We're hot off the Royal Rumble with a stacked edition of Monday Night Raw this week. On tap is Bret Hart vs Goldust, Razor Ramon vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley and an interview with Royal Rumble winner Shawn Michaels. But opening action is Savio Vega taking on The Man They Call Vader. Vader takes Savio to the corner and hits some stiff forearms. He goes for a splash, but Savio avoids and hits him with a kick that sends Vader over the ropes. Vader drags him out and slams him face first into the guardrail. Vader brings Savio back in and returns to the stiff blows. Whip to the corner and a big splash, followed by a Vader Bomb, a slingshot splash off the second rope, for the win.
Vader slams Savio back down and hits a second Vader Bomb, while Cornette keeps referee Jimmy Korderas held back. Vader then turns his attention to Korderas and throws him out. He then slaps another referee and hits stiff powerbomb. Gorilla Monsoon arrives and gets in Vader's face. Monsoon says that Vader is suspended indefinitely. He goes to help the official as Cornette tries to control Vader.
Vader tries to attack Monsoon, but Monsoon hits a few chops on him. This angers the mastodon enough to splash Monsoon in the corner and hit an elbow drop. He finishes his assault with another Vader bomb. Eventually Shawn and Razor arrive, sending Vader in retreat. He starts yelling at Vince as he's now a man with nothing to lose. We go to break. When we return, we see Monsoon being placed in the stretcher and taken out of the building. We see Vader about to strangle Cornette as he says that he is declaring war on everyone in the WWF. He then starts destroying everything in sight.
Up next, Hunter Heartst Helmsley is in action against Razor Ramon. Hunter is accompanied by a valet named Shae Marx. We get an interview with Dibiase and the 1-2-3 Kid who are saying that Razor is whining and crying like a baby. And to accentuate that, they have a diaper and a comically large baby bottle. In the ring, Hunter starts working the arm, but gets caught with a right hand and a clothesline. Razor works the arm, landing some shoulder blocks to the shoulder of Hunter. He picks Hunter up by the arm and slams him hard into the mat. He throws Hunter in the corner, but Hunter comes back with some rights. Razor reverses a whip to the corner and lands a clothesline.
Big atomic drop and another right to the face by Razor, who then dives at Hunter, only for Hunter to pull the rope and send Razor to the outside. Hunter follows with a baseball slide. He tries to suplex Razor over the ropes, Razor tries to counter it, but Hunter wins the fight by dropping Razor groin-first into the ropes, all while King tries to hit on Shae. Hunter throws Razor into the buckle. He throws Razor into the corner again and gets in a knee to the back of the head and a clothesline. Cover only gets two. Hunter works Razor in the corner with some hard strikes and some punches.
The Kid shows up and shoves the bottle in Razor's mouth. Razor is distracted, but lays in some slaps to Hunter. Razor chases after the Kid, causing a count out. Hunter remains undefeated in singles competition. Razor comes back in and hits Hunter with a few more shots. He tries a Razor's Edge, but Hunter escapes with Shae. A pretty good match. Mostly brawling, but both men looked pretty good.
It's the "Final Episode" of Billionaire Ted. I wish that were true. He talks about repackaging old movies, old cartoons, and old wrasslers. But he actually wants his businessmen to come up with an original idea. Scheme Gene suggests using his hotline, so everyone just calls that. Are ya laughing yet?
Vince is in the ring with the Royal Rumble winner, Shawn Michaels. Shawn says he told you so. He has a three step program. The Royal Rumble is done, Wrestlemania is going to happen, but the Kliq has something left to handle, and that's with Owen Hart. Nobody talks trash in the WWF except him. He talks about going to win the WWF title as Jim Cornette arrives again. Cornette says Owen has proved his point after knocking him out. He says Owen has no incentive to face Shawn. Shawn says he'll give Cornette anything he wants, and will do anything to get him. Cornette realizes that there is one thing he wants, and that's the title shot. If he puts that on the line, he'll get Owen. Shawn asks the Kliq, and the crowd cheers him on, so he accepts. He then grabs Cornette and throws him out of the ring yet again.
It's champion vs champion in the main event. Intercontinental champion Goldust (with Marlena) taking on WWF champion Bret Hart. A whole lot of rubbing going on as both Goldust and Marlena rub each other. Even more audible "Faggot" chants. Stay classy Stockton, California. After a quick break, it's Bret in control with a hammerlock. Goldust gets in some body blows on Bret, taking him to the corner. He chokes Bret and follows with another stiff punch. Goldust works the arm as we get a far better "Go Bret Go" chant.
Bret escapes the hammerlock, sending Goldust crashing to the ouside as we go to yet another break. When we return, Goldust hits a strike off the top rope and goes into an arm bar. Bret escapes and lays in some punches in the corner. He rakes Goldust's eyes on the rope, but Goldust tries to come back with a figure four. Bret quickly sends him back outside. Marlena drags Goldust to the entrance...
But Razor Ramon sneaks up behind him and gets in a shot. He brings Goldust back to Bret as we go to yet another break. When we return, Bret hits a clothesline off the second rope, then follows with the Russian leg sweep. Sharpshooter gets the win for Bret in a match that was good, but hindered due to feeling rushed and the victim of three commercial breaks.
Vince is in the ring with Bret, who feels that Diesel robbed him and his fans of a fair decision last night against Undertaker. Diesel's been a thorn in his side so long, he's had it up to here. He's ready for the cage match, and has no cares about Diesel's complaints. He's gonna find out why Bret's the best. He promises Undertaker a rematch. We end with a run through of next week's card including...
I KNEW IT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!!!
Despite that however, this was a really good Raw. A victim of live TV really hurt Bret vs Goldust, but besides that, it was a solid main event, continuing the Razor/Goldust issues, while also showing that despite some scrapes and bruises, he's ready for Diesel in the cage. Razor vs Hunter was good, and I like the storyline progression in this feud with Owen Hart and Shawn Michaels, as it makes sense that Owen wouldn't want any more of Shawn, and the only way to coax him is to put the Wrestlemania title shot on the line. But the best thing about this Raw was the opening angle with Vader. It made him look like an unstoppable beast, destroying Savio, the officials, and most importantly a beloved figure like Gorilla Monsoon. Gets a lot of heat on the mastodon early on. If not for the Billionaire Ted crap, this would almost be a perfect Raw. A sign of the show finally being appointment television again, but instead, it will have to settle for an A rating.
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