Raw Deal - Raw recap for April 14, 1997

Tonight's episode is aired from both the United States and South Africa, the latter as part of the 1997 WWF African Storm Tour. Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette do commentary in the States, while The Honky Tonk Man and Jim Ross commentate the matches in South Africa. (During the South African portions of the show, production difficulties cause commentary to go mostly silent, causing matches there to have no commentary about 90% of the time. When the matches are re-aired on the WWE Network, the episode is shown in its most original presentation possible with commentary only appearing when it is absolutely clear.)

The Godwinns (Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn) beat The Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior Hawk) in the States after Owen Hart distracts the referee so that The British Bulldog can hit Hawk in the back with his tag team championship belt from the apron.

Down in South Africa, Hunter Hearst Helmsley beats "Double J" Jesse James after Chyna distracts the referee and The Honky Tonk Man gets off commentary to grab James by the leg, distracting James and allowing Helmsley to hit the Pedigree for the win. After the match, James says that Honky Tonk Man may have gotten a leg up on him, but he's heard about his mystery man and instead of waiting until In Your House to get his hands on Honky, he wants him in the ring right now. Honky gets up on the apron and teases getting into the ring with him, but backs out. James gets one of the "Chicken" signs from the crowd and uses it to taunt Honky.

We see footage from earlier today where the WWF Superstars are welcomed to South Africa. We then see Rocky Maivia in the back go through Gorilla position to his match for tonight.

Savio Vega beats Rocky Maivia after squirming out of the shoulder breaker and rolling Rocky up, grabbing the tights. During the match, Ahmed Johnson knows what in store for him and for his opponent tonight. He also tells The Honky Tonk Man that if he utters one more word to him, he'll break his 2x4 on his face. Amhed then says that the fans know that he is real. We also see Bret Hart and the WWE covered in The New York Daily News. After this, Faarooq shows up with a cast around his left arm. After the match, The Nation of Domination attack Rocky and whip him with a leather belt, and Ahmed Johnson makes the save by rushing into the ring, 2x4 in hand.

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

Back in the States, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin shows up, and is interviewed in the ring by Vince McMahon. Austin says it's about damn time he got what he wanted from the WWF, as Vince and Gorilla Monsoon have held him down for as long as they could but cannot anymore. Vince says talent can't be held down as it always rises to the top, and Austin says that love him or hate him, he's the baddest S.O.B. in the ring when the bell rings. Austin says he had Gorilla where he wanted him and had the leverage, and now he has the match that he wanted. He then mocks Bret "The Hit Man" Hart's complains, saying he hasn't been screwed yet until Stone Cold himself screws him, which he says will happen. Austin says he will get his revenge on Hart and beat the living hell out of him, and that nobody will stop him. Austin says Hart has copied every single thing he's done, but when Hart is laying in a bloody heap in the middle of the ring, that will be the end result of it all as he will whip his ass.

Over in South Africa, Goldust beats The Sultan by disqualification when Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna run in and attack Goldust. The Sultan joins in, making this a 3-on-1 assault, , and hits Goldust with a double-team spike piledriver along with Helmsley before putting Goldust in the Camel Clutch while Helmsley punches Goldust in the face a few times. The Sultan then whacks Goldust in the back with the Iranian flag, then The Sultan and The Iron Shiek celebrate what they have done.

We see interspersed footage of Bret "The Hit Man' Hart in Kuwait. Hart says the Kuwaiti flag stands for honor and pride, and South Africa was honored to do the same. He is proud to be a hero around the world, fighting for what's right and what's wrong, which Hart says the American wrestling fans do not understand as they are lost in turmoil. He stands up for truth and justice, and for right and wrong, and that he stands for the truth. He says the people in America don't understand what's right and wrong anymore, and they do not stand to when they need to. In Kuwait, South Africa and Germany, they understand. He calls "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels a "little faggot" who spreads malicious lies about him, and wonders who could look up to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, whom he calls "a dirty, stinkin' hyena," "the scum of the earth," "a bully," "a tyrant," and "a liar." He says that Austin will find out that he's not good enough and as tough as he is, and he will face him one more time and stomp a mudhole in him for fans around the world, as he is not in the same league as him. He tells Austin to get better or get beaten.

In the U.S., Mankind and Vader beat The Headbangers (Thrasher and Mosh) by disqualification after Mosh spits something into Mankind's eyes, blinding him. Mankind puts Vader in the Mandible Claw after bumping into him, not knowing that he has bumped into Vader until Paul Bearer pulls him off. Vader goes down as quickly as anyone else when put in the Claw.

Back in South Africa, the lights flicker on and off. The Undertaker's voice booms through the arena and asks the people there if they are prepared, for the end is at hand. This Sunday night, The Undertaker says that Mankind, the man who covets the flame, will come face-to-face with the fire which is the rage of The Undertaker. When all is said and done, and Mankind is laid beaten at his face, he will unleash the souls of all the demons to torment him for all the ends of time. He then says that Mankind will never rest in peace, but he can burn in Hell.

In this month's issue of Raw Magazine, there are topless photos of Sable. We seen see footage from the 1997 Slammy Awards, where Marlena, Sunny and Sable are seen in amazingly sexy swimsuits. (This starts ).

In South Africa, the commandant from The Truth Commission is in the ring, and announces that his commandos will enter the WWF's grand circle and prove their superiority not only to America but to the rest of the world. He says that they will show "sissy, liberal America" the errors of their ways and that they will prove might is right.

Ahmed Johnson beats Crush. After the match, Faarooq tells Ahmed it doesn't matter where he is, as The Nation of Domination will get rid of him. He then issues a challenge: if Ahmed can beat Savio Vega and Crush, then he can beat him. If Ahmed can beat all three of them, he will break up The Nation of Domination.