WWF 1997.03.10 - Monday Night Raw

Location: Worcester Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts

Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross

Sycho Sid comes to the ring to be interviewed by Jim Ross. A tag team match is scheduled today, Sid and the Undertaker vs Vader and Mankind. Sid refuses to take part because he thinks it's a setup, and he'll be attacked three on one. The Undertaker comes to the ring and says Sid's a coward, because he (the Undertaker) will fight fairly. Vader and Mankind come to the ring and attack Sid and the Undertaker. The match is off. Or is it?

Match 1. Intercontinental Title, Rocky Maivia vs Tony Roy.

Tony Who? This guy gets a title shot? I've included a photo, because we'll probably never see him again. Rocky makes a fast attack and pins him after 65 seconds. Tony never stood a chance.

After the match the Sultan attacks Rocky in the ring, saying he'll soon win the Intercontinental Championship.

Match 2. 6-man Tag Team Match, Heavy Metal/Pentagon/Pierroth vs Hector Gaza/Octagon/Latin Lover

These six men are guest wrestlers from AAA Wrestling in Mexico. The moves are fast and exciting, but the audience doesn't really care. They don't know these guys, and they'd be long forgotten if some crazy fool weren't writing about the match 25 years later. The Heavy Metal team wins, but who cares? Raw doesn't even show the whole match. More time is spent showing a scuffle in the audience.

Someone in the audience has called a security guard.

Did you spot her? It's the mystery woman who's been interfering for the last few weeks.

The security guard calls for reinforcements, and they escort her from the arena. Why? She bought a ticket like everyone else. She didn't even see the end of the match. Not that it was anything special. After the match Vince McMahon announces that she's been arrested. What did she do? She was sitting quietly, not even waving a sign.

Match 3. Ahmed Johnson vs Roy Raymond

What's with all the jobbers tonight? Roy Raymond never stands a chance. He gets in a cheap shot by attacking Ahmed from behind, but after that Ahmed just tosses him round the ring like a rag doll and then pins him effortlessly. The match lasts almost two minutes, but that's only because Ahmed is distracted by the Nation of Domination on the ramp.

Faarooq says that their match at Wrestlemania 13 is a no-disqualification match, so he'll bring the whole Nation of Domination to beat up Ahmed.

Ahmed replies that he's not coming to Wrestlemania alone. He'll be accompanied by the Legion of Doom. The crowd goes wild. They must be the most popular wrestlers in the WWF.

Match 4. Tag Team Championship, British Bulldog/Owen Hart vs The New Blackjacks

It's a hard fight with a lot of cheating by the New Blackjacks. Eventually the referee calls for the bell. The commentators think that the New Blackjacks have been disqualified, but the referee Earl Hebner announces that British Bulldog and Owen Hart have been disqualified, which confuses everyone. At least they retain the tag team title.

Taz and a few other members of ECW come into the arena. Jerry Lawler gets into a scuffle with Taz. Sabu injures himself when he attempts to jump on Jerry and misses. The ECW wrestlers help Sabu leave the arena.

Match 5. Miguel Perez vs Leif Cassidy

After a few appearances as a guest, this is the first official wrestling match for Miguel Perez in the WWF, Damn! That guy is hairy!

All over!

The two wrestlers are equally matched, but Miguel Perez wins by a pinfall.

Here's a bit of background information. Wrestlemania, the biggest WWF event of the year, will take place on 13th March. Sycho Sid will face the Undertaker for the WWF Championship. Steve Austin will face Bret Hart in a submission match. However, Sycho Sid is wrestling Bret Hart next week on Monday Night Raw in a steel cage for the WWF championship. If Bret Hart wins, it means the submission match will be for the WWF Championship instead.

Ken Shamrock has been picked as the special guest referee for the submission match, whether or not it will be for the WWF Championship Title. He promises Jim Ross that he'll be fair and impartial. We'd expect nothing less from him.

The interview is interrupted by Steve Austin speaking over the big screen at the entrance to the arena. I think it's called a titantron. He threatens Ken Shamrock if he prevents him winning the match at Wrestlemania. Then Bret Hart comes into the ring and speaks respectfully to Ken, telling him he likes him, and he hopes nothing will happen at Wrestlemania to change his mind. Steve Austin appears at the entrance to the Arena, but doesn't intervene.

Match 6. Billy Gunn vs Aldo Montoya

After Aldo Montoya enters the ring, the Honky Tonk Man arrives and asks the audience if they want to hear him sing. Surprisingly, most of them shout Yes. Honky Tonk replies that he won't sing, because they wouldn't appreciate someone of his class.

Billy Gunn wins by pinfall without any real difficulty. I almost missed his victory, because Sunny was talking about her upcoming feature in Raw Magazine.

Billy Gunn swaggers around the ring. "Was it really that easy?" Yes, it was. Billy needs tougher opponents.

Match 7. Goldust vs Tim McNeany

There's yet another jobber to pad out the evening's matches. Goldust needs just under a minute to pin Tim McNeany. The important action is taking place outside of the ring.

The woman who was arrested earlier comes back into the arena, accompanied by Hunter Hearst Helmsley. So they really do have a connection?

She stands staring at Goldust.

Off comes the jacket.

And she walks to the ring.

The referees try to stop her, but she throws them away effortlessly.

After a brief fight with Goldust and Marlena, Triple H escorts her from the ring. What an evil looking face! She's gorgeous!

Billed as the Great Debate, Jerry Lawler and Paul Heyman have to talk to one another about the merits of ECW. Jim Ross is supposed to be keeping order, but he fails miserably. It quickly degenerates into shouting and insults. Jerry tries to goad Paul into a fight, but the other ECW wrestlers come and lead their boss away.

8. Tag Team Match, Sycho Sid/Undertaker vs Mankind/Vader

So the tag team match is on after all! It starts off as a chaotic slugfest, with action inside and outside of the ring. Then the Undertaker turns on Sid, as Sid feared he would do. Vader enters the ring and pins Sid. The fighting continues after the match. It's a free-for-all that is still continuing as the show ends.