WRESTLING 20 YEARS AGO PODCAST

Listen to our November 1997 WWF podcast, reviewing the Montreal Screwjob and all of the fall-out.

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“Bret Screwed Bret” – In some ways it was quite a weird pair of interviews on the third Raw of the month, a pre-taped effort that was filled in part with two extended sit-down interviews in a TV studio with Vince McMahon and JR. In the background, separating the pair, was a full portrait of Bret Hart. It does bear remembering how much the WWF focussed on Hart in the weeks following Survivor Series; perhaps they had no choice but it really does worth saying that the fallout of the screwjob threw the WWF out of whack.  

The interviews were just a bit weird. McMahon, still sporting a shiner from the punch that Bret levelled him with, pointed out the “lifelong wrestling tradition” of “passing it on” when you leave – which was about as overt as McMahon could get without saying “you should lose when you leave”. It was a wide-ranging interview that was clearly loaded (the “Bret screwed Bret” line was as a result, in part, of the opening question “did you ‘screw’ Bret Hart?”). Must-watch, but not in the sense you might think.  


Anvil Around Your Neck – Given that the two Raw’s that followed Survivor Series were taped in the two days following the show, it was only the final Raw of the month, taped live, where we could really get a gauge of what the WWF looked like in a post-Bret Hart work. They were still talking about Bret, as they would be into December, but with Owen Hart and the British Bulldog out of action, eyes turned to both Ken Shamrock and Rocky Maivia to oppose the WWF’s now two biggest stars – Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin respectively.  

The big angle on the show was Shawn Michaels promising a return and confrontation with Bret Hart – this turned out to be a dwarf dressed as Bret who summarily tapped out in the sharpshooter. Once he was done with out came Jim Neidhart, who the WWF were so confident WCW wouldn’t want in the aftermath of the screwjob was still working without a contract.  

Anvil was the defacto spokesmen of the now on life-support Hart Foundation. And him being the spokesperson given that was, by some distance, the worst talker of the group was probably a sign of what was to come. Anvil timidly said that Owen was mentally struggling with the events in Montreal, and Bulldog was nursing a knee injury – hardly the most scathing endorsement for a pair who at the time at least were both still under contract.   

Still, though, Michaels gave the Anvil an offer – to join Degeneration-X. Then following the main event they even teased an allegiance before Michaels and Helmsley turned on him. The whole thing left the one remaining Hart Foundation member looking like a complete dick. Of course, that was exactly the point, with the view that it would diminish any power he might have to draw in WCW. A couple of months later he would join WCW. No, he didn’t draw any money.  

 

Welcoming Party – On the 10th of November, the night after Survivor Series, WCW had a one hour lead on Monday Night Raw and, more importantly, they had an announcement to make. They of course, milked it for all it was worth, as the entire NWO came to the ring, welcomed back the returning Kevin Nash before the getting to the big deal. Bret Hart would be joining the NWO. Once Nash got his stuff about Giant out of the way, it was time for the announcement and singing the Canadian national anthem... badly.  

The announcement, in some ways, was quite botched. Bischoff announcement was more a blink and you’ll miss it, as he said “and Bret Hart, I know you’re a knockout kind of guy” – in reference to Bret knocking out Vince McMahon after Survivor Series. Hogan credited Bret for “passing the initiation” before the whole NWO sang the anthem – although Bischoff had to hand over the mic half way through as he couldn’t read the lyrics. All a bit... weird.  

 
Shuffling The Deck – In the list of “secondary” fall-out after the screwjob was just who didn’t turn up for the Raw tapings after the pay-per-view. Along with Bret, Owen and Bulldog was also the non-appearance of Mick Foley, who missed the first night but did at least come back for the second. It meant that not only was the WWF even lighter than normal on main event level talent. 

That left Michaels going back and forth with Ken Shamrock – a guy who the WWF were finally coming to some sort of uneasy equilibrium with having worked out they couldn’t present him as the killer they needed to (see Goldberg) – Steve Austin with Rocky “The Rock” Maivia – one very much ahead of it’s time and… continuing the them of young talent facing off, Hunter Hearst Helmsley going against… Sergeant Slaughter. Because, of course he was.  


When Your Pager Says Three One Six – In probably the only noteworthy WWF event in November that didn't directly involve or relate to Bret Hart was an Austin/Rock angle on the 29th. Demonstrating further Austin's ability to both dick around and be entertaining, Austin followed "ROCKY SUCKS" flickering on the Tron by appearing in the production truck: "When you look down at your beeper and see the 3:16 you know you're gonna get your ass whipped. Rock, is it live or is it Memorex?" With that Rocky looked down at his pager, then turned around to find Austin stood right behind him. Austin handed Rocky his ass before scarpering with the IC title in his possession.  

Listen to our October 1997 WWF show, reviewing all of the antics on a barmy couple of weeks of Raw.

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The Grand Wizard – October was a really weird month in the WWF. Even without the benefit of what would happen in Montreal, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart was basically their biggest marquee match they could offer. If you were watching TV, however, you'd be forgiven for being less confident. With the pair both heels, it wasn't exactly easy to build a back and forth, but surely anything was better than what they actually did.

After the Nation of Domination's locker-room was torn apart and defaced with racist language. Both Bret Hart and Steve Austin, seemingly the two prime candidates in the eyes of Farooq, were accused of the act, and neither particularly denied it. Austin came out and stunnered Farooq, and Bret did his best "non-denial denial", saying that where he was from they treated everyone equally.

Now, I've got literally zero idea what they were trying to achieve with this, but I believe the innocent/sweet idea behind the whole thing was it was Shawn Michaels' group trying to stir the pot by being racists. But despite the WWF's desire never to pay this off, it was the line from Michaels that really underscored this whole thing. Michaels, referring to Bret and the other members of the Hart foundation, said: "The Grand Wizard and the rest of the KKK" - before Triple H said he'd heard they'd used the N word while doing it. I mean... fucking hell.
 

I mean... fucking hell – It may legitimately not have even been the most offensive thing that aired on TV in October for the WWF. This is not an attempt to make light of the death of Brian Pillman, which was very nicely observed at the start of both Raw and also briefly on Nitro and ECW Hardcore TV, but of what followed later in the evening. The WWF actively promoted an interview with Brian's widow, Melanie, live, less than 48 hours after his death.

Dave Meltzer, perhaps rightly, offered the people involved a pass given that people's mind make strange decisions in the aftermath of news like that, but surely someone backstage could've said "Vince, this is a dreadful idea". Nevertheless, the interview went out – it was somewhat harmless, Melanie spoke incredibly well in the circumstances, and besides Vince at one point basically saying "can you absolve us from any blame" (by trying to blame his personal issues on the wider genre of pro-sports), it was actually handled fairly well. But their decision to push it heavily throughout the show was particularly bad.
 

And that's my opinion – Jim Cornette managed to negotiate himself some air-time this month to talk about... whatever he damn well liked. And so he did, given a weekly 2-3 minute segment of him in a studio just talking about whatever he liked. And very few things were off limits, as the words "Eric Bischoff" and "WCW" made air on a WWF programme far more easily than they ever had previously. Although, to give the segments "credibility" (if you like) Cornette wasn't shy of critiquing the WWF product if he needed to.

It's a real weird packet of segments. On the second Raw of the month Cornette calls out Phil Mushnick, a writer at the New York Daily Post for a piece he wrote in the aftermath of the Pillman's death. Mushnick's piece was more a general piece looking at wrestling as a whole, but did make the point that in pro-wrestling, an athlete dying at 35 is an event so common people have come to ignore it. Cornette was basically saying that Mushnick had no right to exploit Pillman's death for his own gain. Oh no, only the WWF were allowed to do that.
 

Jeff Jarrett's Back – Seriously, is there a more bizarre career in wrestling than Jeff Jarrett's? Never mind what happened once TNA started. He started in the WWF, was pushed probably about as hard as you could be in a mid-card gimmick, then buggered off and joined WCW. In WCW, he was pushed about as hard as he could've been (even if at one point he felt like the NWO's biggest opponent), then became the chosen one as Ric Flair (in what must've been the most bizarre point in his career) basically became Jarrett's cheerleader. Only to amount to being a mid-carder. So after his contract expired he left.

And so he was back. But this wasn't "Double J" anymore – this was blazer wearing, serious toned Jeff Jarrett. Oh, and did I mention everyone was shooting these days. He beamoned his gimmick in the WWF ("you put me with a black man who couldn't speak the language"), and his lack of push in WCW. It was an odd promo that didn't really go anywhere. If anything, it was his second promo the following week – a sit down with JR – that was more effective. He pointed out the chasm in quality between WWF and WCW house shows (in WWF's favour, if that isn't clear) and how that he was a reliable and possibly cheap investment for Vince McMahon – as he was young and didn't do steriods. He also absolutely didn't have a building history of walking out on promotions that definitely wouldn't come into play in the near future.

 
That Is Kane – Kane debuted at the pay-per-view and, while nothing major happened since, it really is worth pointing out how much of a good job they were doing with him. The mask looked great, the red mood lighting was great and Kane was protected really well. If you want me to make a really strange comparison, I'd compare the debut few weeks of Kane with the debut few weeks of Goldberg in WCW. Both had an absolute 10/10 look, and both were protected to the hills. Excellent stuff.
 

Ric Flair is back – Not that, in the end, he ever really went away. Flair After being written off after Fall Brawl to go and have a face-lift (yes, really) it was predicted that he would be off for a couple of months, something that was underlined where Flair cut an impassioned promo over the telephone disbanding the Four Horsemen and telling the likes of Dallas Page and the Giant to “beat up the NWO, but leave a bit for me”. So imagine our surprise when Flair rocked up the first week in October on Nitro, cleared the ring of the NWO guys and then cut a great, impassioned promo in front of his hometown crowd in Minnesota. If anything, he’d come back too soon.
 

Stings, Stings Everywhere – We’ve spent the entire year with the announcers not having a clue about whether an invading Sting was the real one or not, so it was always going to be a “remember-where-you-were” moment when Tony Schiavone finally said, “hang on a minute”. Now, full disclosure, it was probably only when the third Sting walked out that Schiavone might have worked out something was up, but finally he had.

This was a great end to the final Nitro ahead of Halloween Havoc. During an NWO beatdown (what else) Sting appeared in the crowd. Then another one did. Then another one did. Then a couple appeared on the ramp way. Each in less convincing Sting outfits, each in less convincing Sting wigs. Each one got picked off by the NWO until one didn’t – but he was wearing a mask too. Bagwell punched him, “Sting” stood his ground, hit Bagwell with a slop drop, the wig (brilliantly) came off as he hit the ground, and then he removed the mask to reveal it was really him. Great moment, apparently a Hogan/Sullivan creation – real good.

 
Goldberg’s Jealous Of What? Maybe I just don’t get it, but why is Goldberg jealous of Steve McMichael. Mongo was a former Superbowl winner, Goldberg was a guy who was on the Atlanta Falcons roster at some point. It never really made an sense, particularly with Goldberg essentially being presented as a Steve Austin style face. But still, it was another bumper month for Goldberg, save his part in one of the most match finishes I’ve ever seen at the pay per view. Who’s next?
 

Tune In During Assault on Devil’s Island – I’m not saying it was a quiet month on WCW television, but the final Nitro of the month was literally dedicated to Hulk Hogan’s movie premiere the next night on network television. It was the subject of the opening segment, then was mentioned regularly through the next hour and a bit. Then in the final hour, they confirmed that Sting would be doing his contract signing with Hogan during a commercial of the movie. Which gave the announcers 50 more minutes to talk about like it was the biggest thing ever and I swear THEY NEVER STOPPED. Maybe I shouldn’t complain, Hogan vs Sting was WCW’s biggest drawing feud ever.

Listen to our September 1997 WWF podcast, looking at when Austin finally got to McMahon.

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The Worst Stunner in History – After his neck injury had put Steve Austin out of in ring action for at least a few months, he was at least well enough to appear on TV and, seemingly, well enough to hit his signature move, even if nobody could attack him back. While it manifested itself as Austin taking out his anger on the likes of Sergeant Slaughter and Jim Ross, it was an angle on September 21st that would write itself into history. After Vince McMahon calmly laid out Austin's options going forward, Austin listened, then just hit McMahon with a stunner... which was great, save for the fact McMahon didn't take the move particularly well, going down in stages before convulsing violently on the mat. Still, it's a pretty iconic, "must-watch" moment.
 
Who's First? – It was pretty low key, but September 1997 marked the live television debut of former Atlanta Falcon Bill Goldberg. Built like a tank, with a 10/10 pro wrestling look, WCW quickly got Goldberg to television after a run in their powerplant and decided to just let him do what he was good at – kill people. In the first two weeks of his run Goldberg defeated Hugh Morrus and Barbarian in short order. While it's only gained value with the benefit of history, it was clear early on WCW had plans for him. On  a product where wins at losses really didn't matter (seriously, ask Hulk Hogan!), after he picked up his second win Tony Schiavone said "Goldberg is now 2 and 0 on Nitro".
 
The Worst Main Event In Raw History – I may be exaggerating... although I really may not be! I mean, bloody hell. So, a week out from the UK Pay Per View the soon to be DX get a pre-match beat down in on Bulldog (who can't get any help because he needs reasoning for being cheered vs Michaels at the PPV). Which took Bulldog out of the planned Triple Threat main event alongside Triple H and The Patriot. So rather than just do a singles they randomly throw Savio Vega in there and, you know what? It was *shit*. Like, crowd chanting "BORING, BORING" bad as all three men lumbered around for what must've been about ten minutes before the whole thing mercifully came to a conclusion.
 
Save A Bit For Me – After being taken out by Curt Hennig at the pay per view to cover for what (yes, literally) was Flair going away to have a face-lift, Flair phoned in on the final Nitro of the month making his first real noise of note since the show. Flair spoke at length, thanking Hennig for re-lighting a fire inside of him and stopping him getting complacent. Flair disbanded the four horsemen, telling Benoit and Mongo to go their own ways, before emploring the likes of Diamond Dallas Page, Lex Luger and The Giant to "get" the NWO, but "leave a piece for the Nature Boy". We wouldn't have to wait long for him to return.
 
Brian Pillman's XXX Files – A bit of a moot point given that Pillman would pass away before the next pay-per-view, but quite where this one was going we’ll never get to find out. After beating Goldust at the Ground Zero, Pillman got the right to have Marlene as his servant for 30 days… which began with Pillman bundling her into the back of a car and speeding off. On Raw itself we saw the “XXX Files” a series of segments taped from Pillman’s hotel room. Marlene’s presence was only implied, it should be said, but the whole thing was of questionable taste and, honestly, questionable benefit. The idea, it seems, was for Marlene to develop a form to Stockholm Syndrone for her captor, and rather than settle it with, I dunno, a lawsuit, we’d “sort-it-in the-ring”.
 
Not Your Dog Spot... Not A Liver Spot – So, the week after Arn Anderson's tearful farewell we got the encore, a shot for shot remake starring Syxx (as Ric Flair), Konnan (as Mongo), Marcus Bagwell (as Curt Hennig), Kevin Nash (as Anderson) and, well, nobody for Chris Benoit but at one point a mannequin was considered for the role. Anyway, in an attempt to build towards Fall Brawl, the quartet did a largely amusing if incredibly long remake which hit a bit to close to home for Arn, regarding his mother and drinking issues. Nash landed some good shots, and it was funny more than it was outright offensive, but by the time it was all over it was all a bit flat. The original plan called for Flair and co to come out and clean house, but this was rejected in the idea of "building heat"…
 
Third Face of Foley – History has kind of forgotten how bad the first iteration of the Mankind character was, or the flat attempts to replace it with Foley's "Dude Love". While there is little doubting Foley's ability (as there wasn't before this) his success as Cactus Jack hadn't replicated itself since arriving in the WWF. On the 22nd September Raw he was tasked with facing Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a Falls Count Anywhere match, but as he explained during an interview between Dude Love and Mankind (yes, both of them talking to each other) it wasn't really their bag. But they knew someone who might and, at MSG, out making his WWF debut, was Cactus Jack to a great reaction.
 
Killer Mark Curtis – Fan interaction had become as a big of an issue as it was a boon for WCW, frequently major segments involved fans chucking garbage and beverages at performers (including a situation outside at Road Wild, where rocks were thrown), but fan's stepping inside the ring hadn't up until this point been an issue. That was until September 8th, during a match between Dean Malenko and Psicosis where a fan (seemingly as a promise/joke for his wife) ran through ringside and climbed into the ring where Mark Curtis (all 5ft 7 of him) nailed him with a knee lift before seamlessly floored him with a reverse chinlock, completely neutralising him before security could come out and deal with him. As if you needed an excuse not to love Curtis before this point.
 
Sting Picks His Side – It had been a long time coming, for sure, but Sting finally unloading on the NWO was still a great moment. At the conclusion of a 5-show month of a show that was frequently going much longer than two hours, after the usual NWO run in Sting came out, dropped his baseball bat, then just went to work on the NWO. The start to Hogan vs Sting had truly begun.