Raw Deal - Raw recap for March 10, 1997

Sycho Sid shows up to start tonight's show in an interview conducted by Jim Ross. Sid is reluctant to join forces with The Undertaker, as he thinks that something suspicious is going on and that there is a trap involving The Undertaker, Paul Bearer, Mankind and Vader. He tells 'Taker he will become yet another victory as WWF Champion, and tells him to stay in the cemetery as that where he will put him "once and for good" at WrestleMania 13. The Undertaker shows up and tells Sid that if he's scared, he should say he's scared. He tells Sid his logic doesn't make any sense, because if anything happens to him tonight, he doesn't get to bring the belt back home to the creatures. If something happens to him, that leaves Sid the WWF Champion. He then declines to be Sid's partner tonight, and elects to handle Mankind and Vader himself. He tells Sid to enjoy his last few days as WWF Champion and relax, because he doesn't need a plot to beat Sid and that Sid will rest in peace after WrestleMania 13. All of a sudden, Paul Bearer appears with Mankind and Vader, and says that both Sid and 'Taker have felt the wrath of Mankind and Vader and that they are both cowards. Mankind and Vader fight both Sid and 'Taker, and Sid and 'Taker then stare each other down after a misunderstanding when 'Taker thinks Sid has hit him during the brouhaha.

Before Rocky Maivia faces Tony Roy, The Sultan shows up with The Iron Sheik and Bob Backlund, who are holding an announcer hostage. The Iron Sheik and Bob Backlund tell Rocky Maivia that The Sultan will take the Intercontinental title from him at WrestleMania 13. Backlund continues to yell into the microphone throughout the match.

Rocky Maivia beats Tony Roy. After the match, The Sultan rushes into the ring and brawls with Maivia, and Maivia comes out on top. Bob Backlund gets knocked off the apron, then Maivia gets out of the ring. Suddenly, Rocky Maivia sees Tony Atlas, his father's former tag team partner, and they shake hands before they both head to the back.

Heavy Metal, Pentagon and Pierroth beat Octagon, Latin Lover and Hector Garza. During the match, the "Bionic Woman" who challenged Bret "The Hit Man" Hart last week is seen being escorted out of the arena by security, with the crowd chanting "Let her stay!" as she is carried out of the stands. Also, Brian Pillman, who has not been seen on WWF programming in months, says he's ready for action and that he'll be ready on this weekend's Shotgun Saturday Night to do and say whatever he wants. It is also announced that Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who is scheduled for an interview, has left the building.

Ahmed Johnson beats Roy Raymond. It is not long after the match begins, however, that The Nation of Domination show up and make their presence known in an attempt to distract Ahmed. It doesn't work, and Ahmed hits the Pearl River Plunge on Raymond to send a message to Faarooq. After the match, Faarooq tells Ahmed he still does not know what the streets are like, and that his people will let him down once again at WrestleMania 13 and that he will show up alone. Ahmed says he's not scared, as none of his people have ever scared him. Ahmed tells Faarooq he has a gift for him: the two baddest, meanest men he could find - The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk), who head to the ring from the crowd after Ahmed says he will bring the whole city of Chicago with him. Hawk says they're ready, and tells The Nation of Domination that when they get down with them, they will look like a sweaty, fly-covered pile of raw sweatsocks. Animal tells the Nation to take heed of the power of the WWF fans, and that they will beat them in a six-man war at WrestleMania 13. Ahmed says that everyone in The Nation - including "the black boys" - are turning white because they're scared as they know they're going down.

Jim Ross congratulates The British Bulldog and Owen Hart for putting up a great fight for the new European title. Owen Hart is more focused on The New Blackjacks (Blackjack Windham and Blackjack Bradshaw), and tells Jim Ross to stop stirring up trouble when he asks Owen if he is jealous of The Bulldog. When the Blackjacks show up, they mock Owen and Bulldog, and says that they would be tag champs if the titles were on the line. When Bradshaw implies that Owen is kissing up to The Bulldog, Owen goes after him, starting their match.

The New Blackjacks (Blackjack Windham and Blackjack Bradshaw) beat Owen Hart and The British Bulldog by disqualification when The British Bulldog refuses to leave the ring as Owen Hart has the Sharpshooter cinched in. During the match, Vader says that at WrestleMania 13, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog aren't good enough, strong enough or bad enough to retain the tag titles against him. He feels no pain, and Mankind loves receiving pain and much as he loves giving it. He says Owen and Bulldog will be playing the pain game when it becomes Vader Time at WrestleMania 13. Also, a Sable sighting you will not believing as well as some recruiting news as well as the usual Ross Report on Option 6 will be on the WWF Superstar Line. Tazz tells Vince McMahon that if he wants to hire a joke-teller to sit next to him and make wisecracks, that's his business. Paul E. Dangerously, on the other hand, hires extreme athletes like himself, and warns Jerry "The King" Lawler that if he makes one more wisecrack about him, he'll give him the opportunity to say it to his face.

Tazz and Bill Alfonso show up, with Tazz wanting a piece of Jerry "The King" Lalwer. Lawler goes at it with Tazz, and Sabu shows up to hit Lawler with a tope con suicide off a steel chair only to crash right into the table with the ring bell on it. Tazz has to be held back by some ECW wrestlers as others from the ECW fold - including Paul E. Dangerously - check on Sabu. Leif Cassidy shows up for his match as the ECW guys carry Sabu to the back.

Miguel Perez beats Leif Cassidy with a victory roll in his Raw debut. During the match, Paul E. Dangerously says he'll constrain his guys while Vince McMahon constrians "his comedian" Jerry "The King" Lawler. He says that the time for inter-promotional cooperation is over, and Dangerously tells Lawler to bring his friends while he brings his, because if Lawler gets out of line just once during their debate, his friends will show him up close how extreme they can be.

Sycho Sid says he doesn't react, he reacts reaction. This week, he has the tag team match against Mankind and Vader, and next week he gets Bret "The Hit Man" Hart in a steel cage match. After that, he faces The Undertaker and keeps right on going.

Ken Shamrock is in the back...

The intro replays, signifying the start of the second hour.

Jim Ross welcomes Ken Shamrock to the WWF. It has been confirmed that Shamrock will be the special guest referee for Bret "The Hit Man" Hart vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a submission match at WrestleMania 13. JR asks what kind of official Shamrock will be. Shamrock thanks the fans and says that it is an honor to be a part of WrestleMania 13 and be the special guest referee for this match. He says that he will be a fair referee regardless of whether the competitors like it or not, and that he will not be intimidated. Suddenly, Austin is seen on the brand-new TitanTron, telling him to shut up and consider it an honor that he doesn't stomp his guts in right now. He says it's a load of B.S. that Bret Hart gets all the title shots out of nowhere and that he has received another title shot before WrestleMania. Austin hopes Hart wins the WWF Championship so the WWF Championship will be on the line in their match, and says that even Shamrock knows that the WWF Championship should be around his waist. He tells Hart he can come in the ring with the Sharpshooter, but he's never given up on anything in his life and that he won't start at WrestleMania, as his time has come. He says he would rather knock Shamrock's lights out after he makes Bret Hart quit. Shamrock says he's not here to fight, but if Austin wants to go at it with him, he's not going anywhere. Bret "The Hit Man" Hart shows up, interrupting Austin's appearance on the TitanTron, and steps into the ring. Hart says it was a great feeling to win the WWF title for a fourth time, but he had it ripped off the following night, and it seems to him that nobody in the WWF is doing too much about it. He doesn't care if anyone is saying that he's "crying again," but he has had it with the lack of justice. He has announced that WWF President Gorilla Monsoon has given him a little credit, and has given him a steel cage match against Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship next Monday night, and says that people can believe what they want to believe, but says Sycho Sid isn't as good and was never good as him and that he will win the WWF Championship for a fifth time next week. He also says he feels sorry for The Undertaker as he's got his hopes up, but says Austin will get his title shot at WrestleMania. He then says there is nobody in the WWF that knows submission wrestling better than he does, and tells Austin to bring everything he's got because nobody wants that fight more than him and that he will give him a title shot. He tells Austin he will be sorry he ever crossed his path. Hart then says everyone from "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels to Sycho Sid to Austin to the referees to Gorilla Monsoon to Vince McMahon have all screwed him over. As for Shamrock, he likes him and he is cool with him, as he knows his reputation, but makes it clear that he's been screwed by everybody and if Shamrock does the same, it will be a big mistake. Shamrock tells Hart there's only one thing to know about him: he's not a marriage counselor and that he's not here to hear about his problem. He is a referee, and that's what he came here to do. Austin finally shows up on the entrance ramp, flipping Hart the bird on both hands before leaving.

The Honky Tonk Man shows up before the next match, and says it's been a while since he played Worcester, Massachusetts, and that he didn't get the reception he needed the last time he was here, and is therefore not singing and dancing for them. Honky then guests on commentary for the next match as well as the rest of the show.

Billy Gunn, now back from injury, beats "The Portuguese Man-O-War" Aldo Montoya. It is announced that Hunter Hearst Helmsley has returned to the arena, and is now available for an interview once again. Also, Sunny is in the back, announcing her new segment on Shotgun Saturday Night called "Undercover With Sunny," which covers the hottest gossip going in the WWF.

Mankind tells Paul Bearer he has a much better grasp of reality than people think, and realizes he doesn't need urns and he doesn't need his mother. He says that the World Wrestling Federation wants people to believe he crawled out of a boiler room, and that he has prepared for his entire life for this moment and that he has the scars to prove it. As the WWF makes a big deal out of Sycho Sid and The Undertaker, he and Vader are a team. He tells The Undertaker he knows him well, and tells Sycho Sid that he will know him well soon. The show cuts to a commercial break before Mankind is finished speaking.

Goldust beats Tim McNeany. Hunter Hearst Helmsley is spotted early in the match watching the match from the entrance ramp, and the "Bionic Woman" is back and standing at Hunter's side. Hunter leaves, and the "Bionic Woman" continues to watch the rest of the match from a distance. After the match, she disrobes, and we find out just how muscular she is. Goldust brings Marlena to the ring as this woman approaches, and it proves to be a set-up as Hunter Hearst Helmsley attacks Goldust from behind from the top rope. Hunter and the mystery woman attack Goldust, and Marlena leaps on top of the "Bionic Woman" and tries to choke her out. Both women have to be separated by officials, and the "Bionic Woman" overpowers officials to get back at Marlena. Marlena punches her in the face, and the two women try to go at it once again. The "Bionic Woman" throws an official (who happens to be Harvey Wippleman, of all people) into two others, showcasing her formidable strength, before leaving the ring with Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

It is time for "The Great Debate" between Jerry "The King" Lawler and Paul E. Dangerously. When asked if Extreme Championship Wrestling should even exist, Lawler (who won the coin toss to dictate who speaks first) says the real question is whether or not ECW does exist, as ECW is getting more exposure now than he has ever been seen by in his entire life, as his promotion is "a bunch of misfits, thugs and has-beens that couldn't catch on with any legitimate organization." The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) show up as if on stand-by to beat up Lawler. Lawler says they all migrated to Philadelphia and decided to beat each other with extreme weapons so people could see them. Lawler makes fun of the show that takes place in a bingo hall once a month, and when the WWF goes to Pittsburgh, they put 22,000 people in seats as opposed to ECW's 1,100 people. Paul E. tells Lawler to shut up as Lawler keeps talking, and tells Lawler that the 22,000 people that WWF puts in seats are not a testament to anything that Lawler has done in his life, and the fact that they've earned the respect of their 1,100 by putting their bodies on the lines to give them their money's worth. The Sandman, "The Innovator of Violence" Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty show up as Paul Heyman says that this has allowed them their first national pay-per-view in Barely Legal on April 13th. The Sandman wants to cane Lawler, but Paul E. tells him not to do it just yet. Lawler tells Paul E. he should be thanking his lucky stars that WWF is allowing him to even plug his pay-per-view event, even though he will never know why Vince McMahon is allowing him to. At this point, Lawler says he is "shooting" with Paul E. when Paul E. asks if he is "shooting" with him, and Paul E. tells Lawler that his own son don't call themselves "Lawler" as they are "ashamed of his ass," while saying that Extreme Championship Wrestling has earned everything that it has gotten and that they have given the people their money's worth. Lawler calls Paul E. "a 35-year-old loser who still lives in his mother's basement," and that if it weren't for his "mom and dad who finance this bunch of crap," he wouldn't be anything. He says Paul E. is not an athlete, and if he wants to "shoot" with him, then why is he hanging around the guys in ECW. He hangs around them because they want to give people their money's worth, be on pay-per-view and be extreme. Paul E. calls ECW "the Howard Stern of wrestling," and that they're hardcore and proud of it. Dreamer tells Lawler that if he wants to start a war, then he should get every one of his guys and he can show him how to start a war right now. The podium falls apart as Dreamer leans into it. Sandman chugs beer and pusts the can on his forehead and Paul E. has to hold Dreamer back. Lawler brings out "his friends" as Sandman lies in wait. Heyman gives Lawler two free punches on whoever he wants, but when Lawler's "friends" don't show up, Paul E. tells Lawler "Get your ass out of the ring, or we'll get it out for you." Heyman and Lawler continue to argue as the show cuts to a commercial break.

Mankind and Vader beat Sycho Sid and The Undertaker after Sid and 'Taker refuse to get along for the match. After the match, Sycho Sid stops Vader's Vader Bomb on 'Taker cold, and 'Taker knocks Vader out of the ring before going after Sycho Sid in the back.

Bret "The Hit Man" Hart says next week, he and Sid will decide who the real king of the WWF is.