Raw opens with a lengthy recap of last week's "Province of Quebec Rules" tag title match. This brings us immediately into our opening match as it's Scott Steiner taking on Quebeccer Pierre. As per the stipulation last week, if Scott can get the win, the Steiner Brothers will get their tag title rematch. Commentators are once again Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and a still suffering from the effects of the Doink soaking "last week" Bobby Heenan. I say "last week" like that because as it's well known at this point, Raw episodes are taped in sets for weeks in advance.
And you can still clearly see the confetti and wet mats caused by Doink.
Johnny Polo accompanies Pierre to the ring with hockey stick in tow. The match starts with both men hitting clubbing blows. Inverted atomic drop by Scott Steiner followed by a clothesline off the top rope. He follows up with Scott tossing Pierre over the top rope. A move he was barred from doing in last week's match. He tosses Pierre and lands a piledriver for a two count thanks to a distraction from Johnny Polo.
Scott locks in an STF, but he slips up initially. Pierre goes into the corner, only to get a slingshot by Steiner. Half crab is quickly broken. Scott follows up with an overhead belly to belly suplex off the second turnbuckle. Polo tries to help Pierre, but Steiner chases them off with the hockey stick. Vince urges Scott to hit them, despite, you know, doing that would result in costing the Steiners a rematch.
We return from break, and not only have Pierre and Johnny returned, but they've brought Jacques with them. Before they can get a double team on Scott, Rick finally shows up to even the odds. A lot of stalling until Pierre gets a cheap shot on Scott. He follows with stomps in the corner and a DDT. He follows with a knee to the back and a diving headbutt. Rick and Jacques almost have a battle of chairs and hockey sticks on the outside.
Clothesline by Pierre only gets a two. Scott manages a really nice sunset flip, but Johnny Polo's distraction plays in the Quebecers favor. Headlock is applied by Pierre who uses the ropes for leverage. Pierre follows up with a big knee to the gut for a two count. Body slam and a slinghot splash by Pierre only gets a two count, followed by yet another long headlock. The always classy New York crowd chants "Johnny Homo" because of course they would.
Leg drop off the turnbuckle by Pierre only gets another two count. Irish whip by Pierre is turned into a backslide by Scott for a two. Another roll up only gets a two. Thumb to the eye by Pierre and another headlock. Another slingshot splash by Pierre is avoided by Scott Steiner. Big back body drop by Scott is followed by a Steiner line and an underhook powerbomb. Another messy looking Frankensteiner gets the three count.
A great opening match, although much like last week, the match was a bit too long and formulaic with face offense early on, slow heel offense mid-way, and a really quick comeback to end things. Next week will be the rematch, and hopefully it results in another solid match, since this feud has been quite entertaining.
Bam Bam Bigelow is in action next against Laverne McGill. As always Luna is at ringside to support her main squeeze. Dropkicks by McGill take Bam Bam to the corner. Irish whip countered by Bam Bam who misses a flip into the corner that sends him on the apron. McGill misses a dropkick. Since they messed up the Crush interview last week due to technical difficulties, they once again talk to him via phone, as he just says what he said last week. He's healthy, and he'll be back soon Brudda. However, he refuses to speak to Macho Man and hangs up.
Big vertical suplex by Bam Bam followed by a dropkick of his own. After some more basic offense he throws McGill over the top rope. Luna gets in a choke on McGill while the referee is distracted. Vince shills Silk Stalkings as McGill tries a sunset flip, only to get squashed literally by Bam Bam. Bam Bam misses a splash in the corner. McGill jumps off the top, only to get caught. Slam and a jumping senton by Bam Bam Bigelow for the three. Pretty solid squash match since it wasn't just a by the books spot fest.
Vince is in the ring to interview Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Vince brings up Jerry Lawler's hecking of Bret's family, and everything else that led up to the match at Summerslam. We're reminded of the events of Summerslam themselves, including the phony injury, the "court jester" Doink, and the eventual match that culminated in Bret's disqualification due to his refusal to break the sharpshooter. Bret is still confused on how Lawler is a king if he hasn't won anything in the WWF fairly to this point. Bret says this isn't an issue of titles or crowns, his family honor is the real issue. He doesn't regret keeping the sharpshooter held, in fact he only regrets not holding it longer. Somewhere down the line, Lawler and Bret will wrestle again, and after he's through with him, Lawler won't have a head to wear that crown on.
Mr. Perfect is up next for another squash match. Mike Bell is the opponent this week as the crowd chants "Whoomp, There it is!" Bobby Heenan shills All American Wrestling, and it's here we realize that the WWF has recently released "Mean Gene" Okerlund. According to Okerlund he was never offered a new contract, and thus he left the company to work for World Championship Wrestling. It's unclear the WWF's decision on not wanting to keep Gene, but the choice was likely the same as them not wanting Macho Man to be an active wrestler. The shift to the new generation is in effect, and Okerlund is yet another relic of the 1980's.
Some hammerlocks from both men, and a straight slap to the face by Perfect. Hard chop by Perfect, but Bell turns things around into a hiptoss. The crowd once again is chanting for Shawn Michaels. We'll get into where the Heartbreak Kid is in a future edition of TOTNG. Perfect takes Bell outside and lays in more chops. Chops by Bell, followed by more chops by Perfect. Neck snap by Perfect. Knee lift to the fact of Mike Bell, and a dropkick is followed up. More chops and slaps. Perfect is acting far more aggressive, and definitely a more heelish side to him. Perfectplex for the three. Very bland match, even for a Mr. Perfect match.
We go to a polluted lake with Ludvig Borga. Borga being the evil foreign environmentalist is disgusted by the filth he sees before him. Americans call this the land of milk and honey? Wel l down here it stinks funny. He blames Luger and calls him a garbage driver. Again, I get it. he's the heel foreigner, but he's telling the truth. Especially about the pollution problem in the United States. But "Boo, he's foreign. He clearly doesn't deserve a say in how we destroy our country. Go back to Russia, Commie."
Borga: I'm from Finland, idiot!
"Whatever, you're foreign. Boo!"
Our main event is IRS against PJ Walker. He does his shtick of calling people tax cheats, and says that Razor Ramon is too scared to face him. The crowd chants Irwin as he quickly tosses Walker over the rope. He throws Walker back in and lays in some stomps. Razor coes to ringside. IRS is distracted, and Walker manages a roll up for an upset three count! Holy crap, Justin Credible won a match on Raw! It's not to the level of the 123 Kid win, but still a sight to see. IRS tries to get to Razor, but is held back by the referees and Tony Garea.
Raw ends with Bobby Heenan with Johnny Polo and the Quebecers. They promise that their not scared of the Steiners, but there are other teams out there, so they'll give a title shot to anyone else. Which makes no sense since the Steiners should be #1 contenders by proxy. In other news Raw is finally out of New York for once as they go to New Haven, Conneticut. With Tatanka, Ludvig Borga and... Jimmy Snuka?
Great edition of Raw this week. A solid opener with the Steiners and the Quebecers being the show's strong point. The Bret Hart interview was decent, albeit nothing really new in terms of this feud with Jerry Lawler. The Bam Bam match was a refreshing squash, Mr. Perfect is slowly turning heel, Crush is also going heel, and seeing another upset with PJ Walker over IRS was also a sight to see. As I've been saying lately Raw has become a far more well balanced show. We've thankfully long gone past the days of the show ending in the middle of a match. However, the New York crowd can still go to hell for that "Johnny Homo" crap. So the best rating this show deserves is a B+.