Raw Deal - Raw recap for March 31, 1997

During Owen Hart vs. The British Bulldog for the WWF European Championship, the referee is knocked out. As Owen tries to hurt The Bulldog with a steel chair, Bret "The Hit Man" Hart shows up and tries to break the fight up. He grabs a microphone and tells them that the American wrestling fans want them to destroy each other just to satisfy a bunch of people who don't know what family values are. He tells both Owen and Bulldog that he needs them, and tells them that America has turned them all against each other, especially when he was the one who brought Owen to the World Wrestling Federation. He reminds Owen that he was always there for him and that nobody else was there for him more, as he says that America turned him against his own sister Diana Hart Smith as "America doesn't give a damn about family." Bret asks Owen and Bulldog for their help, saying he needs them. Owen breaks down, and the three of them hug.

Sunny guests on both English and Spanish commentary for the next match.

El Mosco beats Super Nova. Sunny holds Jerry "The King" Lawler over the reunion of Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog after the match.

The Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior Hawk) are interviewed in the ring by Jim Ross. Animal tells Bret "the Hit Man" Hart, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog not to disrespect the integrity of the United States of America or the integrity of professional wrestling. In professional sports, only the winners and the champions are remembered, and at In Your House, they aim to take the tag team titles back to Chicago. Hawk says he and Animal are going to knock the doggy dumplings out of the Bulldog, then stick and kick the phlegm out of every corpuscle of Owen Hart's body.

The Honky Tonk Man guests on commentary for the next match.

Six-year-old WWF fan Nathan Arnold accompanies "Double J" Jesse James to the ring before the next match.

"Double J" Jesse James quickly beats Jerry Fox. After the match, The Honky Tonk Man gets in the ring to talk to Jesse James, saying that he is extremely impressed with him, and promises to take his career to the top if he takes him under his wing. The Honky Tonk Man then passes down his guitar - which Honky calls a family heirloom - to Jesse James, and asks if he wants to take care of it for him on his way to being the greatest of all time. When it looks like Jesse James is about to join him, he smashes the guitar and tells him "It's a little out of tune for me!" before he heads to the back. Honky is furious.

Crush and Savio Vega beat Rod Bell and Adam O'Brien. During the match, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels is interviewed via telephone. Shawn says he was nowhere close to healthy last week, and he definitely isn't healthy this week. He has a lot to say to Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, but he's not going to say it over the phone and will instead say it to his face next week.

Ken Shamrock will be in a no-holds-barred exhibition next week!

Pyrotechnics signal the start of the second hour.

Paul Bearer shows up. We learn that at the end of last week's show that Paul Bearer wants The Undertaker to take him back. We then go back to the show, where Paul Bearer tells 'Taker that he made a mistake, but he did this so 'Taker could become his own man. Now, The Undertaker is WWF Champion, which he should have been a long time ago according to Bearer, who says that he held him back back then. He says he is sorry and needs to come back home. He knows that 'Taker is in the building, and begs him to meet him face-to-face. The Undertaker shows up, and before he heads in the ring, he locks the casket in front of the ring with a key in case this is a trick by Bearer. 'Taker tells Bearer that betrayal is something he can never forget, but it is something that he may be able to forgive. In the last week, his thoughts have been consumed, and together they took on the World Wrestling Federation and laid many people to rest. For that, 'Taker owes Paul Bearer. He kisses the WWF Championship, then hands it to Bearer. Bearer greedily takes the title, then turns around and smiles. When Bearer turns back around, The Undertaker punches Bearer and slowly comes after him. 'Taker then grabs the urn, and is about to hit Bearer with it when Mankind climbs out from underneath the ring. 'Taker turns around to confront Mankind, but Mankind blinds him with a fireball. We learn that this is all a set-up by Bearer and Mankind, and Sycho Sid suddenly shows up and chases Mankind through the crowd. Officials try to check on 'Taker, but 'Taker does not know who they are and swings at them as he accidentally falls over the guardrail. before leaving through the crowd completely blind.

Sycho Sid sends a message to Mankind: if he wants to play with fire, Sid's the guy who knows what to do with it. He tells Mankind that he made a mistake messing with The Undertaker, just like Bret "The Hit Man" Hart did messing with him. At WrestleMania 13, The Undertaker was a better man than him, but The Undertaker is a better man than Mankind. If Mankind wants to play with fire with The Undertaker, he will burn in Hell.

Goldust beats Hunter Hearst Helmsley by disqualification in a match where Chyna and Marlena are barred from ringside after Chyna kicks Goldust in the ribs after the Curtain Call. Chyna and Hemsley attack Goldust after the match, and as they are both held back, Helmsley attacks Pat Patterson, who is there to break up the assault. Helmsley punches Patterson a few times, causing Patterson to fight back. All of the other officials are holding Chyna back, but Chyna overpowers them and joins Helmsley in assaulting Patterson. Goldust comes to and knocks Helmsley out of the ring before Chyna challenges him. Officials hold Goldust back as Chyna and Helmsley leave.

Vince McMahon interviews "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the ring. Austin says he never said he quit at WrestleMania 13, and that Ken Shamrock wouldn't have heard him say it even if he had ten hearing aids strapped to his ear. As for Bret "The Hit Man" Hart saying he beat him to a bloody pulp, Austin calls it "the biggest bunch of B.S. I ever heard," because he knocked his head on a guardrail and Hart "didn't do a damn thing" and didn't get the job done on his best day. The only reason he was knocked out was because blood was gushing out of his head. He calls Hart the biggest piece of trash he has ever met in his life, and mocks his comeback and being what the fans wanted him to be, saying it's also the biggest bunch of B.S. he has ever heard. Vince can think anything he wants of Austin, either a class act or a jackass, but he is changing for nobody, as when he is in the ring, it doesn't matter if he's a bad guy or a good guy, he's gonna whip somebody's ass whether anybody likes how he does it or not and get the job done. Austin tells Hart that if he isn't crying or quit the WWF again "to put on a clean pair of panties and get your ass out here because I'll beat the hell outta ya." Suddenly, Hart is on the TitanTron. He tells Austin he has a lot of nerve being here, as he kicked his ass at WrestleMania 13 by the real king of the jungle and that he'll do it again and again. Hart then tells Austin he is done with him, but Austin tells Hart he'll have to kill him to be done with him. He tells Hart to get Owen Hart and The British Bulldog to get some crowbars to "pry [him] off of [Hart's] ass." Hart says he can beat Austin on his own and has proven it time in and time out, and Austin tells Hart that he will look ten times worse than he did at WrestleMania 13 when they get in the ring again. Austin also tells Hart than his grave will read "Here lies Bret "The Hit Man" Hart, the biggest piece of crap that ever walked the face of the earth" and that the only reason he is laid to rest "is that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin whipped his pink-and-black ass."

Rocky Maivia beats Bret "The Hit Man" Hart by disqualification after Hart refuses to let go of the Figure Four Leg Lock on the ring post when told to by the referee. During the match, Tony Atlas is seen watching the match from the front row. After the match, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin attacks Hart, only to be ganged up on by Owen Hart and The British Bulldog, who help out Bret. The Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior Hawk) show up and clear Hart and his relations out of the ring, who run away so quickly that Austin can't get any cheap shots in on Bret.