Written by: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation presents RAW
Date: 4/14/1997
From: South Africa & Muncie, IN
Matches:
1.)The Godwinns defeated Legion of Doom
2.)Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Jesse James
3.)Savio Vega defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia in a non-title match
4.)Goldust defeated the Sultan by disqualification
5.)Vader & Mankind defeated the Headbangers
6.)Ahmed Johnson defeated Crush
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.)The action starts off with the Legion of Doom looking to get some revenge on the Godwinns for slopping them last week. Hawk no sells a pile driver by Phineas and sends him to the floor following a clothesline. Hawk misses a spear in the corner and hits the ring post. That spot happens every match it seems like. Owen Hart and British Bulldog come out to the ring when all four men brawl. Bulldog soon hits Animal with a title belt and that allows Henry to get the three count.
2.)Lets go over to South Africa, shall we? Hunter Hearst Helmsley is competing against Jesse James. They start off with some mat wrestling. Hunter gains control after hitting a knee lift and followed up with a swinging neck breaker. James gets the advantage until Honky Tonk leaves the commentary table and punches James in the guy. Hunter drives James down to the mat the pedigree to win the match. After the match, James wants Honky to get into the ring but Honky doesn’t enter and instead backs off.
3.)WWF Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia was in action but the title wasn’t on the line this time around. This was a rather uninteresting match early with Rocky controlling Vega on the mat. Vega stopped Rocky with a spinning heel kick. Vega’s main offense was a nerve hold, which shows you how thrilling this match has been. Rock nearly won following a Rock Bottom and planted Vega with a DDT. Rocky leaps off the top to hit a cross body but Vega is able to recover and pins Rocky after using his tights for leverage. After the match, Ahmed Johnson runs out to save Rocky from a beat down.
4.)Back to Indiana, Vince McMahon introduces Steve Austin for an interview segment. Austin is out there for maybe three minutes. He just says that he is going to kick Bret Hart’s ass in six days.
5.)Goldust squared off against the Sultan in South Africa. Sultan spiked Goldust with a dangerous looking pile driver. Goldust is able to drop Sultan with a running bulldog but HHH and Chyna run out to attack Goldust. After the match, HHH and Sultan hit a spike pile driver on Goldust.
6.)We hear from Bret Hart who says he is proud to be far away from America. He stands for the truth. He doesn’t think the American fans know the difference between right and wrong. Bret doesn’t understand how people can look up to guys like Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin.
7.)Vader was suplexed early on by the Headbangers. Mankind helps his partner by beating them up on the floor. Mosh spits a liquid into Mankind’s face and he ends up putting the Mandible Claw on Vader due to being blind. Paul Bearer is able to pull Mankind off Vader to close the segment.
8.)We hear the Undertaker’s voice in South Africa. He tells the fans that Mankind will burn in hell.
9.)The leader of the Truth Commission comes back out and says that he will show everyone their wrong ways. At least that is what I think he says. He is kind of hard to understand.
10.)The main event this week takes place in South Africa. Ahmed sends Crush to the floor following a bicycle kick. D’Lo Brown gets a few cheap shots in on Ahmed when he goes to the floor moments later. Savio Vega comes down to ringside as Crush spikes Ahmed with a pile driver and works on the kidney area. Ahmed spin kicks Crush after blocking the heart punch and is able to roll Crush up for the win. After the match, Faarooq comes out and tells Johnson that he doesn’t care where Ahmed is, they will get rid of him. He proceeds to challenge Johnson to a match where if he can beat himself, Vega and Crush he will disband the Nation. We fade to black on that note.
Final Thoughts:
I’m not sure how I feel about the booking of the show. I feel like the fact that LOD lost here, even with the interference, shows that they aren’t getting a title win in six days. When you don’t have the main guys like Owen, Bulldog, Austin, Bret, Shawn, or Taker wrestle the show really suffers. There just isn’t enough depth here to have all those guys take a night off, really. Thus, I’m giving this show a thumbs down.
Thanks for reading.