus Jack hits him with a sunset flip off the apron. He gets a close two count. Cactus Jack rushes Helmsley, who runs Cactus Jack into the barricade. Helmsley rushes Cactus Jack, who backdrops Helmsley onto the ramp. Cactus Jack does his patented bang bang and Chyna hits him on the head with the chair. Cactus Jack goes after her and gets his hands up and grabs the chair before she can hit him again. Helmsley runs Cactus Jack into the ring steps, but Chyna goes down as well. Chyna is out and the referee goes to check on her as Cactus Jack and Helmsley continue to battle on the ramp. Cactus Jack with a right to knock Helmsley down. They both get two counts on the ramp. Helmsley hits Cactus Jack with a belly to back suplex on the ramp. He gets another two count. Another referee down to check on Chyna, who is still out by the ring steps. Helmsley goes to the top of the ramp, grabs another trash can, and hits Cactus Jack with it. He then hits him with it again and covers him. Another two count. Helmsley then hits Cactus Jack with a snow shovel and then goes to the back through the curtain. Cactus Jack crawls toward the curtain as well. He goes through the curtain and Helmsley attacks him right away. He slams Cactus Jack backwards down the ramp. Helmsley then sets up a table and he and Cactus Jack both get on it and Helmsley goes to Pedigree Cactus Jack on the table, but Cactus Jack hits Helmsley with a low blow and piledrives Helmsley through the table. Cactus Jack falls on Helmsley to get the three count as Chyna rushes to break up the pin but she is too late.
-Survivor Series Super Supper Sweepstakes ad.
-More highlights from MSG, this time footage from WrestleMania and Andre the Giant slamming Big John Studd.
-Replay of the Austin stunner on McMahon earlier in the night.
-Highlights from One Night Only of the British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels match.
-Shawn Michaels comes out and says what's happening NYC? He has the European Championship and a chair with him. He gets in the ring and takes his shirt off. He says have I got a story for you. Of how HBK became the one and only grand slam winner of the World Wrestling Federation. But before he does, he doesn't think he made himself clear a little while ago. He wants Undertaker to bring his dead ass out here and face Shawn Michaels like a man. He wants him out there right away. Michaels then gets into it with an audience member who calls him gay. Undertaker comes down the ramp. Hunter Hearst Helmsley then runs down the ramp to attack Undertaker. He gets hit by Undertaker and goes down only for Michaels to attack Undertaker with the chair. Michaels and Helmsley attack Undertaker and are joined by Rick Rude and Chyna. Undertaker gets up so the heels take off.
-Badd Blood ad.
-Non-title match. Bret Hart vs. Goldust: Hart comes down first and grabs the mic. He says he doesn't give a crap who wins the cage match between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels because he faces whoever wins at Survivor Series. Oh, Bret, you silly boy. You will care. Your life is about to change forever. This is also the night that Vince McMahon told Bret that he could no longer afford to keep paying him his contract and to see if he could still get a deal from WCW. He says he's the best there is, was, and ever will be and they know it. The bell rings and Goldust is stalking Hart. Hart backs to a corner, so referee Earl Hebner makes Goldust back off. They lock up and back to another corner. Goldust with a series of right hands to Hart. He then hits Hart with a series of corner mounted punches. Goldust with a corner whip and Hart hits the turnbuckle hard and goes down. Hart comes back with a series of punches. Hart with an elbow and an Irish whip. Hart drops his head too early and Goldust kicks him in the face. Goldust follows that up with a clothesline. He gets a two count. Test of strength. Hart kicks Goldust and gets a wrist lock on. Hart drives Goldust to a turnbuckle and attacks the back of his knee with kicks. He focuses on the knee and kicks Goldust down. Goldust begging off and then grabs Hart's leg. Hart gets Goldust to back up and gouges his eyes. Hart with some forearm shots to Goldust, who is trying to walk it off and get back into this contest. He gouges Hart's eye. He then kicks and chops Hart. He then runs Hart into the corner and slaps him. Then back and forth in the corner. Hart gets Goldust down, puts his leg on the bottom rope, then crashes down on the leg. Hebner checks on Goldust and Hart sets the leg up and crashes down on it again. Goldust back up and trying to get away. A fan says something to Hart to make him angry and he flips the fan off. Hart gets Goldust in the ropes in the opposite corner and Hebner is trying to get him to break the hold. Hart with a snap mare and then does a snap mare like move to the leg to try an hyperextend it. Hart drops an elbow on Goldust. He then does the figure four to Goldust around the ring post. Hebner telling Hart to let Goldust go and counting Hart. He breaks the hold right before the 5 count. As he does, Shawn Michaels appears at the top of the ramp. When they come back from commercial break, Hart has Goldust down in the ring. He works Goldust over to set up for the Sharpshooter as Michaels is still at the top of the ramp. Hart drops an elbow on Goldust, who grabs Hart to try to stop him from doing more damage to the knee. Hart cranks on the knee hold though. Michaels taunting Hart from the top of the ramp and someone from the crowd throws what appears to be a water bottle at him that he has to dodge. Hart grabs Goldust's leg perhaps looking to put the Sharpshooter on. Goldust trying to kick Hart off of him. Goldust gets to the ropes, but Hart pulls him back towards the center of the ring. Hart pulling the leg trying to injure the knee even more. Goldust grabs Hart by the hair and elbows him in the head to break the hold. Back and forth in the corner. Hart stomping away on the knee. Goldust reverses a suplex attempt. Goldust gets back up, but he is having difficulty standing. Back and forth and Goldust with a big European uppercut. Then a big right hand to knock Hart down. Hart with a single leg takedown. He drags Goldust over to the ropes and drops down on the leg again. Hart then drops an elbow on Goldust. Then another elbow. Hart tries to go back and drop another leg on Goldust, who kicks Hart over the top rope to the outside. Goldust goes out after Hart and hits him with a big right hand. He then runs Hart head first into the ring steps. He attacks Hart some more and they both get back in the ring. Goldust runs Hart head first into the turnbuckle. Then a corner whip and a bulldog to Hart. He gets a two count. Another corner whip, but hart gets his boot up on the charge. Hart goes up top. Goldust puts his leg up as Hart comes off, but Hart grabs the legs and puts the Sharpshooter on. Goldust gives up. Hart won't break the hold. Michaels comes down and attacks Hart from behind. Back and forth in the ring. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna come down. Helmsley and Michaels attacking Hart in the ring. Owen Hart comes in to save Bret. The British Bulldog and Rick Rude both come down and all of them are going at it. Jim Neidhart comes in and hits Rick Rude from behind, which pissed Rude off in real life because he isn't supposed to be hit like that any more because of his insurance settlement. The Undertaker comes down to the ring. All of them go at it until it's just Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and the Undertaker left in the ring. Undertaker grabs Bret and Shawn and choke slams them both as they sign off from MSG.
-Final Thoughts: Wow. One of the most action packed episodes of Raw ever both in front of and behind the scenes as this night is pivotal for what happens the rest of the year. The drama with Bret Hart starts behind the scenes. Austin stuns McMahon. Cactus Jack returns. Badd Blood is being set up and Survivor Series looms. The highest recommendation from me.