With two weeks remaining until In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies, Raw has a trio of matches this evening. Goldust faces Savio Vega, Stone Cold Steve Austin takes on Bart Gunn, we'll have an interview with Vader, some candid words from Bret Hart after his loss at Wrestlemania, and our opening contest putting Leif Cassidy against Mr. Sable- Er, I mean "Wildman" Marc Mero. But let's be honest here, the focus on commentary is way more on how Sable has been a thorn in Hunter's side than anything involving Marc.
Roll up early by Mero, but the always smiling Cassidy kicks out quick. Leif tries to work the arm, but Mero turns it around. An exchange of shoulder work until Marc gets in some arm drags in. Leif trips Marc, tries an elbow, Mero avoids, then dropkicks Leif to the outside. Leif tries a handshake, then gets in an eye poke. Marc throws Leif into the corner, Leif flips over the buckle onto the apron, ducks a clothesline, then sticks his tongue out, only to get it punched back in as he tumbles to the floor.
Mero grabs Leif and Marty Jannetty and hits a double noggin knocker. Marc chases Leif, only for Marty to catch him with a clothesline. Suplex over the apron to the ring by Leif. He dances around as he rakes the face. Whip to the buckle and a clothesline followed by a suplex, covering for two. Leif clotheslines Marc then tells the cameraman that he loves being a Rocker. Cover on Mero only gets two as we go to break.
When we return, Leif is still in control, hitting a flip over the ropes on Mero. Marty gets in some cheap shots on Mero while the referee is distracted. He follows up with a baseball slide than does the cabbage patch in the ring. I get Lance Storm 2003 vibes. Full Nelson from Leif. Mero tries an escape, but Leif keeps it in. Mero escapes with a headscissors, then a flip over the ropes. Leif goes at Marc, but gets back body dropped. Mero hits a flying sunset flip off the top buckle for the win. A surprisingly decent opener. Definitely the best both Marc and Al have looked so far since debuting on the blog, that's for certain.
Lawler and King talk to Diesel who is in Germany. They recap the attack at Madison Square Garden on Shawn Michaels, and the post-match attack last week. Diesel says that the Kliq wanted to see him, not Shawn. We learn that the WWF Title match will now be no holds barred. Diesel says he's the smartest man in the business, and Shawn knows that no one can take him in a no holds barred match.
Up next, Bart Gunn is in action against Stone Cold Steve Austin. On Superstars last week, Stone Cold lost in a match against "The Caribbean Kid", who was Savio Vega under a mask. Shoulder block by Bart followed by an exchange of headlocks until Bart dominates. Austin turns it around into a hammerlock, then tries ot throw Bart into the ropes, but Bart turns it into a powerslam and returning to the headlock. Shoulder block by Bart. He tries again, but Austin grabs him and throws him over the top rope. He then hits an ax handle off the apron.
Austin brings Bart back in and whips Bart into the buckles, following with a clothesline. Cover only gets a two. Austin begins to drive the knee into the back of Bart then covers for two. Austin goes into the chinlock. He hits a few more ax handles, then returns to the chinlock. Bart breaks free, but Austin jumps on the ropes and flips the pair over the ropes. He drops Bart throat-first on the barricade as we go to break. When we return, Austin is still in full control, keeping the pressure on Bart. He returns to the chinlock until Bart breaks free. An exchange of punches from both men until Bart hits a dropkick. Whip off the ropes and a nice back body drop. Bart punches down on Austin then hits a bulldog. Cover, but Austin still kicks out at two.
Bart ascends the top buckle and hits a cross body, covering for two. Ted Dibiase trips Bart. Bart grabs Dibiase, but Austin attacks him from behind. Bart tries a roll up and a small package, but no luck in keeping him down. Bart lands a sleeper, but Austin breaks free with a jawbreaker (almost a proto-Stunner). He throws Bart to the post then locks a Million Dollar Dream. The referee does the arm drop spot, and for once in a blue moon, the third arm drop succeeds and Austin gets the win. A slower match than most of Austin's work lately, and way too reliant on rest holds, but still a pretty good match nonetheless.
Vince McMahon is in the ring with Vader and Jim Cornette. Cornette brings up how Vader destroyed Gorilla Monsoon and Yokozuna. Vince brings up that at In Your House Vader will face the returning Razor Ramon. Cornette says that he's the next man to step into the danger zone. Cornac the Magnificent has seen the future for Razor which is not looking very good. He promises that Razor will never forget April 28th.
We get a music video for Sunny, which I believe is the first use of her "I know you want me" theme.
Up next, the Intercontinental Title is on the line as Goldust defends against Savio Vega in our main event. Before the match, Goldust gets on all fours and starts to lick his belt before passing it over to Earl Hebner. Goldust feels himself in front of Savio, who is far from intimidated. Goldust tries to feel up Savio in a full nelson, then backs to the corner. Exchange of arm work until Goldust takes Savio to the corner, and rubs his ass on Savio. Savio gives chase as Goldust and Marlena run up the entrance way. Vince makes a "boxers or briefs" joke, seemingly forgetting that Goldust was wearing lingerie at Wrestlemania.
Sidewalk slam and a headlock takedown by Savio who follows with some punches. Cover only gets a two. Back elbow from Savio who then spanks Goldust in the corner. A head ram to the buckle and some chops as we go to break. When we return, Savio hits a clothesline in the corner. He starts hitting punches in the corner, but Goldust hits a stun gun, dropping Savio throat-first into the ropes. Hip attack by Goldust who then starts to crawl around and feel himself. Goldust goes into a camel clutch on Savio while Marlena enjoys her cigar at ringside.
Goldust grabs a microphone mid-match to tell the fans to shut up or he'll kiss every one of them. This garners some good heat from the crowd as Goldust whips Savio. Savio ducks a clothesline, then both men collide into one another. Cover by Savio for two. Back body drop from Savio. He tries a second, but Goldust gets a boot in. Knee drop and a cover for two by the bizarre one. Goldust rubs himself some more and starts to slap Savio around.
Savio gets a roll up on Goldust for two. Goldust recovers and hits a clothesline. He then goes to the top buckle, but Savio kicks him, causing Goldust to crash on the golden globes. Savio chops Goldust and follows with a superplex attempt. However some headbutts and a kiss send Savio crashing to the mat. Goldust stalls and rubs himself before going for a fist drop, allowing Savio to get a boot in. Savio blocks a few punches, hits some of his own and hits an inverse atomic drop and a pair of clotheslines. Cover only gets a two as we go to another break.
When we return, Savio rolls up Goldust for two. Goldust avoids offense, allowing Savio to accidentally hit the referee. Marlena hands the title belt in the ring. Savio kicks Goldust away and goes to aid the ref, but Goldust tries again, only to be kicked again. Savio grabs the belt and nails Goldus. Cover gets the three. HOWEVER, Savio is not the champion as referee Tim White tells referee Earl Hebner about the title attack. Both referees raise the hands of both men until Gorilla Monsoon comes into the ring to settle the situation. Gorilla ultimately decides to strip Goldust of the intercontinental title and vacates the title. A rematch will take place next week on Raw to determine a winner.
Despite this Dusty finish, this was a really good match. Great heel work from Goldust, and some good offense and face work from Savio. It's been weird how back in 1995 I was dumping hard on Savio, yet lately he's been really enjoyable, finding his footing as a hot babyface in the midcard. The finish is kind of lame, but I can understand the reasoning is to add drama and mostly to fill out next week's show with another match with these two, which after this match, I'm more than fine seeing.
We end Raw with a candid interview with a disgruntled Bret Hart, who is still upset over his loss at Wrestlemania XII. A depressed Bret drives the cameramen out of his locker room before leaving the building. In Bonn, Germany over the prior weekend, Bret talks about how things were wrong in the match. It wasn't beneficial to him, but he accepts it. He complains about the overtime and how they rang the bell before announcing it. He talks about how Shawn was careless and locked in the Sharpshooter, and how the bell rang, screwing him. Which is a legitimate point honestly. I mean, Bret sounds like he's whining as usual, but he has a point. He says he'd never work anywhere else because it would be a step down, and talks about how "certain wrestling organizations" are throwing money at him, but he wants respect and feels he can only get it in the WWF. He ends the interview saying that he feels betrayed, and that every time he loses the belt he feels like he's being betrayed.
Another good Raw, though I do feel it was a bit weaker than the past couple weeks, though not by much. Mero vs Leif was the best outing for both men on Raw so far, Austin and Bart was a bit slow but still a decent match and Goldust and Savio was great despite the messy finish with the vacated title. I liked the Cornette promo building up Vader vs Razor and the end promo with a bitter Bret Hart worked well to convey realism from the outcome of the iron man match. Raw's strong showings since Wrestlemania continue, earning this Raw a strong B+ rating.
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