McArthur Court in Eugene, Oregon
Attendance: 9000

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry “The King” Lawler & Vince McMahon

Preshow

Match 1: Mabel w/Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Aldo Montoya

Fairly poor match between these two. Hunter’s antics towards the crowd was the best part of the entire match. Squash match as Mabel simply destroyed Aldo

Winner: Mabel

Rating: 4/10

Main Card

Match 1: The Asylum (Mankind, Vader and Bob Holly) vs Rocky Maivia, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and Goldust

It is not often that we get a 3 on 3 match so this was an exciting way to start off tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW. Match was fairly open between these two teams. They even made Bob Holly and Rocky Maivia look as if they were on the same level as the other four, even though Holly and Rocky received by far the least amount of crowd noise. For the finish of the match we saw Goldust and Mankind in the ring exchanging blows. Fatu shows up on the stage as Rocky hops down to confront his cousin. As the Referee turns his back to focus on Rocky and Fatu, we see Hunter Hearst Helmsley sneak into the ring and nail Goldust with the Pedigree. Hunter escapes the ring as Mankind pins Goldust for the 3 count. 

Winners: The Asylum

Rating: 7/10

After the match we see Ricky Steamboat check on Goldust who is still laying in the ring. As the camera zooms out we see that Bob Holly, Mankind and Vader have all surrounded Steamboat. Steamboat looks up and sees that he is surrounded. He lifts his hands up as if he is going to fight but it is no use. The Asylum jumps on Steamboat and gives him a vicious beatdown. Great segment, although Holly did seem a little lost out there. Not sure if that is due to his character being confused or him actually being confused. 

Rating: 8/10

We cut to the back where we see Bret Hart talking with Neidhart. Neidhart is begging Hart to be by his side tonight when he faces Shamrock. After some begging, Hart agrees to be by his brother in law's side tonight, however, he will not help Neidhart in any way. Neidhart tells Bret he wouldn’t expect him to, he just wants Bret to be close by as Jim “makes him proud”. 

Rating: 7/10

Match 2: Flash Funk and Marc Mero w/Sable vs The Hardy Boys

Super quick match that seemed like filler. I have been enjoying what I have been seeing of The Hardys on Superstars and Shotgun Saturday Night, but the reality is, they are not ready for RAW yet. Funk and Mero pick up the easy victory.

Winners: Flash Funk and Marc Mero

Rating: 4/10

After the match the camera cuts to Vince McMahon at the announcing table. Vince tells the audience at home that at WrestleMania, Funk and Mero will be one of three teams who will get a chance to become the WWF Tag Team Champions. At WrestleMania we will see Flash Funk and Marc Mero vs Furnas and LaFon vs Vader and Mankind of The Asylum vs British Bulldog and Owen Hart, in a 4 team tag match for the WWF World Tag Team Titles. Seemed like a match that came out of nowhere, however, should be a fun match to watch.

Rating: 7/10

The camera then switches to the locker room area where we see Faarooq talking with Crush and D’Lo Brown. Todd Pettengill enters the room as The Nation looks over at him. Faarooq asks Pettengill what the hell he wants. Pettengill apologizes for interrupting but “I was instructed by Mr. Race that he would like to speak with you tonight.” Faarooq tells Pettengill that The Nation will never be called upon. If Mr. Race wants to speak to him, Faarooq will decide when and where. Pettengill tells Faarooq that he will inform Mr. Race. 

Rating: 5/10

Match 3: Ken Shamrock vs Jim Neidhart w/Bret “The Hitman” Hart

Fairly quick match, but also a fairly poor match between these two men. Ken Shamrock dominated the match, and Bret stayed true to his word as he simply watched at ringside. At about the 5 ½ minute mark we see Shamrock make Neidhart submit with the Ankle Lock.

Winner: Ken Shamrock

Rating: 6/10

After the match Shamrock refuses to let go of the Ankle Lock. The Referee tries to get Shamrock to let go but Shamrock keeps it locked in. Vince reminds the audience at home that Neidhart attacked Shamrock with a foreign object last week so it seems as if Shamrock is simply just evening the score. After the failed attempt of The referee to stop Shamrock we see Bret Hart enter the ring and pull Shamrock off of Neidhart. Shamrock looks angry as he is seen exchanging words with Bret. Bret stays calm and can be seen trying to calm Shamrock down when Neidhart, once again out of nowhere, attacks Shamrock from behind. Neidhart jumps onto Shamrock and beats him down. Bret attempts to pull Neidhart off but Neidhart keeps beating down on Shamrock. Eventually Bret is able to get Neidhart off, but it is too late. The damage is done. Neidhart is seen laughing as Bret starts to yell at him. Neidhart's demeanor changes almost immediately as he is then seen apologizing to Bret. Bret leaves the ring as Neidhart is seen chasing after him, apologizing. 

Rating: 7/10

We come back from commercial break as we see some WWF officials helping Shamrock out of the ring. The officials help him up the ramp, when Jake “The Snake” Roberts attacks Shamrock from behind. Shamrock falls onto the ramp as Roberts continues the attack. Officials are eventually able to pull Jake Roberts off of Shamrock. Roberts pushes away from the officials as he gets close to Shamrock and spits on him. 

Rating: 6/10

We go backstage where Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat is with Dox Hendrix. Dox asks Ricky how he is feeling after the vicious assault by The Asylum earlier tonight. Ricky tells Dox that this group needs to be dealt with before it's too late, and Ricky feels as if he is the man for the job.

Rating: 6/10

We are back to the ring where Faarooq is standing with Crush, D’Lo Brown and Clarence Mason. Faarooq says that he is now ready to talk with Harley Race and calls him out. Harley Race comes out and tells Faarooq that he wanted to do this in private but “if he wants the world to hear, then so be it.” Harley Race tells Faarooq that at WrestleMania he will be going one on one once again with Ahmed Johnson in a rematch from Rage in a Cage. Faarooq argues back and tells Harley Race that “I already defeated that fool once and I will not fight him again. You can say whatever you want but I will never agree to a match with that punk again.” Harley Race then tells Faarooq that, “Unfortunately, it is a little too late for that...you might want to hear this.”

Harley Race then plays an audio call between him and Clarence Mason. At the bottom of the screen it says that this phone call occurred last Thursday. Clarence Mason is heard telling Harley that he wants Faarooq to go one on one once again with Ahmed at WrestleMania. Harley is then heard asking Mason if he thinks that is what Faarooq would truly want? Mason is then heard saying that “You worry about that check, I will worry about my client.” Harley is then heard saying “Mr. Mason, as Faarooq’s attorney, you may make these agreements for him, so it is official. At WrestleMania we will see Faarooq going one on one with Ahmed Johnson.” 

We now go back to the ring where Clarence Mason looks terrified. Faarooq is looking at him with pure anger. Mason holds a microphone up as he begins to speak.

“Faarooq, I can explain. I know you didn’t want this match but I made this match for you. It will be your biggest paycheck ever…” Harley Race then interrupts Mason. 

“Mr. Faarooq, one more thing you should know about the agreement. Mr. Mason here did agree to the terms that no member of The Nation of Domination may be at ringside, otherwise it will be an automatic disqualification...its part of the reason why the paycheck will be so large, and why Mr. Mason will be getting 15% of your profits.”

Faarooq immediately turns back to Clarence. Clarence looks as if he is about to speak but it is too late. Faarooq throws a stiff right hand at his attorney. He then tells Crush and D’Lo to “throw this trash out of my ring”. They are seen tossing him out.

Decent segment overall. Biggest problem though was Clarence Mason as he did a horrible job with the bump from the punch and getting thrown through the ropes. He isn’t a trained wrestler, so I understand why he struggled with this, but it did weaken the segment greatly. 

Rating: 6/10

We come back from commercial break as we see what happened during the break. Clarence Mason is seen being escorted to the back by EMTs, when Faarooq grabs the microphone and tells Mason that if it wasn’t already obvious, Mason is “fired!” Nothing special here. Just confirmed what we most likely already assumed based on from the previous segment. 

Rating: 5/10

We cut to the ramp area where Ahmed Johnson is heading out for his match against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. As Ahmed gets closer to the ring though we see a very angry Faarooq and Nation attack Ahmed from behind. The Nation beat down Ahmed as WWF officials came running out. After a few minutes they are able to restore order and get The Nation off of Ahmed, but Ahmed is out. 

Rating: 6/10

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s music then hits as we see The Rattlesnake walk down the ramp. As Austin walks down we see WWF officials helping Ahmed to the back. Austin gets in the ring and is handed a microphone. Austin tells the crowd that he came here tonight expecting a fight and that is what he is going to have. Austin challenges anyone in the back to come on out. Savio Vega’s music hits as Jim Ross reminds the audience that these two had a heated rivalry last year. Savio accepts the challenge and heads down to the ring. Austin did great in this segment, but Savio simply wasn’t able to live up to the energy Austin was putting out.

Rating: 7/10

Match 4: Savio Vega vs “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

It is funny how fast things change in the WWF. What would have been a very even match last year was a complete blowout this year. Austin dominated Savio Vega and beat him at about the 8 minute mark with a Stunner. Savio was seen hopping fairly early on in the match and after the match we do see some of the medical staff help Savio to the back. Unlike the other segments tonight, this one didn’t seem fake. Savio’s injury certainly didn’t help the match rating, but truthfully, we just hope Savio is okay. 

Winner: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Rating: 6/10

After the match Austin stays in the ring and grabs a microphone. Austin says that he hopes Bret Hart was watching because just like Savio there, Austin does not expect Bret to be walking out of his WrestleMania match on his own two feet. Bret comes out and tells Austin that he can talk all the trash he wants but come WrestleMania he needs to put up or shut up. 

Awesome segment between these two. Although we certainly wish Savio well, Austin adlib about Savio really did add a ton of heat to this segment. Can’t wait for this match

Rating: 9/10

As Hart and Austin continue to argue and yell back and forth to one another, we hear the music of Shawn Michaels hit the arena. HBK comes out and tells both men that it doesn’t matter what happens in their match, because whoever ends up facing Shawn in the main event will not be walking out WWF Champion. Bret tells Shawn that he fully expects to win both matches because that is what Bret Hart does, he wins. Austin tells HBK that after he is beating down Jackass #1 he is going to be on to Jackass #2 and walk out WWF Champion.

Amazing segment between three of the biggest names in the WWF. Segment almost got a perfect 10 score, but Austin antics the past few weeks hint at a face turn but it still hasn’t happened! Come on Austin, Just turn already!

Rating: 9.9/10

Match 5: Honky Tonk Man vs “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels

Match only lasted about 3 minutes, with Michaels dominating the entire time. Michaels looked incredible out there, clearly going all out for the 3 minute match. Match ended after Michaels hit Honky Tonk with the Sweet Chin Music, then a flying elbow drop from the top rope. 

Winner: “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels

Rating: 7/10

After the HBK match, we go to a dark room in the back where The Asylum is standing by. Sycho Sid tells Undertaker to watch his back because he will never know when, or how The Asylum will strike. Sid laughs as we head into the main event.

Rating: 8/10

Main Event: The Undertaker vs British Bulldog w/Owen Hart

Pretty good match between these two wrestlers. As expected, Undertaker picked up the victory, but the match was fairly open so Bulldog walked out looking good as well. Some shenanigans by Owen at ringside but nothing that played any major role in the outcome. Undertaker wins at about the 13 minute mark with a Chokeslam.

Winner: The Undertaker

Rating: 8/10

After the match we here Sycho Sid’s music hit as Undertaker looks to get ready in the ring for an ambush of some sort by The Asylum. After a few seconds of Undertaker looking around the arena lights switch to a bright red. The lights then fade back to normal as we here Sid’s laughter play over the PA system. Undertaker is left confused in the ring as the show comes to an end. 

Rating: 8/10

Overall Show Rating: 8/10

Not the best show by any means but some fun moments for sure. WWF has been struggling recently with having interesting storylines and this show just emphasizes the struggle. The Hart/Austin feud and Asylum/Undertaker feud have been awesome, but some of their other main stories, such as Faarooq vs Ahmed Johnson have been struggling as of late. I am sure many of these stories will finish at WrestleMania but they are not ending as strong as they started, that’s for sure.