Match 1 - Jesse James vs Pierroth Jr.
Jesse James takes on Pierroth Jr. in this pre show match up. Nothing to special to share about this match. James wins after hitting Pierroth Jr. with the “Shake, Rattle and Roll”.
Winner: Jesse James
Rating: 4/10
Match 2 - The Hardy Boys vs The Headbangers
Another Hardy Boys vs Headbangers pre show match. For the crowd watching live this is actually their second pre show match with The Hardys in it tonight! Hardy Boys win after Jeff Hardy hit Mosh with the Swanton Bomb. Awesome move!
Winner: The Hardy Boys
Rating: 4/10
Main Card
Opening Match: Bart Gunn vs Mankind w/Paul Bearer
Decent match and crowd reaction between these two. Mankind ended up beating Bart Gunn fairly easily. At around the 6 minute mark Mankind hit Gunn with a DDT to pick up the victory.
Winner: Mankind
Rating: 6/10
After the match Paul Bearer directs Mankind to take out Bart Gunn. As Mankind starts to beat down Gunn the lights go off and the bell rings. As the lights come back up Undertaker is in the ring staring at Mankind, but what he doesn’t know is Vader is also now behind Undertaker. It was a set up! They knew Undertaker would show. Vader attacks Undertaker from behind as Vader and Mankind beat down Taker. Paul Bearer laughs in the ring as he watches his henchmen at work.
Rating: 8/10
After a quick commercial break, we come back to Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Mabel standing in the ring. Hunter has a microphone in hand and says “Goldust, I hope you are watching in the back because what Mabel is about to do to Rocky Maivia is nothing compared to what he will do to you this Sunday at Rage in a Cage.” Hunter looked great out there.
Rating: 6/10
We cut to the back where Dox Hendrix is with Rocky Maivia. Dox asks Rocky if he just heard what Hunter said in the ring. Rocky says that he heard it all but “Hunter and Mabel shouldn’t be focused on Rage in a Cage...Mabel better be ready for right now!”
Rating: 6/10
Match 2: Rocky Maivia vs Mabel w/Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Decent match between these two young wrestlers. Helmsley did a great job at ring side taunting the crowd. Pretty even match throughout. For the finish, Hunter tripped Rocky as he was running the ropes. As soon as Rocky fell Mabel jumped on top and started to choke him out. Mabel ends up winning via Submission, and the assist by Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
Winner: Mabel
Rating: 5/10
After the match Rocky is laying in the ring as Bob Backlund, The Iron SHeik and The Sultan casually stroll down to the ring. All three men get into the ring and start beating down on the hurt Rocky. WWF Officials run down and break up the three men from the beatdown but the damage is done.
Rating: 5/10
After the beatdown, Bret Hart’s music hits as he heads down to the ring. As he is walking down the ramp he looks over at Rocky who is being helped by officials, but keeps walking towards the ring. Vince McMahon mentions to the television audience that it looks like Bret is all business tonight.
Rating: 6/10
Match 3: The Iron Sheik vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart
No surprise that Bret Hart picked up the easy win in this match after he made Iron Sheik tap to the Sharpshooter. Bob Backlund attempted to distract Bret and the referee during the match but Bret was simply too much. Decent match, but I would have expected more from Hart.
Winner: Bret “The Hitman” Hart
Rating: 6/10
After the match Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat comes out behind the curtain with a microphone in hand. Ricky talks about how last time he was in the WWF, Bret was a promising up and comer, but now Bret is arguably the best wrestler in the world. Ricky says that he doesn’t know how much time he has left in professional wrestling and it would be an honor for him to go one-on-one with Bret. Bret thanks him for the kind words, calls Ricky a class act and accepts the challenge. Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat at Rage in a Cage! Should be a great match.
Rating: 8/10
Match 4: Mil Mascaras vs British Bulldog w/Owen Hart
Another day, another loss for the Mexican legend. British Bulldog wins at around the 6 minute mark after making Mascara tap. Owen did give Bulldog a little assist as he distracted Mascaras multiple times in the match. Awkward bout between the two men though, as their styles did not seem to match up, however being two incredible wrestlers, they were able to make it work just enough to get a decent rating.
Winner: British Bulldog
Rating: 7/10
Match 5: Billy Gunn vs Goldust w/Marlena
Decent match between these two wrestlers. Goldust was fantastic as always, but Billy certainly got his fair share of offense in the match. Match ended after Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Mabel stormed the ring and beat down Goldust, causing a disqualification. Even though Gunn was disqualified because of Mabel and Hunter’s interference, he didn’t seem to be upset about it.
Winner: Goldust
Rating: 7/10
After the match we cut to the Nation of Dominations locker room where we see Faarooq, Crush and Clarence Mason. Faarooq tells Crush that tonight Crush has a prime opportunity to make the Nation proud. “Undertaker is weak. Paul Bearer and his men already did ½ the work for you. Now go out there and pick the deadman apart.” Crush nods his head and says “For the Nation” as he walks off. Great performance by Faarooq. Crush seemed a little awkward out there.
Rating: 7/10
Match 6: The Undertaker vs Crush w/Clarence Mason
A surprisingly good match between Crush and Undertaker. Undertaker dominated the majority of the match but Crush did do a pretty good job out there. Clarence Mason ended up distracting the referee a few times during the match, allowing Crush to use some weapons that just happened to be laying around ringside on Taker. Didn’t work though as Undertaker ended up hitting Crush with a Tombstone at the 6 ½ minute mark.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: 8/10
After the match we see Mankind and Vader start heading out from behind the curtain. Undertaker is looking over at them as they walk down the ramp. Undertaker is clearly exhausted and hurt, but he is ready for a fight. As Vader and Mankind get right outside of the ring though Paul Bearer comes running from behind the curtain with a microphone in hand. “Wait...WAIT! He said no. He said this is not the time to finish Taker off”. Mankind and Vader then turn around and head back up the ramp. Who is this he?
Rating: 8/10
We cut to the back where Dox Hendrix is standing by with Ken Shamrock and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. Shawn tells Dox that Shamrock and him are united in taking out Sycho Sid and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Shamrock looks over at Shawn. “Tonight, it will be an honor to fight by your side, and if all goes to plan, it will be an honor to fight you in the Main Event at WrestleMania for that World Heavyweight Title.” Pretty good segment, although Shamrock needs to work on his emotions and acting. The man is like a robot.
Rating: 8/10
The camera shows Harley Race’s office as Ahmed Johnson is standing by Harley’s desk. Harley tells Ahmed that the contract for his Rage in a Cage match is on the desk, all he has to do is sign it. Ahmed bends over and signs the contract. The ink on the contract isn’t even dry when Faarooq is seen coming in hitting Ahmed with some kind of foreign object. The object appears to be either a baking sheet, or some kind of metal sheet of sorts. Regardless, Faarooq beats down Ahmed and eventually ends up putting him through Harley’s desk. Faarooq looks at Ahmed. “See you Sunday Punk”.
Rating: 7/10
Main Event: Ken Shamrock and Shawn Michaels vs Sycho Sid and Steve Austin
Pretty good main event between these four men. Michaels was by far the star in the match, with Sid and Austin still getting a lot of crowd noise. Shamrock seemed to be the weakest member of this group, which is expected as he is still new to the business. Match went long, about 16 minutes, which for an episode of Monday Night RAW may have been a little bit too much. For the finish we had Sycho Sid in Shamrock’s ankle lock, with HBK and Austin out cold on the side. Out from the crowd we see Jake “The Snake” Roberts jumping the barricade and running in the ring. Jake ends up hitting Shamrock,allowing Sid to get free from the Ankle lock. Shamrock gets up and looks out at Jake. We hear Shamrock yell “What are you doing?” but when Shamrock turns around he is met with a massive Power Bomb by Sycho Sid. Sid picks up the win for his team.
Winners: Sycho Sid and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Rating: 8/10
After the match we see Austin slide back into the ring and start to beat down Shamrock. Jake Roberts comes in and joins Austin on the beatdown. Sid is seen getting out of the ring and starts to beat on Michaels who is at ringside. Michaels and Sid end up fighting up the ramp to the backstage area, as Roberts and Austin continue their beatdown in the ring.
Rating: 8/10
Bret Hart is now seen running down the ramp as he slides into the ring. Austin and Roberts retreat as Bret looks on.
Rating: 7/10
Camera now cuts to the back where Shawn and Sid continue to brawl through the arena. The two men end up making their way to the concession area of the arena, as security pushes the WWF fans away from the action. Eventually the two men are outside of a hot dog vendor brawling when Sid grabs a hold of HBK’s neck and gives him a massive chokeslam through a condiment table. Ketchup, Mustard and Relish go flying as Shawn Michaels is lying motionless. Sid tells Shawn “See you Sunday” as the show comes to an end.
Rating: 9.5/10
Overall Show: 8/10
Pretty good show overall with some decent wrestling and fairly entertaining segments. The brawl between HBK and Sid was fantastic and I believe that image of HBK laying on the condiment table may end up being a classic wrestling image.
