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As the Raw after WrestleMania began, within seconds they announced Mankind would receive the first shot at the new world Champion, The Undertaker at the upcoming In Your House Pay Per View. Mankind would go as far to burn The Undertaker, but still couldn’t take the title off of him. Meanwhile, Paul Bearer would continue to torment Taker with the secret that was Kane.
The first match of the night was The British Bulldog and Owen defending the Tag Championship belts against The Headbangers who had earned the title shot the night before. Instantly, this RAW was playing off everything from the night before, and that is what RAW’s after Mania would become. The British Bulldog and Owen would end up fighting each other in a pull apart brawl, causing the match to get thrown out, and the Headbangers title shot to become completely meaningless.
The source of their heat was jealousy over gold. Owen couldn’t handle it that Bulldog was European Champion and he wasn’t. Thus, after the match, he challenged Bulldog for a shot at his belt. Their split would eventually be halted as Bret Hart would play peacemaker, and use them to help form the New Hart Foundation.
After the commercial break, they flashed to a horrifying scene of Mankind in the cellar, shaking back and forth and pleading for Paul Bearer to comeback. It was very unsettling, but yet another reminder of just how talented Mick Foley was with that character.
Until this point, they had been doing a masterful job playing off the WrestleMania the night before, but then the next match made little to no sense. HHH who was wrapped into a heated feud with Goldust, had a random out of nowhere match with Bart Gunn. It was competitive, but the HHH victory was never in doubt. It just seemed strange and out of place.
However, as odd as that random match was, the next one was even worse when masked luchadores Super Nova, Discovery and Venum showed up to take on El Mosco, Hysteria and Abismo Negro. The good guys won, no one cared. Moving on……….
As noted earlier, The Rock as Rocky Mavia was still struggling to get over as a babyface, so they then showed a pre-recorded interview with him and his father Rocky Johnson. The elder, explained his actions from the night before and Vince McMahon did his best to push Rocky Mavia as well. It was futile.
However, one thing was once again clear, The Rock could talk! Even as a babyface, he gave the kind of promo that screamed future star heel! The WWF had something in The Rock, they just didn’t know what yet.
If the HHH vs Bart Gunn match, and The Mexico Trios matches made little sense, then the WWF tripled down on that theory with a Flash Funk vs Brooklyn Brawler match shortly after that. The point was to get Funk over as a babyface, and also The Honkey Tonk Man in commentary trying to find a protégé. Other than that, there was no real reason for this match. It was a strange way to end the first hour of the show after the hot start.
Hour two would begin with Bret Hart in the ring running down the American fan base. It was clear that he was now a full-on heel. He took the time to apologize to all of his fans all over the world, everywhere that is, except America. It was a first time attempt at being a babyface in every country except the United States. A brand-new concept that actually worked brilliantly. If the WWF wasn’t going bankrupt, “allegedly”, causing Hart to eventually leave for WCW, this angle could have went on for years.
This promo, like many Hart had in 1997, got cutoff by Shawn Michaels who was none to pleased with The Hitman. This was also the beginning of an edgier run for the WWF that began the Attitude Era. Things got dicey quickly as HBK talked about real life heat between the two, and called Hart out for his not so hero like tendencies on the road with women. It became so intense between the two that eventually later that summer, it would lead to a real life backstage fight between the two.
The segment would end with Hart beating Shawn Michaels badly. It got so out of control that Hart strapped a figure four leglock on Shawn Michaels against the ring post and Michaels screamed in agony. Sid would come down to the ring and break up the beating, but the message was clear, Bret was a bad guy and enjoyed beating up Shawn Michaels.
Up next was The Rock. The WWF was trying everything they had to push the young man, and this was just one more valiant attempt. Um, just one small problem yet again as his opponent was Leif Cassidy in a non-title match which drew little interest from anyone in the crowd. The only interesting thing to happen was Bret Hart once again showing up, and proceeding to attack Rocky Mavia.
Rocky Mavia would eventually go on to replace a heel turned Amed Johnson in the Nation of Domination. Speaking of Johnson, he was still a fan favorite on this night and proceeded to take on Savio Vega. Johnson took care of Vega with ease as his own mega push continued, only to be detailed by his ego and zero ability to cut a coherent promo.
The show would end with The Undertaker in the ring, about to cut a promo on Mankind until Paul Bearer cut him off. Before it go could go any further, the show shut off and that was it. A strange ending to a night filled with ups and downs.
Final count
Zero returns, zero turns, zero debuts.
