World Wrestling Federation 1996

[Hewey]

SpiceDawg, Thanks for the comments. Here's the answers to your questions.

Out of curiousity, do you ever intend to change the name of the Saturday show? It seems really uncreative to have two shows named Raw. It gives the impression it's a continuation of the Raw program meanwhile, it showcases mainly C-list talent. Though it's not like my world is shattered if the show remains 'Raw Saturday Night' forever.

[Quick Trick]

I love what you've done with this time period, I don't comment enough. I'm really going to piss you off by asking, but is there anyway you can make a link to let me read your 95' diary. I went back the other day trying to find it in your 96' diary, but it didn't work. Thanks in advance!!

[Hewey]

Quick Trick, My old WWF '95 diary is at the old forums. I don't think the forums are around anymore. However, It's not apart of this diary.

Credit Kempay for the logo

Date: June 2, 1997

Location: Portland, Maine

Tonight, Monday Night Raw comes to you live from one of the greatest cities in the United States, Portland, Maine! And what a night this should be! We got the biggest main event in Monday Night Raw history taking place tonight! It'll be a huge main event. Tonight, For the very first time ever, We will see the former three time WWF Champion, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Take on the first and only WWF European Champion, Alex Wright! What a huge main event this is going to be. Bret Hart is heading into the King Of The Ring to take on the man who defeated him at last year's Wrestlemania, The "Heart Break Kid" Shawn Michaels. And after Michaels bashed Bret Hart twice last week in interviews, Will Bret Hart be focused on this match? This is a huge opportunity for Alex Wright as well. He's qualified in the King Of The Ring tournament after pulling off the win against Ken Shamrock, But will he be able to score the biggest win in his WWF career by defeating Bret Hart? Who will walk out of this non title match the winner? This is truly the biggest main event in the history of Monday Night Raw.

Rick Rude promised that tonight we'd find out who the challenger for The Undertaker's WWF Championship would be. Who has Rick Rude selected to face the greatest WWF Champion of all time at this year's King Of The Ring? Will it be Kevin Nash? Who assumes he's lined up for a title shot? What about men like Mr. Yokozuna, Sycho Sid, British Bulldog? It could be anyone. And we'll find out tonight. And we also know that The Undertaker will be here tonight. What will the phenom of the WWF, And greatest World Wrestling Federation Champion of all time have to say? What will he do when he finds out who will challenge him for the title?

Matches For Monday Night Raw

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

Hollywood Holly Vs. Chavo Guerrero

The winner of this match will go to the Quarter Finals of this year's King Of The Ring tournament. Both these men would have alot to gain here tonight. Chavo Guerrero is the current Light Heavyweight Champion, And if he somehow manages to win the King Of The Ring, His career would sky rocket. But what about Hollywood Holly? Hollywood is a former tag team champion, And alongside his manager Chris Kanyon, He's picked up some big wins in the past. Can he do it tonight? Who will go onto the Quarter Finals?

World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship

The Godwinns© Vs. The Quebecers

The Godwinns won the titles last week thanks to help from Hillbilly Jim. Tonight, They take on former three time WWF Tag Team Champions, The Quebecers. Will new champions be crowned tonight? Or will The Godwinns continue to dominate the tag team scene? This should be a great match between two of the best teams in the world right now.

Handicap Match

British Bulldog, Kevin Nash and Sycho Sid Vs. Scott Hall and Vader

On Friday Night Mayhem we saw Kevin Nash destroy Sean Waltman and take Waltman out of action. Rick Rude has gotten his wishes, As both Waltman and D'Lo Brown have been injured. Now, Rude has two more men he wants to see taken care of, Scott Hall and Vader. Hall and Vader have been able to take everything that's been tossed at them, But how can they defeat three men tonight? Especially after the beating they took on Friday night?

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

Goldust Vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Helmsley and Goldust are best friends. Helmsley almost became the WWF Champion this past Friday night. If Helmsley had won the title, He wouldn't need to compete in the tournament, Which he won last year. What will happen here? Goldust has said that he'll do anything for Helmsley, But will he lose for his best friend tonight? Will Helmsley go on to win his second straight tournament? Or will his plans fail?

Bret Hart Vs. Alex Wright

This is the biggest main event in the history of Monday Night Raw. Alex Wright is the current WWF European Champion, And he's been in the ring with some great WWF superstars. But tonight, He takes on his biggest opponent, Bret Hart. Can Alex Wright score the big win tonight and join the elite in the WWF? Or will Bret Hart show everyone why he's considered one of the greatest WWF superstars of all time? Which man will leave tonight's main event with the victory?

[Hewey]

Credit Kempay for the logo

Channel: USA Network

Time Slot: Prime Time

Date: June 2, 1997

Location: Portland, Maine

Attendance: 8,021

Ticket Sales: $320,840

Announcers: Dok Hendrix and Vince McMahon

Voice Over- The World Wrestling Federation, For over fifty years the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.

Monday Night Raw comes on the air with a video package showing great World Wrestling Federation action. When the video ends, We're taken inside the arena where pyro goes off from the rafters and from the entrance way. We then head over to our announce position where Dok Hendrix and Vince McMahon are standing by. They are very excited and hype up tonight's big show.

Who Is The True Icon?

Monday Night Raw kicks off with Bret "The Hitman" Hart walking down to the ring to a huge ovation from the fans. Bret Hart enters the ring and is handed a microphone. The crowd quiets down as Bret Hart prepares to speak.

Bret Hart- You Know, The King Of The Ring is twenty days away. And on that night, I plan on proving to the entire world that I am better than the beloved Shawn Michaels. [shawn Michaels, You came out here last week and didn't even give me a chance to talk. Instead, You said I was jealous of you, You ran your mouth off and didn't even give me a chance to respond. Do you honestly think I'm jealous of you? Shawn Michaels, Do you think I'm jealous of the few months you spent with the WWF Championship around your waist? All you can do is talk and insult me. In my opinion, You know that when we step into the ring at the King Of The Ring, You're not going to be able to do much except talk. The fact of the matter is, The King Of The Ring is going to be the most important night in both of our careers. One man will be proven wrong when the night is over. One of us is going to go back to the locker room defeated. One of us is going to realize that the better man won, And there's nothing that could change that. And you'll realize all those things after I'm done beating you at the King Of The Ring. You'll realize once and for all that your win at Wrestlemania last year was nothing more than a fluke. Shawn Michaels, At this year's King Of The Ring, I will defeat you. And I will prove to everyone in the entire world that I am better than you, That my time in the spotlight is not over. And that you aren't as good as you say you are. The King Of The Ring will be the night where I prove to everyone that I am still the best in the WWF. I don't need the WWF Championship around my waist to prove that. You will step into the ring with the excellence of execution. And you will find out why I am the best there is, The best there was, And the best that there ever will....................

Bret Hart's trademark catch phrase is interrupted by the popular "Shawn, Shawn" signaling the music of the "Heart Break Kid" Shawn Michaels. The crowd is going crazy as the cocky Shawn Michaels comes walking down from the back in his street clothes. Michaels enters the ring and gives Bret a cocky smile. Michaels even offers a handshake, But Hart will have none of it. Shawn Michaels is handed a microphone and stares down Hart.

Shawn Michaels- Are you done "Hitman"? Because, Good lord! If I have to listen to you come out here and bore these people to death with your BS speeches, I think I'm gonna go crazy! Now then, I'll admit, Last week when you came out here, I didn't really give you a chance to talk. Hell, I just talked and talked. But Bret, I spoke the truth last week. I didn't come out here and lie. You say you're not jealous of me? Well, It's been over a year, And you still can't stop whining and crying about me beating you at Wrestlemania! You can't accept the fact that Shawn Michaels pinned you in this very ring. You can't accept the fact that the new WWF generation is all about me. You had your time in the spotlight, Old man. And you just gotta accept the fact that Shawn Michaels came out and stole the spotlight from under you. And there's nothing you can do about it.

Bret Hart- Old man? Lets see what happens when this old man beats the living hell out of you at the King Of The Ring. Lets see what happens when I wipe that cocky grin off of your face Shawn Michaels! Do you think I'm bitter over Wrestlemania? I'm not bitter. I accept the fact that you beat me. But, It was nothing more than a fluke win! And lets talk about what kind of a man you are, You never gave me a rematch! Yeah, What a proud champion you were! You never defended that title with the class and dignity I defended it with every night I went out there. You dodged me every chance you got. Everyone else got title shots. Even men I defeated every night I went out there. They all got title shots before I did. When I was champion, I defended it against everyone. Even you.

Shawn Michaels- Is it my fault you were always getting your ass kicked by someone when you could have had your title shot? Is it my fault that when the chance came for you to be the number one contender, You blew it? You weren't good enough to get a rematch. That's just the way it is. And you'll know that when I defeat you at the King Of The Ring. You talk about being the best there is, Was and ever will be, Bret, You're gonna find out why Shawn Michaels is simply the very best sports entertainer in the world today, When I beat you at the King Of The Ring.

Bret Hart- Do you think you're going to pull it off again Shawn? Can you really get lucky one more time? You're a desperate man Shawn Michaels. You want to prove to your little Kliq that your title reign and win over me wasn't a fluke, But everyone knows better. Do you honestly think I'm going to lose to you twice?

Shawn Michaels- Oh, I wouldn't worry about that Bret. I have a big plan for the King Of The Ring. And you wanna know why I'm gonna win? Why I'm so damn cocky? It's because I have something you, And everyone else in the World Wrestling Federation will never have, And that is God given, pure, natural talent. And that's what's going to make me the winner at the King Of The Ring. I will not lose to you. I'll beat you and make sure you realize that I am better than you have ever been. And you're going to be needing all the luck in the world when you step into the ring with me and the Kliq at the King Of The Ring. And I also wish you luck tonight. And Bret, If you need a little help, Don't hesitate to ask me for it. Hell, You meddled in my business when I didn't ask you too. Remember Bret, I want you one hundred percent for our match. Good luck tonight.

Shawn Michaels's music plays as he grins at Bret Hart. Shawn Michaels exits the ring while Hart stands there. McMahon and Hendrix hype up the huge match between both men on June 22nd at the King Of The Ring.

94

Tonight's Plan

We're taken to the locker room area where we see Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust. Helmsley is putting on his elbow pads while Goldust just smiles.

Goldust- Tonight is big. I mean, It's huge! Goldust versus Hunter Hearst Helmsley! For the first time ever! I'm so excited! Aren't you?

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Yeah, Sure.

Goldust- I know you won the tournament last year, But Hunter, Tonight, It's going to be a tough match. And lets go out there, Have some fun, And in the end, The better man will win.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Listen, I appreciate you giving me your title shot last week. That was classy. But see, I'm out to make history Goldust. Sure, I won the tournament last year, But my career hasn't sky rocketed like I wanted it to. And ever since we've hooked up, Things haven't been going too well for me. Now, I appreciate the gifts, The run ins, And everything else. But, I need to win this tournament. Understand?

Goldust- I think I do. Don't worry about it friend. The right man will win.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Good. Like you said, Lets go out there, Give these morons a good show, And in the end, You'll know what to do. I have a feeling, You'll know exactly what to do.

Helmsley pats Goldust over the back and exits the locker room. Goldust has a confused look on his face.

Goldust- So, Who's winning it?

90

COMMERCIAL BREAK

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

Hollywood Holly Vs. Chavo Guerrero

Brian Christopher came down to join the announcers for commentary. Christopher spent most of the match talking about how Chavo Guerrero had been ducking his challenge for a title shot. And told the announcers he was going to do something about it. Chris Kanyon didn't get to come down with Hollywood, As referees came down from the back and forced Kanyon to the back! Chavo started off red hot, Knocking down Hollywood with a pair of drop kicks and send Hollywood out to the floor with a clothesline. Chavo followed up with a big pescado to Hollywood on the outside. Christopher kept making comments about Chavo as Chavo took it to Hollywood out on the floor. Christopher then stood up and started yelling at Chavo, Distracting Chavo, Allowing Hollywood to ram Chavo into the steel post. Hollywood Holly controlled the match back in the ring, Connecting with a big vertical suplex, Big boot and legdrop combo for near falls. Kanyon was shown watching from the back, Standing up without his crutches. Hollywood kept control of the match until Chavo Guerrero caught him with a tornado DDT. Chavo followed up by gaining a few near falls over Hollywood, And ended up delivering a big brainbuster to Hollywood. Chavo Guerrero headed up top, But Brian Christopher left the announce position and got up on the apron! Chavo kicked Christopher off the apron and came off the top with the Frog Splash to Hollywood! Chavo covered, But the referee was tied up with Christopher, Who again, Got up on the apron. Chavo drop kicked Christopher off the apron, But turned around right into a huge drop kick from Hollywood. Hollywood then lifted Chavo up and planted Chavo with the Hollywood Slam. Hollywood covered and scored the three count!

Hollywood Holly left the ring victorious while Kanyon was jumping for joy in the back. Brian Christopher entered the ring with the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship and nailed Chavo with a shot to the head as Chavo stood up! Christopher then climbed the top turnbuckle and flew off it with the Tennessee Jam to Chavo! The fans booed as Christopher took Chavo's WWF Light Heavyweight Championship and posed with it.

75, 69, 81 **3/4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship

The Godwinns© with Hillbilly Jim Vs. The Quebecers

The crowd seemed pretty quiet for this one. They just aren't getting into The Godwinns. And The Quebecers aren't really over. Not even with Hillbilly Jim by their side. Hillbilly Jim carried a goat with him and let the young fans at ringside pet it. The Quebecers started off jumping the champions from behind. The Quebecers isolated Henry Godwinn and pounded on him. The Quebecers took several short cuts to try to become the champions for a fourth time in the careers. The Quebecers double teamed Henry for quite awhile, But after missing a double clothesline to Henry, Henry came off with a double clothesline of his own to the challengers and then made the hot tag to Phineous, Which had McMahon going crazy. Phineous entered the ring and started to clean house. Jacques and Pierre went down to powerful right hands from Phineous. Henry got back into the game and sent Jacques out to the floor with a stiff hoss like clothesline. Phineous ducked a clothesline from Pierre and took him out with the Slop Drop. Phineous covered and scored the win.

Hillbilly Jim then came into the ring with goat while The Godwinns held their titles high in the air and square danced. McMahon seemed to be enjoying himself while Hendrix called him, The Godwinns and Hillbilly Jim morons.

69, 68, 70 *1\2

The WWF Tag Team title has lost image.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

The Sky, With Al Snow

We return from the commercial break with Marc Mero standing in the ring. Mero's wearing a black suit and holding his black book. Mero also has a microphone.

Marc Mero- Welcome friends. Welcome to the sky. I'm your host, Marc Mero. And it's going to be a big night for us. As the WWF Intercontinental Champion, Al Snow will join me tonight to talk about our match this Friday night. It'll be a qualifying round match up in this year's King Of The Ring tournament. And everyone is looking forward to this. It's one of the bigger matches in this year's King Of The Ring. I almost won the tournament last year, But that wasn't the plan. I'm not mad over it, As life's plans always change. In any event, Tonight's a big night. And now, Lets give a warm welcome to my opponent for Friday night, Al Snow.

The crowd give more than a warm welcome, As Al Snow's music begins to play to a huge ovation from the crowd. Al Snow makes his way down the entrance way with his WWF Intercontinental Championship over his shoulder. Snow enters the ring and stares down Marc Mero.

Marc Mero- Welcome to the sky Mr. Snow. Now then, I know you don't really like me for one reason or another. But Mr. Snow, I just want to comment on something, Please, Don't belittle my beliefs. I know you don't believe in what I believe in, But there's no reason for you to come out here and bash me and make fun of me. I'm just a man, Following my book.

Al Snow- I have no problem with you and your beliefs. But I do have a problem with you coming out here and asking these fans to hand over their money to you and your "cause". Everyone knows you're nothing more than a con artist Marc Mero.

Marc Mero- Con artist? No, I'm a believer. I just think these people need to open up their pockets and help my cause.

Al Snow- And what is exactly your cause? Because, To me, It sounds like a bunch of crap!

Marc Mero- Crap? Didn't I tell you not to belittle my beliefs? Mr. Snow, I will ask you once again not to belittle my beliefs. I'm trying really hard not to snap. You do not want to see me snap Mr. Snow. See, That's the problem with our world. Everyone is so damn sarcastic. No one stops to appreciate things. No one believes in good anymore. I am so sick and tired of people like you! Ignorant people like you who trash everything. You know what Mr. Snow? I look forward to our match this Friday night. I look forward to slapping the ignorance off of your mouth! Because, And I swear for God, I will massacre you this Friday night! My fury will be unleashed! You and these people all deserve each other! All you people deserve to go to hell! I..................

Mero starts yelling incoherently and makes the mistake of getting right in Al Snow's face. Mero starts poking Snow and slaps Snow across the face! Snow responds by knocking Mero down on his ass with a right hand! Mero stands up and grabs his book. Mero goes to hit Snow with it, But Snow ducks and grabs Mero by the waist! Al Snow delivers a big German suplex to Mero! Snow hangs onto Mero and delivers a second straight German suplex to Mero! Snow again holds onto Mero and delivers a third German suplex, This time, Releasing Mero and dropping Mero right on his head! Snow picks up his title and puts it over his shoulder. Snow then grabs the microphone while Mero is left laid out.

Al Snow- Marc Mero, I'll see you this Friday night!

The fans cheer as Al Snow exits the ring. Mero is down on the canvas as Snow poses on top of the stage with the WWF Intercontinental Championship. We go to a commercial break with McMahon and Hendrix hyping the Snow/Mero match this Friday night.

79

Al Snow lost overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Handicap Match

British Bulldog, Kevin Nash and Sycho Sid with Dawn Marie Vs. Scott Hall and Vader

Footage was shown of Kevin Nash taking out Sean Waltman on Friday Night Mayhem. McMahon said that there was no news on Sean Waltman. Nash, Sid and Bulldog jumped Scott Hall and Vader from the get go here. The crowd was quite hot, As Hall and Vader actually had offense early on. Scott Hall fought off Bulldog while Vader was able to somehow manhandle both Nash and Sid! Vader send both Nash and Sid out to the floor with a double clothesline while Scott Hall tossed Bulldog out! They then went out to the floor after their opponents. Vader rammed Sid into the steel post while Nash got thrown into the steel guardrail. Scott Hall rammed Bulldog's head into the announce table several times, But when they made their way back into the ring, Davey Boy Smith caught Scott Hall with a stiff lariat. Referee Monty Davidson let Nash, Sid and Bulldog triple team Hall several times, Even in front of him! Vader would try to get into the ring, But Davidson would yell at him and threaten to fine him! Dawn Marie even got involved when she smacked Hall across the face. Kevin Nash was as aggressive as ever, With Hendrix saying that Nash wanted to impress the Commissioner so he could be next in line for a title shot. After taking a pounding, Scott Hall caught Nash with a DDT and made the hot tag to Vader, But referee Monty Davidson acted like he didn't see it! Davidson wouldn't let Vader in the ring, So, Vader tossed him aside! Vader entered the ring and took out Sid, Nash and Bulldog with clotheslines! Vader ended up tossing Sid and Bulldog out to the floor and went out after them. Scott Hall had made the comeback, But was holding his ribs, Which had been injured early in the match. Scott Hall nailed Nash with right hands, Staggering the genetic wonder. Scott Hall knocked down Nash with a clothesline and called for the Outsider's Edge. Hall lifted Nash up and set him up, But Monty Davidson kicked Hall right in the ribs! Nash then back dropped Hall! Vader was busy fighting Sid and Bulldog as Nash drilled Hall with the Jackknife! Nash covered Hall and Davidson made the three count!

Nash stood up with a cocky grin on his face. Vader grabbed Bulldog on the outside and send Bulldog into the steep steps! Sid took a stiff clothesline by Vader! Nash didn't notice this and lifted Hall up. Nash was about to plant Hall with another Jackknife, But Vader entered the ring and nailed Nash with a stiff clothesline! Vader then tossed Nash out to the floor! Vader stood tall in the ring and checked on Scott Hall while Nash, Sid and Bulldog headed to the back.

84, 88, 78 **3/4

Who Is The Number One Contender?

We cut to the backstage area where we see William Regal walking holding a clipboard in his hand. Regal then bumps into Rick Martel.

Rick Martel- Just the man I was looking for. Regal, We need to talk.

William Regal- What do you need my good man?

Rick Martel- See, There must be some kind of mistake. Rick Rude is suppose to announce the number one contender for the King Of The Ring tonight, Right?

William Regal- Yes. I believe that's the plan.

Rick Martel- Well, He hasn't contacted me. Everyone knows I should be the number one contender. Come on Regal, When is he contacting me?

William Regal- Mr. Martel, I'm sorry to tell you this, But you're not the man whom the Commissioner has chosen to take the title off of The Undertaker. You're not the one going to the King Of The Ring.

Rick Martel- What? Who does he have lined up to face Undertaker?

William Regal- I can't tell you that. But look, The Commissioner and myself are planning out a huge match for this year's King Of The Ring. And the winner will go on to getting a WWF Championship match in the future.

Rick Martel- Right, What's the match?

William Regal- I cannot give you any information at this time. However, More will be explained this Friday night. And I wouldn't worry Mr. Martel, You're one of the Commissioner's favorite wrestlers. I'm sure you'll be getting plenty of title shots.

Rick Martel- Good. Because, Lets face it, I'm Rick Martel. And damn it, I'm a legend. And lets not forget something, I am the man who should be on top of the WWF. The fans are demanding it. I just had like eighty people ask me to beat The Undertaker for the title. The fans are gonna go crazy if I'm not given a title shot soon.

William Regal- Right, Well, I'll let you know more this Friday night.

William Regal heads on off while Martel looks like he's wondering what's lined up for him this Friday night.

77

Rick Martel lost overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

Goldust with Marlena Vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

This one was a excellent match that had the crowd going crazy for it. The fans are getting into the Helmsley/Goldust storyline big time. Goldust and Helmsley started off trading a few holds and near falls, With Goldust getting the better out of Helmsley. Helmsley got frustrated and kicked Goldust in the gut hard. Both men started going at hard, Just like they said they would backstage. Helmsley worked over Goldust's back, Pounding on it, Before sending Goldust out to the floor with a clothesline. Helmsley went out after Goldust and tried to whip Goldust into the steel steps, But Goldust countered and Helmsley's shoulder hit the steps. They back into the ring where Goldust was careful, Trying not to work over Helmsley's shoulder. Goldust tried to finish Helmsley off early and went up top. Goldust went for a double ax handle, But Helmsley moved out of the way and it looked like Goldust might have injured his leg. Helmsley, Unlike Goldust, Took advantage of the injury and pounded on Goldust's legs. Helmsley even applied a Indian deathlock on Goldust, But Goldust grabbed the ropes. Marlena looked on, Not knowing what to do as Helmsley continued working over Goldust's legs. Helmsley got more and more frustrated as he couldn't put Goldust away. Helmsley delivered a back breaker to Goldust and headed up top. Goldust slowly got up and started punching Helmsley. Goldust then grabbed Helmsley and tossed him off the top turnbuckle. Goldust followed up by planting Helmsley with a big DDT for a dramatic near fall. Goldust lifted Helmsley up and set him up the Curtain Call, But his leg gave out on him. Helmsley quickly followed up by planting Goldust with the Pedigree! Helmsley covered Goldust, But only got two as Goldust put his foot on the ropes. Helmsley started flipping out! Helmsley yelled at the referee, But then went over to the corner. Helmsley took off the protective padding from the corner. Helmsley stood up Goldust and started punching Goldust. Helmsley backed up and came charging at Goldust, But Goldust fell down and Helmsley hit the corner, Head first onto the exposed steel! Helmsley fell right on his back! Goldust slowly stood up and looked confused as the referee put the padding back on the turnbuckle. Goldust looked at the turnbuckles and a knocked out Helmsley, Assuming Helmsley was taking a dive. Goldust covered Helmsley and got the three count!

After the match ended, Goldust celebrated with Marlena while Helmsley was laid out in the ring. McMahon and Hendrix said that Goldust thinks Helmsley took a dive for him tonight.

91, 93, 88 ***3/4

Interview with Alex Wright and Joanie Laurer

We cut to the backstage interview area where we see Marissa Mazzola standing by with the WWF European Champion, Alex Wright, Who has his bodyguard, Joanie Laurer with him.

Marissa Mazzola- Alex Wright, Tonight is no doubt the biggest night in your WWF career. You will be stepping into the ring with one of the biggest names in the history of the WWF, Bret "The Hitman" Hart. You are the current WWF European Champion, And you've qualified for this year's King Of The Ring tournament. What does this match tonight mean for you?

Alex Wright- What does it mean for me? Good lord, Woman, Are you a moron? Or are you just a example of the American school system? Either way, You don't deserve to be employed by anyone except a pimp, Just like the other women in America. What does tonight mean for me? Tonight is the night where I, Alex Wright, Prove to everyone of you American pigs that I am on top of my game. And that I am on top of the World Wrestling Federation. Bret Hart is a hero to all the WWF fans. He's a hero to all the children. And after I defeat him tonight, Everyone will look up to me and respect me. These foolish fans will realize that their hero is nothing more than a joke. Bret Hart might be a Canadian, But I hate Canadians almost as much as I hate Americans. You wanna know why? Because, Canadians want to be Americans. And that just makes me sick to my stomach. Bret Hart, I wouldn't worry about King Of The Ring, I'd worry about me standing in your way tonight. This is the toughest match in your career. I know you might be looking down on me, Because, You people think you're better than me. But I would be afraid. Don't worry about anything else except me. Bret Hart, You might be the excellence of execution, But if I have my way tonight, You'll be the one who will be executed. It's time for a new person to rise in the World Wrestling Federation. It's time for new blood to take over. It's time for the Germans to rule the World Wrestling Federation. And as the only German on the roster, And current WWF European Champion, I promise to all my fans in Germany, I will defeat Bret Hart. I will defeat this Canadian coward tonight. I will not fall, I will rise.

Marissa Mazzola- What about the Shawn Michaels factor? Some people might think that Shawn Michaels will get involved? Does that worry you?

Alex Wright- What a ridiculous question that deserves no comment. Do you think Mr. Shawn Michaels will get anywhere near me? I don't think so. Not when I got this statue backing me up. Shawn Michaels, If you wanna try and meddle in my business, Go ahead. But it won't matter. Nothing is stopping me tonight. My plan is in full effect tonight. First, I will defeat Bret Hart. And then, I will win this year's King Of The Ring tournament. And after I do win this year's tournament, I will become the new World Wrestling Federation Champion very soon. And there's no one stopping my plan. No one.

Marissa Mazzola- Fans, Alex Wright is a determined individual. Will he be able to walk out of Portland, Maine with the biggest win of his career? We'll find out next!

61

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Alex Wright with Joanie Laurer Vs. Bret Hart

The crowd was hot for this match. Even though Hart is a Canadian, The crowd chanted "USA". Wright and Hart started off trading a few near falls and holds, With the better wrestler, Hart getting the advantage over Wright. Wright got frustrated and went out to the floor. Wright cursed at the fans in German while the crowd booed and yelled at him to get back into the ring. When Wright did stop stalling, He entered the ring and got nailed by a big right hand from Bret Hart. Bret Hart punched the living hell out of Wright and tried to finish Wright off early on, Attempting the Sharpshooter, But Wright rolled out to the floor. Bret Hart went out after Wright and started punching away at Wright. But as usual, Laurer got involved and ran down Hart with a clothesline right in front of the referee! Wright rolled Bret Hart back into the ring and came off the top with a picture perfect missile drop kick on Hart for a two count. Wright wore down Hart with a extended chinlock, Keeping the pressure on "The Hitman". Laurer would get involved every once in awhile, Nailing Hart with stiff shots behind the referee's back. Alex Wright looked like the win was going to be his several times, But Bret Hart would not stay down. Bret Hart made the big comeback and after delivering a Russian legsweep to Wright, Hart mounted the second turnbuckle. Hart came off the second turnbuckle with a big elbow drop to Wright's heart. Bret Hart called for the Sharpshooter, But Laurer got up on the apron. Hart went over to her and started yelling at her. Wright got up to his feet and drop kicked Hart, Sending him into Laurer, Knocking Laurer off the apron and Hart out of the ring. Wright then distracted the referee as Laurer kicked Hart in the ribs on the outside. Laurer lifted Hart up and looked like she was going to position him for a DDT, But Shawn Michaels came running down from the back to a huge pop from the crowd. Michaels was about to nail Laurer, But Wright nailed him with a baseball slide! Laurer grabbed the referee and distracted him while Wright went outside and lifted Michaels up, But Michaels nailed him with a right hand! Michaels then went for Sweet Chin Music, But Wright ducked and Michaels accidentally nailed Hart! Wright grabbed Michaels and rammed Michaels into the steel post! Wright rolled Hart into the ring. Laurer let go of the referee while Wright entered the ring and covered Hart for the one, two, three!

The crowd booed as Wright's music hit the arena. Laurer handed Wright his WWF European Championship. Wright stood over Hart shouted at him in German. Wright and Laurer went to the back while Shawn Michaels stood up on the outside. Hart was laid out in the ring, And Michaels just headed to the back.

83, 84, 81 ***

Alex Wright gained overness from this match.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

WWF Slam Of The Week- Rick Martel applies the Quebec Crab to Brian Pillman to make him tap out. (RAW Saturday Night 5/31/97)

Rick Rude Pulls A Fast One On The Undertaker

Monday Night Raw returns from the commercial break with Rick Rude and William Regal making their way down to the ring. The fans boo as the Commissioner and his assistant enter the ring. Rude is handed a microphone and he and Regal look on at the crowd with a look of disgust.

Rick Rude- Undertaker, Tonight is the night where you find out who's the man that's taking that WWF Championship away from you at the King Of The Ring. Undertaker, You might have ruined my plans before. And sure, You defeated Kevin Nash and Sycho Sid. But the man who you'll be facing at the King Of The Ring is not only a better wrestler than them, But quite frankly, He's unstable. He could snap at any minute. And I have given him the task of not only taking the WWF Championship from around your waist, But sending you right out of the WWF. And everything I say will happen. Look at Sean Waltman and D'Lo Brown. Both men who crossed my path had to be dealt with. What about Scott Hall and Vader? Did you see what happened to them tonight? You're the next one to be dealt with. That WWF Championship does not belong with you. It belongs with a champion who respects authority. Who will listen to the boss. And what's whom I have chosen to defeat you at the King Of The Ring. There were so many capable men for the task, But quite frankly, No one fit the bill like this man. He will make you pay for ever laying your hands on me. And Undertaker, I'm feeling so good, That I want you to come out here. I want you to look me in the eye as I tell you who you're going to face! Come on down! Who knows? Maybe I'll get some of you myself!

The crowd waits. The fans then go crazy as the lights go off. The bells toll followed by the music of the phenom himself, The Undertaker hitting the arena. The purple lights come on as the WWF Champion slowly walks down to the ring while Regal and Rude look on. The Undertaker enters the ring and the lights come back on. Regal seems a little scared, But Rude gets right up in the champion's face.

Rick Rude- I been waiting for this. Undertaker, You wanna know what I think of you and your creatures of the night? You wanna know? **** you!

Rude slaps The Undertaker right across the face! Oh my God! The Undertaker responds by nailing Rude with a right hand which knocks down the Commissioner! Regal charges at The Undertaker but gets a boot right to the face! The Undertaker grabs Regal and sends Regal to the corner! The Undertaker starts hammering away on Regal! Rude slowly stands up and nails The Undertaker from behind! The Undertaker feels nothing from it and grabs Rude by the throat! Choke Slam, No! A masked man comes running down from the back with a steel chair and cracks The Undertaker with a chair shot to the back before Undertaker could Choke Slam Rude! The masked man then nails The Undertaker over the back one more time with the chair! Another shot to the back! The masked man then winds up the chair and drills Undertaker with a shot to the head! The Undertaker is out! The man takes off his mask, It's Steve Austin! The fans start booing as Rude hugs Austin! Regal shakes hands with Austin. Regal and Rude lift Undertaker up and Austin plants him with a kick to the gut and follows it with the Stone Cold Stunner! Austin, Rude and Regal stand over The Undertaker lifeless body. The three men raise their arms in the air before leaving the ring. They walk up the stage and again pose. The Undertaker then sits up! Monday Night Raw goes off the air with Austin, Regal and Rude up on the stage taunting The Undertaker.

87

Overall Rating- 79

TV Rating- 7.25

Competition

Monday Nitro

TV Rating- 6.04

Attendance- 6,529

Ticket Sales- $261,160

ECW Code Red

TV Rating- 4.52

Attendance- 2,005

Ticket Sales- $60,150

USPW Thursday Night Jam

TV Rating- 1.70

Attendance- 807

Ticket Sales- $24,210

Notes

"Goldust and Hunter Hearst Helmsley work pretty well together due to their similar styles." -Pat Patterson

"Our ratings battle with Monday Nitro is so close that neither show is gaining a clear advantage!" -Sophie

News

- Marc Mero has suffered a broken neck and will be out for eight months.

- Pitbull #2 has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Jerry Lynn has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Phoebe Elizabeth has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Terri Powers has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Elektra has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Hugh Morrus has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Terry Taylor has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Pitbull #1 has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Van Hammer has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Yoshihiro Tajiri has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- Jeff Hardy has agreed to an open contract with VZF!

- VZF have signed staff member Greg Gagne!

- VZF have signed staff member Carlos Cabrera!

- VZF have signed staff member Peter Page!

[SpiceDawg]

This Raw was definitely not as packed as the previous week's but the tournament and current stories still kept my anticipation for it high. I'd say it exceeded my expectations and even offered up some shocking events. Definitely not a by the numbers show and has made me look forward to future shows.

The Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels confrontation was a good way to open up the show. It's been made very clear lately that this is the main event program going on in the WWF. This now makes two months in a row where the World Title story is taking a backseat. Though I'd say this match is being built up very solidly and deserves it's slot as the main event. Though Michaels is pulling the same schtick he did in real '97 WWF by headlining PPVs without being the champ. Then again, if he keeps pumping out the work rate and quality ratings then there shouldn't be any complaints. It does reenforce my theory he is taking back the World Title soon (my bet is Summerslam). This segment only reconfirmed to me that he'll be going heel at or after KOTR.

The Michaels/Hart build is also reminding me of the Warrior/Hogan build up to Wrestlemania 6. Where both guys help the other out not because they like them but because they want them 100% healthy for the big match. I say, I'm digging that kind of build for this match and should cause of some cool chemistry.

The Goldust/Hunter segment was another solid effort in the story. I'm loving the whole cluelessly, loyal Goldust. It is building up for some great sympathy when the 'real' Hunter reveals himself. I love the fact that Goldust didn't clue in that he was supposed to be taking the dive for Hunter. The sincerity and naivety of Goldust will help cement him as a babyface.

It's looking like my original preidctions for the bottom half of the tournament is coming true. I decided not to vote that way because I felt it caused the PPV to lack some star power. Maybe this tournament is an attempt on giving some legit rub to Hollywood and maybe even Jannetty???? Despite the fact that such a semfinal seems to lack a lot of sizzle since both guys are lower midcards in this diary.

Sadly, the lightweight division continues to play second fiddle as their champion does a another job. The fact that Chavo couldn't beat a total midcarder like Holly proves the lightheavies aren't much more then jobbers. Plus it's coming clear that lightheavies can't beat any of the heavyweights especially with the champion of the division falling to Holly. Though despite this complaint, I'm a fan of Hollywood and a push is a good things for him. Though the whole Christopher demanding a title shot came out of nowhere. Christopher has barely even been on television lately. He definitely hasn't gotten any big wins lately. What even makes him a viable contender and when has he been calling out the champ? This reeks of a thrown together title feud just so Chavo has something to do. I don't see this feud really benefitting the division or either guy.

Even the real WWF in '97 knew that the hillbilly face Godwinns weren't working which is why they were turned heel during this time. Yet your diary continues to kill the image of the tag titles by pushing these two goofs. I still think you should team up Bradshaw with another Texan and form a nasty Outlaw cowboy team. Vince would drool with the prospect of two hoss teams battling for the titles. Besides anything is better then the Godwinns with the straps. Though I respect your obvious true to WWF form of shoving this team down our throats and continuing to pass them off as a great champions.

Mero & Snow segment went off fairly well. It seems you were building to Mero pinning Snow on Friday thus making him the next IC Challenger. I'd say, Mero would have made a great IC champ. Unfortunately, EWR can be cruel.

The handicap match definitely seemed to give a rub to Vader. The fact he stood up to all the big heels made Vader seem like the real deal. I'm actually beginning to buy Vader as a legit top face now. Though this match didn't put much of a spark to Vader v. Bulldog. Actually, I'm more inclined to see him tangle with Nash now. I'm curious if Hall v. Sid is even going to be a feud now as that didn't seem to be played out in the match.

Martel is back to his very cocky self. I'm glad to see that Martel isn't the number one contender. I sort of feared that he might be but he doesn't quite seem like a good World Title opponent. Or at least, he doesn't quite have the aura of a threat to 'Taker quite yet. Though that might change after KOTR depending what happens with this 'mystery' match. I'm guessing it will be a multi person number one contender type contest. Probably reveal who gets the shot for the July PPV. I'd say Summerslam but I'm still convinced Michaels will be going to that. I'd guess, Hall, Nash and Sid will be other guys invovled in this KOTR contest since they seem to have nothig on board yet for KOTR.

Goldust pins Hunter because he thought Hunter was taking a dive. This should lead to some interesting interaction. I don't think Hunter turns on Goldust quite yet. Maybe not until Goldust's next round match with Holly. I'm assuming Goldust will do something on Friday to keep himself useful to Hunter still. It looks like Goldust v. Wright won't be a match at KOTR afterall. Maybe even Goldust v. Hunter could now be that match which is actually a PPV sooner then I expected.

I'm still not a fan of Wright. I just don't really like his interviews nor buy that they would happen in WWF '97. It's looking like I'll have to get used to him because he's got a super push coming his way.

Despite how much you like/push Wright, I was super shocked with the finish of Wright v. Hart. I didn't think the German would score the big pinfall over Hart. It's looking like Wright is getting an even bigger push that I had imagined. Maybe I should have given him my KOTR prediction. The match did well at pushing Wright and furthering heat with Michaels/Hart. Hart will be furious and blame the loss on Michaels. He'll also be sure that Michaels did it on purpose despite Michaels promise it was accidental. Yeah, it's predictable but good just like any old school storyline. This also helps plant the seeds for the Michaels heel turn.

The second shock of the night came as Austin being announced as the next World Title challenger. I didn't see that coming at all. I really liked it a lot. Austin definitely deserves the chance to shine in a big PPV World Title match. Though I really doubt he will win, it will be a really good rub for him. This could be the match to cement Austin in the main event scene. He definitely has a lot more talent then all the other WWF heels.

A very good show with a few surprises. It's looking like KOTR is finally taking some shape. This show has me eagerly looking forward to Friday Mayhem and beyond.

Outside of Raw news, looks like the Mero & Snow segment got a little too physical. Mero is now on the shelf for 8 months. That couldn't suck any more. Mero seemed on the brink of a big push. I was positive that Mero and Snow was going to be at least a month long story arc. Unfortunately, Snow is now left with nobody and Mero will have to start from scratch in 8 months. I'm sure the KOTR will now be affected too since I was sensing Mero was to advance (despite myself originally predicting otherwise).

[Hewey]

Credit KillingsVSCena for the logo

Date: June 6, 1997

Location: Lewiston, Maine

Friday Night Mayhem comes to you tonight from Lewiston, Maine. And what a night we're going to have after the wild Monday Night Raw we saw this week. We saw Alex Wright pick up his biggest win to date after defeating Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Bret Hart lost the match after Shawn Michaels accidentally drilled him with Sweet Chin Music. But was it a accident? Or did Shawn Michaels mean to super kick Bret Hart? Either way, Tonight we got the biggest main event in the history of Friday Night Mayhem taking place. It'll be Shawn Michaels wrestling an old foe, Hunter Hearst Helmsley in tonight's huge main event. These two have had some wars in the past, But tonight, They lock it up one more time. Hunter Hearst Helmsley lost his qualifying round match up to Goldust this past Monday night. Goldust thinks Helmsley took a dive, But the fans know better. And knowing Helmsley, He's not in a happy mood tonight. His chances of becoming a two time King Of The Ring winner has been ruined. But tonight, He has a big opportunity to go back to the top of the WWF as he takes on one of the biggest WWF Superstars of all time, Shawn Michaels. Can Helmsley pick up the win over Shawn Michaels? Or will Shawn Michaels continue to have the momentum heading into the King Of The Ring? Will Bret Hart get some payback on the "Heart Break Kid"? This is no doubt the biggest main event in Friday Night Mayhem history.

Speaking of Bret Hart, We will be hearing from "The Hitman" tonight. What will Bret Hart have to say after losing to Alex Wright thanks to Shawn Michaels' botched interference? Will Bret Hart call out Shawn Michaels? Will we see these two rivals come to blows before our very eyes? It should be very interesting to see what the former three time WWF Champion has to say.

The number one contender for the WWF Championship, Steve Austin will be here tonight. We thought Austin had quit the WWF, But that was obviously a plan constructed by the Rick Rude Administration. What will the psychotic Austin have to say after beating down The Undertaker this past Monday night? Will the phenom show up?

Matches For Friday Night Mayhem

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

"Party Boy" Marty Jannetty Vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler

Even though Lawler is a announcer, He's been given this chance in this year's King Of The Ring tournament. Will Lawler make the most of it and beat the popular Marty Jannetty? Or will we see the Party Boy qualify for this year's tournament? Which one of these two men will make it to the Quarter Finals?

Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman Vs. Brian Adams and Brian Lee

Both these teams are wanting a shot at the WWF Tag Team Champions, The Godwinns. This match should bring the winner one step closer to achieving their goal. Which tag team will score the win in this match up? Both teams are former WWF Tag Team Champions, And are considered to be two of the greatest tag teams in the WWF. Which one of these great tag teams are going to come out of this match victorious?

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

Al Snow Vs. Rocky Maivia

Due to Marc Mero suffering an injury, His spot in this year's tournament has been given to the rookie sensation, Rocky Maivia. This gives Rocky Maivia a huge opportunity. As if he beats Al Snow, The current WWF Intercontinental Champion, This will instantly make him the number one contender for the title. Also, Snow is at a huge disadvantage over not having time to prepare for this match up with Maivia. Who will be the last man to qualify in this year's tournament?

Ken Shamrock and Vader Vs. British Bulldog and Alex Wright

We all know the issue between British Bulldog and Vader. Both men wanted to be in the ring with other so badly that Rick Rude has allowed it, As long as they had partners with them. Bulldog chose the man who defeated his brother in law this past Monday night, Alex Wright. And Vader chose a man who holds victories over Bulldog and Kevin Nash, Ken Shamrock. Which tag team tandem will get the win in this big match up tonight? Will Rick Rude finally get his wish and have someone put Vader out?

Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Shawn Michaels

This is the biggest main event in the history of Friday Night Mayhem. Shawn Michaels is heading into the King Of The Ring to face Bret Hart in the main event. Is that all Michaels is concerned about? If it is, Then Michaels is in big trouble tonight. Helmsley holds a victory over Michaels, And after losing this past Monday night, You know Helmsley will be as aggressive as ever. Which man will walk out of tonight's main event the winner? Will Goldust and Bret Hart play a part in this match tonight? You do not want to miss this match up.

[Hewey]

Credit KillingsVSCena for the logo

Channel: UPN

Time Slot: Prime Time

Date: June 6, 1997

Location: Lewiston, Maine

Attendance: 8,021

Ticket Sales: $320,840

Announcers: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Voice Over- The World Wrestling Federation, For over fifty years the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.

Friday Night Mayhem comes on the air with a video package showing great World Wrestling Federation action. When the video ends, We're taken inside the arena where pyro goes off from the rafters and from the entrance way. We then head over to our announce position where Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are standing by. They are very excited and hype up tonight's big show.

Will He Apologize For Monday Night?

We kick things off with the theme of Bret "The Hitman" Hart hitting the arena to a huge ovation from the jam packed crowd. Bret Hart walks down the entrance way in his street clothing, Not looking too happy. Bret Hart enters the ring and doesn't pose, He just asks for a microphone. Once he's handed a microphone, He doesn't wait for the crowd to quiet down.

Bret Hart- I'm going to make this real simple, Shawn Michaels, You screwed me this past Monday night! You nailed me with that super kick and cost me my match. I know you're going to claim that it was an accident and that you didn't mean it, But we all know better. You're trying to get the advantage as we come closer and closer to the King Of The Ring. You're trying to make sure I'm not one hundred percent. You proved my point this past Monday night when you super kicked me right in the face. You're nothing more than a coward. I never interfered or cost you one of your matches. You, On the other hand, Had to attack me. You had to try to get the advantage over me. One super kick isn't going to make any difference when we step into the ring at the King Of The Ring. I know you're going to convince most people that it was an accident, But the true fans know you're nothing more than a coward. You're afraid of what you got coming at King Of The Ring. When we step into the ring at King Of The Ring, I'm going to show everyone that your victory over me at Wrestlemania was nothing more than a fluke. And I think you know it deep in your heart. And I know you got a big match tonight, And no, I'm not going to go out there and cost you the match, But I'm not waiting either. I want revenge. How about we give these people a preview of what's to come at the King Of The Ring? How about you come down to this ring and lets see who will have the advantage on June 22nd? I got all night Shawn.

Bret Hart stands in the ring, Waiting. After a few seconds, The crowd starts booing, As it doesn't seem Shawn Michaels is coming out there. Bret Hart is about to speak, But he's interrupted by Shawn Michaels' music. The crowd is going crazy, Anticipating Shawn Michaels coming down to the ring, But instead, Michaels is shown on the big screen. Michaels gets a mixed reaction, As some of the crowd wanted to see a brawl between Michaels and Hart.

Shawn Michaels- Well, If it isn't the cry baby himself. Bret, Did you really need to come on down to the ring to waste the people's time? Well, Of course you did. Cause if Bret Hart doesn't get any TV time, It's likely that he'll go crazy! You just crave so much attention, Don't you? Well, So do I, But I don't bore these people to death with my ramblings. Bret, Let me tell you something, If I wanted to super kick you, I would have done it man to man. What happened on Monday night was an accident. Am I sorry for it? No. I'm glad you tasted a little Sweet Chin Music this past Monday night thanks to yours truly. And the fact of the matter is, A loss isn't gonna hurt you. Hell, When I kick your ass all over the King Of The Ring and beat you for the second straight time, That's going to hurt you. It's gonna hurt your pride after I'm done beating you like a dog at the King Of The Ring. Bret, I cannot wait to see what's going to happen after I'm done defeating you. I just can't wait to see what your excuse will be this time. Either way, These fans will once again see me defeat you. And Bret, Do you really want me to come on down to this ring and fight you?

Bret Hart- Yeah! If you're half the man you say you are, Come on down here Michaels!

Shawn Michaels- I'm not going to go out there and kick your ass Bret. See, I want you to be one hundred percent for our match. I know my super kick might have knocked you out for a bit, But it's not like you suffered a career ending concussion or anything. Bret, I want you to be in top shape for our match. These fans don't wanna see me run all over you. I certainly don't want to hear some whining from you after you lose, Claiming you lost due to you not being one hundred percent. So, No, I won't be coming out there and beating you down. And lets get one thing straight, I am not afraid of you. If I felt like it, I'd run on down to that ring and slap the ugly right off of you!

Bret Hart- Well, I can always wait until your match to get some revenge.

Shawn Michaels- I guess you don't know. See, The Commissioner has added a special ruling to my match tonight. If you touch me during my match, He'll suspend you until the King Of The Ring. I don't know why he came up with this, I guess he didn't want to see me have to kick you again, But I'll tell you what, Watch me do something you can't do, And that's win a match. And after I'm done winning, Then, If I feel like it, I'll call you down to the ring and show you how fast and out of nowhere Sweet Chin Music can come. And Bret, Don't think I went to the Commissioner and asked him for this, He just booked it. Either way, Watch me tonight. Watch what you're in for at the King Of The Ring.

Shawn Michaels' image fades from the screen while Bret Hart stays in the ring. Lawler says that Shawn Michaels might be allied with the Commissioner, But Jim Ross disagrees and says Shawn Michaels would never sell out the fans. We go to a commercial break with Bret Hart leaving the ring.

93

COMMERCIAL BREAK

King Of The Ring Announcement, Plus More

We go to the office of the Rude Administration where William Regal, Kevin Nash, Mr. Yokozuna and British Bulldog are all shown. Nash, Bulldog and Mr. Yokozuna are chatting it up while Regal works on some papers.

Kevin Nash- I don't know what kind of BS he's thinking. He goes and gives my title shot to that bald headed goof. I swear, What a idiotic decision. I mean, I'm the genetic wonder. Austin wishes he could lace up my boots. I have more talent in my pinky than that moron has in his whole body. Regal, Did you know about this?

William Regal- Well, Yes. But Kevin, I'm sure the Commissioner just wants to get the title off of The Undertaker. He obviously thinks that Steve Austin is the man to do it. I mean, The man is pretty psychotic and cold. He can get the job done. I think that after King Of The Ring, We'll have a new WWF Champion crowned for sure.

Kevin Nash- He can get the job done? Look at me. I'm seven feet tall. I'm a former WWF Champion. I can mop up the canvas with Austin. I don't know why Rick Rude is wasting his time with Austin. You two should have just given me the shot. I can beat The Undertaker anytime, Anywhere. If I had the title shot, I'd walk out of King Of The Ring with the belt around my waist.

Mr. Yokozuna- So I guess the last three times Undertaker kicked your ass were just flukes huh?

Kevin Nash- Excuse me? Did I ask you for your opinion tubby? Wait, Mr. Tubby. I don't recall asking you to speak. So sit that fat butt down and shut your mouth. The important people are talking.

Mr. Yokozuna- Tubby? I'd watch my mouth Kevin. Just because you're in the administration, Doesn't mean I gotta listen to you.

Kevin Nash- Please, Like you scare me fat man. You might be wearing a suit, But you're still the same loser you've always been. Hell, Rude could have done alot worse than Austin, He could have given you the title shot!

Mr. Yokozuna looks at Nash and shoves Nash! Nash responds by shoving Mr. Yokozuna back! Before this could escalate into something huge, Bulldog and Regal hold back both men. Nash and Yokozuna yell at each other, But everyone's attention is diverted when Commissioner Rude enters the office with Steve Austin, Who's wearing a suit.

William Regal- Sir, Mr. Nash and Mr. Yokozuna were about to fight each other! I swear, They were acting like bloody barbarians!

Rude looks at Nash and Yokozuna, You can tell he's angry. He holds it back and gets right in Nash's face. He then gets in Yokozuna's face.

Rick Rude- What the hell are you two thinking? Am I going to have to suspend the both of you? You should know better! I don't want my administration falling to pieces before it even begins! Now then, I know you're angry Kevin. I know you wanted the shot at the King Of The Ring, But I think you've had enough title shots for now. If you want title shots, You'll have to earn them.

Kevin Nash- Don't forget who put your ass in power pal!

Rick Rude- You're right, You did put me in power. And I am in power. That means each and everyone of you will listen to me. Kevin, You should know I'll always have your back. I was impressed with what you did to Sean Waltman last week. I was so impressed that I want to see you run over more men. That's why you're entering the twenty men over the top rope battle royal at King Of The Ring. And the winner will get a WWF Championship match on July 13th on Pay Per View. Kevin, You had three chances against The Undertaker. And he beat you. I had to bring in someone who not only had skill, But lets face it, Shows no mercy for anyone. Someone who is cold. Someone who is, Stone cold. And that's Steve Austin. He stabbed his best friend in the back for God's sake! This man is the man who I feel will take the title off of The Undertaker's waist. And Bulldog, Don't think I'm over looking you. Infact, The winner of you/Vader will enter the battle royal. And Mr. Yokozuna, After taking out D'Lo Brown, You're also in the battle royal. So, We could have Austin/Yokozuna, Austin/Bulldog or Austin/Nash for the title. Those are some matches I'd like to see. But you know what? Sean Waltman and D'Lo Brown are done. So is Sean Waltman. Austin will take care of Undertaker at King Of The Ring. That leaves Scott Hall and Vader. Scott Hall is already banged up, Nash, Mr. Yokozuna, I expect you two to take care of Scott Hall tonight. And Bulldog, In the tag team match, Show Vader no mercy. I don't care if you guys don't like each other or get along, But each and everyone made me a promise. Each one of you promised me that I wouldn't have to worry about Sean Waltman, D'Lo Brown, The Undertaker, Vader and Scott Hall again. You've made good on two of those promises. Lets see if you guys can finish up what you started. Scott Hall is going down tonight. Nash, Mr. Yokozuna, Do you understand me?

Nash and Yokozuna stare at each other and then at Rude, They nod their heads in agreement.

Rick Rude- That's what I like to hear. After the King Of The Ring, The administration will be in full control.

90

COMMERCIAL BREAK

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

"Party Boy" Marty Jannetty Vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler

The winner of this match will go onto the Quarter Finals next week. This one wasn't anything great, But better than some of Lawler's previous matches over the past year or so. Jannetty started off like a house of fire, Nailing Lawler with right hands, clotheslines, And sending Lawler out to the floor with a high drop kick. Jannetty then quickly headed up top. Jannetty came flying off the top attempting a double ax handle to Lawler out on the floor, But Lawler moved out of the way, And Jannetty got nothing but the steel guardrail. Lawler controlled Jannetty back inside the ring with his slow offense. Lawler tried to finish Jannetty off by going for the Piledriver, But Jannetty would always counter. After Lawler connected with a knee to Jannetty's face, Lawler dragged Jannetty up and went for the Piledriver, But Jannetty countered and catapulted Lawler into the turnbuckles. Jannetty made the comeback, Gaining several near falls over Lawler. Marty Jannetty looked like he had things won after planting Lawler with a huge tornado DDT, But Lawler had his foot on the ropes. Jannetty lifted Lawler up and slammed Lawler down. Jannetty headed up top. Jannetty came flying off the top with the flying fist drop, But Lawler moved out of the way just in time, Luckily, Jannetty landed on both feet. Lawler didn't see that, And started taunting the crowd. When he turned around, Jannetty nailed him with a running enziguri kick to the back of the head! Jannetty covered Lawler and picked up the win.

Jannetty then danced over Lawler before heading to the back. Jim Ross said that the party boy could be this year's King Of The Ring winner and wondered how the Rude Administration would handle that.

71, 76, 60 3/4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman Vs. Brian Adams and Brian Lee

This one is a battle between former tag team champions that barely saw both teams fight inside the ring. Benoit and Pillman jumped Adams and Lee as they made their way down the entrance way. The former tag team champions were as aggressive as ever here. With Ross saying that they feel humiliated over losing the titles to The Godwinns. But the hoss team of Adams and Lee wouldn't go down without a fight, And the match quickly turned into a wild brawl at the ringside area. Benoit took a nasty dive into the steel guardrail head first while Adams and Lee dropped Pillman down across the steel steps. The referee didn't risk disqualifying both teams, Even when it got nasty. At one point, Adams and Lee pulled out a table from under the ring and set it up near the apron. Before they could drive Benoit through it, Pillman made the save by smashing both men with a steel chair over the back. The match finally went into the ring with Benoit and Pillman working over Adams while Lee recovered out on the floor. Benoit and Pillman came close to putting away Adams, But Adams somehow fought back. Adams was able to fend off Benoit and Pillman by himself and tagged in Lee, Who looked like he still hadn't recovered. Lee entered the ring and knocked down Pillman and then tossed Benoit out to the floor. The ending came when Lee went to whip Pillman into the ropes, But Pillman countered, Sending Lee onto Adams, Knocking Adams off the apron and sending him right through the table that had been set up on the outside! Lee got distracted by this, Allowing Benoit to nail him from behind and hook him up for a German suplex, Lee struggled to counter, But Pillman assisted Benoit and drop kicked Lee, Allowing Benoit to nail the German suplex and score the win over Lee.

Benoit and Pillman weren't done yet though. They lifted Lee up and planted him with a vicious double DDT! Benoit then headed up top and came flying off the top turnbuckle with the Diving Headbutt to Lee! Brian Adams slowly entered the ring, But Brian Pillman nailed him with a enziguri kick to the back of the head! Benoit and Pillman looked at the camera and Benoit said they weren't gonna play nice anymore. And that they were going after The Godwinns. And that they would hurt The Godwinns.

80, 79, 81 ***

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Settling The Score

Mark Henry makes his way to the ring as we return from the break. Footage is shown from Mark Henry's match with Duke Droese a few weeks ago and how the crooked referee Monty Davidson screwed him out of his match. Henry enters the ring and asks for a microphone.

Mark Henry- I know I haven't been around as of late, But that's to me getting suspended for a few days for laying my hands on that no good Monty Davidson. But that's not what I'm out here. I want revenge. Duke Droese, The only reason you beat me was because of that referee. You been running your mouth about how easy it was to beat Mark Henry when everyone knows you needed a crooked referee to help you. Duke Droese, You might be in the tournament, But I'm gonna give you a beating like no other. I got a whole issue with you people in The Money Mine. I plan on taking The Money Mine apart all by myself if I have to. I know that....................

The fans boo as the music of The Money Mine begins to play, Interrupting Mark Henry. Dawn Marie leads down Sycho Sid, Duke Droese, Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger to the ring. They all enter the ring and face Henry. Dawn Marie is handed a microphone.

Dawn Marie- Mr. Henry, I'm actually quite impressed with you. I know that you don't like us, And we haven't been friendly to you in the past, With the beat downs and all. But Mr. Henry, I see something in you. I see something in you that no one else in the World Wrestling Federation sees. I see talent. Raw talent. Raw power. You could dominate the WWF if you wanted. You could go to the top of the WWF, But we all know talent doesn't mean a thing. You gotta have the right people backing you up. And unfortunately for you, You don't seem to have the right people backing you up. But all of that can change.

Mark Henry- What is it that you want with me?

Dawn Marie- It's easy. Join us. Look at all I've done for these men. These men are the next big thing in wrestling. And it's all thanks to me. And if you join us, You can be big like them. Mark Henry, We don't have to be your enemies. By joining The Money Mine, Your career will sky rocket. You have potential, And with us backing you up, Your potential will be achieved to it's highest possibility.

Mark Henry- Join you people? Let me think about that for a second, No! I don't want anything to do with you guys. I want to destroy The Money Mine. That's what everyone wants to see. I wanna make sure you never bother anyone! I'm gonna go through each and everyone of you all by myself if I have to!

Dawn Marie- You made your decision, Now you will have to learn how to deal with the consequences.

With that said, Droese, Sid, Diamond and Swinger jump Henry! The four men start pounding away on Henry, But somehow, Henry is able to fight them! Henry knocks down Droese and Diamond with a right hand! Swinger gets a clothesline! Sid and Henry start trading blows! The other three men stand up and Henry nails them with right hands! Henry is able to send Sid out to the floor with a clothesline! Duke Droese nails Henry from behind with a clothesline, Sending Henry into the corner. Diamond and Swinger follow Droese and all three men start laying Henry with chops in the corner. But Henry just growls and knocks down all three men with right hands! Diamond and Swinger stand up and get run down by a double clothesline from Henry! Droese gets clotheslined as well! Dawn Marie decides she's seen enough and faces Henry! She claps Henry across the face! The fans are going crazy as Henry grabs Dawn Marie! Henry lifts Dawn Marie up over his head, But before he can slam her, Sid enters the ring with a steel chair and nails Henry over the back! This makes Henry fall backwards, With Dawn Marie falling on top of him. Dawn Marie quickly stands up and slumps back in the corner while Sid drills Henry with a shot to the head as Henry stands up to his feet. Droese, Swinger and Diamond stand up Henry while Sid tosses the chair down. Sid grabs Henry by the throat and Choke Slams Henry onto the steel chair! The Money Mine's music begins to play as they stand over Mark Henry's fallen body.

71

COMMERCIAL BREAK

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Qualifying Round

Al Snow Vs. Rocky Maivia

The announcers hyped this one up as Rocky Maivia's big opportunity to shine. Rocky, Despite being somewhat over, Did not get any crowd support. The crowd was all over Al Snow here and booed Maivia several times. The announcers kept talking about how Al Snow had no time to prepare for this match up, Which gave Maivia the advantage as he found out he'd be in this match before Snow. Rocky Maivia and Snow started off with a handshake, But after that, Both men stopped playing nice. Rocky caught Snow by surprise early on with a big toss, But when he went for the Third Generation Syndrome, Snow was able to slip out of it. The announcers kept talking about how Maivia could pull the Third Generation Syndrome out of nowhere, And that was the case as Rocky looked like he was going to hit it several times. Al Snow controlled Rocky and out wrestled him, And then started working over Rocky's back. Rocky Maivia caught Snow coming off the ropes with a big samoan drop to get the advantage. The rookie sensation picked up several close near falls on Snow, But Snow kept kicking out. Rocky came extremely close to pulling off the upset when he caught Snow with a wrap around DDT, But Snow somehow kicked out. Rocky ended up missing a splash from the top turnbuckle, Allowing Snow to make the comeback. Snow nailed Rocky with right hands and put down Maivia with a big spin kick. Snow looked like had the match won after coming off the top with a moonsault to Maivia, But Maivia somehow kicked out to the shock of everyone. Al Snow lifted Maivia up and went for the Snow Plow, But Maivia countered out of it and planted Snow with a kick to the gut. Maivia attempted the Third Generation Syndrome, But Snow countered into a pinning predicament and scored the big win!

Al Snow was handed his WWF Intercontinental Championship and posed with it. Rocky stood up and offered a handshake, And Snow accepted. Rocky Maivia then left the ring and headed to the back, Looking disappointed in his loss. The Quarter Finals are now set.

79, 77, 82 ***

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Not The Way They Wanted It To Go

We return from the commercial break with Scott Hall coming down to the ring to a huge crowd response. Scott Hall walks down to the ring with his usual cocky swagger, Throwing his toothpick at the camera. Hall enters the ring and snatches the microphone from Fink.

Scott Hall- Hey yo. (huge pop from the crowd) It seems like we got two little monkeys in the back who wanna take out the lone wolf. Rick Rude, Congratulations, You took out D'Lo Brown and Sean Waltman. But guess what? Even after taking a Jackknife, I'm still standing. So, There's no need to waste time. Mr. Yokozuna, Kevin Nash, It seems like you two wanna take me out to show the Commissioner just how tough you are. Well, I ain't gonna wait for you two to sneak in from behind, Or run in when I'm wrestling. So, How about the two of you come on down here and get some? It's two on one, And I still can fight the both of you clowns off. How about it? Or am I the one who's going to have to come after you two?

The crowd boos as Kevin Nash and Mr. Yokozuna show up on top of the stage. Kevin Nash is smirking, Holding a microphone in his hand.

Kevin Nash- Scott Hall, Oh, The mistakes of a man. See, You're suppose to be running from us. Not calling us out. But whatever. Look, I appreciate you being a man about this, But that won't make the beating any quicker.

Nash and Mr. Yokozuna walk down the entrance way slowly. They enter the ring, And Scott Hall attacks! Hall nails Nash with a right hand! Mr. Yokozuna gets a right hand as well! Hall grabs Nash and backs Nash into the corner, Where he unloads on Nash with big right hands! Mr. Yokozuna tries to sneak attack Scott Hall from behind, But Scott Hall sees him and quickly nails Mr. Yokozuna with a right hand! Scott Hall comes off the ropes and knocks down Mr. Yokozuna with a clothesline! Nash nails Scott Hall from behind! Nash holds Scott Hall back for Mr. Yokozuna. Mr. Yokozuna goes for a super kick, But Hall ducks and Mr. Yokozuna nails Nash! Scott Hall quickly nails Mr. Yokozuna with a right hand! Scott Hall starts unloading more right hands on Mr. Yokozuna, But Nash quickly knocks Hall down from behind with a clothesline! Mr. Yokozuna and Kevin Nash start putting the boots to Scott Hall! The fans start cheering as the returning Sean Waltman comes running down from the back with a steel chair! Mr. Yokozuna sees Waltman, But Nash doesn't, As he has his back turned. Yokozuna quickly goes outside! Nash turns around and Waltman plasters him with a huge chair shot to the head! Nash stumbles and Waltman drills him with another nasty chair shot! Mr. Yokozuna gets up on the apron, But Scott Hall quickly disposes of him with a right hand while Waltman nails Nash with a third straight chair shot to the head, Knocking down Nash! Waltman tosses the chair as Nash slowly stands up. Sean Waltman drills Nash with a super kick, Sending Nash stumbling into the corner. Waltman goes bananas on Nash, Unloading several nasty kicks to Nash in the corner! Waltman does one final big kick, Knocking Nash down in a sitting position. Mr. Yokozuna enters the ring to try and save Nash, But Scott Hall runs him down with a clothesline while Sean Waltman bronco busts Nash in the corner. Scott Hall and Sean Waltman send Mr. Yokozuna out to the floor with a double clothesline! Nash quickly exits the ring as Waltman and Hall turn their sights to him! Scott Hall and Sean Waltman stand tall in the ring as Jim Ross is going nuts, Talking about Waltman's big heart and how he's back after getting destroyed by Nash.

87

Mr. Yokozuna gained overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Ken Shamrock and Vader Vs. British Bulldog and Alex Wright with Joanie Laurer

Ken Shamrock was officially announced as being in the twenty men battle royal at the King Of The Ring. Both teams went at it hard here, With Shamrock and Vader getting the best of Wright and Bulldog early on, Causing Wright and Bulldog to head outside of the ring and talk strategy. Vader and Shamrock didn't wait for them to talk things over and went out after them. Both teams got into a brawl around the ringside area, With Bulldog and Wright getting their butts kicked. It was around this time that Rick Martel showed up on top of the stage to survey the action. The match went back into the ring where thanks to Laurer attacking Shamrock behind the referee's back, Bulldog and Wright were able to get the advantage. Bulldog and Wright pounded away on Shamrock, With the fans giving Wright big heat as he shouted at them in German. The fans chanted "USA", But Bulldog and Wright kept Shamrock down. Bulldog used his power to take Shamrock down with a big lariat followed up by the stalling vertical suplex for a close near fall. After taking a long hard beating, Shamrock caught both Bulldog and Wright with a flying clothesline. Shamrock then made the hot tag to Vader while Rick Martel watched on. Vader entered the ring and ran down both Wright and Bulldog with clotheslines. Vader grabbed Wright and gorilla slammed Wright! Bulldog took a big clothesline from the man they call Vader. Laurer tried to run in, But Shamrock grabbed her and tossed her right out to the floor! Alex Wright, Desperate to try to stop Vader, Grabbed his WWF European Championship and blasted Vader over the back of the head with it! Referee Mike Chioda had no choice but to award Shamrock and Vader the match due to a disqualification.

Wright's plan didn't work though, As Vader turned around and almost clotheslined Wright's head right off his body! Bulldog tried to nail Vader, But Shamrock grabbed him by the waist and took him down with a belly to belly suplex! Laurer came back into the ring and nailed Vader with a low blow! She went for Shamrock, But Shamrock grabbed her by the hand! Shamrock looked like he was going to give her a belly to belly, But Martel came running down to the ring. Martel told Shamrock to let her go, And when Shamrock did, Martel nailed Laurer with a stiff clothesline! Martel then grabbed Laurer and chucked her over the top rope! Martel started posing and jumping around, Saying he was the only man who could tame Laurer. Shamrock grabbed Martel and started yelling at Martel, While both men argued, Alex Wright and Bulldog jumped them from behind! Martel fought Wright in the corner while Shamrock and Bulldog traded blows. When things couldn't get anymore out of control, The music hit. The flame pyro went off and alongside Bob Backlund, Out came Jacobs! Everyone stopped fighting as Backlund lead Jacobs down the stage. Backlund stayed at ringside while Jacobs entered the ring. Alex Wright got face to face with Jacobs, Shouting at Jacobs, But Jacobs grabbed him by the throat and delivered a huge Choke Slam to Wright! British Bulldog tried to flee the ring, But Jacobs grabbed him by the throat and Choke Slammed Bulldog! Jacobs then stared down Shamrock and Martel. Shamrock and Martel looked like were ready for a fight, Looking like they were both going to get some of Jacobs, But Martel shoved Shamrock right into a Choke Slam from Jacobs! When Martel realized there was no one to help him out, He quickly fled the ring! Jacobs looked like he was going to go after Martel, But Vader nailed him from behind! Both Vader and Jacobs started trading stiff blows! Vader backed Jacobs into the corner and started going nuts, Nailing Jacobs with big right hands! However, It seemed to have no affect on Jacobs, Who grabbed Vader by the throat and Choke Slammed Vader! Jacobs stood over the bodies while Backlund entered the ring and raised Jacobs' arm high in the air. Martel stared down from the entrance way, Looking at the four fallen bodies. We went to a commercial break with Jim Ross yelling that evil has found it's way back to the WWF.

81, 82, 82 ***

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Will "Stone Cold" Be The Champion?

Friday Night Mayhem returns from the commercial break with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's music hitting the arena. The crowd boos Austin loudly as he walks down to the ring wearing a suit. Austin enters the ring, But he doesn't pose. He just asks for a microphone. The fans chant "Austin sucks" but Austin doesn't seem to mind it.

Steve Austin- You know, I thought about quitting. I really did. And I did quit. But you know what? I got a call on Sunday night from the Commissioner. He told me that being WWF Intercontinental Champion wasn't the only thing worth being in the WWF. Hell, I've already won the tag team and Intercontinental titles. Rick Rude told me that there was one more gold that needed to be placed around my waist. And that is the World Wrestling Federation Championship. And he's right. I've done everything there is to do except become the WWF Champion. And Undertaker, When the dust settles at the King Of The Ring, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will be standing over your body holding the WWF Championship high in the air. Your title reign will come to a screeching halt after I am done with you. My time is now. Sure, You've had some tough challengers in the past, But you've never had a challenger quite like me. I am the man who's going to prove to you that it doesn't matter who's tougher, Or who's bigger, All that matters is which man is sicker. Who's a survivor? And that is me. Undertaker, I will show no mercy on you when I'm dishing out my fury. I stabbed my best friend in the back for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, Imagine what I will do to you for the WWF Championship. Undertaker, You don't respect authority. You don't respect the Commissioner. Well, I do. Steve Austin stands for respecting authority. Steve Austin is a supporter of authority. And Undertaker, At King Of The Ring, I'm gonna beat your mealy mouth within an inch of your life. I'm gonna hunt you down like you hunt a deer down in the woods. I'm gonna corner ya, I'm gonna make you................

Steve Austin is interrupted by the lights going off. The bells begin to toll followed by the music of The Undertaker beginning to play. The fans are going crazy The Undertaker's voice begins to sound through out the arena.

The Undertaker- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Congratulations. You were able to get the best of me this past Monday night. But Steve Austin, That was one night. Plenty of men have gotten the best of me one time or another, But in the end, Each and everyone of them fell on their knees and realized that there is no beating the reaper. Your fate has been signed. At King Of The Ring, Like a true lunatic, You'll give me everything you have. But be warned, I've played this game before, And I won. The creatures of the night are backing me up Steve Austin. And in the end, You will realize that even though your desire for the WWF Championship is what motivates you, The desire of keeping the WWF Championship in the dark side means much more to the creatures of the night. And at King Of The Ring, You will rest in peace.

When the lights come back on, Austin looks a bit shaken up. We go to a commercial break with the announcers hyping the big match at the King Of The Ring.

99

Steve Austin gained overness from this segment.

The Undertaker gained overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

WWF Slam Of The Week- Phineous Godwinn slop drops Pierre for the victory. (Monday Night Raw 6/2/97)

Friends?

We go backstage where we see Hunter Hearst Helmsley getting ready for his match. Goldust enters the locker room, Proudly wearing his Hunter Hearst Helmsley T-Shirt, But Helmsley doesn't look pleased to see his "friend".

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- What do you want?

Goldust- Hunter, Buddy, I was wanna thank you for this Monday night. I know you wanted to be a two time King Of The Ring winner, But man, You went out there and let your pal Goldy beat you. Just classic stuff man.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- I didn't let you beat me. You were suppose to lay down for me! I looked like an idiot this past Monday night. Now I'm out of the tournament!

Goldust- Hunter, It's okay. You don't have to pretend that you didn't lay down for me. I saw the tape, You could be a stunt worker. Just genius! But look, I'm here tonight to support you. You're going to be taking on HBK tonight, And last time you two fought, Well, He kicked you right upside that handsome face. I'm gonna be out there to make sure that doesn't happen tonight.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Whatever. Look, I just need you to leave me alone for awhile. I'm out of the tournament thanks to you.

Goldust- Hunter, Lets not bring up that tired subject once again. But look, You're in the twenty men battle royal at King Of The Ring. Forget about the tournament, You have a chance to beat nineteen men and get a WWF Championship match on Pay Per View! That's huge!

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- I guess you're right. I mean, Why win a tournament for losers for a second year? I already won it last year anyway.

Goldust- Exactly. You can move onto bigger and better things. Become WWF Champion! It's your dream! And you have a chance to come close to achieving it at the King Of The Ring.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- You know, I shouldn't lie, I'm glad I let you beat me on Monday night. That was really generous of me. I'd rather have you win the tournament than anyone else. Buddy. But look, I need your help with this match tonight. Know what I mean?

Goldust- I sure do. Don't worry, That boy toy won't be kicking you anytime soon. Goldust has your back.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- And in the twenty men battle royal, It'll be nice to know I'll have some back up. I mean, If you lose your match in the tournament and enter the battle royal, Then I'll have a better chance of winning it. I mean, I laid down for you, The least you can do is help me eliminate a few people and then you know.

Goldust- Well, I have a match with Hollywood Holly. It's a quarter finals match. If I lose that, Then sure, I'll be in the battle royal to help you out.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Hollywood huh? Well, If you do beat him, Then you're heading to the Semi Finals. Lets just make sure you'll be able to help me out. Well, I have to go. But if things start getting ugly out there, You know what to do.

Helmsley pats Goldust over the back and heads out. Jim Ross says Helmsley just played Goldust for a fool.

93

Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels came down to the ring to the biggest ovation of the night, Despite acting like an ass earlier on. Lawler kept insisting that Shawn Michaels was on Commissioner Rick Rude's side due to the special stipulation announced for this match earlier. Goldust and Bret Hart were shown watching this one from the back. Shawn Michaels and Helmsley fought a great match up here. Both men started off trading near falls and reversals, With the "Heart Break Kid" gaining the advantage over Helmsley. Michaels was extra cocky here, Showing off for the crowd and messing around with Helmsley. Michaels pulled on Helmsley's hair early on and then started messing it up, Causing Helmsley to throw a fit. Michaels send Helmsley out to the floor with a clothesline and came off the ropes with a big pescado to Helmsley. Out on the outside, Michaels got thrown into the steps. Helmsley followed up by attempting to Pedigree Michaels out on the floor, But Michaels countered and back dropped Helmsley out into the crowd! Goldust then came running down from the back, Still wearing his Hunter Hearst Helmsley T-Shirt. Michaels didn't wait for Goldust to come after him, And planted Goldust with Sweet Chin Music right as Goldust came running down! It did however, Allow Helmsley to grab Michaels and ram Michaels into the steel post. Helmsley worked over Michaels' legs and back in the ring, Not showing concern for Goldust, Who was stumbling up to his feet. Helmsley looked like he was going to put away the former WWF Champion several times, But Shawn Michaels kept fighting back. The hot crowd erupted when Michaels caught Helmsley with his flying forearm and nipped up. Michaels made the big comeback, But halfway through it, Bret Hart came walking down from the back. Michaels got distracted by this for a moment, Allowing Helmsley to kick him in the midsection. Helmsley went for the Pedigree, But Michaels countered and catapulted Helmsley into the turnbuckles. Helmsley then walked right into Sweet Chin Music. Instead of covering Helmsley, Michaels looked at Hart, Daring Hart to come into the ring. When Hart wouldn't, Michaels grabbed Helmsley by the legs and applied Hart's very own Sharpshooter to Helmsley! (more of a Owen Hart style though) Helmsley tried making it to the ropes, And was about to tap out, When Goldust jumped Bret Hart from behind and rammed Hart into the steel post! Referee Earl Hebner went outside and started yelling at Goldust while Helmsley tapped. Michaels let go of the hold, Acting furious over the referee missing Helmsley tap out. Michaels went out to the floor and as Bret Hart stood up, Went for Sweet Chin Music, But Hart ducked and Michaels nailed Goldust! Michaels then got face to face with Hart, Daring Hart to strike him. Hart didn't and just walked up the steel ramp way. Michaels entered the ring and started taunting Hart. What he didn't notice was Helmsley standing up. Michaels turned around and got kicked in the gut, Helmsley then delivered a thunderous Pedigree to Michaels! Helmsley rolled Michaels over and covered Michaels to score the one, two, three!

Bret Hart watched from the top of the stage as Goldust entered the ring and hugged Helmsley. Helmsley and Goldust celebrated as if Helmsley had just won the WWF Championship. Bret Hart smiled while Shawn Michaels was left laid out. Friday Night Mayhem went off the air with Jim Ross yelling But Bret Hart never touched Michaels! Michaels' cockiness got the best of him!

92, 94, 89 ****

Shawn Michaels lost overness from this match.

Overall Rating- 85

TV Rating- 7.26

Notes

"Marty Jannetty and Jerry Lawler didn't 'click' in their match, maybe due to their mismatched skills causing their styles not to gel?" -Pat Patterson

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Brian Lee

Edited November 29, 2005 by Baby Hewey

[Hewey]

Credit Kempay for the logo

Channel: USA Network

Time Slot: Late Evening

Date: June 7, 1997

Location: Lewiston, Maine

Attendance: 8,048

Ticket Sales: $321,920

Announcers: Jonathan Coachman and Todd Pettengill

Voice Over- The World Wrestling Federation, For over fifty years the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.

RAW Saturday Night comes on the air with a video package showing great World Wrestling Federation action. When the video ends, We're taken to inside the arena where pyro goes off from the rafters and from the entrance way. We then head over to our announce position where Jonathan Coachman and Todd Pettengill are standing by. They are very excited and hype up tonight's big show.

Ron Killings Vs. Sho Funaki

Ron Killings was announced as being from the hood. Something tells me that the crowd didn't buy him as a gangster. All though, He did get cheers from the fans as the match went on. He's working as a tweener right now. Ron Killings started off by jumping Funaki right from the get go. They traded blows with both men taking it to each other. Ron Killings quickly took control of the match after he caught Funaki and took Funaki out to the floor with a pair of headscissors. Ron Killings then taunted the crowd before jumping over the top rope onto Funaki out on the floor. Ron Killings tried to finish off Funaki early on with a scissors kick followed by a top rope leg drop, But Funaki moved out of the way. Funaki worked over Ron Killings and scored several quick near falls on the youngster. Ron Killings soon made the comeback and caught Funaki with a big time tornado DDT. Ron Killings followed up with a back suplex and went up top. Ron Killings went up top and wowed the fans as he came off the top with a 450 splash to Funaki! Ron Killings quickly covered Funaki and got the win. Todd called Ron Killings' finisher the Compton Crash. After the match ended, Ron Killings looked at the camera and yelled "Chavo! I'm a man on a mission! I'm taking that Light Heavyweight Championship! Nobody stopping Ron Killings!"

69, 50, 89 ***

Ron Killings debuted his new gimmick, (gangsta) it got a negative response.

Ron Killings gained overness from this match.

Ron Killings is losing overness because of his weak gimmick.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Luigi Alfredo Rufino Vs. John Bradshaw

The push of Luigi Alfredo Rufino continues as the announcers hyped him up as being undefeated. Bradshaw came down to the ring looking ready for action, As he jumped Rufino early on. The crowd was into this match as Bradshaw gave Rufino some stiff shots here. Bradshaw tossed Rufino around the ring early on and then sent Rufino out to the floor. Bradshaw took it to Rufino on the outside, Sending Rufino into the steel steps and steel post. Bradshaw even busted Rufino's mouth open a bit. They went back into the ring where Bradshaw booted Rufino down and called for the lariat. Rufino slowly got up to his feet and as Bradshaw came at him for the lariat, Referee Monty Davidson tripped Bradshaw! Bradshaw then got up to his feet and walked right into Rufino's Trip To New Jersey! Rufino hooked the legs, And Davidson counted a rather fast three count, Giving Rufino the win!

67, 66, 69 *1/4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Hakushi, Taka Michinoku and Chavo Guerrero Vs. X-Treme Daredevils and Nasty Mike

This one was a good six men tag team match up, But the crowd was dead for it. Even K-Puppet got a better crowd reaction. Moore and Helms are rumored to be leaving the WWF at the end of the month. This one was all over the place, With all six men going at it all at once. Taka and Hakushi busted out the highspots early on as both men came off the top rope with moonsaults to Moore and Helms out on the floor. Nasty Mike did his dance to Chavo, (big wiggle) And tried to finish Chavo off with a DDT, But Chavo tossed Mike out to the apron and followed up by drop kicking Mike down to the floor. The ending came when all six men got back into the ring, And Helms was the first one sent out to the floor, After Mike accidentally drop kicked him, When he aimed for Taka. Taka then took himself and Mike out to the floor with a clothesline. Hakushi quickly followed up by coming off the ropes with a dive onto Helms, Taka and Mike! This left Moore and Chavo in the ring. Moore quickly nailed Chavo with a super kick and called for the end. Moore dragged Chavo up to his feet and went for the Bottom's Up, But Chavo countered and delivered a big brainbuster to Moore! With the other men out on the floor, Chavo went up top and came flying off the top with the Frog Splash to Moore! Chavo hooked the legs and scored the win! After the match ended, Chavo celebrated with Taka and Hakushi while Brian Christopher watched from the back.

65, 48, 82 **1/4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Kama Mustafa Vs. Detective Arnold Jelly

Sunny was shown watching this one from the back. The announcers wondered if she was interested in either Jelly or Kama. Usually, Jelly is involved in the worse matches of the night, But this one wasn't the case. It was pretty bad, But not the worse of the night. Kama and Jelly started off slugging it out, With Jelly getting the best out of Kama. The announcers really hyped up Kama, Talking about how Rick Rude had gotten the supreme fighting machine to be the one to take out Sean Waltman a few weeks back. Kama picked up the win over Jelly with a straight martial arts kick out of nowhere. Kama wasn't done though, Jelly got up to his feet and Kama nailed him with another knock out kick! Kama then applied some sort of choke hold on Jelly, Choking out Jelly! After choking out Jelly, Kama stood over him and laughed.

63, 64, 61 3/4*

COMMERCIAL BREAK

World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship

The Godwinns© with Hillbilly Jim Vs. Suicide Blonds

The young team of Adam Copeland and Christian cage somehow managed to pull out a good match out of The Godwinns. The crowd was divided here, But the Suicide Blonds seemed to be the more popular team. The Suicide Blonds wrestled as the heels here, Isolating Phineous Godwinn and double teaming him behind the referee's back. The Suicide Blonds looked they were going to become the new champions several times, But the tough hog farmer kept fighting back and would not stay down. Phineous ended up making the hot tag to Henry after he caught both Blonds with a clothesline. Henry came into the ring and started cleaning house. Copeland and Cage went down to powerful right hands at the hands of the big hog farmer. The Godwinns took care of Cage, Sending him out to the floor with a double clothesline. Henry then finished Copeland off with the Slop Drop, Getting the three count to retain the titles. After the match ended, Hillbilly Jim entered the ring with the titles and handed them to The Godwinns. The Suicide Blonds then shook The Godwinns' hands.

77, 72, 82 **3\4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

WWF Slam Of The Week- Marty Jannetty advances in the King Of The Ring by nailing "The King" with a running enziguri kick. (Friday Night Mayhem 6/6/97)

Mark Henry Vs. Mr. Yokozuna

This one was a horrid match up. But the crowd was quite intense for it. Both men basically slugged it out for most of the match, With Yokozuna taking control of the match after nailing Henry with a super kick to the chest. Yokozuna worked over Henry with some slow offense, Including his neck hold. Yokozuna tried to finish Henry off with the Bonzai Drop early on, But Henry moved out of the way. Henry made the come back and caught Yokozuna with right hands. Henry ran down Yokozuna with clotheslines and followed up by slamming the big man! Henry finished Yokozuna off with a big splash to get the three count. After the match ended, Mr. Yokozuna attacked Henry from behind! Both men started brawling, Putting an end to RAW Saturday Night.

73, 80, 57 3/4*

Overall Rating- 59

TV Rating- 2.76

Competition

Saturday Night

TV Rating- 1.93

Attendance- 6,504

Ticket Sales- $260,160

Hardcore TV

TV Rating- 2.94

Attendance- 2,008

Ticket Sales- $60,240

Worldwide

TV Rating- 3.91

Attendance- 6,526

Ticket Sales- $261,040

Notes

"Ron Killings and Sho Funaki work pretty well together due to their similar styles." -Pat Patterson

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Luigi Alfredo Rufino

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Taka Michinoku

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Chavo Guerrero

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Shannon Moore

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Nasty Mike

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Detective Arnold Jelly

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Phineous Godwinn

"Mr. Yokozuna and me don't really click. How about booking me against someone like Sycho Sid? I think our styles would really work well together." -Mark Henry

"I'd like to work with Mark Henry if possible." -Sycho Sid

"I was thinking, how about giving me some matches with Steve Austin? I think we'd be able to do some good work together given the chance." -Bret Hart

"Our ratings battle with Hardcore TV is so close that neither show is gaining a clear advantage!" -Sophie

"Here is my weekly report on our battle with WCW. They have more star power than us, and that is affecting our image. We are seen as having better workers, and this is causing fans to choose us over them. The fans see us as being the more professional promotion, thanks to our higher production values." -Sophie

Edited December 1, 2005 by Baby Hewey

[Jam]

I've been reading this diary since it started and I've decided to review it. I'm not sure if Hewey will mind, but if he does I'll take it out. Anyway

The Good:

Hewey does a lot of things well in his diary. The one thing that stands out however is his ability to make PPV matches mean something. A lot of people do diaries where matches on Pay-Per-Views don't mean very much, especially in the lower areas of the card. Hewey manages to make every match at the big events mean something, or better yet mean more than they should. A prime example of this was the Bret Hart/Rick Martel match at the In Your House PPV. I felt it started as filler just so both men had something to do, and looking back I realise that it may have been just that but you really felt that both men could win it. You knew that the win could elavate Martel right up to the main event spot as the cocky heel, or Bret could continue to look strong for when he did feud with Michaels.

Continuing on from that, the feuds are done tremendously. The two recent examples that stand out are Steve Austin Vs Al Snow and Cactus Jack Vs Shawn Michaels. Not much more can be said about Jack and Michaels. It was booked correctly and the right man won. Yes, the win would of put Cactus up as a definate challenger for the Undertaker but he didn't want the win. Cactus wanted to bring a more psychotic side out of Shawn Michaels, which he managed. On that respect both men won in different ways. Al Snow and Austin was booked perfectly too. A classic example of a heel dodging the babyface and cheating in every way he can, before the face wins the belt to end a brilliant feud

Digging the stuff between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust. They are now two of my favorite wrestlers in this reality as you have captured them both perfectly. Hunter as the rich snob, using the lovable yet very guillable Goldust to get to the top. The payoff from this is something I am really looking forward too.

The end of month reports are easily the best thing of that callibre I've ever seen done in the dome. You give a good incite to every little news story happening in your WWF regarding contracts, but you go further than that by giving us recent WCW and other promotion results and news tidbits, as well as keeping us up to date on your development workers. People will have more interest when they debut as a result

And can I just say that the King of the Ring is being booked superbly, both the event and the tournament. I really can't call a winner for the tournament now.

The Bad:

The Rude Administration Vs The WWF. I was unsure whether or not to include this, but I felt I should as there are certain parts I don't like. Some things about this are confusing me. Are they against Shamrock? Is Alex Wright with them? What about Helmsley? Or Sid? Will D'Lo be going anywhere? Judging from the bit in Rudes office on Mayhem I'd say that Rude is with Regal, Nash, Yokozuna, Bulldog and Austin. It just seems that it takes up the majority of the card. The feud has caused (In My Opinion) caused Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Vader and Bulldog to get lost in the shuffle. Even the champion can't get to the PPV main event because he's stuck in this feud.

The Godwinns. I appreciate that it is the sort of thing that the WWF would do, but urgh. Also, what is it with the number of three ways or four ways for the tag titles at PPVs?

Some of the stop start pushes can get frustrating too. Rocky Miavia is one that springs to mind, as are Ken Shamrock and Marty Jannety. And when will Bob Holly and Kanyon actually get a push? They could be the ones to take the tag team titles.

Are Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman still a tag team? They wrestle in more singles matches than they do tag team matches.

What happened to Billy Gunn?

The use of several wrestlers characters or gimmicks. Now that sounds vague so I will explain. William Regal. He left WCW as Steven Regal and while I understand WWF might not use Steven due to legal issues with WCW, having a William Regal in the WWF, playing almost an authority figure is very similar to what the WWF did. I swear Sunny was looking for a new protege in 1997 as well. Even the Al Snow, D'Lo Brown and Rocky Miavia. To be fair, this is something that you have improved on drastically as I can remember it being something you did frequently at the start of the diary. A lot of the characters you do come up with yourself (Hollywood Holly, Party Boy Marty Jannety and face Goldust) are among my favorites as they are completely different to their face counterparts (not such much Goldust as different, as I think he did go through stages like this, but I find your Goldust more entertaining)

The Ugly:

It's been mentioned several times before and I understand your reasoning, but Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley is not the biggest match ever. Maybe vary it slightly, for example just a say huge main event or a match that should be one to watch.

The Light Heavyweight division. As much as I don't like your tag team division, the Lightweights have been shitted on from a much higher height. Any division where Nasty Mike has argubly had the most title shots is poor. I can't seem to remember Chavo defending the title any other times than on Saturday night, and the fact that he couldn't beat Hollywood Holly sums it up. I take it Brian Christopher is the number one contender, or at least the next challenger, but I don't know and I don't care. It will take a lot to save this division

Detective Arnold Jelly? Wrestlecrap at it's finest

To be fair, the Lightweights aren't the only ones rotting away on RSN. Bradshaw, Copeland, Cage, Taka and Mark Henry have probably been on the last 10 shows of it. All 5 could be huge stars.

As you can see, the good points are all strong, whereas the bad and the ugly are mainly nitpicking (apart from a couple of things that I think could be worked on). However, it is very easy to see why this diary is so popular and I will continue to enjoy it

[SpiceDawg]

b]Mayhem Thoughts:

Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels Segment: I like that fact that Bret came right out and admitte that Michaels will claim the superkick was an accident. It's always good when a wrestler can at least be as smart as the fan rather then believe outright the wrestler did it totally on purpose. I also like the small touches of Michaels not coming out to face Bret in person but rather 'hide' in the back to address Bret. The fact that the stipulation is added that Bret can't interfere is a nice touch. We have all these small sprinklings that hint at a Michaels heel turn. He won't come out to fight and he probably arranges for the stipulation in the match even if he denies it. All great little seed planting for the evenutal heel turn.

Adminstration Angle: I believe we may be seeing the start of a Nash face turn. I wouldn't be shocked if Nash was face by Summerslam. Not really sure if I like the Battle Royal idea. I would have preferred a four way elimination or something of that style. Though it does get lots of people on the PPV which is good. Though I don't like that Bulldog needs to earn his shot in the battle royal. That almost seems like a punishment to him. Why do Nash and Yoko get free byes while Bulldog needs to pull out a win to get the slot? I think, Bulldog should have got an automatic spot but Vader needed to win in order to get into the Battle Royal. The deal being that if Vader loses then Rude has a mystery replacement to be revealed at the PPV so it wouldn't be obvious as to who would win the match. Oh well, at least it isn't obvious who will win the Battle Royal at this point.

Lawler v. Jannetty: The off again and on again push of Jannetty seems to be on again. The right man won here even if I picked Lawler. Though I only picked Lawler because I didn't think we would have a face v. face match in the second round. Man, I really screwed the pooch in the bottom half of the tournament as all my original picks won even though I ended up changing them all due to my fear of lack of star power for the semis. Anyway, Jannetty was the right pick.

Beniot/Pillman v. Lee/Adams: It's good to have Beniot & Pillman reestablish themselves as a top tag team. Hopefully, they are able to regain the titles they should have never lost. It looks like we have a split coming with Lee & Adams. My guess, will be that Adams turns heel but it's too early to tell right now. Especially since a heel turn usually goes to the one who the company plans to push and my understanding is Lee is the one the company is high on.

Henry/Money Mine segment: Henry came out looking like a monster in that segment. He was basically able to handle all four members all by himself until Danw Marie was able to provide the distraction. I'm seeing a definite super push in Mark's future. I have no clue if it'll actually pan out for him since I doubt any of his stats are all that good. At least you're making a sporting effort at it. It definitely looks like the feud is back between Sid and Henry which is the only member of the Mine that can actually provide a decent rub for Henry.

Maivia v. Al Snow: I'm thinking the original plan was for Mero to go over Snow but now with Mero out, it made the most sense to keep Snow in the tourney. Who else that isn't a top draw that wasn't in tourney really deserves to go over Snow? The sad part is Snow has a risk of losing a lot of momentum since he has no immediate challenger to his title anymore. It was good to see Maivia being used since it's been a while since I last saw him on a show. I may be reading into things but I get the feeling the seed may have been planted for a Rocky heel turn. I'd totally put a thumbs up for such a move. The rookie seems to run the risk of being lost in the shuffle and heel turn may be the righ thing to revitalize his career. and push

Waltman return angle: This was a decent enough segment and it was good to see the faces get an upper hand especially after the recent heel beat downs. Waltman made quite the impressive return to the ring. It would have been quite the sight to see the light heavyweight Waltman take down the big Kevin Nash. It was also cool to see the two enemies Waltman and Hall work as a team. I hope this sets up a Waltman/Hall v. Nash/Yoko match. Especially since both teams would consist of uneasy alliances with Yoko and Nash not really great friend either. I'm just waiting for the big pay off when Waltman and Hall do patch up their differences. I still feel this segment sort of went flat which could be because the Admistration attacking the top faces is in danger of growing very old and stale soon. Hopefully, you'll find ways to freshen up this storyline.

Shamrock/Vader v. Wright/Bulldog - Bulldog & Vader have met so many times in tag matches now that it's almost going to take away from their match at KOTR. To add to the frustration of Bulldog having to earn the battle royal spot, it's now announced that Shamrock is entered in the Battle Royal despite not being a friend of Rude's. I'd be really upset if I was Bulldog. Random thought has come to mind, Bulldog & Wright would make a pretty cool full time tag team. Especially since they would have that European connetion going on. I'd seriously consider teaming them up full time in the future if you find them being lost in the shuffle after the Adminstration story ends. What the heck was up with the random appearances of Martel and Jacobs??? I'm guessing this was an attempt at hyping the Battle Royal since probably most of these guys will be entered in it. I did like the whole Martel bragging about being the only man to tame Laurer. The whole Jacobs thing seemed to be totally random. It was a very odd segment with the unexplained run ins. I have a feeling, Jacobs might start up a habit of randomly chokeslamming people now.

Stone Cold/Undertaker Angle: I like the gimmick of Stone Cold being one of the most sadistic and cold wrestlers in the company. I also got a chuckle out of Austin saying he is a supporter of authority. It was a nice little segment to build up to the big title match. You also got a really good rating from it.

Friends- Still loving all things Goldust & Hunter. You had to love Hunter 'subtely' hinting that Goldust should throw his match with Holly so he can enter into the Battle Royal. I like that this Battle Royal has once again given Hunter a reason to remain friends with Goldust. Hunter continues to play poor Goldy. I definitely look forward to seeing what happen with Goldust & Holly especially if Goldy wins the match. The longer this goes on then the more I want Goldust to see through Hunter and exact some very sweet revenge.

Hunter v. Michaels- I am definitely a fan of the fact that Hart never laid a hand on Michaels. Thus Hart cost Michaels the match but also won't be suspended. I also like that Michaels tried to goad Hart which showed he wouldn't mind having Hart suspended. It's these little hints of a heel turn that I enjoy so much. It's a great attention to detail. I also liked Goldust doing whatever it took to help Hunter yet Hunter never cared about the well being of his buddy. It was a good match that progressed two stories at once.

Raw Saturday Night Thoughts:

Killings v. Funaki: A fantastic debut for Killings as he pulled out a great match. I'm thinking Killings has a huge future being part of the WWF Light heavyweight scene. Too bad the Gangsta gimmick wasn't able to get Killings over. Maybe the rapper gimmick will be a better bet? I find that the Gangsta gimmick can be a pain to try to use on most werestlers. I'm hoping Killings sees a future outside of RSN.

Ruifino v. Bradshaw: Ugh, Ruifino continues with his push. At least, he doesn't see much time outside of RSN. Hopefully, that means that his push isn't all that serious. Too bad Bradshaw is being wasted at this point since he is the perfect sized hoss WWF would be looking for.

6 Men Tag: I really think the X-Treme Daredevils should be signed to a written deal. The guys pull out amazing match ratings and probably one of the better light heavies. With a proper push, they could have an amazing program with Chavo. This was a definite great match but too bad none of these guys seem to be going anywhere.

Mustafa v. Jelly: Good to see that Jelly's push seems to be over. Kama could be a really cool bad ass shoot fighter. I wouldn't mind seeing the guy get a decent push. Though the announcers hyping Kama makes me think such a push is in the works.

Godwinns v. Suicide Blondes: A super talented team is used to put over two lugs. Unfortunately, two lugs that are the WWF Tag Team champions. Though the Blondes got a really good match rating out of the two goofs. It probably helps the Godwinns would have a high experience rating.

Henry v. Yoko: I can understand Henry going over since he is getting a big push. He needs to look strong going into a feud with Sid. At the same time, I don't think Yoko has gotten a single win since turning heel. He's right back to jobbing just like before the turn. I repeat, a big guy like Yoko just doesn't seem right as a jobber. WWF would never job someone of the size of Yoko out. Maybe Yoko should find a long term tag partner since singles don't seem to be panning out.

Two decent shows and look forward to the continued build to KOTR.

[Hajjhowe]

- Ron Killings Vs. Sho Funaki. Great match, and it's good to see some Lightweights that can really go in WWF. It seems the divisions push is exclusive to RSN, which isn't terrible as I enjoy the show. Good thing Killings went over, as he needs a rub. Oh, and a new gimmick.

-Luigi Alfredo Rufino Vs. John Bradshaw. The WWF bookign team confuses me. While bradshaw is th eprototype of the WWF "Hoss" as a big brawler with some technical skill and boatloads of charisma, he's been hanging around RSN for months. Even worse, he lost to Luigi, who is a rather bland charecter that seems on a aimless push. Also, I have no idea why the Detective Jelly vs. Luigi feud hasn't happened. It's natural dammit!

- Hakushi, Taka Michinoku and Chavo Guerrero Vs. X-Treme Daredevils and Nasty Mike. I find it odd to see the Daredevils as heels, although I think theya re more tweeners. Nasty Mike continues to be the jobber heel of the Lightweight division, which is better than being a Hardy Boy I suppose. The face team looks good, and hopefully the rumours of Hakushi turning heel and getting a push are true. He could tear the house down with Chavo.

- Kama Mustafa Vs. Detective Arnold Jelly. It's funny how two guys who seem incapable of having a good contest seperatly put out an acceptable match here. Kama might not be anything incredible, but he's a loyal McMahon boy and actually had a presentable match with that fat piece of wrestlecrap Arnold Jelly. It seems his push as had it's "Case Closed" and Kama might be recieving a ride as the "Ultimate Fighting Machine". Let's hope this doesn't lead to a UFC cage match with Ken Shamrock. Please.

- World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship. The Godwinns© with Hillbilly Jim Vs. Suicide Blonds. The Blonds do what they do best, and that is make other people look good. I suppose paying dues is part of the game, but the Blonds have been jobbing relentlessly for a long time. It seems like the Godwinns are getting more tolerable in each match, but I still think the gimmick is uninteresting. If they can keep up good matches though, who am I to complain? Oh, and Cage needs to be added to the Lightweight division... now.

- Mark Henry Vs. Mr. Yokozuna. Thank god both of these guys are really over, because they put on a stinker here. Yoko has lost a lot since his turn, but I think he's the token jobber of the Administration. Since he lost some wieght, he certainly doesn't need to win all the time. Also, McMahon is really hot for Henry so he should go over here. I awas actually exspecting a decent match out of these two, since they seem like their styles would mesh. I suppose when neither can can sell the match will hurt eh?

Things seem to be going good, and in a way I am glad Mero got hurt. His gimmick as a little to out there for me, and hopefully when he returns he can get something a bit less "insane". Also, I don't think Rocky needs a heel turn, and should just team up with another young face. The tag division could use a freshening up, and I am sure there are young brawlers who could make a good tandem with Maivia. Hell, you could pair him with Fatu. Samoan's are all related or some shit right?

[Hewey]

Jam, I don't mind the review at all. I liked it. You made some good points. As for some of the stuff you mentioned, I don't remember Sunny looking for a guy in '97. I just remember her doing ring intros and walking around in skimpy outfits. I think you might have her confused with Honky Tonk Man. As for Regal, I know it's a bit like real life. The Light Heavyweight division is still a work in progress, But I'm sure we'll see them branch out from RNS, (well, except this week since I had already simmed out the show like last week). Yes, The tag team division isn't all that special, But I'm hoping to change that. As for the guys on RSN, I'm sure we'll see them get pushes soon, I can't keep having the same people on top. Thanks for the comments guys.

Credit Kempay for the logo

Date: June 9, 1997

Location: Durham, New Hampshire

Tonight, The WWF will bring you a action packed Monday Night Raw. It'll be one of the biggest shows in recent history. And it'll feature a huge main event. Tonight's main event will be for the WWF Tag Team Championship. We'll see The Godwinns defend the titles against the very unlikely tag team of Shawn Michaels and Bret "The Hitman" Hart. This is no doubt the biggest match in The Godwinns' career, As they face two former WWF Champions, And two of the biggest WWF Superstars in history. And can Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart work together? Will they be able to work together and walk away as the new WWF Tag Team Champions? What will this mean for their King Of The Ring match up? Will things explode between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart? You do not want to miss this big main event tonight. Only on the USA Network.

The WWF Champion, Perhaps the greatest WWF Champion of all time, The Undertaker will be in Durham tonight. We'll be hearing from the phenom, What will The Undertaker have to say? What will the WWF Champion have to say about his match against Steve Austin at King Of The Ring? Steve Austin is also scheduled to be on Monday Night Raw tonight. Will we see things explode between these two men as their huge WWF Championship match nears?

Matches For Monday Night Raw

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

Sean Waltman Vs. Duke "The Money Maker" Droese

The winner of this match will head into the Semi Finals next Sunday night. And which man will get the win here? Can the injured Sean Waltman come back from a nasty back injury and defeat Duke Droese? Or will the leader of The Money Mine be able to defeat Sean Waltman? Which man will go into the Semi Finals? This should be an awesome contest.

World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship

Chavo Guerrero© Vs. Nasty Mike

The WWF is all about providing the best Light Heavyweight action, And we got a big title match tonight. We'll see the champion, Chavo Guerrero defend the title against one of the top Light Heavyweight wrestlers in the WWF, Nasty Mike. Nasty Mike has quite the track record, Will he be able to become the new Light Heavyweight Champion tonight?

Jacobs Vs. Rick Martel Vs. Ken Shamrock

Jacobs made his return on Friday night and destroyed everyone, Including Ken Shamrock. The only man Jacobs couldn't get his hands on was Rick Martel, Who shoved Shamrock into a choke slam from Jacobs. Tonight, It's a triple threat match between three men who are entered in the twenty men battle royal at the King Of The Ring. Will Shamrock or Martel be able to put a stop to Jacobs' fury? Or will they fall?

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

Alex Wright Vs. D'Lo Brown

D'Lo Brown is returning back to action after being put on the shelf by Mr. Yokozuna. D'Lo is not anywhere near one hundred percent, But he'll have to suck it up, As he has to face one of the best WWF Superstars today, Alex Wright. Wright is not only the current WWF European Champion, But he holds wins over Bret Hart and Ken Shamrock. Will D'Lo Brown be able to pull off the upset tonight? Or will Alex Wright go on to the Semi Finals?

World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels Vs. The Godwinns©

The unlikely duo of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels will take on the current WWF Tag Team Champions, The Godwinns. Will we see new champions be crowned tonight? Can Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart work together to win the coveted titles? Or will The Godwinns prove themselves as a elite tag team in the WWF? This is a big main event, A main event you do not want to miss.

[Jam]

Jam, I don't mind the review at all. I liked it. You made some good points. As for some of the stuff you mentioned, I don't remember Sunny looking for a guy in '97. I just remember her doing ring intros and walking around in skimpy outfits.

[Hewey]

Credit Kempay for the logo

Channel: USA Network

Time Slot: Prime Time

Date: June 9, 1997

Location: Durham, New Hampshire

Attendance: 8,035

Ticket Sales: $321,400

Announcers: Dok Hendrix and Vince McMahon

Voice Over- The World Wrestling Federation, For over fifty years the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.

Monday Night Raw comes on the air with a video package showing great World Wrestling Federation action. When the video ends, We're taken inside the arena where pyro goes off from the rafters and from the entrance way. We then head over to our announce position where Dok Hendrix and Vince McMahon are standing by. They are very excited and hype up tonight's big show.

"The Hitman" Vs. The "Heart Break Kid"

The "Heart Break Kid" Shawn Michaels comes storming down to the ring right away. The announcers wonder if Michaels is going to address the events from Friday night, As he looks mighty, mighty mad. Michaels grabs the microphone from Finkel and doesn't bother waiting for the fans to stop the "HBK" chant.

Shawn Michaels- Lets make this oh so simple. First of all, I don't know what the hell the people in the back were thinking when they booked me teaming up with Bret Hart to fight for the titles. I could give a damn about being tag team champion. Especially with someone like Bret "The Hitman" Hart. I don't know what they were thinking when they booked us against The Godwinns. I couldn't care less about those two morons, But Bret, We're gonna have a big problem tonight. A very big problem. See, I was about to win my match on Friday night, With your very own finishing hold, But of course, You had to come down to the ring and cost me my match. I know you're jealous of the fact that Shawn Michaels is twice the man you think you are, But see, Losing is not my thing. And when I lose, I get very, very pissed off. It's very rare to see a athlete of my caliber lose. And when I lose, The Kliq gets disappointed. And HBK is all about pleasing the fans. Because I have fans, Unlike you. You cost me my match because you know that you do not stand a chance of defeating me at the King Of The Ring. I will defeat you back to back, Something I hear isn't really all that hard to do. Except this time, You'll finally get it through that thick head of yours, Shawn Michaels is better than you have ever been. Everyone of your fans will realize that Bret "The Hitman" Hart's spotlight in the WWF is fading. It started when I took the World Wrestling Federation Championship from you at Wrestlemania XII, And it'll happen again at King Of The Ring. It's much bigger than the title now. Who will have the bragging rights? Will you continue to whine and moan like a little girl? And when we're in that ring tonight as partners, I don't want to be co champions with you. But I don't want to lose. And I know you can't handle The Godwinns, And you need me tonight, You need Shawn Michaels to make sure you don't lose to the two biggest jokes on the roster. And who knows? Maybe HBK and "The Hitman" will go down in history as the greatest tag team champions in history? Then again, I wouldn't mind getting a little payback from Friday night. You never know what's going on in this mind, But let me guarantee something to you, I.................

Shawn Michaels can't finish up as the music of "The Hitman" hits the arena. Michaels doesn't seem pleased as the legendary Bret Hart walks down to the ring, Not taking his eyes off of Michaels. Hart's handed a microphone and stares down his King Of The Ring opponent.

Shawn Michaels- Well, Since I was so rudely interrupted, Let me finish up. Bret, Tonight when we're in that ring, After the match is over. Whether we're champions or not, It doesn't matter to me. But by the end of the night, You, My friend, Are going to be getting kicked right in the face. Except this time, I want to hit you. Last week was an accident, But tonight, I'm gonna be aiming right at ya. I need to make realize that you can't go around sticking your nose in my business. I don't need you to try to watch my back. I..................

Bret Hart- cutting off Michaels I'm not the one who meddled in your business. You super kicked me last Monday night and cost me my match. As far as we're concerned, We're dead even. I might have not touched you this past Friday night, But I enjoyed seeing you get hit by the Pedigree. And let me tell you something, What makes you think you'll be able to super kick me? What makes you think I won't ve looking to take you down and apply the Sharpshooter to you? And I'll guarantee you that the Sharpshooter hurts much more than a kick to the face.

Shawn Michaels- Oh, Are we gonna get into that now? Which finishing move hurts more? Gee, Let me see, If I remember correctly, I been in the Sharpshooter before. And while it does hurt, I've always gotten up from it. But when I super kicked you, You were knocked out for how long? So, If this is a debate on whether which finishing move will have the most impact at King Of The Ring, I think we both know the answer to that one. The fact of the matter is, I've left you laid out last week, I'll leave you laid out tonight, And at King Of The Ring, I'll leave you laid out as well.

Bret Hart- What's going to happen when you try to kick my in the face, But I grab your leg and snap it in half? I am making a guarantee to all these people. I will not get super kicked tonight or at the King Of The Ring. You can make all the cocky smart ass comments you want, But deep down, You know that you stand no chance of defeating me at the King Of The Ring. And everyone knows it. Do you think your super kick is going to put me down? I don't care if you kick me over fifty times, I'll be getting up from it each and every time. I will not lose at the King Of The Ring. I cannot lose at the King Of The Ring. I'm going to show you and the Kliq that your win over me at Wrestlemania was nothing more than a fluke. I am the excellence of execution, I've earned the respect of and everyone of these people, And if you think you're going to make me look like a joke at King Of The Ring, You got another thing coming. I've fought everyone that's stood in my way, I earned my way to the top of the WWF. And you're going to find that out when I beat the living hell out of you at King Of The Ring.

Shawn Michaels- Do you think I give a damn about your legacy? That's the past. Your time has come and passed. You can talk about wanting the victory at King Of The Ring, But that doesn't mean crap when you're standing in that ring, Across from the best damn wrestler to step foot inside a WWF ring. That's what you need to realize. This is bigger than the WWF, Bigger than the WWF fans, This is about two men who believe in their hearts that they are the better man. I was the better man at Wrestlemania. And you just can't seem to be able to accept that. But you'll accept it when I beat you at King Of The Ring. And when I pin you with Sweet Chin Music one more time.

Bret Hart- You talk about me not accepting defeat, But who's the man who won't be able to accept the loss at King Of The Ring? Because after I'm done beating you, I'm sure you're gonna come out here and start crying. You'll start whining and you know it! What will you say after I prove to you that I am the best there is, The best there was, And the best that there ever will be?

Shawn Michaels- Please, Don't make HBK slap that boring face all over Durham, New Hampshire!

Bret Hart- Is that so? Well, Why don't you try slapping me in the face right now? Unless, You're not half the man you think you are.

That last comment has the crowd ooohing and awing. Michaels stares down Bret Hart and very quickly slaps "The Hitman" across the face! The fans are going crazy, Bret Hart stares back at Michaels and slaps the taste out of Michaels' mouth! And then, Both men start slugging at each other! The fans are rabid as both men start ducking it out on Monday Night Raw! Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels trade right hands with Bret Hart getting the better out of Michaels. Bret Hart atomic drops Michaels and follows up with a right hand! Bret Hart backs Michaels into the corner and pummels Michaels! But Michaels fights back and starts nailing Hart! Michaels tackles Hart down! Michaels starts punching at Hart, But Hart is able to roll Michaels over and starts nailing Michaels again! Both men roll around, Punching at each other, With neither men getting the advantage. The fans cheers turns into boos as officials come running down from the back. They enter the ring and pull apart both men, Getting booed quite loudly. Michaels and Hart start cursing at each other (all bleeped out) while McMahon claims that things have gotten out of hand. Some of the officials escort Michaels to the back, But he stands on top of the entrance way, Pointing at Hart. Hart stays in the ring and points back at Michaels. The fans are divided in cheers here as we go to a commercial break.

93

COMMERCIAL BREAK

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

Sean Waltman Vs. Duke "The Money Maker" Droese with Dawn Marie

The winner of this match will go to the PPV, To the Semi Finals. Hot crowd here, Giving Waltman one of the bigger pops of the night. Monty Davidson was the referee for this match up. Waltman started off going nuts on Droese, Nailing him with right hands and then delivering some nasty kicks to the money maker. Waltman tossed Droese out to the floor and followed up with a big dive over the ropes. Waltman looked like he was going to finish Droese off early after connecting with a tornado DDT, But Dawn Marie put Droese's feet on the ropes, Right in front of referee Monty Davidson. Waltman got up in Davidson's face, But the crooked referee warned Waltman to step off, Or he'd disqualify his ass. This slight distraction allowed Droese to nail Waltman from behind and gain control of the match. Droese wore down Waltman with a long chinlock and worked over Waltman's neck and back, The same back that Hendrix said hadn't recovered from getting powerbombed by Nash a few weeks ago. Droese got some big heat, As he'd wear down Waltman and then stop and pose. Droese even shouted "In Droese we trust!" Droese went for the Money Compactor, But Waltman slipped out of it and planted Droese with a facebuster. Waltman started making the comeback, Nailing Droese with right hands and followed up with a kicking combination in the corner, And the bronco buster. Sean Waltman looked like he was going to pick up the win after coming off the top with the Six Kick to Droese, But as Monty Davidson was making the very slow count, Dawn Marie pulled him out to the floor. Instead of getting mad at her, Davidson started to flirt with her! Waltman became furious and dragged Davidson back into the ring! Droese went to clothesline Waltman, But Waltman ducked and Droese accidentally nailed Davidson! Waltman quickly nailed Droese with a spinning back heel kick, And covered, But Davidson, Who seemed shaken up, But fine, Started yelling and clutching his heart. Pretending he had a heart attack. Waltman grabbed Davidson and started yelling at him, But what he didn't see was the monster Sycho Sid coming down from the back. Sid entered the ring and nailed Waltman from behind! Sid then grabbed Waltman and delivered a thunderous Choke Slam to Waltman, In front of Davidson, Who covered his eyes! Sid exited the ring while Droese slowly covered Waltman. A three count later, And Droese picked up the win to head into the Semi Finals!

The crowd booed as Droese's music played. Sycho Sid helped Droese up while Dawn Marie entered the ring and put some money in the pocket of Monty Davidson. Before Droese's big celebration could last, Out came the world's strongest man, Mark Henry. Henry entered the ring and ran down both Sid and Droese with a clothesline! Davidson and Dawn Marie quickly left the ring while Mark Henry avalanched both Sid and Droese in the corner. Waltman got back into the fight and helped Henry dispose of Droese and Henry. McMahon claimed that with the power they have, Duke Droese would win this year's King Of The Ring.

77, 78, 75 **1/4

Duke Droese gained overness from this match.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

The Phenom Speaks

We return from the commercial break with Vince McMahon standing in the ring.

Vince McMahon- It's been quite the night thus far. And things are only getting hotter. And now, My guest at this time, He is the current World Wrestling Federation Champion, Certainly one of the greatest WWF superstars of all time, Ladies and gentlemen, He is The Undertaker!

The fans give a huge ovation as the lights go off. The music of the WWF Champion begins to play as the blue lights come on. The WWF Champion, The Undertaker makes his slow entrance down the entrance way without his manager Paul Bearer. The Undertaker brings the lights back on before entering the ring. The World Wrestling Federation Championship stays over his shoulder.

Vince McMahon- First of all, Thank you for agreeing to join me in this interview. Now then, Undertaker, You are set to defend the WWF Championship against your toughest opponent in history, And that man is the psychotic "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Steve Austin is obviously a unbalanced individual. He's proven many times in the past that he does not care about anyone but himself. He's gone through extreme measures to make sure he's stayed on top, But now, He craves the biggest prize in wrestling. He wants what you have, The World Wrestling Federation Championship. And you are certainly one of the greatest WWF Champions in history. No one in the WWF has worn that belt as proudly as you have. But then again, No one craves being the WWF Champion like Steve Austin does. Will the WWF Championship stay around your waist at the King Of The Ring? Will you be able to defeat Steve Austin?

The Undertaker- McMahon, It seems as if the phenom is stepping into the ring with the devil himself. That's how everyone describes Steve Austin as. They say he's psychotic, That he'll dish out everything he can in order to defeat me. That's all well and good, But Steve Austin might be crazy, But he doesn't have the powers that I have. He doesn't have the powers of the creatures of the night backing him up worldwide. The fact is, Steve Austin's insanity will not help him at the King Of The Ring. Show me a man who's insane enough to step into the ring with the reaper, And I'll show you a fool who doesn't care about what happens to him. Steve Austin's days are numbered. His attack on me last week proved to me that he knows he won't be able to defeat me. If I have to, I will take him straight to hell. King Of The Ring will be the night where Steve Austin's luck runs out. The Commissioner can try to put everyone in my way, But I'll take them all down. Rick Rude's troops will all be sent to the dark side. The days of Rick Rude controlling things will come to a halt very soon. The WWF belongs to the creatures of the night. The dark days started when I became the WWF Champion, And they will not end.

Vince McMahon- With the Commissioner having such a big agenda against you, And with him hand picking your opponents, How much longer can you keep the WWF Championship around your waist? How much longer will you be able to keep fighting them off?

The Undertaker- It does not matter who Rick Rude puts in my way. The creatures of the night made it very clear that they wanted me on top of the WWF as the WWF Champion. I've dominated the WWF for many years, And I'll continue dominating the WWF until someone is capable of defeating me. And that man isn't "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Steve Austin is just Rick Rude's wild card. I've been in the ring with men crazier than Steve Austin. I've beaten men tougher than Austin. Steve Austin's soul belongs to me. Steve Austin, You're welcome to try to take away the WWF Championship and the power from the creatures of the night, But at King Of The Ring, You will be......................

The glass shatters and out comes the number one contender for the WWF Champion, Steve Austin. With the crowd booing him heavily, He enters the ring and stares down The Undertaker. Austin has a crazed look in his eyes. The Undertaker just gives Austin a stare.

Vince McMahon- Steve Austin, What in the world are you doing out here?

Steve Austin- Shut up! McMahon, I'd shut up before I beat that stupid look off of your stupid looking face. And Undertaker, How dare you insult authority? How dare you insult the Commissioner? How dare you insult me? Do you think I'm crazy? Do you think I need to be in a institution? Do I need to be taking pills to calm me down? See, You come out here and talk about your little creatures of the night all you want, Is that suppose to scare me? Do you think he scares me McMahon? Does he make me shake? Am I intimidated? You're damn right. But you see, My fears will fuel me. Cause you're right, I am one crazy son of a b****. I'm unstable. I'm not right in the head. I mean, Look at what I put my former best friend through. I feel no sympathy for doing that. I feel no shame. I have no feelings. I'm a cold hearted man. And do you think you'll be able to defeat me at King Of The Ring? I want that WWF Championship. Rick Rude has told me that if I can take that belt off of you, Then I'm a set man. And that's what I want. Undertaker, You can turn the lights on and off, You can scare me all you want, But I won't be scared of you at King Of The Ring. You'll be like a animal in the wild, And do you know what I do to animals in the wild? I make them stop living. I take their lives away. And I'm going to be doing that to you when I take that WWF Championship away from you. You say you don't care about that title? You say you're going by the wishes of the creatures of the night? Well, My minds telling me that I need that WWF Championship. I need to hurt someone. Hell, I could start beating on McMahon right now, But I think you deserve a preview of what's to come at King Of The Ring. Undertaker, Rick Rude has told me not to go easy on you. He's told me that I'm allowed to do whatever I want to you. And I will be the one who takes you straight down to hell. Do you understand me? You can bring the whole funeral with you, But in the end, I'll be standing over your grave with the WWF Championship around my waist. Do you understand that? Huh? Can you hear me? Do I need to get closer?

Austin gets face to face with The Undertaker. Austin's looking like he's about to explode. The WWF Champion just gives him one cold look, And all that tough guy attitude from Austin fades in a single second. Austin starts backing off, Begging Undertaker not to hurt him. Undertaker puts the title down, But Austin exits the ring and looks like he's heading out of the ringside area. The Undertaker turns his attention over to McMahon, Who looks like he's going to continue the interview, But Austin sneaks back into the ring and shoves Undertaker into McMahon! Undertaker turns around and Austin starts nailing him with right hands. McMahon exits the ring while Austin backs Undertaker into the corner and does a number on the phenom! Austin stomps away on The Undertaker, But does the mistake of stopping and taunting the crowd. Austin then grabs the WWF Championship and goes to hit Undertaker with it, But Undertaker ducks and grabs Austin by the throat! Undertaker goes to Choke Slam Austin, But Austin rakes Undertaker in the eyes. Austin backs up into the ropes and charges at the champion, But Undertaker back drops Austin out to the floor! Austin stands up on the outside, Looking like he's going back into the ring, But thinks about it, And stops. Austin slowly backs up and starts walking up the entrance way. The Undertaker stays in the ring and picks up the WWF Championship. The Undertaker holds the title high in the air and does the throat slit motion at Austin, Who now looks like he's regretting ever accepting this match.

96

Steve Austin debuted his new gimmick, (Psycho) it got a positive response.

The Undertaker gained overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

The ultimate Light Heavyweight sensation comes to the World Wrestling Federation soon. Who is the man behind the mask? He'll change the way you look at Light Heavyweight wrestling.......... Coming soon.........

World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship

Chavo Guerrero© Vs. Nasty Mike

Sunny was watching from the back, Perhaps she's interested in the Light Heavyweight Champion? Or Nasty Mike possibly? The crowd was pretty quiet here, But this was a solid match up. Nasty Mike started off grabbing the title from Chavo, And posing with it, Sticking his tongue out, Only to get nailed by a high drop kick. Chavo had things well in hand early on, Getting a few near falls over Mike before tossing the nasty one out to the floor. Chavo nailed Mike with a baseball slide and followed up with a pescado, But he got distracted by his opponent for the King Of The Ring, Brian Christopher, Who stood on top of the stage. The distraction allowed Mike to send Chavo into the steel ring post. Back inside the ring they went, Where Nasty Mike got a few near falls over Chavo. Mike's biggest problem would be that he'd always stop and pose, Or do his weird dancing. Christopher made his way down to ringside and joined the announcers for this match while Mike worked over Chavo. Christopher talked about how he'd win the title at King Of The Ring and prove to everyone that he is the top Light Heavyweight in the company. Nasty Mike looked like he had the match won after delivering the nasty tornado DDT to Chavo, But stopped and did the nasty dance. (big wiggle kind of thing) This allowed Chavo to stand up and start making the comeback. To his credit, Mike kicked out of everything Chavo dished out. Chavo planted Nasty Mike with the brainbuster and headed up top. Chavo went for the Frog Splash, But Mike moved out of the way! Both men then got up to their feet and Mike took Chavo down with a springboard bulldog. Mike then went up top. Mike went for a moonsault, But the champion moved out of the way! Chavo Guerrero then rolled up Mike and got the win!

After the match ended, The nasty one threw a fit while Christopher got up on the apron. Christopher distracted Chavo long enough for Mike to grab the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship away from Chavo. Mike went to hit Chavo in the back of the head, But Chavo ducked and Mike nailed Christopher! Chavo then tossed Mike out of the ring! Chavo stood tall in the ring, Holding the coveted WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.

69, 55, 83 **1\2

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Jacobs with Bob Backlund Vs. Rick Martel Vs. Ken Shamrock

Jacobs returned in a big way this past Friday night. Rick Martel made his entrance after Shamrock, But didn't bother coming into the ring. Shamrock tried to take it to the monster Jacobs early on, But the big man just shrugged off his offense and put Shamrock down with a stiff clothesline. That's when Martel came into the ring and nailed Jacobs from behind. His results wasn't impressive, And Jacobs grabbed Martel and press slammed Martel! Ken Shamrock and Martel finally got the hint and started double teaming the big man, But nothing they did seemed to work. They tried to put down Jacobs with a double clothesline, But Jacobs just sat right back up. They double suplexed Jacobs, But he again sat up. They all went out on the floor where Martel nailed Jacobs with a monitor, Allowing Shamrock to deliver a belly to belly suplex on Jacobs out on the floor, But Jacobs got right back up from it! Finally, They were able to send Jacobs to the steel steps to slow him down. Martel then turned on Shamrock and rammed shamrock into the steel ring post. While Jacobs recovered on the outside, Martel tried his best to put away Shamrock. Martel ended up applying the Quebec Crab to Shamrock, But the world's most dangerous man somehow countered and applied the Ankle Lock to Martel! Jacobs quickly stood and entered the ring before Martel could tap out. Jacobs grabbed Shamrock by the throat, Making him break the hold. Jacobs then tossed Shamrock out to the floor! Martel slowly stood up and Jacobs grabbed him by the throat and planted him with a huge Choke Slam! Jacobs covered Martel and picked up the one, two, three!

Jacobs stood tall in the ring with Bob Backlund, But Shamrock grabbed a steel chair. Shamrock entered the ring and drilled Jacobs with a shot to the back! Shamrock then plastered Jacobs with a shot to the head, Sending Jacobs out to the floor! Backlund fled the ring. Jacobs stood up, Bleeding, And tried to come back into the ring, But Backlund forced him to the back. Saving the fight for another day. Ken Shamrock stood tall in the ring while Martel slowly got up, Not looking pleased at Shamrock being the one sending Jacobs off.

81, 82, 79 **3/4

Jacobs debuted his new gimmick, (Monster) it got a negative response.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Taking Care Of The Competition

We come back from the commercial break with a red carpet being set up in the entrance way. Their music hits the arena, And out comes Hollywood Holly, Alongside his manager, Chris Kanyon. Kanyon comes hobbling on a crutch while photographers at ringside take pictures of Hollywood. They enter the ring, With Kanyon very slowly entering it. Kanyon is handed a microphone.

Chris Kanyon- It is I, The manager of the biggest movie star ever, The man who's made all the critics eat their words. The biggest action hero since that Stallone guy. The man who's tougher than the terminator, Tougher than the karate kid, Tougher than Rocky himself, Hollywood Holly. And Hollywood Holly has already qualified to be in this year's King Of The Ring tournament. And all he needs is a win over that freak Goldust to go to the Semi Finals. And I guarantee that he'll win this Friday's match and go to the King Of The Ring to defeat two men in one night to become the 1997 King Of The Ring. I just wish I could have wrestled in this year's tournament. But due to this knee injury, I will probably never wrestle again. I know you people are sad, Since I was once a very promising talent, But I just can't be able to wrestle again. I mean, Me knee is seriously messed up! I appreciate all the letters and the cards, But there's no way I can step into the ring again. The good news is, I will be managing Hollywood Holly for a long time. And I will take Hollywood Holly straight to the top. Chris Kanyon is a manager, And Hollywood Holly is a mega star. Goldust, I feel sorry for you. You claim to be from Hollywood, But you're not the biggest thing in Hollywood, This man is. Look at those arms. Look at that body. Sculpted to perfection. Hollywood Holly will prove that he is the next big thing when he defeats you on Friday Night Mayhem. This summer's blockbuster will be when Hollywood Holly wins the King Of The Ring and goes onto becoming the World Wrestling Federation Champion. I know that's what you fans want to see. This man has come a long way. And with me by his side, His career will sky rocket to the top of the WWF. Do you got anything to say Hollywood?

Hollywood Holly- Yeah, Durham, New Hampshire sucks! Ha ha ha! Well, Besides that, Hollywood has got a few things to say. I'm not only taking care of Goldust, There's still a few men left in the tournament. And when I beat Goldust, I got Marty Jannetty or Al Snow in the next round. And Hollywood doesn't feel like waiting for the semi finals to get some of them. That's why later tonight, I'm laying down a challenge for both men. Come down to the ring and feel the power of Hollywood. And Goldust, It's gonna be lights out for you when I beat you on Friday night. You're gonna feel the wrath of this year's blockbuster, And my victory over you will be the highlight of the week.

Chris Kanyon- You're damn right it's gonna be. See, Goldust is a nothing. He's a loser. He's a joke. Hollywood rules the world. And that's just the way it is! But Mr. Goldust, You have a chance to drop out of the tournament. You can come down to the ring and forfit this Friday's match. Just so you won't have to feel Hollywood's vengeance. Goldust, Do yourself a favor and just drop out of the tournament and forfit your match. You don't wanna...............

Goldust's music begins to play to a big pop from the crowd, Interrupting Kanyon. Hollywood and Kanyon look on while Goldust walks down to the ring, Wearing his Hunter Hearst Helmsley T-Shirt. Goldust enters the ring and does a Helmsley type bow, Before being handed a mic.

Goldust- First of all, Do you know you have the most horrible lisp since Cindy Brady?

Chris Kanyon- Shut up!

Goldust- Touchy. Well, There's a book you can get for that. But did I hear you correctly? You want me to forfit my match? See, I just can't do that.

Chris Kanyon- Why not?

Hollywood Holly- Yeah, Why not? You don't wanna feel any of this on Friday night! You don't wanna feel the wrath of Hollywood!

Goldust- Well, I could forfit, I could take the cowards way out, But I made a promise to a little boy. A boy in the hospital who's on his death bed. I promised him that I'd win this year's tournament. I promised him that I would be the King Of The Ring. Well, Not really, But I did promise my good friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley that I'd win the tournament for him. And boys, There's nothing that you can offer that would make me break my promise. It's just happening. I promised Hunter I'd win the tournament. And I'm doing that. I'm doing this for my best friend in the whole entire world, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. And I will win.

Hollywood Holly- You just made the biggest mistake of your life. See, Now you made Hollywood mad. And if you watched "vengeance of the silent assassin", Then you should know what happens when Hollywood is mad. Hollywood is gonna tear you apart! I'm the man with the largest arms in the world, And these arms are gonna pummel you into the ground!

Goldust- I know that might happen, I know some people might not think I'm gonna be able to win, But I'm doing this not to become the King Of The Ring, I'm doing this for my friend. And you should know, There's nothing better than a good friend. As long as I got Helmsley by my side, I am unstoppable. And..............

Goldust is cut short by Hollywood's clothesline! With Goldust down on the canvas, Hollywood begins to stomp away on Goldust! Kanyon cheers on, Still on his crutches. Hollywood lifts Goldust up, But takes a right hand to the face! Goldust starts fighting back! Goldust atomic drops Hollywood! Look out! Damn it! Kanyon nails Goldust over the back with his crutch! Kanyon starts stomping down on Goldust! McMahon is going crazy, Saying there's nothing wrong with Kanyon at all! Kanyon lifts Goldust and holds him back for Hollywood, Who nails Goldust with right hands. Hollywood sends Goldust to the ropes and boots Goldust in the face as Goldust comes off the ropes. Hollywood does a sign and then comes off the ropes and drops a leg drop to Goldust! Kanyon grabs his crutch and starts wearing Goldust out with it! Hunter Hearst Helmsley then slowly comes walking down from the back with a golf club. Helmsley's slowness allows Hollywood and Kanyon to continue doing a number on Goldust. Helmsley finally enters the ring, And Hollywood and Kanyon leave. We go to a commercial break with Kanyon and Hollywood heading to the back. Helmsley just looks down at the injured Goldust, Not looking too concerned for Goldust.

78

Chris Kanyon gained overness from this segment.

Goldust lost overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

The ultimate Light Heavyweight sensation comes to the World Wrestling Federation soon. Who is the man behind the mask? He'll change the way you look at Light Heavyweight wrestling.......... Coming soon.........

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

Alex Wright with Joanie Laurer Vs. D'Lo Brown

Sunny watched from the back, McMahon wondered if she was interested in the young D'Lo Brown. The winner will face Duke Droese in the semi finals. D'Lo Brown made his return after being destroyed by Mr. Yokozuna to a big pop from the crowd. Wright got good heat here. Wright started off jumping the injured D'Lo and working over D'Lo's back. This one was a great match up, And I'm sure we'll see more matches between these two men in the future. Alex Wright controlled D'Lo here, With D'Lo making a early comeback, But as he came off the ropes, Laurer pulled down the ropes on him, Sending him out to the floor. Referee Mike Chioda got pissed off and threw Laurer out of the ringside area! While officials send Laurer to the back, Wright grabs the WWF European Championship and smacks D'Lo over the back of the head with it! Alex Wright brought D'Lo back into the ring where the German looked like he was going to get the win. Wright would stop though, And taunt the crowd. Wright went to finish D'Lo off with a powerbomb type move, But D'Lo escaped and planted Wright with a DDT! D'Lo made the comeback, Picking up several close near falls on Wright, But when he went for the Sky High, Wright raked him right in the eyes! Wright then delivered the German Suplex to D'Lo, But only got two! Wright couldn't believe it! Wright got pissed and grabbed his title. He went to hit D'Lo, But the referee took it away from him! D'Lo then shoulder tackled Wright, But sadly, He went Wright right into the referee, Knocking out the referee! D'Lo Brown was able to put Wright down with the Sky High, Referee Monty Davidson ran down from the back and made the count, One, Two, No! Davidson pretended that his shoulder had gotten hurt! D'Lo, Fed up with Davidson, Grabbed Davidson and started yelling at him. Wright stood up and grabbed his WWF European Championship. Wright nailed D'Lo right in front of Davidson, With a shot to the back of the head! Instead of going for the cover, Wright grabbed D'Lo and put D'Lo up on the top turnbuckle. Wright went up top with D'Lo, Attempting a superplex, But D'Lo countered and sunset flipped/powerbombed Wright off the top turnbuckle! D'Lo then slowly went up top. With Wright out, D'Lo came off the top with the Lo Down to Wright and covered! Davidson didn't want to make the count, But D'Lo grabbed him and forced him to! Davidson slowly made the one, two, three! D'Lo's going to the semi finals!

D'Lo Brown celebrated his big win while referee Monty Davidson helped Wright to the back. Rick Rude and William Regal watched from the back, Not looking happy at what just went down.

82, 75, 89 ***1\2

Making Good On The Promise

Right after the happy moment we just witnessed in the ring, We cut to the back where we see something has broken out. It's a fight! We see Scott Hall down on the ground in the parking lot. The cameras move up where we see signs of blood on the floor. The camera man then starts going where we hear someone noise. It's Kevin Nash! He and Vader are trading blows! Bulldog is down, Looking like he's just been hurt. Mr. Yokozuna joins Nash, And both men start nailing Vader, Eventually getting the better of Vader. Vader is somehow able to fight them off, But Bulldog gets up and smashes a 2X4 over Vader's back! Kevin Nash grabs Vader and rams Vader head first into a wall! Mr. Yokozuna and Nash hold back Vader while Bulldog spits at Vader and begins slapping him around! Bulldog knees Vader in the midsection and grabs Vader by the head. Bulldog rams Vader head first through a car window! Oh my God! Vader lays there, Motionless! Scott Hall appears and nails Bulldog with a right hand! Yokozuna takes a right hand! But Nash quickly stops Hall with a knee to the gut! When asked what he should do about Hall, Yokozuna and Bulldog smile. Nash then grabs Hall and delivers a Jackknife Powerbomb to Hall right on the top of the cars hood! Hall is left laid out while Vader is motionless.

Kevin Nash- You boys need to learn not to mess with the Commissioner. Good thing we had our friend help us out with you two before hand, It's just too bad he left early and didn't get to see this.

Nash, Yokozuna and Bulldog head off. McMahon wonders if there's another member of the Rude Administration who helped these three out. Hendrix says anything is possible.

85

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Still Taking Care Of The Competition

We return from the commercial break with the WWF Intercontinental Champion, Al Snow coming down to the ring. Snow gets a huge pop from this crowd as he makes his way down to the ring, With the WWF Intercontinental Championship over his shoulder. Snow enters the ring and poses with the title. He's then handed a microphone.

Al Snow- It's been a great year for the Snow man thus far. I mean, I won this title right here after kicking Steve Austin's ass, I've fought in so many great matches, And I qualified to be in this year's King Of The Ring tournament. It has been truly been a great 1997 for me. And I know that the King Of The Ring has a way of elevating you straight to the top, And even though I didn't win it last year, I got a feeling I'll be winning it this year. I got to face "Party Boy" Marty Jannetty in the next round, And even though Jannetty's always off at some party, Or running around, I know what kind of competitor he is. And I look forward to wrestling him. And who knows? Maybe someday I'll face him for this title. Marty, You and I have always gotten along, But you know that I'm going to be giving it everything I got this Friday night. I want to win the King Of The Ring. I want to join the elite group in the WWF. And I know by winning the tournament, That will happen. And I know my next round opponent will either be Goldust or Hollywood Holly, And I got no favorites. I...............

Yet again, There's a interruption tonight. This time, Hollywood Holly and Chris Kanyon make their way down to the ring. Chris Kanyon, Still on his crutches while Hollywood Holly swaggers down to the ring. Both men enter the ring with Kanyon holding back Hollywood. Kanyon is handed a microphone, And keeps selling the knee injury.

Chris Kanyon- God, I am so hurt. Damn. Mr. Snow, I couldn't help but overhear your comments. You know, It would be a big favor for us if you would "lose" your match to the "Party Boy". I mean, The guy doesn't care about the care. And I know Hollywood would have a easier time with Jannetty than he would with you. I mean, I know Hollywood would whip your butt, But Hollywood doesn't feel like pummeling you into the ground. He digs you. And I know you dig him. So, During your match with Jannetty, If you know, Like fall down or something and let him pin you, It'd be a really big favor for us. Or if you get counted out. Just make sure Jannetty wins.

Al Snow- That won't be happening. I'm not throwing my match. You can forget it.

Chris Kanyon- Look, How about I throw in a movie offer? You can co star Hollywood. The critics love him! I'm making him a ton of money! I can manage you to the top of Hollywood!

Al Snow- No deal. I'll be wrestling, And beating Jannetty this Friday night. And after I do beat him, If Hollywood here gets past Goldust, Then I'll beat his C movie ass all over the Semi Finals. I'm winning the King Of The Ring and there's nothing you two can do about it.

Chris Kanyon- Hollywood, He's not showing us any respect. What are you gonna do about it? Hollywood gives Kanyon a look Hey, I'm injured. I'd beat his behind all over this dump, But I'm hurt.

Hollywood Holly- Al Snow, You dare reject a movie alongside Hollywood Holly? Do you know what you're turning down? If we can't persuade you with a movie offer, Then maybe we'll have to beat some sense into y...........

Kanyon grabs his crutch and goes to swing at Snow, But Snow kicks Kanyon right in the face! Hollywood Holly knocks down Snow with a clothesline though! Hollywood starts putting the boots to Snow! Kanyon slowly stands up, With the Intercontinental Championship in hand. Kanyon tosses the belt to Hollywood, Who nails Snow right in the face with it! Hollywood then comes off the ropes and drops a big leg drop to Snow! The fans boos turn into cheers as Jannetty comes running down from the back with a steel chair in hand! Unlike Helmsley earlier, Jannetty quickly enters the ring. He swings, But Hollywood and Kanyon flee the ring! Snow slowly stands up, And Jannetty stares him down. The "Party Boy" doesn't look too pleased, Perhaps changing his attitude a bit. He stares down Snow and tells Snow he's going to defeat Snow this Friday night.

73

Al Snow lost overness from this segment.

Chris Kanyon gained overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

The ultimate Light Heavyweight sensation comes to the World Wrestling Federation soon. Who is the man behind the mask? He'll change the way you look at Light Heavyweight wrestling.......... Coming soon.........

World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels Vs. The Godwinns© with Hillbilly Jim

The idea here was to make The Godwinns seem legit and credible, By having them wrestle, And pretty much control the match involving two huge main eventers. Except, That the crowd turned on The Godwinns as soon as they walked down to the ring. McMahon tried his best to explain that there are alot of Michaels/Hart fans, But the crowd booed the champions anytime they had offense on Michaels or Hart. Michaels and Hart made separate entrances and stared down each other. They started off getting into a shoving match, Allowing The Godwinns to sneak behind them and get control. Michaels and Hart did a good job of carrying The Godwinns here and made them look good, Despite the crowd booing The Godwinns. Michaels and Hart were tossed out to the floor, But out on the floor, Both Michaels and Hart pulled out some questionable antics. First, Michaels tossed Phineous into the steel guardrail, And then followed up by choking Phineous with a camera cable. Hart, On the other hand, Grabbed Hillbilly Jim when he was checking on Henry, And shoved Jim on his ass, And followed up by ramming Henry head first into the steel steps several times. It seemed like Michaels and Hart were trying to out do the other. Michaels looked like he was going to get the win early on by drilling Phineous with Sweet Chin Music, But instead of covering Phineous, Michaels applied the Sharpshooter to Phineous! Hart came into the ring and shoved Michaels off of Phineous and he and Michaels started bickering with each other. This allowed Henry to get tagged in, And when the big hoss entered the ring, He ran down both Michaels and Hart with a clothesline. The Godwinns worked over Michaels, Tossing him around the ring, Providing some great selling from Michaels. They used a few double teams maneuvers on Michaels, And tried playing the crowd, But they kept getting booed. Michaels made the comeback around the eleven minute mark and caught both Godwinns' with a double DDT. Michaels then made the tag to Bret Hart, Who came into the ring, Grabbed Michaels and chucked Michaels out to the floor! Hart then started taking on The Godwinns all by himself! Hart did pretty well for himself, But the two on one advantage got the better out of him. Michaels got up on the outside and watched Hart get pummeled. Michaels started walking up the entrance way, Leaving Hart all alone! Hart was able to toss Phineous out to the floor, And took down Henry! Hart applied the Sharpshooter to Henry! Michaels came running down from the ramp way and pulled Phineous off of the apron! Right as Henry was about to tap out, Referee Earl Hebner got pulled out to the floor by Chris Benoit! Hebner called for a disqualification!

Brian Pillman then snuck up behind Phineous and drilled him with a chair shot to the back! Pillman put Phineous back inside the ring while Michaels left and went up to the steel stage. Benoit entered the ring and took down Bret Hart with a DDT! Henry got nailed by a chair shot from Pillman! Hillbilly Jim got up on the apron, But got knocked right off by a Benoit right hand! Michaels watched from the top of the stage while Benoit grabbed Bret Hart and tossed him out to the floor. Benoit applied the Crippler Crossface to Henry Godwinn while Pillman beat on Phineous in the corner. Bret Hart stood up on the outside, And stared down Michaels. Hart looked at the carnage in the ring and went right back inside to help out the champions! We went to a commercial break with it looking like Michaels was going to help out Hart and The Godwinns. But the announcers weren't sure.

84, 85, 84 ***3/4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

WWF Slam Of The Week- Ron Killings flies off the top turnbuckle with a 450 Splash onto the Japanese warrior. (RAW Saturday Night 6/7/97)

Here's Your Title!

We return from the break with Steve Austin coming down to the ring. Austin does not look happy, Perhaps from getting his ass handed to him earlier. Austin enters the ring and shoves Fink aside, Grabbing his microphone.

Steve Austin- Undertaker, All right, All right, You got the better out of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin earlier tonight. Sure, You tossed me right out on my ass. But you see, That made me mad. You think I'm scared of you? I lied, I ain't scared of nothing! But I talked to the Commissioner, And he told me that I could make things easy on you. You don't have to fight me at the King Of The Ring. No, You can just come down to this ring and hand the WWF Championship over to me. That's right. I can spare you a beating at King Of The Ring. Just hand me that WWF Championship. Undertaker, If you do that, You won't have to step into the ring with a out of control maniac like me. Think of how much your life would be easier if you just handed that title over to me. No more Rick Rude bothering you, No more title defenses. You could just walk away from all of this. So come on down here and make things easier on yourself. I ain't out here for a fight. Just hand me the title. I can wait all night if I have to.

The Undertaker's music quickly begins to play. The champion walks down from the back, Holding the WWF Championship in his hand. He enters the ring and stares down Austin. Austin, Who doesn't know what will happen next, Prepares to speak.

Steve Austin- Good. I'm glad you can come down to this ring and act like a gentlemen. I can appreciate that. I can appreciate men acting civil. And not running around causing mayhem. Undertaker, I know you worked hard to have that title around your waist once again. I like hard workers. But what did you think was gonna happen? This is 1997. There's no more easy challengers. No more fifty year olds running around to get their hips broken by you. Undertaker, You were one great WWF Champion. But it's time for you to face the music. That WWF Championship has been making life a living hell for you. Remember when you didn't have the title? How easier things were? No one was gunning for you, No one was bothering you asking you for title shots. Everyone just left you alone. You are the phenom of the WWF, But Undertaker, You should not be the WWF Champion. Your hard work has been paid off, You've held that title twice. Now, It's time for you to hand it over to me. Let a man who can handle the pressure of being champion be the WWF Champion. You'll get off easy. No more Rick Rude bothering you.

The Undertaker looks at Austin, Looking like he might be understanding.

Steve Austin- Do you really need the boss coming after you? I know I wouldn't wanna make a habit of having the boss coming after me. And do you really need me wrestling you at King Of The Ring? Undertaker, You don't want none of this. I'm psychotic, I'm crazy. I'm the man who will beat you and beat you, Until you're truly dead. I want that WWF Championship. Now, You can either do this the easy way, Or you can do this the hard way. And you don't want to do it the hard way. Now, The easy way would be you handing the title over to me. You had a hell of a run, But son, Your dead ass will be in for a whole lot of trouble at the King Of The Ring if you have to wrestle me. So make it easier on yourself. There's no shame in dropping out.

The Undertaker looks at the fans, Who cheer him on, Hoping he'll beat Austin down. Instead, The Undertaker hands the WWF Championship over to Austin! Austin quickly grabs the title and starts posing with it! The fans boo, But then, Austin turns around and The Undertaker grabs him by the throat and plants him with a huge Choke Slam! Austin's squirming around the canvas, And Undertaker grabs the WWF Championship. Austin stands up and The Undertaker nails him right in the face with the title! This blow causes Austin to fall out of the ring! Austin is down on the floor and The Undertaker does the throat slit motion. Austin stands up and watches as the champion rolls his eyes in the back of his head. Austin looks like a true scared man, Heading up onto the top of the stage and looking like he only has a few more days of life in him, Or thirteen, According to McMahon. Monday Night Raw goes off the air with The Undertaker holding the WWF Championship high in the air while Austin watches on.

90

Overall Rating- 81

TV Rating- 6.85

Competition

Monday Nitro

TV Rating- 5.87

Attendance- 6,501

Ticket Sales- $260,040

ECW Code Red

TV Rating- 4.51

Attendance- 2,505

Ticket Sales- $75,150

USPW Thursday Night Jam

TV Rating- 1.74

Attendance- 810

Ticket Sales- $24,300

Notes

"Duke Droese and me don't really click. How about booking me against someone like Alex Wright? I think our styles would really work well together." -Sean Waltman

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Nasty Mike

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Rick Martel

"Our ratings battle with Monday Nitro is so close that neither show is gaining a clear advantage!" -Sophie

Jam, There will be a tour over in England in the beginning of September. Just like I had one in Germany in February. (Y)

[SpiceDawg]

Raw Thoughts:

HBK/Hart Angle: HBK & Hart are definitely the focal point of the company right now. I'm pretty sure they've been opening and closing every Raw & Mayhem since the match got signed for KOTR. I'm not complaining because this would be the match the fans would be clamouring for since these two are probably your top faces. It's too bad that Austin's first shot at the title is being over shadowed by this match. Not really a fan of HBK basically burying your tag team division. People know that tag team wrestling is considered a step down from singles wrestling but it's never good when wrestlers actually acknowledge it. Michaels saying he never wants such a titles makes it lose its value. Worse of all, calling the champions 'jokes' doesn't do much for their credibility. I'm shocked Vince would allow Michaels to bury one of his projects (Godwinns). Unless the intention was this was a shoot from Michaels? Anyway, it was another really good back and forth from these two that puts more sizzle into their big match. I'm still really feeling a Michaels heel turn here and will almost be a little disappionted if I'm wrong. The little brawl at the end was a very nice touch. It adds to the suspense for their title match later in the evening with the Godwinns. Can they get along? Will they resume beating each other up after the match? I've got a feeling that these two might win the titles here. It's exactly something 1997 WWF would do and did do (Austin/Michaels = two guys who disliked each other).

Waltman v. Droese: Alright, lets see if I can do any better in the second round for predictions. Silly thought/question, when you say Waltman delivers some nasty kicks to the money maker is that to Droese or to the butt of Droese??? I didn't think Droese would advance based of the fact he is lacking in star power and thus doesn't add the same oomph to the semi finals on PPV. After saying that, I have to say this was a pretty good match. I enjoyed the fact that Waltman was fighting against all the odds with a crooked ref, his bad back, Dawn Marie at ringside and of course, Sid arriving in the match. Waltman definitely came out looking stronger since he still was going to win despite all these handicaps. It makes sense to keep Waltman strong since you seem to be grooming him for the main event. I loved al the silly antics from Davdson like flirting with Dawn Marie and covering his eyes when Waltman was being chokeslammed. I laughed out loud when I got the visual of a scrawny ref trying to shield himself from seeing interference. A definite upset but I'm sort of glad Droese is being used/pushed. Even if such a push mean I got yet another advancement wrong. Though it gives me hope that D'Lo is indeed going on now. As for after the match fun, Henry is continuing to come off super as he handled Sid and Droese by himself. The money and support does make Droese come off as a 'favourite' like McMahon claims.

Undertaker Interview: I still loving the fact it's Austin saying Undertaker needs to expect authority as it makes me laugh how different that is from the real life Austin. I also dig that you seem to have captured the Austin promo fairly well and it still sounds like him despite being a slightly different character. In this universe, he's more insane then a bad ass. I also dig the whole cowardly act from Austin and the attempted ambush from behind. Since this attack failed, it will be interesting to see what Austin will try in the future to get one up on the 'Taker. It looks like I was right about Austin being more of an insane character since you changed his gimmick that way. It's also good to see these guys gain overness from these segments.

This promo for the light heavyweight reminds me, whatever happend to the Master of Lightening? Or whatever he was supposed to be. Did he come and I didn't realize who he is? Or did you decide to scrap the gimmick? Or did the guy who was supposed to be the gimmick get himself hurt? As for the light heavyweight, I actually forget who this is but I'm sure it was the luchadore you signed (Aguila??)

Chavo v. Mike: Meh, this should be a basic squash since Nasty Mike never wins. He shouldn't since he has such a indy-tastic name. I have a feeling this Sunny recruiting gimmick is going to be dragged on for weeks and weeks to the point no one will really care anymore. I also get a scary feeling her man will end up being very anti-climatic. So, Christopher v. Chavo is a KOTR match now. Despite not really liking the thrown together nature of the KOTR match, I do like the fact the light heavyweight title is being defended on a PPV for a change. I may not like the name Nasty Mike, I do think I could really get into his gimmick with all the silly poses and dances. WOW, I was totally wrong about this being a squash. Nasty Mike moving out of the way of the frog splash after gettting a brain buster was a shocker. I'm thinking Mike might be in line for a push or at least a win real soon. Really shocked to see Chavo just squeaking out the win but I definitely digged the surprise. Now, you just need to change the name of Nasty Mike. The post match stuff was good too and nice to see the face avoid the attack for a change. Which actually seems to be the theme of the night so far. Anyway, these two guys seemed to have got you a really nice match rating even if the crowd seemed out of it.

Three way: I'm thinking, Jacobs needs to go over here in order to get him back as a monster heel after being gone for so long. When you say that Jacobs 'sat right up', are you picturing an Undertaker/Kane sit up or something different? I'd think, the Undertaker sit up should be reserved for the Undertaker since it's something so unique. Though I do like the fact it take everything Shamrock and Martel have to put down Jacobs which defintiely gives Jacobs the monster heel vibe. Also good to see Jacobs get a big win in his return match. He even pinned a rather big name in Martel, I'm sure that will help his overness. I was sort of figuring it would have been Shamrock taking the pin here which means I'm a little surprised. I'd say this was a even better pin for Jacobs and it also let Martel get a little ego deflating again. It looks like we will have a Shamrock and Jacobs match set up. Shamrock was able to bloody Jacobs but it seems he still wasn't able to hurt him. Jacobs definitely came out looking really strong. I also like that Martel was upset he didn't get to knock Jacobs out of the ring. Question: what was Jacobs gimmick before this since I always sort of saw him as a monster?

Holly/Kanyon Interview: Really glad to see these guys get some mic time. They definitely deserve to start being a bigger part of your diary. Good to see the healing of Kanyon and hopefully, this sneak attack triggers an in ring return soon for Kanyon. I always like these type of segment since it puts heat on a match that otherwise had none. I really dig that Hunter took his sweet time getting to the ring but he still techinically 'saved' Goldust. I'm sure Goldy will be really thankful on Friday even though he shouldn't be.

D Lo v. Wright: Let's see if I can get any points for the second round of the tourney. This match is really full drama from D Lo coming back from injury, Lauruer being tossed, Wright using the belt for a near fall, D Lo coming close to vitory with his finish and now, the crooked Monty arriving to not give D Lo the three. It's good brining Monty back since we alreayd know he screwed over one of Rude's hated wrestlers in the tournament tonight. WOW, D Lo overcomes the odds and actually is able to beat Wright. The match was layed out in such a way that I was pretty sure D Lo would lose near the end even if it made noe sense to have a heel v. heel match. Really well booked and great to see D Lo pull out the impossible win.

Nash segment: I always love a good parking lot beatdown. It was definitely about time that heels got some upper hand on this show. I also like the mystery of a possible new member of the adminstration now. I do think that it's segments like these that don't allow Bulldog and Vader get the proper heat for the KOTR match. Vader seems to have equal problems with all Adminstration members. Something needs to be done to really show how much Vader dislikes Bulldog. Especially since some fans may rather see Nash v. Vader which means if you hook those two up then Bulldog will get lost.

More Hollywood: It's great to see Kanyon & Hollywood get so much attention on Raw this week. I like that Kanyon is out to tell Snow he should lose to Jannetty. Don't heels ever learn that faces are too virtious for such things? The beat down was a good thing especially since it showed a difference between this one and the Goldust attack. Goldust's 'friend' didn't hurry to save him while Snow's opponent make a much quicker save. I like the little stare down between Jannetty and Snow too. I sort of have a little bit of hope that maybe this segment could lead to a Holly v. Snow match inthe future. Or even better, Kanyon v. Snow since I'm thinking he is the more talented one.

Godwinns v. Hart/Michaels: We now find out if get Russo's favourite type of gimmick, the whacky tag team champions that hate each other. I'm thinking we do. Interesting to see both Hart and Michaels come off as heels and bend the rules against the Godwinns. It shows a sign that both have a fiearce killer instinct right now and need to show up the other wrestler. Hart chucking Michaels to the floor and wanting to fight Godwinns to himself was a cool booking choice. It shows how little these two want to team together and rather just outdo the other guy. Of course, Michaels walking out on Hart would be justified here after being tossed out but could also be a subtle planting for a heel turn. Was Micheals return to the ring his attempt at actually winning the titles allowing Bret to get a submission? It guess, we will never know since Beniot has arrived to screw Hart/Michaels out of the win. Good to see Beniot and Pillman still in the chase of the titles. Interesting to see Michaels abandon the champions and Hart but Hart not abandon the champions after being tossed out of the ring. A good segment that put some heat in the tag title feud and continue the Hart/Michaels match.

Here's Your Title: I like Ausitn being the one talking about the easy way and the hard way of losing the title. Rather similar to real life except it was Austin hearing those words. I really dig this Austin character. HA! I love that Undertaker actually handed the title over only to chokeslam Austin right after. Great! It is interesting seeing Austin have some fear against the 'Taker. I definitely think Austin needs to do something to get the upper hand on 'Taker the next time they met. Otherwise, there is a chance Austin will come off as a total lameduck challenger going into KOTR. For this segment, I really enjoyed how it played out.

A really good show. This has to be one of your better ones in a long time. It has really added some sizzle to KOTR which is now one of the most anticipated PPVs of the year. Hey, I'm not sounding like one of your show previews!

[Hewey]

SpiceDawg, Thanks for the comments. As for Master Of Lightning, The guy who I had in mind to play him got injured. I let him go, But I'm sure I'll give someone the gimmick. As for Jacobs sit up, I had the Undertaker one in mind, But I do agree that's what makes Undertaker unique. I'll have to find a new way for him to show no pain. As for his gimmick, It used to be bad ass.

Credit KillingsVSCena for the logo

Date: June 13, 1997

Location: Plymouth, New Hampshire

Friday Night Mayhem comes to you off the heels of one of the biggest episodes of Monday Night Raw in recent history. And tonight, On Friday the 13th, We're going to see a huge main event take place. Tonight, The World Wrestling Federation Championship will be on the line in what should be a amazing contest. We'll see The Undertaker, The greatest WWF Champion of all time, Defend the WWF Championship against British Bulldog in tonight's main event. What a amazing main event this one should be. After showing his dominance on Monday night, Will The Undertaker be able to put away one of the best wrestlers in the WWF? Or will British Bulldog finally become the World Wrestling Federation Champion? Which man will leave Plymouth with the coveted WWF Championship? Will Friday the 13th spell the end for one of these two men? You do not want to miss this historic match up.

We saw things explode between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels this past Monday night. Both men not only got into a scuffle, But they couldn't get along during their tag team match up. We'll be hearing from Shawn Michaels tonight. What will the "Heart Break Kid" have to say after what happened on Monday Night Raw? We also know that Bret Hart is scheduled to be in Plymouth tonight, Will "The Hitman" get into another brawl with Shawn Michaels? Will we see things explode between both men tonight?

A big WWF superstar makes his return tonight. The so called genius, Billy Gunn makes his return in a special interview with Vince McMahon. Billy Gunn will address all of the rumors concerning him over the past couple of weeks. This should be quite the interview.

Matches For Friday Night Mayhem

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

Hollywood Holly Vs. Goldust

The winner of this match will head into the Semi Finals to face either Al Snow or Marty Jannetty. After getting beat down by Hollywood and his manager Kanyon, Will Goldust be in any condition for this match up? Which man will come one step closer to becoming the 1997 King Of The Ring?

Brian Pillman and Chris Benoit Vs. Rick Martel and Ken Shamrock

Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman are out on a mission, They want to prove that their loss to The Godwinns was a fluke. Benoit and Pillman do have a title shot at the King Of The Ring, But they demanded a match up with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels tonight, Commissioner Rick Rude didn't allow for the match to be signed due to what happened between Michaels and Hart on Monday night, Instead, Rick Martel offered to take the match, With Ken Shamrock by his side.

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

"Party Boy" Marty Jannetty Vs. Al Snow

Both these two men are big fan favorites. Al Snow has been on a major role since becoming the WWF Intercontinental Champion, But tonight, The winner of this match heads into the Semi Finals. Which man will come out on top here? Will Marty Jannetty score the biggest win in his WWF career tonight? Or will Al Snow continue to dominate the WWF?

Ten Men Over The Top Rope Battle Royal

Featuring- Alex Wright, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jacobs, Kevin Nash, Mark Henry, Mr. Yokozuna, Rocky Maivia, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman and Sycho Sid

In order to get ready for next Sunday's big twenty men battle royal, Commissioner Rick Rude has signed this match with the ten favorites to win the battle royal next Sunday night, According to the fans. Which man will make a loud statement tonight? Which man will outlast nine other men and win this battle royal and prove to be the favorite in next Sunday night's twenty men battle royal?

World Wrestling Federation Championship

The Undertaker© Vs. British Bulldog

This is one of the biggest matches ever taking place on a Friday Night Mayhem. Which man will leave Friday Night Mayhem with the WWF Championship around his waist? Can Davey Boy Smith accomplish his dream by becoming the WWF Champion? Or will he fall to the greatest WWF Champion of all time?

[Hewey]

Credit KillingsVSCena for the logo

Channel: UPN

Time Slot: Prime Time

Date: June 13, 1997

Location: Plymouth, New Hampshire

Attendance: 8,034

Ticket Sales: $321,360

Announcers: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Voice Over- The World Wrestling Federation, For over fifty years the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.

Friday Night Mayhem comes on the air with a video package showing great World Wrestling Federation action. When the video ends, We're taken inside the arena where pyro goes off from the rafters and from the entrance way. We then head over to our announce position where Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are standing by. They are very excited and hype up tonight's big show.

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

Hollywood Holly with Chris Kanyon Vs. Goldust with Marlena

Hell of a match up here. Hollywood and Goldust were able to put on a excellent match up, Shocking many people who didn't expect anything special. Hollywood Holly jumped Goldust from behind, Who appeared to have an injured back after getting beat down on Monday Night Raw by Kanyon and Hollywood. Hollywood Holly tossed Goldust outside early on and send Goldust into the steel steps. Hollywood rammed Goldust head first into the steel ring post, Busting Goldust open a bit, But Goldust wouldn't stay down, And kept fighting Hollywood. Kanyon tried to interfere, But Goldust grabbed him and tossed Kanyon right into the announce position! Goldust brought Hollywood back into the ring where he took control of the match until Hollywood caught him with a stiff lariat. Hollywood used slams and a few suplexes to Goldust, But couldn't keep Goldust down. Hollywood even nailed Goldust with a big boot and leg drop combo, But Goldust kicked out at one, Shocking Hollywood. Hollywood went to finish off Goldust with the Hollywood Slam, But Goldust countered and planted Hollywood with a DDT. Goldust made the comeback, Catching Hollywood with a atomic drop and big clothesline. Goldust connected with a big bulldog, But Hollywood somehow kicked out. Goldust sent Hollywood chest first into the turnbuckles and went to finish Hollywood off with the Curtain Call, But Kanyon grabbed Marlena on the outside and kissed her! Marlena slapped the "injured Kanyon", Knocking him down! Goldust was distracted long enough for Hollywood to elbow him in the face and roll him up with his feet all over the ropes for the one, two, three!

Kanyon entered the ring, Jumping for joy, As Hollywood heads into the Semi Finals. Suddenly, Kanyon remembered he was injured, And started limping. Goldust, Furious at his loss, Attacked both men and ran them down with a double clothesline! Goldust grabbed Kanyon and rammed Kanyon head first into the turnbuckles. Goldust punched away at Kanyon, But didn't see Hollywood sneak up on him with Kanyon's crutch. Hollywood broke the crutch right over Goldust's back! Hollywood then planted Goldust with the Hollywood Slam. Hollywood grabbed Kanyon and carried him to the back while Marlena checked on Goldust. Hollywood Holly heads to the Semi Finals alongside Duke Droese and D'Lo Brown!

78, 82, 92 ****

Hollywood Holly gained overness from this match.

Interview with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

We cut to the backstage interview area where Marissa Mazzola is standing by with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Marissa Mazzola- Steve Austin, You asked for this interview time, And after Monday Night Raw, What's on your mind?

Steve Austin- Monday Night Raw was a travesty woman! Look at me, I try to do the right thing. I try to get that man to back off, But he won't listen. He could have walked away. He could have handed me the WWF Championship, But he didn't. He wants to be a tough guy. Well, That big dead son of a b**** is gonna have to face me at King Of The Ring.

Marissa Mazzola- "Stone Cold", Most fans feel you fear The Undertaker and that you stand no chance of walking out with the WWF Championship. How do you feel about that?

Steve Austin- What did you just say woman? You think I'm afraid of him? You think he scares me? I only said he scared me on Monday night due to me playing some mind games with him. The Undertaker doesn't scare me. Undertaker, You can play all the little tricks you want, But you know your ass belongs to me at the King Of The Ring. That WWF Championship is coming around my waist. I was gonna let you off the hook, But now, I'm pissed off. And your ass belongs to me! You don't respect me or the Commissioner, So that means you're gonna have to pay the ultimate price.

Marissa Mazzola- The Undertaker is in action tonight, Will we see you get involved?

Steve Austin- I know Davey Boy Smith can handle The Undertaker, But I think I'm gonna need to teach The Undertaker a lesson. I hope we don't have a new champion crowned, Since I want to be the one who beats The Undertaker for it, But I could care less about what happens. One way or another, The Undertaker is going to taste these fists. And when that happens, I'll have that man's bloods on my hand. Now, If you'll excuse me, I got some things to do.

Steve Austin walks off, Looking more pissed off than ever.

Marissa Mazzola- Will Steve Austin get his hands on the phenom? What will happen tonight?

100

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Who is the Light Heavyweight sensation behind the mask? We'll all find out soon.........

Brian Pillman and Chris Benoit Vs. Rick Martel and Ken Shamrock

Darn good match up here. Martel and Shamrock came down to the ring together, With Martel not acting like his usual cocky self. Shamrock started off with Chris Benoit, A match that most fans would love to see happen. Both men traded reversals, With Shamrock going for the Ankle Lock while Benoit tried to apply the Crippler Crossface to the world's most dangerous man. Shamrock was able to apply the Ankle Lock to Benoit, But Pillman ran in for the save, Only to get tossed out to the floor. Shamrock tossed Benoit out onto Pillman and went after both men on the outside. Rick Martel just watched from the apron while Shamrock did pretty well on his own, Until the numbers game caught on with him. Benoit and Pillman started double teaming Shamrock, And Martel just looked on. After getting sent into the steel steps, It appeared that Shamrock might have injured his ribs. Benoit and Pillman worked over Shamrock, Showing some new found aggressiveness. The former champions punched and choked away at Shamrock in the corner, Not caring if they got disqualified. The announcers mentioned that Benoit and Pillman still feel humiliated over losing their titles to The Godwinns, And that they weren't gonna play by the rules anymore. After an extended beating, Shamrock took down both Benoit and Pillman with a double clothesline and crawled to his corner. The fans were going bananas as Martel reached out for the tag. When Shamrock went to tag him, Martel got off the apron! The fans cheers turned into boos! Martel has just turned his back on Shamrock! Shamrock worried about the task at hand and went after Benoit and Pillman. He did pretty well for himself, Taking down Pillman with a belly to belly suplex. Shamrock then took down Benoit and went for the Ankle Lock, But Martel entered the ring and kicked Shamrock in the face! Martel grabbed Shamrock and delivered a big time DDT to Shamrock! Martel left the ring while Pillman went up top. Pillman came off the top with a big splash to Shamrock! Instead of covering, Pillman lifted Shamrock up and delivered a sitout powerbomb to Shamrock. Benoit then flew off the top turnbuckle with the Diving Headbutt to Shamrock! Benoit covered and scored the win!

Martel came back into the ring with a steel chair in hand. Benoit and Pillman stared him down, But decided to leave the ring. Martel waited for Shamrock to get up. When Shamrock stood up, Martel drilled him with a vicious chair shot, Sending Shamrock down to both knees! Martel taunted Shamrock and swung the chair one more time, Drilling Shamrock right in the head! Shamrock was left knocked out! The fans booed while Martel held the steel chair high in the air and posed with it. Martel then spit on Shamrock before leaving the ring. Jim Ross was going nuts, Calling Martel a no good son of a b****.

77, 89, 81 ***1\4

Brian Pillman gained overness from this match.

Chris Benoit gained overness from this match.

Rick Martel's turn was completed, and he is now a heel.

Rick Martel gained overness from this turn.

Where Were You?

We cut to the backstage area where we see Hunter Hearst Helmsley in his locker room. Helmsley's getting ready for tonight's big match when Goldust enters the locker room. Goldust looks beaten down and has a bandage over his bloodied forehead.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Hey man, What happened to you? You look like hell.

Goldust- Hunter, I just got my ass beaten down. Hollywood beat me. I'm out of the tournament. Kanyon and him beat me down, Where were you?

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Man, You wouldn't believe it, I was like going to help you out, But something happened. See, I pulled a muscle. I was about to run down to the ring like I did on Monday night, But my leg gave out. Look at it.

Goldust- Looks fine to me, I guess it's one of those injuries where you can't really see it huh?

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Exactly. But look, You might be out of the tournament, But you and I are in the battle royal. I talked to the Commissioner. He's allowing you to be in it. I had to do him a huge favor, But it was worth it to have my best friend in it.

Goldust- Thanks Hunter. That battle royal could be something big for my career, I...........

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Right. But remember, We'll have each other's backs right? I mean, There's eighteen other guys in there, I wouldn't want to get my butt kicked when I have a partner in there. You know?

Goldust- Don't worry about it. I'll have your back, If it comes down to the two of us, We'll just have to go at it and may the better man win.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Right, Right. The better man, Sure.......... Look, I got this match tonight. And they're not allowing interference, Which I think is a travesty. But sure, I wasn't there for you tonight due to my injury, But we're a team. I let you beat me a few weeks back, And on Monday night, I saved you. I think it's time for you to prove your loyalty to me during the battle royal.

Goldust- I guess you're right. I mean, You been a really good friend to me.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley- Exactly. And friends have each other's backs. If you know what I mean.

Both men start plotting as we go to a commercial break.

81

COMMERCIAL BREAK

1997 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarter Finals

"Party Boy" Marty Jannetty Vs. Al Snow

Jannetty came down to the ring, Bumping into Sunny, Who watched the match from the top of the stage. The winner will go to the Semi Finals to face Hollywood Holly. Both Snow and Jannetty started off with a handshake, But then, Both men started going at it. Jannetty did well for himself, Staying serious, Trying not to dance all over the ring. Jannetty out wrestled Snow early on and was able to send Snow out to the floor. Jannetty followed up with a big dive over the ropes to Snow. Jannetty put Snow back into the ring and worked over Snow's back, Applying a surfboard stretch and abdominal stretch. Al Snow wouldn't give it up, Even after Jannetty nailed him with a big drop kick to the back. Snow kept fighting back, Eventually catching Jannetty with a vicious overhead suplex. Snow nailed Jannetty with stiff kicks and followed with a sitout powerbomb, But somehow, Jannetty kicked out. Al Snow tried to go for the Snow Plow quite a few times, But Jannetty would counter it into pin fall predicaments, Only gaining two. Sunny watched on as both men started trading blows. Snow countered a head scissors attempt from Jannetty and planted him with a face first powerbomb type maneuvers. Snow called for the end and went up top. Snow came off the top attempting a moonsault, But Jannetty moved out of the way in the nick of time! Both men laid on the canvas, With the referee making the count. Hollywood Holly then came running down from the back! Hollywood got up on the apron as Snow nailed Jannetty with a super kick. Snow looked at Hollywood and drilled Hollywood with a super kick! The distraction allowed Jannetty to roll up Snow and get the huge upset!

Hollywood headed to the back, Satisfied with his work. Jannetty helped Snow up. And offered a handshake, Both men shook hands. Snow headed to the back while Jannetty celebrated his win. Jim Ross couldn't believe Hollywood meddled in this match and asked who would have won if no one had interfered in this. Sunny looked impressed with Jannetty, But looked at the camera and said nothing was set.

72, 76, 84 ***

Marty Jannetty gained overness from this match.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Who is the Light Heavyweight sensation behind the mask? We'll all find out soon.........

Who's Going To Win It?

Friday Night Mayhem returns from the break with Shawn Michaels coming down to the ring to his usual huge ovation from the crowd. After he's done posing, The "Heart Break Kid" is handed a microphone.

Shawn Michaels- It seems like there's a few issues I need to address. The first one being my questionable antics as of late. I know some of you people are thinking that good old HBK is turning his back on all you people, But why would you think that? Because I didn't confront Bret Hart last week? See, Last week, Rick Rude did ban Bret Hart from interfering in my match, But he also told me that if I got into a confrontation with him, Causing a fight, I'd be suspended as well. That's why I didn't fight him last week. But as we all saw on Monday Night Raw, All bets were off. And I know Bret likes to see himself as the people's man, The man who defends each and everyone of you, But lets be honest, Bret Hart's fanbase is getting smaller and smaller. And if he thinks I'm aligned with the Commissioner, Then he's got another thing coming. I don't need anyone by my side at the King Of The Ring. I got everything I need. And that is my pure talent. Something everyone in the back knows. It was my talent that defeated Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XII. And it'll be my talent that will defeat Bret Hart at King Of The Ring. I'm going to prove to each and everyone of you people that Shawn Michaels is his own man. Bret, You think I need someone to help me beat you? I don't need nobody! And as much as it pains me to say this, I don't need you people either. Boo me, Cheer me, Hate me or love me, I could care less. I love the Kliq, But I won't need ya by my side. If I get booed at King Of The Ring, Then that's the way the cookie crumbles. If you cheer me, That's fine. Unlike Bret, I don't worry about what the fans think. And Bret, Do you think that Shawn Michaels is gonna................

Michaels does not look pleased as he's interrupted by the music of Bret "The Hitman" Hart. "The Hitman" comes down to the ring, Not taking his eyes off of Michaels. Hart enters the ring and he and Michaels stare down one another.

Shawn Michaels- I was just thinking, Wouldn't it be nice if Bret Hart came out here and interrupted me? I.............

Bret Hart- Would you for once in your life, Shut the hell up? You come out here and talk about how Rick Rude told you not to fight me last week, But we all know that's bull****! I think you were afraid of me last week. You knew I'd want payback from getting kicked in the face. And you got scared. And this past Monday night, Lets be honest, If those officials hadn't held us apart, I would have kicked your butt all over Durham, New Hampshire!

Shawn Michaels- You? Kick my butt? Bret, If they hadn't held us apart, I would have kicked your ugly face right back to Canada. You think I worry about you coming after me? Please, I've faced men ten times tougher than you. You do not scare me. And you'll find that out at the King Of The Ring.

Bret Hart- I think you are afraid. Last week I couldn't touch you. On Monday night you left me to fight two men, Twice!

Shawn Michaels- Hey, If you hadn't thrown me out of the ring, I wouldn't have left you on your own! And I did come back for you later. So spare the drama. I could have left you to get crippled, But I didn't. Because if one man is gonna end your career in the WWF, Then damn it, It'll be Shawn Michaels. And no one else.

Bret Hart- Now you want to end my career?

Shawn Michaels- Hey, There's only room for one of us in the World Wrestling Federation. And you know it. And after I do beat you, I think your pride will get the best of you. And I think you'll run off and hide. You'll be too humiliated to come back. But hey, The WWF can do without Bret Hart.

Bret Hart- The WWF can do without Shawn Michaels. And Shawn, Do you have idea how much it'll take to put me away? Do you honestly think you have it in you to defeat me? To beat me one, two, three? You're going to be stepping into the ring with the excellence of execution. And when you're locked in the Sharpshooter at the King Of The Ring, When you have nowhere else to go, When you tap out, You will realize that I am the best there is, The best there was, And the best that there ever will be! I will defeat you. And there's no other result for the King Of The Ring other than me beating you.

Shawn Michaels- I'll beat you Bret. I'll find a way to defeat you. It doesn't matter what I'll have to do, I will defeat you. You better count on that. I don't care what I have to do, I will defeat you.

Shawn Michaels drops the microphone down and walks on off. We go to a commercial break with the announcers going crazy over Michaels/Hart at the King Of The Ring.

92

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Billy Gunn Warns Us All

Vince McMahon stands in the ring as we return from the break.

Vince McMahon- Over the past few weeks we've seen Billy Gunn teach us all. He claims he's a genius. We've seen him give out grades, We've seen him mock everyone in the back. Ladies and gentlemen, Making his return to the WWF, Billy Gunn.

Billy Gunn comes on down to the ring, Making his return after it being a few weeks since we've last seen him. Billy Gunn has his hair slicked back and he's wearing glasses. Gunn enters the ring and doesn't shake McMahon's hand. He just looks at McMahon, With a cold look on his face.

Vince McMahon- Mr. Gunn, Welcome back to the WWF. You claim to be a genius, And, Well, You asked for this time with me. I don't know.........

Billy Gunn- Do you find me amusing? Do you think I'm an act? A clown? A cartoon character?

Vince McMahon- Excuse me?

Billy Gunn- Vincent, I've heard your little witty comments about me. How dare you laugh at me? I am a genius. I am smarter than everyone in the WWF. I might not come out here with a blackboard, But I am a genius. And you come out here and mock me.

Vince McMahon- I didn't.............

Billy Gunn- Yes you did!

Gunn grabs McMahon and shoves McMahon down! McMahon quickly cowers in the corner.

Billy Gunn- Do not mock me! Damn it, Do not mock me! Do you think I'm a moron? A loser? I'm a genius! And don't you ever forget that. And if anyone feels like challenging me intellect, Then step into the ring with me. I'm not gonna play teacher. I'm not gonna go run around playing and act like a moron. McMahon, You sit there in the corner and cower like a coward. If you ever want to challenge me, Then bring it on McMahon. Do not make fun of me. I not a act. I'm not your fool. And I'm taking apart each and every WWF superstar one at a time. Not with your wrestling, But with my brain. And a smart man can beat anyone, Any day of the week.

Billy Gunn drops his microphone down and tells McMahon to leave. McMahon heads on off, Not appreciating the fact that he just got shoved on his ass. Billy Gunn stays and poses in the ring as we go to a break.

76

Billy Gunn debuted his new gimmick, (Genius) it got a positive response.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Ten Men Over The Top Rope Battle Royal

Featuring- Alex Wright, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jacobs, Kevin Nash, Mark Henry, Mr. Yokozuna, Rocky Maivia, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman and Sycho Sid

Usual battle royal here. The biggest moment in the match came when Jacobs annihilated everyone, Causing JR to yell about how evil dominates the WWF. Scott Hall and Sean Waltman both sold injuries from Monday Night Raw during this match up. The final four came down to Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Mark Henry and Alex Wright around the ten minute mark.

Elimination #1

(Rocky Maivia by Jacobs)- Jacobs went after everyone in the ring. But the first man in his way was Rocky Maivia. Maivia took it to Jacobs, Nailing the big man with right hands, Rocking down the monster. Rocky planted Jacobs with the TGS, But Jacobs sat up from it. Jacobs grabbed Rocky by the throat and chucked Rocky right over the top rope!

Elimination #2

(Sean Waltman by Jacobs) Sean Waltman was still showing signs of injury. Especially after Monday's match. The smaller Waltman went after the big man, Nailing Jacobs with stiff kicks. Waltman went bananas on Jacobs with his stiff kicks, But he couldn't knock Jacobs off of his feet. Waltman drilled Jacobs with a spinning back heel kick, But Jacobs felt nothing from it. Waltman tried again, But Jacobs caught Waltman in midair and planted Waltman with a slam. Jacobs then grabbed Waltman and press slammed Waltman out to the floor.

Elimination #3

(Mr. Yokozuna by Jacobs) Mr. Yokozuna stood up to the maniac, Jacobs. Mr. Yokozuna and Jacobs slugged away at each other, With Mr. Yokozuna being able to knock down Jacobs with a stiff clothesline, But Jacobs sat right up! Mr. Yokozuna delivered a belly to belly suplex and leg drop, But Jacobs kept sitting up. Mr. Yokozuna, Sensing that he was going to be the next victim, Tried to hide behind fellow Rude Administration member, Kevin Nash, But Nash shoved Mr. Yokozuna right into a Choke Slam from Jacobs! Jacobs then booted Yokozuna out to the floor!

Elimination #4

(Sycho Sid by Mark Henry) Both these men were going after the other as soon as the match started. Sycho Sid tried to powerbomb Henry, But Henry back dropped Sid. Henry then ran down Sid with three clotheslines. Sid slowly stood up and Henry clotheslined him out to the floor!

Elimination #5

(Jacobs by n/a) The most bizarre elimination took place here. Everyone ganged up on Jacobs, But they couldn't eliminate him. Jacobs then went on a rampage, Choke slamming people left and right! First, Jacobs choke slammed Kevin Nash! Mark Henry was the next victim, Taking a one handed choke slam from Jacobs. Helmsley tried to sneak up on Jacobs, But took a huge choke slam! Alex Wright was next, Taking a big choke slam from Jacobs. Scott Hall nailed Jacobs with right hands, But they had no affect on Jacobs, Who grabbed Hall by the throat and drilled Hall with a thunderous choke slam! Bob Backlund came down from the back, Even though managers were barred from ringside. He started yelling something, Causing Jacobs to leave the ring, Stepping over the top rope. Jacobs followed Backlund to the back, Causing his own elimination.

Elimination #6

Hunter Hearst Helmsley by Mark Henry)- Everyone was still suffering from Jacobs' rampage. Helmsley slowly stood up and charged at Henry, Who low bridged Helmsley, Sending Helmsley spilling out to the floor.

Elimination #7

(Mark Henry by Kevin Nash, Alex Wright and Scott Hall)- Mark Henry started cleaning house and took apart each men with clotheslines. Mark Henry press slammed Kevin Nash and avalanched Hall in the corner. Alex Wright took a stiff lariat from Henry. Henry went to toss out Wright, But Wright nailed Henry with a low blow! Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Alex Wright all joined forces and bundled Henry out to the floor.

Elimination #8

(Alex Wright by Kevin Nash)- Alex Wright and Nash started to double team Scott Hall. But Wright got too cocky and started posing. When he turned around, Nash booted him right in the face, Sending Wright out to the floor!

Elimination #9

(Kevin Nash by Scott Hall)- We were left with Nash versus Hall. Kevin Nash dominated the injured Scott Hall, Nailing Hall with ribs and elbow shots in the corner. Nash choked Hall in the corner, But Hall started fighting back. Scott Hall nailed Nash with right hands, Getting the fans behind him. Scott Hall knocked down Nash with a flying clothesline, Which looked like it took all of Hall's strength. Scott Hall slowly stood up and lifted Nash up. Scott Hall went for the Outsider's Edge, But Nash countered and back dropped Hall. Kevin Nash then drilled Hall with a big boot. Nash pulled Scott Hall up and delivered the Jackknife Powerbomb! Scott Hall slowly pulled himself up and Nash came charging at him. Nash went for a big boot, But Hall ducked, And Nash got caught up in the ropes. Hall was able to nail Nash with a clothesline, Knocking Nash out to the floor!

Scott Hall received a big ovation for his win. Scott Hall posed and told the camera he was gonna win the battle royal at the King Of The Ring. Jim Ross mentioned that Scott Hall has now won three WWF battle royals in his career.

69, 83, 64 *1/4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Who is the Light Heavyweight sensation behind the mask? We'll all find out soon.........

Someone Didn't Like Martel's Actions One Bit

We cut backstage where we see Rick Martel walking around, Looking very pleased with himself. He walks by a couple enhancement wrestlers, Who give him sour looks. Martel just stares at them, Scaring them off. Martel then bumps into Rocky Maivia, Who gives Martel a sour look.

Rick Martel- What?

Rocky Maivia- I can't believe you'd do something like that. You turned into quite the egomaniac.

Rick Martel- Turned into? Kid, How long have you been wrestling for? Two hours? I've always been a egomaniac. The fans have been holding back the true Rick Martel. What you saw earlier was me creating a opportunity for myself.

Rocky Maivia- You think that's what it was? I think you're just jealous of Ken Shamrock.

Rick Martel- Me, Jealous of him? You must be dreaming. That's one man down from the twenty men battle royal. You know, You got alot to learn. You think the WWF is all about being a nice guy? Nice guys finish last around here. And the sooner you learn that, The better off you'll be.

Rocky Maivia- I think I'm doing just fine being a nice guy. I'm also entered in the twenty men battle royal, Are you gonna sneak up on me and hit me with a steel chair?

Rick Martel- Kid, You don't get it. The WWF isn't about playing by the rules. You can learn that the easy way, Or you can learn that the hard way. And I think you're a smart guy, But without direction. You need some guidance, And I could be the one to help you. I've always wanted a protege.

Rocky Maivia- No thanks. I'm fine on my own. I don't need help from you.

Maivia walks off, Bumping into Martel. Martel just looks on with his arrogant grin.

Rick Martel- Poor bastard, He's gonna have to learn things the hard way. Too bad, I'd make one hell of a teacher.

87

Rocky Maivia gained overness from this segment.

Interview with The Undertaker and Paul Bearer

We cut to the backstage interview area where we see Kevin Kelly standing by with the WWF Champion, The Undertaker, And his manager Paul Bearer.

Kevin Kelly- Undertaker, After what we've seen on Monday Night Raw, You're scheduled to put the WWF Championship on the line tonight against British Bulldog. You and Bulldog have been involved in some classic battles before, Will you be able to walk out tonight with the WWF Championship around your waist?

Paul Bearer- Ohhhhhhh yeeeeeeeessssss, Ohhhh yeeeeeeeessssss. British Bulldog, Friday the 13th will be the day where you have to step into the ring with the grim reaper. With my Undertaker. Ohhhhhhhhh yeeeeeees you will. And do you think that you're going to be able to take his WWF Championship away from him and the creatures of the night? Ohhhhhh no you won't. You won't be going back to England with the title around your waist. Tonight is the night of the deadman. It's his favorite day of the year. Friday the 13th. Most people dread Friday the 13th, But my Undertaker embraces it. And tonight, When you're in the ring with my Undertaker and his creatures of the night, You will see a more violent side to him. It's time to take care of business, And your name is set on the gravestone. Ohhhhhhh yeeeeeeeessssss it is.

Kevin Kelly- What about the Steve Austin factor? Austin is still in the building.

Paul Bearer- Steve Austin, Do your worse. Today, My Undertaker will be as aggressive as ever. The 13th brings out the very best in him. And you can try attack him all you want, But it won't matter. The creatures of the night and the power of the urn are backing him up. Your fate has been signed, Sealed and delivered for the King Of The Ring. It's only a matter of time.

The Undertaker- British Bulldog, When you remember this day, You will remember that on Friday the 13th, The Undertaker came into Plymouth, New Hampshire and not only defeated, But me and my creatures of the night took your soul along with you. Death is stalking you Davey Boy Smith, And tonight, On Friday the 13th, I will make good on my promise and not only take you the dark side with me, But make sure you don't return from your trip. And Steve Austin, Try as hard as you will, But you won't be delaying the inevitable. You will rest in peace come King Of The Ring.

Paul Bearer- Ohhhhhhh yeeeeeeeessssss you will.

Kevin Kelly- Fans, The Undertaker puts the WWF Championship against British Bulldog, It's up next!

73

The Undertaker lost overness from this segment.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

WWF Slam Of The Week- D'Lo Brown comes flying off the top with the Lo Down to Alex Wright! (Monday Night Raw 6/9/97)

World Wrestling Federation Championship

The Undertaker© with Paul Bearer Vs. British Bulldog

Great crowd here, But Bulldog and The Undertaker don't seem to have any chemistry. The Undertaker started off dominating Davey Boy Smith, Pummeling Bulldog with right hands. Undertaker knocked down Bulldog with a big boot and send Bulldog out to the floor with a clothesline early on. Steve Austin showed up on top of the steel stage, But Undertaker didn't wait for the fight and went after Austin! Undertaker knocked Austin down with one right hand and slammed Austin on the steel stage! Undertaker fought Bulldog around the ringside area with Undertaker sending Bulldog into the steel steps. Undertaker looked like he was going to finish Bulldog off early, But Austin got up on the apron. Undertaker nailed Austin with a right hand, Knocking Austin off the apron, But when he turned around, Bulldog ran him down with a clothesline. Bulldog kicked and stomped away on the phenom, And wore down The Undertaker with a chinlock. Bulldog worked over Undertaker's back and rammed Undertaker into the steel ring post on the outside. Bulldog even delivered a suplex to Undertaker out on the floor. Austin got a few cheap shots in on Undertaker while Bulldog distracted the referee. Bulldog sensed the end was near and delivered the Running Powerslam to The Undertaker, But only got a two count! Bulldog was shocked, But the fans went crazy as the phenom sat up. Undertaker started nailing Bulldog with right hands and followed up with his usual trademark maneuvers. Austin got up on the apron after Undertaker planted Bulldog with a DDT. Undertaker grabbed Austin and rammed Austin head first into the turnbuckles. Bulldog jumped Undertaker from behind and backed Undertaker into the corner. Bulldog unloaded on Undertaker with right hands. Bulldog then scooped up Undertaker and tried to Tombstone Undertaker, But Undertaker countered and planted Bulldog with a devastating Tombstone! Undertaker covered Bulldog and grabbed the win!

Steve Austin ran into the ring and tackled The Undertaker down! Austin started pummeling away at Undertaker! Bulldog joined the fight and both men started stomping away on Undertaker. The fans boos turns into cheers as Vader runs down from the back, With a big bandage over his eye. (he did get rammed through a car window on Monday night) Vader quickly fought off both Bulldog and Austin and send both men out to the floor with a double clothesline. The Undertaker sat up and he and Vader stood tall. Friday Night Mayhem went off the air with The Undertaker and Vader standing tall in the ring while Bulldog and Austin watched from the top of the stage.

76, 89, 77 **3/4

The WWF World title has lost image.

Overall Rating- 79

TV Rating- 7.27

Notes

"British Bulldog and me don't really click. How about booking me against someone like Steve Austin? I think our styles would really work well together." -The Undertaker

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Rick Martel

[SpiceDawg]

Mayhem Thoughts:

Hollywood v. Goldust: Seems like you have an off night with the ratings tonight as your overall dips below your match & crowd ratings. Your KOTR semis are really going to be lacking in star power. It's rather frustrating to see that my originally predicted matches are all coming true but I didn't think you'd want so many midcarders in the high profile rounds of the tourney. On the other hand, it's really good to see Holly finally getting his well deserved push. I'm loving Kanyon having to remind himself he is injured. I really think it's about time to get him back in the ring. He is too talented in the ring to only sit on the sidelines. Looks like Goldy can now enter the battle royal and 'help' Hunter.

Austin interview: A decent Stone Cold interview. Of all your characters, I think I enjoy your interviews with him the most.

Beniot/Pillman v. Martel/Shamrock: A really big win for Pillman & Beniot. I dig the new finisher for the team too. I am a big fan of the new found attitude. I'm almost sensing they are set to regain the titles at KOTR. Maybe I'm only setting myself up for disappiontment? Great to see you finally pull the trigger on the Martel heel turn. I was actually shocked to see it happen tonight. I think Shamrock v. Martel should be a really solid program. Shamrock has been treading water ever since April and so it will be good to see him in another high profile feud. Though I'm sure the freshly turned Martel will be the one to win it. A really well booked match that helped everyone. Greet to see Pillman and Beniot get an upset win and even better to see Martel start his run as a heel.

Hunter/Goldust segment: Oh man, I'm begging for Goldust to see the light and give Hunter a solid punch in the mouth. As much as it's been fun to see this story play out, Goldust is becoming more and more guillable. Eventually, he is just going to appear to be a really big moron for being so easily maniplated. At some point, I think Goldust needs to take a stand and call Hunter on a few things. It's not realistic to have someone too blind to what is going on and shouldn't Marlena be able to see through this charade? I've got a feeling things may explode at the Battle Royal.

Marty v. Snow: Huge, huge, huge win for Jannetty off the very over Snow. Maybe the Holly interference could mean that he'll be getting the next shot at the IC title? I still think Mero was supposed to be in line which means you need to find someone new to take over the spot. Holly has paid enough dues to earn a run at the IC title. Once again, the tournament seems to be filled with lots of lower end midcarders especially now with Snow out of the tournament. D Lo seems to be the only really big star left in and the easy favourite to take the whole tournament. Even if he does win it, victories over Droese, Jannetty and Holly aren't what will give him any kind of rub. I like all those guys but they aren't big players in your diary even if you hope they will be. Anyway, Jannetty gets a big rub by pulling off a win over Snow even if it had some controversy. Maybe Jannetty will be line for a one off shot at the title now too?

Bret/Michaels: I'm sensing two options with this story coming out of this interview. Either the seeds have all been planted for a definite Michaels turn where it will be shown Michaels was in cahoots with the Commisioner. Or this is all a major swerve and Hart is actually going to go heel. I'd prefer Michaels but either would be a big deal. I did like the line about Michaels saying it doesn't matter what he has to do because he will find a way to beat Hart. A very 'pre-heel' type of thing to say. Of course, Michaels saying he doesn't need the fans will set things up for a heel turn. I'd almost want to wait for Cactus to come back so that it can be revealed it was Cactus who drove Michaels to this heeldom because of their brutal feud. Thus Cactus can claim victory in what he set out to do. I'm getting ahead of myself. This was another decent confrontation to build to what should be a huge match up.

Billy Gunn: Good to see Billy's gimmick steer totally away from Dean Douglas's character. It's now more of a Genius with an edge. I like how Gunn will be mighty upset that no one realizes that he is a genius. It may be kind of fun if it's revealed Gunn isn't so smart but he continues to claim that he is.

Battle Royal: I originally picked Hall to win the battle royal for KOTR but with this win, I'd have to say he isn't a favourite anymore. A good battle royal that really helped elevate Henry and Jacobs. Both guys did really well. Interested to see why Backlund eliminated his man or what it was he said that caused Jacobs to leave. A fun throw away match that actually put some stories in place. Of course, Rude won't be happy to see Hall pull off a major win like that.

Martel/Rocky: Hmmmm. I'm intrigued. I originally thought this was a set up for a Raw match or something. Now, it could be the starts of a Mavia heel turn (which I pondered after the Maivia/Snow match). I think, it would be really cool to have Mavia with Martel as his mentor. It could be the exact angle that will elevate Maivai out of his current card position.

Undertaker: Bearer once again causes 'Taker to lose overness. What a useless sack.

Uandertaker v. Bulldog: Sucks that the match caused the title to lose image. It couldn't be due to overness since it popped an 89 CR. Though maybe the titles image was somewhere in the mid 90s? A decent enough end to Mayhem but Austin really needs to get the upperhand soon. Unless this is all leading to Austin winning the title but I doubt that very much. Maybe this will set-up a rather big tag match for Raw. I wouldn't mind seeing that and maybe Austin could score pinfall there in order to come off as a tougher challenge to 'Taker. Right now, Austin seems to be fodder.

I laughed with 'Taker asking to be booked with Austin. Duh! He must not really be paying attention to what he has been doing these past few weeks.

[Hewey]

Credit Kempay for the logo

Channel: USA Network

Time Slot: Late Evening

Date: June 14, 1997

Location: Plymouth, New Hampshire

Attendance: 7,539

Ticket Sales: $301,560

Announcers: Jonathan Coachman and Todd Pettengill

Voice Over- The World Wrestling Federation, For over fifty years the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.

RAW Saturday Night comes on the air with a video package showing great World Wrestling Federation action. When the video ends, We're taken to inside the arena where pyro goes off from the rafters and from the entrance way. We then head over to our announce position where Jonathan Coachman and Todd Pettengill are standing by. They are very excited and hype up tonight's big show.

World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship

Chavo Guerrero© Vs. Shannon Moore

NWACI's own Shannon Moore got the chance of a lifetime, As he challenged the reigning Light Heavyweight Champion for the title. Moore gave it everything he had, Jumping Chavo from the get go. The crowd might have been dead for this one, But it was quite the encounter. Moore looked like he was going to pull off the win several times, But the champion kept fighting back. Moore didn't mind taking a few short cuts either, Pulling the tights and using the ropes for leverage to get some near falls over Chavo. Moore tried to finish off Chavo after planting him with a super kick. Moore headed up top, But missed a big moonsault. Chavo ended up making the comeback, And after he and Moore traded a few near falls and reversals, Chavo caught Moore coming off the ropes with a big sitout powerbomb. Chavo quickly went up top and flew off the top with the Frog Splash to Moore to score the win and retain the title.

65, 47, 83 **1/4

COMMERCIAL BREAK

John Bradshaw and Suicide Blonds Vs. Hobo Jack and The Quebecers

Decent six men tag team match here. It's rumored that the WWF is on the verge of pushing John Bradshaw, Perhaps turning him heel. Though, A feud with Duke Droese has been rumored. The crowd wasn't into this match much, And the announcers hyped the King Of The Ring during it. The heel team isolated Christian Cage and pounded away on him. The Quebecers were double teaming him behind the referee's back several times while Hobo Jack distracted the referee. Cage ended up making the hot tag to the hoss, Bradshaw. Bradshaw entered the ring and started cleaning house. Bradshaw picked up the win for his team by nailing Jacques with a stiff lariat.

66, 61, 72 *1\2

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Ron Killings Vs. Nasty Mike

Sunny was shown watching from the back, Taking notes. Ron Killings, When he made his way to the ring, Looked at the camera and told the camera man he was after the Light Heavyweight Championship. Great match up here, But the crowd was dead for it. Ron Killings controlled most of the match, Taking Nasty Mike down with a pair of head scissors and then doing a dive over the ropes to Mike out on the floor. Nasty Mike though, Wouldn't stay down and mounted a comeback. Mike looked like he was heading for the victory after planting Killings with a big time tornado DDT, But instead of going for the cover, He started doing his dance. This allowed Killings up pop up to his feet and nail Mike with a big side kick. Killings followed up with a scissors kick and scored the win. After the match ended, Sunny watched from the back, Looking impressed with Killings. Killings once again told the camera that he was going after the Light Heavyweight Championship.

66, 47, 86 **1\2

The fans were confused by the gimmick change of Ron Killings so soon after his last one. (Man On A Mission)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Who is the Light Heavyweight sensation behind the mask? We'll all find out soon.........

Brian Christopher Vs. Taka Michinoku Vs. Hakushi

Chavo Guerrero was shown watching from the back. Christopher started off trying to get Taka to help him take out Hakushi, But Taka refused. When he tried to get Hakushi to help him take out Taka, Hakushi looked like he agreed, But then turned on Christopher. Taka and Hakushi double teamed Christopher early on, But then started going at it after Hakushi had a near fall on Christopher, Causing Taka to break it up. All three men went at it hard here, Each man looking like they had the win in the palm of their hands. The ending came when Hakushi tossed Christopher out to the floor and followed up with a asai moonsault to Christopher. When he entered the ring, Hakushi took a super kick from Taka. Taka lifted Hakushi up and planted him with the Michinoku Driver. Taka covered Hakushi, But before the three count could be made, Christopher came flying off the top with the Tennessee Jam to Taka! Christopher then rolled up Taka and scored the win. Christopher celebrated his win while Chavo watched from the back.

70, 59, 82 **1\2

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Born In The USA Vs. Terry Funk and Kama Mustafa

Sunny again watched from the back. Perhaps interested in Born In The USA. Or maybe Terry Funk? Both Funk and Kama are entered in the twenty men battle royal, Even though they haven't done much in awhile. Funk and Kama couldn't work well together, With the announcers claiming it was due to both men not being able to trust each other. The match was pretty much out of control, With Funk and Kama going at it for a few minutes, Leading to them brawling around the ringside area while Gunn and The Patriot watched. The ending came when Funk hung Kama neck first across the ropes, Sending him right into Gunn's Forearm Shot. Gunn covered and got the win. After the match ended, The crazy Terry Funk tried to assault Patriot and Gunn with a steel chair, But all he got was a drop kick to the face from Patriot, Who then tossed him out to the floor.

73, 74, 73 **

COMMERCIAL BREAK

WWF Slam Of The Week- The Undertaker plants British Bulldog with the Tombstone. (Friday Night Mayhem 6/13/97)

Shawn Michaels Vs. Simon Diamond with Johnny Swinger

It seems like the WWF is trying to get a big name to wrestle on RSN, So they can win the Saturday night ratings against ECW. Michaels and Diamond put on a pretty solid match up. The announcers said this was the first time these two were ever wrestling each other. Diamond came down with fellow Money Mine member and tag team partner, Johnny Swinger. Both men started off trading holds and counters, With Diamond surprisingly getting the better out of the former WWF Champion. Of course, Diamond had to stop and pose, Allowing Michaels to drop kick him right out of the ring. Swinger tried to help out Diamond on the outside, But Michaels dove over the ropes onto both men on the outside. Michaels rolled Diamond back into the ring, But didn't notice Swinger, Who nailed him and then send him into the steel post! Referee Monty Davidson, For once, Started yelling at Swinger for cheating, Making Todd believe that Shawn Michaels has some kind of connection with Commissioner Rude. Diamond came close to putting Shawn Michaels away, Even avoiding Michaels' Sweet Chin Music after HBK made the comeback. The ending came when Diamond caught Michaels with a big DDT. He lifted Michaels up and went for the Simonizer, But Michaels slipped out of it. Diamond then turned around and got drilled by Sweet Chin Music. Johnny Swinger then came into the ring and nailed Michaels with a clothesline! Before Swinger and Diamond could put the hurting on Michaels, Bret Hart came running down from the back with a steel chair! Hart quickly entered the ring, Causing Diamond and Swinger to flee. RAW Saturday Night went off the air with Bret Hart standing in the ring with the steel chair while Michaels got up to his feet.

81, 80, 83 ***

Overall Rating- 61

TV Rating- 2.81

Competition

Saturday Night

TV Rating- 1.93

Attendance- 6,549

Ticket Sales- $261,960

Hardcore TV

TV Rating- 2.90

Attendance- 2,503

Ticket Sales- $75,090

Worldwide

TV Rating- 3.92

Attendance- 6,503

Ticket Sales- $260,120

VZF Free Fall

Attendance- 366

Ticket Sales- $7,320

Notes

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Christian Cage

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Brian Christopher

"I think i should be higher up the card." -Hakushi

"Simon Diamond and me don't really click. How about booking me against someone like Steve Austin? I think our styles would really work well together." -Shawn Michaels

"How about booking me against Scott Hall? I'm sure we could do some pretty entertaining stuff that the fans would like." -Hunter Hearst Helmsley

"I was thinking, how about giving me some matches with Steve Austin? I think we'd be able to do some good work together given the chance." -Al Snow

"I'd like to work with Mark Henry if possible." -Sycho Sid

"Our ratings battle with Hardcore TV is so close that neither show is gaining a clear advantage!" -Sophie

"Here is my weekly report on our battle with WCW. They have more star power than us, and that is affecting our image. We are seen as having better workers, and this is causing fans to choose us over them. The fans see us as being the more professional promotion, thanks to our higher production values." -Sophie

News

- Clarence Mason Hobo Jack, Ivory, David Flair and Harvey Wippleman have been released from their contracts. Jack and Wippleman are welcome to come back as staff members once they retire. The WWF just doesn't have anything for them right now creatively. David Flair is only eighteen years old and has decided to go back to school for the time being.

- Shane Helms and Shannon Moore are also done with the WWF for the time being. The WWF was highly impressed with both men and hope that in a few months time, Both men will join the roster on written deals.

Edited December 9, 2005 by Baby Hewey

[Hewey]

Credit Kempay for the logo

Date: June 16, 1997

Location: Princeton, New Jersey

We are just six days away from what will no doubt be the biggest Pay Per View of the year, King Of The Ring. Tonight, We come to you live from Princeton, New Jersey. And we're going to have a wild night ahead of us and a huge main event will take place. It'll be a match that you do not want to miss. Tonight's main event will be a six men tag team match up. We'll see the WWF Champion, The greatest WWF Champion of all time, The Undertaker team up with Vader and Mark Henry to go up against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, British Bulldog and Sycho Sid in tonight's main event. This one is a huge main event just six days away from the King Of The Ring. Austin will meet The Undertaker this Sunday night for the WWF Championship in what should be a classic match up. We also know Mark Henry and Sycho Sid are entered in the twenty men battle royal, And Bulldog will face Vader. With all these men involved in Sunday's King Of The Ring, You know this will be a explosive match up. And which six men tandem will win this match up? This is a main event that will have a huge impact on Sunday's King Of The Ring.

With their huge match up coming this Sunday night, We'll be hearing from both Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart tonight in special interviews. What will both men have to say as their huge main event match up at the King Of The Ring nears?

Todd will be interviewing the final four men involved in Sunday's King Of The Ring tournament. Marty Jannetty, Hollywood Holly, Duke Droese and D'Lo Brown will all be present for a special interview with the Todd and we'll get their thoughts on this year's tournament.

Matches For Monday Night Raw

World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship

Chavo Guerrero© Vs. Johnny Swinger

Chavo Guerrero has been a fighting champion ever since becoming the first ever Light Heavyweight Champion at Wrestlemania 13. But tonight he takes on the member of Money Mine, Swinger. With the success the money mine has had, Will Swinger be able to defeat Chavo for the coveted title? This should be a outstanding contest.

Mr. Yokozuna and Kevin Nash Vs. Sean Waltman and Scott Hall

Sean Waltman returned to action a few weeks ago when he helped Scott Hall out from a beating at the hands of Nash and Mr. Yokozuna. That did not sit well with the Rude Administration who made up this huge tag team contest for tonight. Can Scott Hall and Sean Waltman overcome the odds and defeat the genetic wonder and Mr. Yokozuna? Or will the Rude Administration score the big win?

Rick Martel Vs. Rocky Maivia

Rick Martel shocked fans all across the world this past Friday night when he turned on Ken Shamrock during their tag team match up. Rocky Maivia later on confronted Rick Martel and this match has been signed. Will Rocky Maivia be able to pull off the biggest win of his career? Or will Rick Martel be able to put away the young rookie?

Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman Vs. Suicide Blonds

Both these teams are two of the top tag teams in the WWF. Benoit and Pillman head into the King Of The Ring to challenge The Godwinns for the WWF Tag Team Championship, But they better be focused on this match, As the Suicide Blonds could pull the win out of nowhere with their risky offense.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, British Bulldog and Sycho Sid Vs. Mark Henry, Vader and The Undertaker

What a main event this one should be, And it'll no doubt have a big impact on Sunday's King Of The Ring. What will happen when Austin gets into the ring with the phenom? What about Bulldog and Vader? What will happen when Sid and Henry go at it? You don't wanna miss this huge six men tag team main event on the USA Network tonight.