WWF RAW 10/27/1997

Written by: Matt Peddycord

WWF: Raw is War
October 27, 1997
Tulsa, OK
Tulsa Convention Center

The current WWF champs were as follows:
World Champion: Bret Hart (8/3/1997)
Intercontinental Champion: Owen Hart (10/5/1997)
European Champion: Shawn Michaels (9/20/1997)
World Tag Team Champions: The Legion of Doom (10/13/1997)

TIME TO GET RAW! Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. Not sure where Jerry is at tonight.

The Nation of Domination start the show to yell at whoever vandalized their locker room last week. Vince McMahon is there to apologize. Faarooq somehow verbally pours 400 years of racism onto the back of McMahon, who angrily responds that there is no racism in the WWF. Well, what does young Rocky Maivia think about the issue? Rocky has a big “R” on his shirt. He tells us to shut our mouths, but isn’t concerning so much that we know our roles yet. He’s getting SO MUCH heat right now. Rocky tells the Hart Foundation that they crossed the line and now it is a black and white thing. “Rocky sucks”, ya know. Maivia says whenever racism knocked him down, he got right back up. Rocky vows to show them what it’s like to face discrimination and will knock them on their butts until they won’t get up. Faarooq challenges the Hart Foundation to a battle of the factions, which brings out the Hart Foundation. Bret Hart has the mic and accepts the challenge. He informs Faarooq that unlike America that Canada doesn’t hate black people. Bret also DROPS A LOGIC BOMB on Faarooq telling him that this is obviously the work of D-Generation X pulling the strings trying to force a wedge between him and Faarooq. Well, that brings D-Generation X onto the TitanTron. Shawn calls Bret the Grand Wizard and racist to the core. He sides with the Nation of Domination on this and calls the rest of the Hart Foundation Bret’s KKK buddies. DX just totally trolling the crap out of the Hart Foundation. Hunter Hearst Helmsley tells the NOD that the Hart Foundation were using the “N” word while they were spraypainting their locker room. That’s all the NOD guys need to hear because they bum rush the Harts for a big eight-man brawl. Once the agents and refs separate the two groups, Bret stands up limping on his right ankle. Ironically enough, he faces Ken Shamrock tonight in the main event.

MAD TV ad airs hyping Bret Hart’s appearance on the show. Cast member Aries Spears does some Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage impressions saying that they weren’t asked to be on the show, but WWF champ Bret Hart was.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Shawn Michaels & Chyna) vs. Goldust (w/Marlena)
Rick Rude introduces HHH in his own signature way. Shawn gets a headset and talks up Helmsley. Goldust is all over him to start until he misses a charge and goes flying out to the floor. Chyna blasts him with a clothesline and a slam on the rampway. Marlena walks over towards her and the crowd stands up thinking something interesting is going to happen, but it doesn’t. Back inside, Hunter hits the Harley Race knee for two. Facebuster, suplex, and knee drop follows. Goldust makes a comeback though and delivers a Running Bulldog for two. Harley Race bump to the floor gets Helmsley slapped by Marlena. Her gold purse gets into Goldust’s hands, but Chyna steals it away and decks Goldust. With Goldust KO’ed, Helmsley gives him the PEDIGREE for the certain win. (5:36) As many times as they wrestled in 1997, this was one of the better matches. **

Afterwards, Shawn Michaels hops up on the announce table and tells Vince to “suck it”. McMahon is TOTALLY disgusted. Still think Montreal was a work?

Time for another edition of Cornette’s Commentary. He discusses the subject of who is the icon of wrestling. He chastises WCW for allowing Hollywood Hogan and Roddy Piper to have a cage match and then call it the “best one ever” three weeks after Hell in a Cell. Hogan, Piper, Shawn, and Bret all make the claims to be an icon, but all fail in comparison to guys like Ric Flair, the Undertaker, and Steve Austin who work hard and don’t brag about who they are. Usually if you have to say you’re an icon, you’re probably not. Like most things in wrestling, these commentaries just feel like shallow sensationalism to me.

Before the show tonight, they had an “Oklahoma Legends” ceremony celebrating Jim Ross, Bill Watts, Jack & Jerry Brisco, and Danny Hodge. We get to see a few moments of that.

WWF Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart vs. Ahmed Johnson
Still with his hand wrapped up, Ahmed beats the crap out of Owen to start. He even has time to tear up the Canadian flag. Owen slaps him for it and makes Ahmed give chase. Back inside the ring, Owen finds a way to low blow Ahmed, which was actually quite funny. The Nation of Domination watch on from the entrance ramp. Owen sandwiches Ahmed’s injured hand in the steps for the lulz. Commercials! When we return, Ahmed mounts his comeback and scissor kicks a concussion into Owen’s head. Either he’s injuring someone or getting injured himself! After Ahmed hits a Spinebuster and calls for the Pearl River Plunge, Steve Austin appears and gives Faarooq a STONE COLD STUNNER for the DQ. (6:26 shown) At least we know now he doesn’t care about the Nation. He just wants to be the only one to pin Owen for the IC title. ¾*

Jim Ross meets Mankind in the ring to discuss Kane. All Dude Love wanted to do was make people smile and looked what happened. Paul Bearer ruined their amicable parting of the ways and now Mankind is going to make his life a living hell. Mankind wants to be Kane’s road block to the Undertaker or die trying. Well, Commissioner Slaughter appears and denies Mankind’s request to wrestle Kane because he’s mentally unstable. WHEN HAS HE NOT BEEN MENTALLY UNSTABLE? The guy wrestles under three different personas for crying out loud. Anyways, Mankind gives Slaughter the Mandible Claw because he deserves it.

AND NOW WE ENTER THE WARZONE! Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jim Ross.

WWF Champion Bret Hart vs. Ken Shamrock
Vince and Ross finally mention the absence of Jerry Lawler. He’s got World Series blues since his Cleveland Indians lost another one in three years. Shamrock goes for the leg early, but Bret sticks to his game plan and goes after Shamrock’s knee culminating in the Ringpost Figure Four. A one-legged Shamrock receives a DDT for two. Commercials! When we come back, Bret tries the Ringpost Figure-Four again and gets kicked away. Shamrock whips Bret into the ring steps. While ref Hebner chastises Shamrock, Bret brings a chair in the ring. Shamrock steps on the chair and forearms Bret away. Frankensteiner connects. Bret blocks the Belly to Belly Suplex and tries for the Russian Legsweep, but Shamrock pumps the brakes on that and delivers a Belly to Belly Suplex after all for two. Bret reverses a cross-corner whip and clotheslines Shamrock down for the SHARPSHOOTER, but that gets countered to an ANKLELOCK as Bret takes Hebner down with him. While the ref is down, Bret TAPS OUT. Shamrock releases the hold and checks on Hebner, allowing Bret to retrieve the chair and nail him from behind. As Bret turns Shamrock over into the SHARPSHOOTER, Shawn Michaels runs down and gives SWEET CHIN MUSIC to Bret! Even though Shawn has mounted Bret and beats the crap out of him, Shamrock hoists Shawn off Bret and gives him a Belly to Belly Suplex much to the delight of the crowd. Shamrock pounds on Shawn until refs and agents appear to put a stop to it because Shamrock is CRAZY. (10:40 shown) Now the Hart Foundation and D-Generation X come out to help their respective guys. It turns into a big pull-apart brawl between Shawn and Bret so Vince and JR can say things wondering what Survivor Series is going to be like. Match was fine, but you knew Shamrock wasn’t walking out with the gold this close to the PPV. **

When we come back, Bret Hart is backstage vowing that Survivor Series will be the end of Shawn Michaels.

Road Dogg & Billy Gunn vs. The New Blackjacks
Another match like last week where the New Age Outlaws get the crap beaten out of them and then cheat to win. This time Gunn blasts Bradshaw with a chair shot from the floor as Road Dogg crawls over for the pinfall. (2:17) JR – “That [chair shot] would have knocked out a brahma bull!” YA DON’T SAY? The Godwinns and the Headbangers appear to set up another 8-on-8 Survivor Series match. ½*

The camera zooms in on a guy with a Hulk Hogan mask holding a sign that says “Will Wrestle For Food”. Give it a rest, guys.

Kane and Paul Bearer come out to talk about things with Jim Ross. Commissioner Slaughter has changed his mind and has given Mankind his request to wrestle Kane at Survivor Series. Hell fire, living in hell, judgment day; all these types of words directed at the Undertaker. FIGHT YOUR LITTLE BROTHER, DEADMAN.

From the DX locker room, Rick Rude does the introduction for Shawn Michaels. So HBK wants to talk to Bret Hart man-to-man, eh? Shawn stands up, pulls his pants down, and bends over while Hunter and Chyna hold up DX signs. We get to see as much of Shawn’s butt as we will ever want to see. Of course, Shawn thinks that’s freaking hilarious. JR wonders what has become of us. Good question, Jimmy.

Marc Mero (w/Sable) vs. Flash Funk
These two deliver some cool moonsaults. Mero gives a double-jump moonsault press while Funk delivers that high altitude flying moonsault. There’s a Golota and the TKO wins the match for Mero though. (3:46) Mero was just not the same worker after that knee injury. *

Part one of JR’s sitdown interview with Jeff Jarrett. In July 1995, Jeff Jarrett didn’t want to be “Double J” anymore and told Vince McMahon that he wasn’t going to control his life. He left for WCW and realized that unlike the WWF, he had no opportunity. He had a spot there and that was it since he wasn’t one of Eric’s boys, didn’t have the “stroke”, and therefore had no ladder of opportunity. He feels that true in-ring ability does not count in WCW. The biggest difference between the two organizations is that the WWF has action and excitement bell to bell from start to finish. In WCW, six to eight of their top stars are all in their forties and wrestling is a young man’s game. They will air part two – next week!

Non-title match: WWF Tag Team Champions the Legion of Doom vs. Savio Vega & Miguel Perez Jr. (w/Jesus Castillo and Jose Estrada)
Wearing torn up Blackjacks hats, the New Age Outlaws sit at ringside to get a closer look. Legion of Doom aren’t even distracted by them in the least even when they put on their shoulder pads. In a callback to the Jarrett/HBK match, Road Dogg blindly trips up Miguel from the floor and Hawk covers him for the pinfall. (2:50) Afterwards, the LOD and Los Boricuas chase off the New Age Outlaws. ½*

Before we go, Ahmed Johnson tells us that Steve Austin entered his zone. Look out next Monday night, Steve!

NEXT WEEK: The Light Heavyweight Title Tournament begins!