For those who have no idea about what went down during last week’s show, (13th February 1997) you can check my exclusive recap by clicking here.
So that brings us to this Pay-Per-View. Since Mr Vacant holds the WWF Title after Thursday RAW Thursday, it looks like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Vader & The Undertaker will take part in a Four Man No DQ Elimination matchup to decide which superstar becomes the new champion.
The whole PPV is advertised upon this mega main-event. Who will become the new WWF Champion?
MATCHES-
Marc Mero (w/ Sable) vs. Leif Cassidy.
The Nation of Domination (Farooq, Crush & Savio Vega) vs. Goldust, Flash Funk & Bart Gunn.
Rocky Maivia (c) vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley {WWF Intercontinental Championship Match}.
Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (c) (w/ Clarence Mason) vs. Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon {WWF Tag Team Championship Match}
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart vs. Vader vs. The Undertaker {Four-Man No DQ Elimination Match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship}.
Jerry Lawler Has A Piece Of Advice For Young Wrestlers Out There…
MATCH #1: MARC MERO (w/ Sable) vs. LEIF CASSIDY.
Leif Cassidy doesn’t get an entrance. Who is Leif Cassidy? Is there a story behind this match? Leif Cassidy is more famously known as Al Snow. The man was responsible for having one of the best matches of 1995 (against Chris Benoit). Send him to ECW already.
Marc Mero does some quick arm-drags to start this bout. We all know that Marc Mero has some flashy moves up his arsenal. But hey, Jerry Lawler on commentary has a piece of advice for young folks. Lawler says that all your somersaults & all your planchas are doing nothing but eventually ending you up in a hospital. Good ‘ol Jerry prefers a more “ground-based” wrestling style. It certainly works for him.
Readers should note that 20 years later, Jerry Lawler still wrestles a match or two up to this day. Yes, “it certainly works for him”. Don’t be flippin’ on RAW…
Sable distracts Leif Cassidy outside the ring. JR reminds us that Sable had enough courage to kick The Undertaker on WWF Superstars a few weeks ago. I mean, I don’t know- Kicking The Undertaker sounds like a major accomplishment on your Pro-Wrestling resume.
There are nil stakes involved here, but Cassidy tries to tell a story by constantly targeting Mero’s leg. Sure, it’s a good storytelling device in the ring, but this is the first match of the night & you don’t want to spend applying leg-locks to your opponent the whole time.
JR tries to put Cassidy over. It always feels like JR is the only one pushing for all the hottest talents from different circuits all over the globe.
Cassidy applies a figure four lock courtesy of “The Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers. Mero is just about to tap out. However, Sable frantically pushes the ropes towards him. Sable is turning more heelish week-by-week.
So because of this, Leif Cassidy goes out & confronts Sable. Sable slaps him to get away, & Marc Mero dives onto a distracted Leif Cassidy outside.
Not long after, “Wildman” Marc Mero goes to the top rope for his finisher. After Multiple leg-locks & me finally figuring out that Leif Cassidy is Al Snow, the crowd cheers when Mero executes a Shooting Star Press (Wild Thing) & wins the match as expected.
Vince McMahon is not on commentary. Interesting. This is also where JR & Jerry Lawler prove that they have great chemistry on air together.
‘Did you see that Ross? Sable set him up! Sable set him up! Did you see? Did you see? Argh, I wish Mero’s leg would give out’ (Just paraphrasing)
Thou shalt read Jerry Lawler’s quotes in Jerry Lawler’s voice…
RESULT: Marc Mero wins via pinfall.
Time Is Weird…(Especially In This One)
This segment started off in a weird manner. We see Honky Tonk Man making his way into the ring. But the PPV feed immediately cuts to HBK’s promo from last week (you can totally check out that recap here). It looks like Honky Tonk Man in 1997 isn’t interesting enough. So they just cut him out mid-way, or maybe they just don’t have enough time for it. Eh.
After HBK’s farewell recap from last week, we see Psycho Sid backstage.
The winner of tonight’s Fatal-4-Way Elimination match must defend his title against Psycho Sid the very next night on RAW. We are only 24 hours away & there’s not much—
“TIME!!! Time is the word I did not want to hear! See…time went out for you Shawn Michaels & yes I am sad for you…but I did not get my chance to get my belt back on Thursday Night! But see- Time sometimes turns out to be funny- This ‘time’ its original, it’s something different…(???) So my time will come on the beginning of a new time for Monday Night RAW!”
The promo ends with Sid getting his face too close near the camera.
Say what you want about the man, the master & the ruler of tim— I mean the world, but Sid has some unique ideas for promos. It’s just that his delivery is so comical, that he comes off as a cheesy comic-book villain all the time.
I still enjoyed it nevertheless. TIME!!!
N.O.D Is Robbin’ The Bank!
MATCH #2: THE NATION OF DOMINATION (FAROOQ, CRUSH & SAVIO VEGA) vs. GOLDUST, FLASH FUNK & BART GUNN.
Can we just groove to Flash Funk’s entrance theme for the rest of the night?
Flash Funk is accompanied by two “Funkettes” if you will, which is too similar to Brodus Clay being accompanied by two “Funkadactyls” as a part of his “Funkasaurus” gimmick in the future. As you can see, Funkin’ runs in the WWE.
Farooq wants to say something, but Goldust attacks him unexpectedly. Later, Flash Funk dives on all three of the Nation members outside. Funk even executes a top-rope hurricanrana with ease. Hey, Flash Funk can do as many aerial moves as he wants, but it’s never the same without him being dressed like an egg-yolk from ROYAL RUMBLE RAW two weeks ago.
Jerry Lawler: “Crush has assured me that he never went to jail…But then one day we went shopping in the mall & he tried to pay for everything in cigarettes!”
Let’s just make a TV Show re-imagining Jerry Lawler’s quotes in the real world already. Farooq dominates Flash Funk in the ring, & even goes on to call him a ‘southern black redneck’. He waits for Funk to get on his knees & jumps on his back every time Flash Funk tries to get up. The third time’s the charm, as Flash Funk rolls around & hits Farooq right in the ‘sensitive parts’.
Things get out of control & the commentators act as if there is a mugging going on here. N.O.D is robbin’ the bank!
The finish itself is very messy because multiple brawls erupt. It is hard to keep track of everything, but Crush leg-drops Bart Gunn in the end & Farooq wins it for N.O.D via pinfall.
Congratulations dear reader. The underwhelming undercard matches are over. What matches, segments or incidences that follow from this point on are the best parts about this show, which convinced me to believe that ‘In Your House 13: Final Four’ is a better PPV than last month’s 1997 Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View.
RESULT: The Nation of Domination win via pinfall.
A Historic Moment That Changes Everything For HHH…
MATCH #3: ROCKY MAIVIA (c) vs. HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY {WWF Intercontinental Championship Match}
Jim Ross should better put on a stopwatch because Jerry Lawler is convinced that Rocky Maivia is not going to last long here.
Last week, Rocky Maivia unexpectedly won the Intercontinental Title from HHH via an inside cradle. Rocky Maivia would go on to become one of the highest paid celebrities all around the world in the future, but as of now, he is greener than greenest grass on this planet (Just kidding, he is green though…not the color).
I would say that the match does a lot better in terms of pacing here. You can see that Rocky is pushing himself harder than last week. Except for a sketchy float over DDT, Rocky does a pretty good job here. He even goes for an inside cradle again, but HHH kicks out at two this time around.
One more obstacle in front of Rocky Maivia that prevents him from getting over with the viewers is that he is portrayed as a cliché. JR always says the same thing about him. He talks about Rocky being a ‘great athlete’, his ‘Samoan Heritage’ etc.
Therefore just like every week, when JR refers to Rocky as the ‘grandson of the late high chief Peter Maivia’, the situation gets tiring, & this prompts Lawler to go— “Where’s he watching from?”
JR: “That big arena in the sky”.
Jerry Lawler: “I bet its real warm”.
Rocky goes for a running crossbody & the crowd pops hard. Sometimes they boo him like the worst babyface on Planet Earth, while other times people cheer him for moments like these.
Helmsley is cheating to win. But HHH’s long-time rival, Goldust comes out from backstage & distracts Hunter by slapping his own butt & blowing a flying kiss right after that. Talk about distractions folks, but blowing a kiss to a rival who tried to seduce your wife in the past takes the cake for sure.
Rocky seizes the opportunity & goes for a German suplex from behind. He bridges it into a pin & retains his IC title after a three-count. I would say the ‘Rookie Sensation’ Rocky Maivia did all the majority of the stuff despite Triple H being the more experienced wrestler here, but Jerry Lawler would reply something like- “How great is Hunter Hearst Helmsley to be kicking outta that!?”
Something historical happens right after the match. Rocky has already left the spotlight, & Hunter Hearst Helmsley’s well-being rests on Goldust’s hands now.
The Bizarre One is accompanied by Marlena. Suddenly, a woman comes out of the audience & grabs Marlena from behind!
‘Is that a woman?’ JR wonders. The security officials eventually drag her away, but the commentators still refer to the assailant as an audience member (a lady, to be exact).
Goldust is pissed off & worried at the same time.
JR encourages the home viewers not to cross their boundaries & never do something like this in a wrestling show. Everything is left in mystery, but ladies & gentlemen, the random ‘lady’ in this situation would go on to become the ‘Ninth Wonder of the World’ & achieve wrestling superstardom. She would go on to be remembered as Chyna…
RESULT: Rocky Maivia retains the IC Title.
‘What Did You Just Do To My Slammy?’
MATCH #4: OWEN HART & THE BRITISH BULLDOG (c) (w/ Clarence Mason) vs. DOUG FURNAS & PHIL LAFON {WWF Tag Team Championship Match}
For those who have been reading my recaps since the 1997 Royal Rumble PPV, they must have amassed more information about Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon than they ever could before reading it.
Just like last week, Owen Hart comically upstages his brother-in-law during their entrance. As it is apparent, JR points out the Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith love-hate dynamic running throughout their time as Tag Team champions.
But Jerry Lawler says there’s nothing wrong with them. They’re the Hart Family goddammit! Good ol’ Jerry is in denial, just like every heel commentator ever.
Owen & Davey distract the referee & dominate Phil Lafon throughout the first quarter of this matchup. Owen goes for a sharpshooter, but he even makes that comical. How? Just before executing the move, Owen looks right into the hard cam, & yells ‘Sharpshooter!’, as if to mock his brother Bret Hart.
At one point during this contest, Owen performs a monkey flip on Lafon, sits on top of him, raises his fists in the air & goes for a quick, heroic ‘Woo!’
After 2/4ths of the match is over, things start to escalate. The best spot of the night occurs when The British Bulldog holds Lafon mid-air for a vertical suplex. Owen goes to the top-rope, & both of them execute a sweet ROCKERPLEX for the two-count.
Shenanigans ensue when Bulldog holds Lafon for Owen Hart. Owen Hart goes for a spinning heel kick, but Lafon moves out of the way & he accidentally strikes his brother-in-law!
Davey Boy Smith gets frustrated. Both of them have a war of words, & Owen surprisingly slaps Davey on the face. The crowd starts buzzing. Is this the moment where they break-up as a tag-team? Davey Boy Smith responds with a hard clothesline to Owen!
Phil Lafon capitalizes on this & goes for a quick cover on Owen Hart. Despite their differences, Davey has to break the pin because the tag titles are on the stake. Wow, this is how you execute a love-hate relationship perfectly.
After this turn of events, both tag teams work on 100% efficiency. We see some amazing set of tag-team moves from Lafon/Furnas as the crowd goes ‘Oooh’ & ‘Aah’ every time either team pulls off an impressive sequence. People would have already been chanting ‘This is Awesome’ if it were 2018.
Bulldog goes for The Running Powerslam. It is clear that the champs are going to win this clean. But Owen hits Lafon with his Slammy even before Davey could execute his finisher. The referee rings the bell. Davey thinks that they won because of his finisher. But it’s obvious that Lafon/Furnas have won via DQ. It doesn’t really matter, because Owen/Bulldog retain their titles anyway. But it matters to The British Bulldog. He is tired of Owen pulling a cheap shot in each & every match.
So Bulldog throws his title down. The crowd goes into a frenzy as both of them argue after the match. Heck, Davey Boy Smith even commits a heinous crime when he literally breaks Owen’s Slammy Award a few moments later!
It’s a Slammy Award, sure, but its Owen Hart’s Slammy Award! Even the crowd gasps during this moment. Owen is like- ‘What did you just do to my Slammy?’ This has to be the end of the road for them, right? Not really. Clarence Mason eventually calms both of them down. They are going to milk this dynamic to the very last second.
A great match, followed by great post-match events with Owen/Davey’s agenda firing on all cylinders throughout this contest.
Next, let’s talk about what we really came here for- The Final Four. Bret, Undertaker, Vader, Steve Austin- Who becomes the new WWF Champion of the world?
RESULT: Furnas/Lafon win by DQ. But Owen/Davey retain their titles as a result.
The Final Four: Part 1
Throughout the show, we see clips of the final four competitors selling their own agenda & the reason as to why ‘they’ are going to become the new WWF Champion.
Stone Cold says that he is tired of the bureaucratic bullsh*t that has held him back for 7 years. He threw ‘three pieces of trash’- Undertaker, Vader & Bret Hart over the top-rope in the 1997 Royal Rumble. Steve Austin is willing to do that again tonight. He ends the interview by calling the interviewer a piece of trash & leaves the area immediately.
Vader cuts his promo like a man-baby trying to imitate a tough wrestler. Eh.
The Undertaker states that he is getting his early 90’s edge back again. The other three participants will have no choice in the end, but to ‘Rest in Peace’. The camerawork is spot-on as our shot fades away cinematically when The Deadman says those three words in the end.
Back to the arena now. JR reminds the viewers of the Spanish commentators sitting beside them. Lawler adds: “What does Lucha Libre mean? He keeps saying Lucha Libre, Lucha Libre…”
JR shakes his head & replies: “WRESTLING”.
Nice one.
All 3 competitors mentioned so far make their respective entrances. People boo during Vader’s entrance, obviously. But there is no crowd reaction when Stone Cold enters. It is a weird position for the audience as they don’t really know who Steve Austin is supposed to be & where does he fit into the WWF landscape as of now. The Undertaker comes out, yielding the loudest cheers of the night. Even in 1997, The Undertaker has already sealed his position for good. The Deadman is the ultimate fan-favorite going into this bout, which brings us to a man who is the second most fan-favorite (comparatively) here, but is most likely to win this match- Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
The Hitman is near the gorilla position. Bret Hart states that with his experience, drive & ‘heart’ (no pun intended) he is most likely to win here. The crowd cheer for Bret as soon his iconic theme music hits. They do this amazing Segway where the camera follows Bret from behind as he makes his way into the arena. It oozes a certain ‘Rocky’ vibe & attaches a high stakes tag heading into this bout.
Jesus, I always forget how much importance WWF gives to big-match moments like these. It’s not just the match itself, because the events preceding & succeeding the contest have a huge part to play too.
Let’s talk about the match now…
MATCH #5: STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN vs. BRET HART vs. VADER vs. THE UNDERTAKER {Four Man No DQ Elimination Match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship}
All four competitors are in their respective corners. Eliminations can occur via pinfall or by throwing your opponent over the top-rope.
The bell rings. Undertaker goes after Vader & Bret goes after Stone Cold.
Before you know it, Undertaker dominates all three of his opponents & takes a risk by heading over to the top-rope & delivering an Old-School to Steve Austin. Remember, this is like a mini-Royal Rumble match with pinfalls also counting as eliminations.
Despite the over-the-top-rope stipulation, competitors carry out a large chunk of this contest outside the ring itself.
Vader gets hold of a steel-chair outside. He embraces the weapon & charges towards The Phenom. Undertaker crushes his momentum by striking the chair with a big-boot, which also impacts Vader’s face as a result. The audience realizes that Vader is bleeding profusely. His eye looks GHASTLY.
Meanwhile, Bret has Austin in a sleeper hold. Austin reverses by using a jaw-breaker. Is that a Stunner, or is that a jawbreaker? You never know. ‘Taker catches Vader by the throat, & delivers a chokeslam! But that’s not it. As soon as the Deadman turns around, Steve Austin hits him with a modified version of the Stunner!
Not long after that, Austin attempts to hit a piledriver on The Undertaker outside the ring. This could be brutal. He tries to lift him up, but The Phenom reverses it using a back-body drop!
“Dead Man Walking! Dead Man Walking! Get away!” yells Jerry Lawler.
No matter what Vader wants to do, we keep getting that gruesome shot of his left eye. Vader & Austin are brawling near the steel steps, but Vader’s left eye is literally closed.
We get a backstage shot of Sid overreacting to everything going on in the ring. I love it nevertheless.
The Undertaker-Vader dynamic is pretty cool too. The Mastodon goes for a Moonsault & The Undertaker moves away. The Deadman even uses a TV Camera cable to choke the life out of Vader. Everything is legal. Nothing is PG. Please check the recent RAW/SD Live recaps for the clean-chit stuff. We don’t do that over here…
The Undertaker almost eliminates Steve Austin. ALMOST. Around 17-18 minutes in, I am noticing Vader bleeding all over the place, when out of nowhere, Bret throws Steve Austin over-the-top rope & out of the ring!
Stone Cold Steve Austin has been eliminated! What!?
The winner of the 1997 Royal Rumble has been eliminated first! What happens next!?
The Final Four: Part 2
Vader, Bret Hart, The Undertaker: Who becomes the new WWF Champion now?
Vader takes off the signature mask. His face is a bloody mess. The Mastodon drops some brutal shots on The Hitman inside the ring.
Meanwhile, Paul Bearer (Vader’s manager in this instance) attacks Undertaker with the urn off-camera.
Jerry Lawler: “Uh…I didn’t see that.”
JR: “HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US KING, DON’T LIE…C’MON!”
Bret Hart has turned the tables inside the ring. He super-plexes a 450-pound Vader off the top-rope.
JR calls it a ‘mid-air collision between two 747’s’! Just watch this PPV to see the amazing chemistry between Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler on commentary.
This has to be it. The Undertaker is knocked cold outside. Bret Hart seizes this opportunity & puts Vader in a sharpshooter. Will Vader tap out?
They milk this sequence thoroughly. The Undertaker gets up in time & breaks the submission. Somebody has to be eliminated here. Who will it be?
The crowd suddenly yank their heads sideways. Steve Austin comes out again! He stomps a mudhole on Bret Hart. There are No Disqualifications here- Anything goes.
Meanwhile, Vader starts climbing to the top & positions himself for the Vader Bomb. The Undertaker gets up in Deadman fashion. Everybody cheers loudly, but Vader has not noticed anything so far.
Undertaker pushes Vader over the top-rope!
Vader has been eliminated second! Only Bret Hart & The Undertaker remain, our two fan-favorites (with the addition of Steve Austin lurking around in the background).
The Hitman runs into The Undertaker unintentionally. ‘Taker grabs his neck & delivers a chokeslam! Undertaker is only one move away from becoming your new WWF Champion for the second time ever. But it’s the WWF- Things are always obtuse around here.
Stone Cold Steve Austin is obsessed with Bret Hart. Heck, he won’t let either one of them win this match. The Undertaker gets rid of The Rattlesnake by knocking him off the apron.
This gives The Hitman enough time to recover. Bret Hart clotheslines Undertaker out of the ring as soon as the latter turns around.
Bret Hart is your new WWF Champion!
Everybody is happy except The Undertaker. He looks at Austin in anger, but the Rattlesnake scurries off backstage before The Deadman can get a hold of him.
The Undertaker is looking at Bret Hart from the entrance area. ‘Taker missed an important opportunity here.
However, when you carefully observe, Bret Hart is less than enthralled to become the WWF Champion for the fourth time in his career. But why so?…
AD-BREAK!
The match itself was great. Nobody got eliminated via pinfall, which does not lower any participant’s credibility in the future. But here’s the reality: Stone Cold Steve Austin was supposed to win this contest & become the new WWF Champion. What happened? Well, a mid-match accident left Austin with a bad knee. He had to take himself out of the match, & a lickety-split decision had to be made. Therefore, Bret was re-booked to become the new champion.
However, Bret also knew what was going to happen in the future. Like I have stated in previous recaps, spontaneous decisions due to several shortcomings have played a huge part in shaping up The Attitude Era as we know it. This was one of those spontaneous decisions.
After the ad-break, we see Bret Hart still celebrating (not really) in the ring. Psycho Sid’s classic horror-esque theme music hits. The master & ruler of the world comes out to confront Bret Hart.
Yes, ladies & gentlemen, Bret Hart will have to defend his WWF Championship against Psycho Sid the very next night on RAW.
Both athletes are staring each other down in the ring, but we’ve run out of time!
What happens twenty-four hours from now? The WWF does a great job in encouraging viewers to tune in tomorrow night. Bret Hart is the new WWF Champion, but this crazy ride has barely begun…
RESULT: Bret Hart is your new WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
Well, that was quite a ride folks. We witnessed Chyna debuting on WWF TV for the first time ever. Bret Hart became your new WWF World Heavyweight Champion. I would personally recommend seeing the latter three matches of this Pay-Per-View.
In Your House 13: Final Four- An event that gave everyone something to talk about before & after it actually took place.
GRADE: A-
Join me next time, as I recap the 17th February 1997 edition of Monday Night RAW. WrestleMania 13 is just around the corner…
As always, you can check out last week’s recap by clicking here. You can also follow me by clicking here to stay updated.
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