Raw opens pretty much where we left off last week. After the challenge last week by Cornette's camp, we have us a tag match. The Two Dudes With Attitudes (Diesel and Shawn Michaels) taking on Yokozuna and British Bulldog. Also tonight we have a WWF title rematch Bret Hart defends against The Undertaker. After a game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors", it's Shawn who'll start action against Davey Boy. We get some posing from both men. Massive pops for Shawn, while Bulldog gets some major boos.
Headlock and shoulderb lock spot to start by Bulldog, with Shawn overselling it in comedic fashion, flopping to the outside. After some more stalling, Shawn returns to the ring. Another shoulder block attempt is turned into a thumb to the eye and an attempted hip toss. Bulldog tries to turn it into a press slam, but Shawn rakes the face (like a babyface would), and manages to send Bulldog to the outside. Yokozuna sneaks up behind Shawn and lays in some shots, only for Diesel to catch Shawn and throw him at Yoko. Diesel knocks Yokozuna out of the ring as the heels need to regroup.
In comes Diesel and Yoko as the legal men. Yoko shoves, but Diesel shoves harder. Clotheslines by Diesel, but Yoko turns it into a Samoan drop. He goes for the elbow, but misses as Diesel evades damage. In comes Shawn who tries to work the arm, but Yoko whips Shawn, sending him tumbling over the top rope. He then throws Shawn knee-first into the steel steps. He then rams Shawn into the Apron and throws him back in. Bulldog gets the tag in as the heels hit a double headbutt. Bulldog follows up with a stalling suplex.
The heels continue to double team Shawn in the corner as we go to break. When we return, Yoko is back in, hitting several stiff strikes to the head. Yoko then transitions into the nerve hold, which means we got a minute of this spot. Tag to Bulldog who pummels Shawn some more. Irish whip and a knee to the midsection follows, along with a hairpull slam. Tag back to Yoko as the heels hit another double headbutt. Yoko keeps Shawn trapped in the corner and follows with a slam. He tries a splash, but Shawn escapes in time. Shawn finally tags in Diesel who lays in rights to Yoko and boots Bulldog out cold. Knee to the back and another big boot. Tag to Shawn, who dives off Diesel's shouldes for a splash. Cover...
But Bulldog accidentally leg drops Yokozuna! Diesel clotheslines Bulldog out of the ring while a sweet chin music from Shawn sends Yoko tumbling out of the ring. Owen Hart makes it to ringside, but nobody in Camp Cornette is able to revive Yoko in time to stop the count out. So for the third time now, Yoko has proven to be a deterrent to Camp Cornette. A hot opener to this show with plenty of action and everyone looking really good. A bit too much "face in peril", but it was forgiven for a hot ending, so it all evened out.
Post-match, Cornette is in a rage, berating Yokozuna (Vince awkwardly using the term "verbally raping"). Having enough of the verbal abuse and finger pointing, Yoko shoves Cornette to the ground, which of course leads to Owen and Bulldog beating him down. Yoko no-sells their damage and sends Camp Cornette in retreat. Gotta admit this is the most badass Yoko's come off as in... well, ever. Yoko chases them off as we go to break.
Another Mankind Vignette as he says that maybe he's found a home. A hardcore home. Maybe he'll finally have a nice day.
Up next, it's Hakushi taking on the 1-2-3 Kid. The Kid and Dibiase have baby bottle in tow as they prepare for the upcoming Cry Baby Match with Razor Ramon. Headlock by the Kid is turned into a headscissor by Hakushi. Kid follows with one of his own, keeping Hakushi down until the Japanese star flips out of the spot. Headlock and shoulder block spot from Hakushi. Kid leapfrogs, tries for a hiptoss, is blocked by Hakushi, so he then flips out of it, only to be caught by a roundhouse kick. Kid makes his exit from the ring. Hakushi teases a dive, but the Kid gets out of the way before he can
attempt it.
Vince makes reference to a WWF tour of India, mentioning the Taj Mahal, which sets up Lawler making a comment about the Trump Taj Mahal. Oy. Back in the ring, Hakushi hits some chops on the Kid. Kid reverses a whip, but Hakushi grabs his leg and trips him, only for the kid to kip up. Kid reverses another whip and throws Hakushi over the top rope. He follows with a flip over the top rope, much to the approval of Ted Dibiase. Kid distracts the ref as Dibiase lays in a quick kick. Back in the ring as Kid kicks Hakushi in the corner and follows with a whip and dropkick as we go to break.
When we return, Kid is still in control as he caught Hakushi with a kick to the head during the break. Suplex and a cover by Kid for two. Kid goes to the top rope and dives, only to get caught by a midair dropkick from Hakushi. Hakushi blocks some strikes and chops and kicks Kid to the corner. Handspring elbow and a running forearm. Cover by Hakushi only gets a two.He then enziguris Kid out of the ring and dives off the top buckle to the outside, landing perfectly on the kid.
He brings Kid back in and goes up again, hitting a flying shoulder block. Cover, but only two. Kid ducks a clothesline and catches Hakushi with a big spinning heel kick. Roll up by Kid, but Hakushi reverses it to one of his own for two. Hard whip to the buckle and a hurricanrana by Hakushi only gets a two count. Hakushi slowly goes up, but Kid kicks the buckle, and follows with a big double underhook suplex off the top buckle. Cover gets the three for the 1-2-3 Kid.
Great match. Started a bit slow, and felt like it was doomed to be underwhelming, but it really picked up momentum after the commercial break. Lots of fast, high-flying spots from both men, as you'd expect, and both men managed to pull off a great pace for a particurly long match. And in the end, Kid looks strong going into his match with Razor at In Your House, especially considering he won clean.
Pre-Recorded comments from Cornette and Clarence Mason. They haven't heard from the WWF in over a week in this case involving Vader, and if they do not get any answer soon, they do intend to sue.
We then talk to Gorilla Monsoon, who says that he has some injuries, but they'll heal. He apologizes for his actions in terms of retaliating against Vader. He doesn't apologize to Vader and says that it's up to the board of directors as to whether Vader should be reinstated. In terms of President Piper, he knows Hot Rod can be a loose cannon, but desperate times call for desperate actions, and he knows Piper will do a good job until he's back after Wrestlemania.
Up next, the WWF title is on the line. Undertaker gets his rematch against Bret Hart. This is a rematch from the Royal Rumble as Diesel's interference caused there to be no definitive winner. Bret being a fighting champion promised Undertaker another opportunity. Taker goes after Bret in the corner, but Bret dodges. Bret avoids again and hits a few strikes, only to be caught by a headbutt. Undertaker stalks Bret to the corner again, but Bret fights out. His headbutt ends up hurting him more as Taker takes him to the corner and chokes out Bret with his boot. A chop to to the throat by Taker who then takes Bret to the corner again. He chokes Bret again until the break is forced.
Another chop by Taker takes Bret down to the mat. He grabs at the face of Bret and keeps the pressure over the mouth. Bret gets up as Diesel makes his way to ringside. Taker goes for old school, but he sees Diesel, allowing for Bret to yank him off the top. Taker sits up as Diesel joids the announce table. Bret works the leg as Diesel says that he's here to get a bird's eye view. Bret keeps Taker in a leg lock as Diesel repeats that he's not afraid of the dark. Bret continues to work the leg some more. Bret drags the leg of Taker to the post and slams it into the steel. Taker gets in some shots while hobbling on the mat. Elbow drop by Taker as we go to break.
When we return, Undertaker is still in control after hitting a back suplex. He picks Bret up and throws him to the outside, causing Bret to land on his bad knee. He throws Bret into the railing as Paul Bearer distracts the ref. Bret comes back in, only to be choked by Taker's boot. Diesel's been quiet for a while, now more focused on the in-ring action. Taker tries Old School again, this time being successful. Diesel mentions that it's -70 in hell as in it's a cold day in hell for Undertaker.
Undertaker goes for the tombstone, but the referee gets knocked down. Bret rams Taker into the buckle and rolls him up, but no referee. Taker sits up and chops Bret in the corner. Taker clotheslines Bret down as Paul Bearer tries to revive the referee. Elbow drop by Taker is avoided by Bret. Taker sits up, but Bret works the leg some more. He goes back to the post and rams it again.
Diesel gets up and attacks Bret from behind, slamming him into the post. Undertaker sees Diesel and starts the assault, throwing Diesel into the steps. Taker goes back after Bret, but Diesel grabs the chair, nailing the dead man in the back. He throws Taker back in and lays out Taker with a Jackknife. Taker tries to sit up, but is unable too. Diesel mocks Undertaker, before hitting a second Jackknife on the dead man. During the break, Bret and Diesel brawled up the ramp, while Undertaker was still out cold.
While I don't thing Bret vs Taker was that amazing a match, its post-match stuff was more important. A good TV main event with basic stuff from both men, but made more important with Diesel destroying Taker in the post-match, both continuing this feud with Taker, continuing to unblur whatever lines between Diesel's current face/heel alignment, and most importantly, making him look really strong going into his WWF title match at In Your House. Overall, a strong way to end this edition of Raw.
Or it would have been if we didn't need to take yet another visit to Billionaire Ted. It's part two of the press conference from last week. We even get a frigging recap of the hypocrisy over the comments about Ted trying to kill the WWF. This week's the questions are about how WCW is just wasting money, but Ted treats it like a plaything. On the Time Warner merger, screw the stockholders if he's having fun. He then says he can't wait to die so he can tell his father to kiss his butt. Do you get it yet? Ted's greedy and incompetent. Do you get it yet? Do you? Has it been drilled into your head yet? HUH!? Well, too bad because we still have a month and a half of this.
We then end Raw with an advertisement by Vince and the WWF warning stockholders to beware putting stock into Turner and the Time-Warner merger. This was rejected by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Yes, if you didn't think this could get more gross, we''re far from done with this shit. I reiterate it a lot, but maybe because the joke has become depressing at this point. I love how Vince's priorities of the stockholders being screwed has nothing to do with any other facet of the this situation, but just Ted's personal vendetta against poor victim Vince. Gag me.
That aside, this was a really good Raw. Three decent length matches this week with very little filler in between. Diesel looks like a beast as he heads into the cage with Bret, the Kid gets a strong win as he readies for Razor, and Yokozuna turns face. A bold concept for someone who spent such a long time as one of the most reviled heels in the company, but I am at least cautiously optimistic. For a go-home show that's two weeks early (due to the annual Westminster Dog Show next week), Raw kept up a good page. It's just a shame we have to endure more of this Billionaire Turd stuff. Raw gets a B+.
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