Here's an old recap of the infamous 4/21/97 Raw done by G.P. Ryan on the RSPW message boards.
WWF RAW IS WAR, 21 April 1997
=============================
Telecast live from Binghamton, NY (Broome County Arena)
Announcers: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
(Like I noted last week, the timing of these reports could become
_quite_ erratic for the next few weeks...)
Vince in-ring to interview Austin, according to Lawler about a SCSA/
Bret streetfight for tonight. JR says the arena is sold out. Vince
confirms the main event for IYH in Richmond, VA: UT vs. Austin. SCSA
tells Vince to "shut [his] stinkin' hole." He says the whole world
saw him whip Bret's ass [not censored] last night. He says Bret has 1
minute to come out, and he'll whip his ass back to Canada. Ass count:
4 so far. The final 30 seconds are counted down on the jumbo screen.
Bret w/the New Hart Foundation, shows up on the screen and accepts
the challenge. He says the YooEss fans are a pack of wild hyenas,
just like SCSA. He says SCSA will be going straight to hell after he
is through with him. SCSA says if that's so, he'll be damn sure to
take Bret with him, and stalks to the back.
The announcers hype tonight's lineup, and Austin is shown stalking
around the back. --break--
Bret is pacing back and forth in his dressing room.
The Sultan (w/Iron Sheik) vs. Ahmed Johnson
Vince beables something about S. Africa being Ahmed's 'motherland'.
First contact at about 0:20. Sultan gets the early edge, but his whip
is reversed, and Ahmed just _nails_ a jumping side savate kick, and a
picture-perfect jumping Rocker Dropper-type kick. AJ corner whip is
reversed, and he walks into an inferior savate kick. Ahmed vs. NOD at
IYH. Lawler says if stupidity were water, Ahmed would be Niagara
Falls. Sultan pummels him in the corner, AJ comes back but gets
whipped into a knee to the gut. TS piledriver, plods around then
covers for 2, then goes to a kneeling side headlock. AJ punches out,
but gets headbutted, TS whip, duck and and AJ face-first suplex,
shoulder up. AJ nails a spinebuster and signals for the Pearl River
Plunge, but goes outside when the NOD shows up on the entrance ramp.
TS nails him from behind and runs him into the post. The NOD are
backed away from AJ's 2X4, which he firmly applies to Sultan's back.
WINNER: The Sultan, by DQ at 4:50 *1/2 (-1/2* for cheesy finish)
[AJ then gives him some love taps with it; most of the rating was for
those nicely done moves early on, the overall pace was fairly slow]
(Note on ratings: I go by DUD-***** scale on increments of 1/2*;
squashes, for the most part, will be automatic DUD's)
Sunny comes out to model the new UT T-shirt ($20; i.e. at least
$19.95 too much). --break--
May's IYH is brought to you by Castrol All Wheel Cleaner. SCSA tries
to kick in the door to the Hart Foundation's dressing room, then
tries to break it down with a chair [good luck, Stevie]. Bret enlists
some suits to hold the door closed.
Ken Shamrock has joined the announcers. Shamrock/Vader no holds
barred at IYH. Very brief footage airs of Tiger Ali Singh from the
Kuwaiti Cup. Vince says Vader took offense on a talk show at being
asked if wrestling was fake. A graphic of TMTCV with "Vader Held
Hostage: Day 9" is shown. He says "why don't you come down tonight
and before I kick his (Undertaker, who was also there) [ass], I'll
kick your [ass]." [From the rumours at first, you'd have thought that
Vader had punked him out; all he did was grab him by the collar].
Lawler displays a piece of his artwork (of Vader shoveling camel
excrement). Shamrock says he's always had problems with bullies, among
them Vader. He accidentally says IYH is March 11. Shamrock challenges
Mike Tyson. Lawler says Tyson would knock him out. Possible Quote of
the Night: "Why don't you shut up, sit down and enjoy your
retirement?" -- Shamrock to Lawler.
Steve Austin vs. --commercial break--
Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (streetfight)
Double Feature of SCSA standing on the announcer's table. Vince calls
him a lunatic. Bret comes to ringside fairly slowly. OwenDog storm
through the crowd and jump SCSA. HBK comes through the crowd, chair
in hand, misses Bret, thumps Owen and taps DBS, and pursues OwenDog
out through the crowd. Bret pummels SCSA. The bell never rings to
start it, so no time will be given for this. Someone holds up a 'Hey
Bret, Only Wussies Wear Pink' sign while the subject of the sign hits
a piledriver. He requisitions a chair from ringside, sets Austin's
ankle in it, goes up top but misses, and gets nailed with the chair
in his right knee. Someone in the front row holds up a 'R.I.P. C.F.'
sign [huh?] while SCSA works over his knee. Bret returns the double-
finger gesture SCSA had given earlier, and gets smacked some more for
it. SCSA goes up 2-1 in the War of Obscene Gestures and locks on the
Sharpshooter. Vince and JR say it was a setup, and Lawler points out
maybe SCSA set it up for HBK to come out [possible interesting
plotline, if they go anywhere with that, which by later events, it
appears they might] --break-- When we return, Owen and Davey are
comforting Bret. Replay of some footage clearly shows Bret, whilst
delivering the classic double-bird, uttering the equally classic
'[Copulate] you'. While Bret is helped out, Monsoon chews out Austin
in the back. He says SCSA has broken all the rules. He says he wants
SCSA to get his ass out of the building right now. Bret is on the
stretcher, and yells something that was censored [it appeared to be
repeated instances of '(excrement)']. Instead, Owen and Davey help
him to the back. --break--
[begin "hour 2"]
The camera pans the audience, no doubt catching _many_ future Rhodes
Scholars.
Tiger Ali Singh vs. Salvatore Sincere
TAS's outfight looks somewhat like Owen's. Vince refers to Tiger Jeet
Singh as "one of the all-time greats". TAS pummels him in the corner,
while Bret is on the stretcher again, being wheeled out back. SS
briefly oversells the punches with a weird facial expression. TAS
corner whip and Stinger Splash, then a released Northern Lights
suplex. TAS whip, kick to gut and faceslam. Split-screen of Bret
being attended to. SS blocks a suplex and nails a nice-looking
Northern Lights for 2. SS front slam (think Berzerker-slam Lite) and
a 2d-rope back elbow for 2. SS chokes him down, whip, TAS sunset flip
for 2. No heat for this match. Vince says SS is 'underrated'. SS
clothesline, shoulder up. "Boring" chant lasts a second or two. SS
chinbreaker, shoulder up. SS whip, ducks, TAS backslide for 2, while
Bret was shown again. An SS chop gets a 'Whoo!'. SS whip, 2 missed
clotheslines, and TAS hits a *very* weak-looking Vegakick for the
pin.
WINNER: Tiger Ali Singh, at 4:42 RATING: 1/2*
[This guy needs a _lot_ of seasoning...]
Bret is loaded into the ambulance, at last. Austin is shown in the
driver's seat, and again pummels Bret, but OwenDog force him away.
Owen and DBS talk about 'getting him'. --break--
OwenDog return into the arena.
Jesse James vs. Rock-A-Billy Gunn (w/Honky Tonk Man)
'Jesse Jammes' can go right in the circular file with such creative
(mis-)spellings as Sycho Sid, Konan, Eddie Guerrero and Syxx. Vince
says he can wrestle as well as he can sing ("he won't win many
matches, then" -- Lawler), and that he's the Real Deal (wouldn't
Evander Holyfield have something to say about that?) Bleah, Rock-A-
Billy almost ranks right down there with Max Moon in terms of horrid
gimmicks [Doink is accorded a permanent place of (dis)honor at the
very bottom]. [Pointless aside: shouldn't Harlan Ellison be Billy's
manager instead of Honky?] BG kicks him a few times in the corner and
dances in a manner somehow reminiscent of the New Rockers. BG whip is
reversed, he gets taken down on a kick attempt, JJ hiptoss for 2. JJ
armdrag to armbar. JR plugs the hotline (66% higher for Canadians;
rather higher than the exchange rate was, last time I checked) BG
whip, duck, JJ sunset flip. BG clothesline, belated cover, shoulder
up. The match continues at an almost-Yokozuna-like pace (what's the
point of typing 'kick, kick, punch, suplex, etc. etc.'?)... ... ...
(Arrrgh, this match is lasting seemingly forever...) JJ finally comes
back with a bodyblock and some punches. JJ struts and when he walks
back to the corner, BG grabs him and drops him face-first on the
turnbuckle (not a la Nash) and hits the dreaded Shake Rattle 'N Roll
for the pin, to mercifully end this ordeal.
WINNER: Billy Gunn at 8:47 RATING: DUD
[i was _sorely_ tempted to make an exception to my 'never-lower-than-
DUD' rule; well...let's just say I would if WWF brought back Duggan,
Mabel and Bundy for a 3-way "Ironman match"]
JJ stomps him briefly, until Honky busts a guitar over his head. If
they were going to have a match tonight, why not save the 'protege's
announcement' thing for tonight?
Monsoon and HBK arguing in the back, with Monsoon trying to play
mediator. --break--
Castrol Super Clean All Wheel Cleaner Slam of the Week (CSCAWCSOTW
for short): Mankind's head-first bump through the table at IYH.
WWF champ The Undertaker vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna)
Non-title. Geez, twice in one night that the champ comes out first.
(Waltman/Rey, specifically) What's up with that? [And while I'm idly
bitching, why doesn't UT wear the danged belt?] --break-- UT jumps
HHH on the entrance ramp, and throws him into the ring. In the ring,
UT continues to dominate, including an overhead choke. UT whip, ducks
and takes a knee, and a clothesline sends him stumbling to a corner.
Vince says UT/SCSA is a dream match for the fans. HHH corner whip,
runs into a big boot and clothesline, shoulder up. UT armbar, and
legdrops it for a one-count. Ropewalk armbar. UT covers again, and
goes to a lame chinlock, then to a crucifix-type pin, into the ropes.
HHH goes out, where he ends up eating the steps, and is put back in.
HHH pounds away on UT's "scar tissue", and hits a kneedrop for 2 1/2.
HHH corner whip, ducks, and UT _beautifully_ hits the jumping Rocker
Dropper. UT corner whip, Flair Flip, and walks into a clothesline for
2. UT visits Resthold City, this time with a nervehold. HHH escapes
and tosses him out, returns the favor of Ringsteps As Entree. HHH
goes to a chinlock. JR mentions Harley Race. Shot of a couple in the
crowd, the distaff half blatantly flouting the strict no-smoking
policy; JR slips and calls them Dustin and Terri, "er, Marlena".
--break (3 minutes)-- As always, the heel has dominated throughout
the break. HHH corner whip is reversed, but he nails a back elbow.
UT finally starts to no-sell and Fists of Fury send HHH over the top.
Mankind comes out with a blowtorch while UT hits a weak (but really
one-handed this time) chokeslam. MK hits him with the acetylene[sp?]
botle for the DQ.
WINNER: Undertaker, via DQ at 15:14 *1/2 (generous; -1/2* for DQ)
MK gets UT laid out on the mat, but before he can ignite the
blowtorch, UT grabs him by the throat (sparing himself a Flambe
Facial in the process) and punches him through the ropes, and both
brawl into the crowd. Chyna leans back against the entrance rail,
conveniently right in front of the Runnelses, who take the
opportunity to jump her and HHH. --break--
Vince again interviews SCSA, who talks about McMahon wanting to jump
on the Stone Cold bandwagon (eliciting a smile). McMahon declines to
deny such, SCSA says he'd knock his ass out....he tells UT to shine
the belt. He says he is the ruler of the world (so, Sid _is_ on the
roster of the West Memphis All-Stars now?). He starts his catchphrase
of "that's the bottom line, b/c" when OwenDog, royally sick of hearing
that, jump him again. Vince gets shoved on his tuchus by Owen when he
tries to break it up. Again, HBK comes in for the save. SCSA is
face-down in the ring. "Austin [Rules?]" chant. While Austin leans
against the ropes, Brian Pillman runs in (repeat after me, "through
the crowd") and jumps him, nailing him hard in the back with a chair.
Pillman sets SCSA's ankle in the chair, and HBK completes the Run-In
Trifecta as the show ends.
Incidental comments: VERY poor wrestling-wise (only 4 matches in 2
hours, and none breaking the ** barrier), but simultaneously very
hot angle-wise. But pretty soon, they're going to have to deliver
more in the ring... (As someone said, the sign on the marquee says
'wrestling'.)
